Are your kids learning the fundamentals of what makes America the greatest country in the world at school?  In a time when fewer and fewer schools recite the Pledge of Allegiance each morning, it is doubtful. Amelia Hamilton’s publishing debut, One Nation Under God: A Book for Little Patriots, gives children an engaging history lesson and introduction to our government covering everything from the Bill of Rights to The Statue of Liberty. 

“The people can govern, that’s what Jefferson said.
We don’t need a king, we don’t need to be led.
Put America’s future in Americans’ hands.
We can decide for ourselves in this wonderful land. “

My son has a Ronald Reagan action figure (okay, maybe it’s not an action figure but I refuse to call it a doll) in his room along with Navy SEAL posters and plenty of little green army men.  He plays with toy guns and wears camouflage pants and says “Semper fi” to any Marine we come across in an airport or at Costco.  We’re not exactly the typical family you might find on the west side of Los Angeles.  So you can see why this is the kind of book I can feel good about reading with my son.

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Would you rather speak out to defend a baby with Down syndrome or sign a petition to support a pedophile? In some Hollywood circles, the answer is simple, support the pedophile. 

Let’s go back to 2009 when Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland.  The United States asked for Polanski to be extradited to face trial for his 1977 statutory rape case.  Hollywood united and Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Darren Aronofsky, Terry Gilliam, David Lynch, Jonathan Demme, Tilda Swinton, Wes Anderson, Pedro Almodovar, (I can go on all day) actually took time out of their busy schedules to prepare a petition demanding Roman Polanski’s freedom.  But for some reason, no one in Hollywood can take five minutes out of their day to support Sarah Palin’s “right to choose” or condemn the abusive allegations and deplorable insults hurled against her 3-year-old boy’s disability.  

While I can understand why so many people want to take down Sarah Palin (actually I can’t understand it, it just seems to be the way people start every negative commentary on Sarah Palin that goes too far) I have no idea why it is acceptable to make fun of disabled babies—or any babies for that matter.  Just last week Wonkette, the award winning left-wing satirical waste-of-internet-space website, posted a smear piece on Sarah Palin that sunk to a new low.  One of Wonkette’s contributor’s, Jack Stuef, directed his vitriol of Palin toward the most innocent of places.  Not only did Stuef insinuate that Todd Palin slept with his daughter Bristol, he took the unique and deplorable approach of making fun of her son with Down syndrome…on his birthday. 

This was a great opportunity for many in Hollywood to prove that they care about something other than themselves.  Instead, they kept quiet. When people suggest that politicians remove any violent words from their political discourse then can we at least ask our comedians, talk show hosts and pundits to stay away from politician’s children—even if they really, really, really don’t like the politician. 

The half-assed apology and eventual withdrawal of the post was not the result of an alliance of celebrities forming a pact to leave politician’s disabled children alone. Instead, a group of plain old Americans asked the advertisers to remove their ads from Wonkettes site.  A lot of this was made possible by the #TrigsCrew on twitter. 

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Each morning, wanting to believe in our schools, we take a leap of faith. —Davis Guggenheim 

Many moviegoers are upset that Waiting for “Superman” did not get an Oscar nomination.  I’m not.  I don’t need the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences to validate what I already know: our children’s education is in dire need of reform.  It is the sad truth in America today and if you don’t believe it, then please stop reading this piece.  I mean it.  Do some research and then rejoin the conversation.  

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Director, Davis Guggenheim, immediately grabbed my attention with his opening voiceover.  For several years now, I’ve been taking that same leap of faith as I drop my son off at his public elementary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District.  I turned a blind eye to the fact that LAUSD’s own report card shows that only 55% of its 5th graders are proficient at math and only 48% are proficient at reading.   For some reason, I believed they would be able to properly educate my son.  I was wrong.  Fortunately, like Guggenheim, I have options.  My husband and I have decided to home school our son.  This is where America is split—there are families that don’t have options.  In that sense, we are not equal.  However, I believe that there should be opportunity and choices—especially when it comes to raising the future of America. 

Instead of talking about why the film was snubbed, let’s talk about why this is the most important film of my child’s generation.  Could you imagine if every adult in America watched this movie?  They would take to the streets and protest the injustice that is being done to our children.  Apparently, not enough people have seen it and they are, instead, busy taking to the streets to protect the public unions that are among the primary reasons these kids can’t get a decent education.  Priorities people!  Our children should be our greatest priority—not job security and not the collective bargaining that gives job security to awful teachers. 

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We the People, in order to form a more perfect union,

Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
 provide for the common defense,

Promote the general welfare and
 secure the blessings of liberty

To ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish
This Constitution for the United States of America.

If you are like me and grew up on Schoolhouse Rock than you can’t help but sing The Preamble of the Constitution.  I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t be able to recite any of it if I didn’t watch Saturday morning TV.  Sure, there was Bugs and Woody for some mindless entertainment (side note: I can argue that I learned a lot from Bugs) but there was plenty of entertaining academic options to make parents comfortable that their kids were glued to the television.

Yes, times have changed.  The highly desirable demographic, known to us as preschoolers, is now spoiled for choice. Nickelodeon and Disney have gone head to head with academic based shows.  Nickelodeon has always come out on top with hits like “Dora The Explorer.”  Based on market research, Disney has decided to scrap Playhouse Disney and offer Disney Jr.—a block of preschool programs that focus on social and emotional growth rather than academics.  Apparently, some mothers feel that there is plenty of academics offered to children early on and that they would rather see their children become emotionally prepared for what lies ahead.

Preschoolers are expected to know their ABCs and 123s before they ever even set foot in a classroom.  Then why are mothers saying they would rather their children watch programs that favor social values over academics? According to Nancy Kanter, Senior Vice President of Playhouse Disney Worldwide, “Moms are saying they want their kids to be emotionally strong to really understand how to live in the world. There’s a huge place for storytelling to help do that.” Sounds like a tall order to me.  Isn’t it easier, more practical and more beneficial to teach kids the basics and leave the emotional preparation to the parents?  Is there some kind of universal emotional preparatory curriculum that all parents can agree upon?  Not a chance. While we can all agree that lessons in honesty, integrity and courage are important, there is a subjective nature to all of these attributes.  I don’t think that anyone can argue the product of 3 times 3, but what about dealing with bullies? There is more than one answer to that problem.  I doubt Disney Jr. will invest in programs that teach kids how to stand up for another child or fight back. 

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We all know that celebrities love to get behind a cause.  Jenny McCarthy is no different.  When her son was diagnosed with autism she made it her life’s work.  On the surface, it would seem that McCarthy was doing nothing but good by spreading autism awareness.  Unfortunately, this is not the case.  Instead, she formed an alliance with Andrew Wakefield based on a paper he published in the British medical journal, The Lancet, claiming a link between the MMR vaccine, inflammatory bowel disease and autism.  McCarthy made sure she spread the word, loud and clear, that vaccines are not safe and cause autism.  Unfortunately for her and everyone who listened, The Lancet retracted the study they published in 1998 in February 2010.  Then, just this week, it was announced that Andrew Wakefield was not only wrong; he has been found guilty of elaborate fraud.  Will McCarthy continue to support this charlatan or will she admit that she has been duped?

McCarthy is a conspiracy theorist and one of Wakefield’s biggest supporters.  She wrote the forward to his book Callous Disregard: Autism and Vaccines—The Truth Behind a Tragedy, where she states: 

“I believe history will be very kind to Andy Wakefield…For hundreds of thousands of parents around the world, myself included, Andy Wakefield is a symbol of strength and conviction that all parents of children with autism can use to fight for truth and the best lives possible for their kids.”  

I don’t have celebrity status that gives Jenny the ability to get her now debunked message across to an audience of millions like on Oprah, Larry King and in People Magazine.  I have to keep fighting one blog entry at a time (along with many others)—hoping that we can turn the tide around. There are many like me but no one with McCarthy’s appeal.  So even with all the evidence against her message, she is winning.  The mainstream media is beginning to report the fraud and will hopefully continue to push this message.  New generations of parents will hopefully never hear about Wakefield or McCarthy for that matter.  I can dream, can’t I?  (more…)

I’m a mom with a full-time job and two dogs, so spending $75 on a babysitter and a couple of movie tickets so I can take a nap in a dark theater is not my idea of a good time.  Television isn’t much better.  I anxiously awaited HBO’s The Pacific only to be given a selective recollection of World War II as seen through a post-9/11 prism.  Then there was AMC’s The Walking Dead. It really had me up until the final episode’s waning moments when a member of the CDC explained that, when it came to the Zombie Apocalypse, the French scientists were the picture of courage while the Americans cried like babies.  Yeah, right.  The reanimated dead are walking the earth?  Okay, fine.  But the world’s foremost country in waving the white flag is now the paragon of bravery?  That’s a bridge too far.

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Since 2010 only got me out to the movies twice (that I can remember) to see The Town and The Social Network, the internet became one of my main forms of entertainment.  That was where I found Drinking with Bob. Sure, he looks a little angry, but so am I.  However, thanks to Bob, I don’t need to get my blood pressure to the boiling point; he’s here to do it for me.  I was starving for an alternative viewpoint.  Sick and tired of being distracted by liberal celebrities and their need for attention, I needed some meaning.  And strangely enough, Bob delivered.

Somewhere in between Facebook, Sean Hannity, and the occasional Tivo’d Red Eye, I found Bob’s rants.  His website and YouTube channel represent the reason the internet has become an alternative venue for entertainment for so many.  It doesn’t have any sponsors or politically correct audience to temper its intent or its delivery.  Sure there is a lot of crap, but when you come across a gem like Drinking with Bob, it makes it all worthwhile.  Each installment starts off with: “What’s next? I’ll tell you what’s next…” and then blasts off into a tirade over anything from the NFL cancelling a game due to snow to why he thinks Ben Affleck is a hypocritical d-bag.  He covers it all and no one is safe, especially President Obama and his nonsensical policies.  You know the ones that make you want to punch your own head, like spending millions on a census commercial during the Super Bowl?  (more…)

Jenny McCarthy has really done it this time.  This is much worse than pretending to eat her own vomit or faking orgasms.  When she became one of the most vocal opponents of the CDC, she became party to what amounts to biological terrorism. For decades, the childhood vaccination program has prevented children from contracting serious and sometimes deadly diseases. Yet, McCarthy believes that these vaccines are unsafe and the reason her son is autistic. 

In a Time Magazine article last year, she announced that she would rather her son contract a potentially life-threatening disease than be autistic (I apologize now to any autistic adults that may be reading this for I can imagine how offensive that is).  The problem is, there is no proof that vaccines cause autism. Celebrities mean well.  Whether they are trying to free Mumia or inform us that 9/11 was the first time in history that fire melted steel, they desperately want to “do good” so that we don’t stop paying attention to them.    

“I do believe sadly it’s going to take some diseases coming back to realize that we need to change and develop vaccines that are safe. If the vaccine companies are not listening to us, it’s their f___ing fault that the diseases are coming back. They’re making a product that’s s___. If you give us a safe vaccine, we’ll use it. It shouldn’t be polio versus autism…If you ask a parent of an autistic child if they want the measles or the autism, we will stand in line for the f___ing measles.” 

I don’t ever remember Jenny calling me, or any of my friends, to see if we’d rather have children with measles or autistic children.  Many of us would prefer she just stopped talking about autism altogether.  She is not brave, nor is she any kind of warrior mom. She is simply a misguided attention-seeker. Before she went public with her son being autistic, she announced that he was a “crystal child:”  (more…)

Can an autistic boxer and an exotic dancer live happily ever after?  It’s not that easy.   And thank goodness, God’s Ears doesn’t portray it that way. God’s Ears represents the independent filmmaker at his finest.  Michael Worth went “all in” to write, produce, direct, edit and star in this award-winning gem of an indie.   

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Noah (Worth) and Alexia, played by Margot Farley, are the central characters of this love–let me rephrase that–connection story.  For years, Noah has lived his life in what seems to be a less than ordinary manner.   At least it appears that way to the people he comes in contact with every day.  His days consist of breakfast at the diner, sweeping up at the boxing gym and appointments with his psychologist.  Oh, and bike rides.  Noah is happiest with the wind in his face while he peddles his only means of transport.   Alexia is a pole dancer afraid to make any meaningful connections.  Then, she meets Noah.  You either get Noah or you don’t.  Alexia seems to get him instantly.    

The boxing gym’s owner, played by John Saxon, gives Noah the opportunity to spar instead of Noah just hitting a bag when no one is around.  Noah has been fighting alone his entire life.  This was a chance to step outside his ropes and get into the ring. Do Alexia and Noah fall in love?  I don’t think so.  Instead, they develop a life-altering bond that pushes them both into a place they never expected to be.   (more…)

In case you missed it, August was “National Breastfeeding Month.” I find it incredible that so many celebrity moms banded together to tell women how to raise their babies and no one really took notice.  We should be thankful that celebrities are out there willing to tell us that it is okay to breastfeed.  If we ignore them, they might stop telling us who to vote for or even worse, how many sheets of toilet paper we should use!  Back to reality.  Did they think that millions of American women would not perform one of the most natural acts in the herstory of womynkind until the girl from that Doritos commercial says it’s okay to whip ‘em out?   

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According to this latest PSA from TheBump.com, breastfeeding could save the US government some ridiculous amount of money each year in healthcare costs. First of all, no one can save the government money because the government doesn’t know how to save money. I’m curious: I wonder how much money the government will save if everyone stopped smoking. 

Gisele Bundechen, the Brazilian civil rights hero, I mean supermodel, recently pronounced “I think there should be a worldwide law, in my opinion, that mothers should breastfeed their babies for six months.” And what happens if we don’t Gisele? Do we get thrown in a Nipple Nazi lactation prison? 

Sure, breastfeeding is one of the most primitive and natural things a woman can do, similar to giving birth or going to the bathroom. But what happens to women who choose not to or can’t breastfeed? Are they to be considered as less of a mother?  Why do celebrities want to make women who can’t or choose not to breastfeed feel like they are incomplete mothers?  (more…)

“They keep creating new ways to celebrate mediocrity.”

- Bob Parr/ Mr. Incredible

Children across America are getting awards.  All the time.  These accolades are not for academic excellence or superior athletic achievements.  They are receiving certificates and applause for handing in their homework on time, paying attention in class, and walking in line without kicking another kid.  They are celebrating the stuff that we expect them to do, not the exceptional feats that overwhelm us emotionally and make us update our Facebook status.  Perhaps the writer of The Incredibles was as disturbed by this trend as I was and delivered an adventure for those who recognize true greatness.

I used to love going to the movies–but that has changed.  Frankly, not since The Lord of the Rings trilogy have I felt the ride was worth the price of admission.  Regardless of how I felt about the decline of the art form, I had to curtail my movie going, anyway.  My husband and I have an autistic son with sensory issues that prevent him from being able to enjoy the experience.  So we started a tradition in our house called “Movie Night.”  We pull out the sofa bed, make popcorn, get in our pajamas and pick a movie to watch together.  We have made some terrible mistakes.  Where the Wild Things Are barely resembled the book I loved as a child and certainly was not a family film.  It is a depressing story with no resolution or hope.  I don’t want my family films to be depressing.  I want to be motivated, transported, and moved.   (more…)

For three years now the autism community has declared April Autism Awareness Month and Friday, April 2nd was World Autism Day.  I turned on the TV to see how the mainstream media would advance the autism conversation. To my disappointment there has been very little progress.

Matt Lauer and NBC seemed to make a conscious decision to lend support by promoting celebrities’ wares rather than providing much needed information to the autism community.  The Today Show featured an interview with actress Holly Robinson Peete and her former pro-football player husband, Rodney, promoting their two new books about autism.  They told the story of how depressed they were when they received the diagnosis and how tough it was on their marriage.  At the time, they were informed that their child wouldn’t speak, be social or play organized sports.  

Then, I turned to the Internet and saw Jenny McCarthy begging people to vote for her anti-vaccination charity, Generation Rescue, to win $250K from the “Pepsi Refresh Everything Project.” In a somewhat crazed plea, McCarthy promises that she will spend everyday for the rest of her life helping raise money for these autistic kids.  And then I heard something from way out in left field.  Yoko Ono was named the first-ever “World Autism Ambassador” by Autism Speaks.   Huh?  (more…)

Last year, President Obama attempted a self-deprecating joke on The Tonight Show, when he compared his notoriously bad bowling skills to the Special Olympics.  The disability community demanded an apology and the President delivered one to Tim Shriver, Chairman of the Special Olympics Committee.  A few weeks ago, Rahm Emanuel had to repeat the apology when he referred to a group of liberal activists as “f-ing retarded.” Sarah Palin called for Emanuel to be fired and again became a target for shows like The Colbert Report, and Bill Maher. 

Whether you believe Sarah Palin’s outrage is sincere or think she is capitalizing on a media opportunity, the fact remains our political leaders are speaking like playground bullies.  Why wouldn’t they when it’s perfectly acceptable on prime time television?  I find it incredibly disturbing for pop culture to launch what seems like an all out assault on the mentally challenged when what they really want to do is hurt Sarah Palin.  Recently, Family Guy aired an episode where a character with Down syndrome suggests she is the daughter of Sarah Palin.  Palin blasted the show’s creator Seth MacFarlane and received no apology.   (more…)

I had all but given up on Hollywood and the media understanding the real issues in the autism community and then last week, something happened.  Andrew Wakefield’s study was retracted from The Lancet.  Full disclosure, Wakefield’s study never actually claimed that vaccines cause autism.  However, it did set into motion a series of events that would eventually lead to Jenny McCarthy being able to debate the American Academy of Pediatrics. 

And how does the former Playmate turned warrior mother feel, now that the basis of her argument has yet again been debunked?  She and boyfriend Jim Carrey released this statement:  “It is our most sincere belief that Dr. Wakefield and parents of children with autism around the world are being subjected to a remarkable media campaign engineered by vaccine manufacturers…”  It is clear to me that anyone who holds “mommy instinct” in higher regard than years of vaccine research is irrational and dangerous.  Yes, McCarthy and Carrey are dangerous on many levels.  They don’t know when to stop.  Unfortunately, people will continue to listen to their tales of diets curing autism and how Big Pharma is poisoning our children.  (more…)