something for the haters, and you know who you are, to ponder this Thanksgiving. As i mentioned before, you have no idea. Why that gets some folks all wee-wee'd up is hard to fathom. [rquoter]Sarah Palin and Me The joy of a child with Down syndrome. By LON JACOBS Sarah Palin and I have little in common politically. I disagree with her on foreign policy, economic policy and Roe v. Wade—I am a pro-choice Democrat. But one thing Mrs. Palin and I share is that we're both parents of beautiful children who happen to have intellectual disabilities. And much as I disagree with Mrs. Palin on various political issues, I was struck when she talked about the cruel attacks on her son Trig in a TV interview last week. What separates me from many other pro-choicers I encounter is that I strongly believe we need to make abortion rare. In too many quarters we have moved from a society that protects the right to abortion to one that promotes it. This is especially true with regard to those with disabilities. I had a personal taste of this at a conference I recently attended for children with disabilities. An obstetrician told me excitedly about a new blood test that will allow pregnant women to discover if the child they are carrying has Down syndrome. The good news, he told me, is that we will no longer have to worry about "unfortunate births." This doctor intended no offense. But his comment reflects a prevailing attitude that presumes we would all be better off if these children are eliminated before they are born. I'll admit that my views are influenced by my 13-year-old daughter Molly, a vibrant child with her own dreams and personality. To us, she is not defined by her disability but by the joy she has brought into our lives. I don't presume to tell others what to do when they are faced with these difficult decisions. But I worry that women who find themselves pregnant with a child who has a physical or mental disability get only one message, which is all about the burden about to be dumped in their laps. Today, nine out of 10 American women who are told they have a child with Down syndrome choose to abort. I think it's fair to say that if some of these potential parents had a glimpse of the other side they might have made a different decision. Americans are said to be starkly divided on the issue of abortion. However, most people I know are somewhere in the middle. There are people who call themselves pro-life but will stand by a daughter who obtains an abortion. Others call themselves pro-choice but applaud the message of the movie "Juno," where a teenager brings her pregnancy to term so she can give the child to a loving couple. Unfortunately, there is a another category of people who say they are pro-choice but ought to be characterized as aggressively pro-abortion. These are the people who heap venom and ridicule on Mrs. Palin for bringing Trig into the world. Their views should be troubling to all, especially people who want respect for a woman's right to choose. At their most vulgar, these attacks are like Erik Sean Nelson's item on the Huffington Post this summer. "Palin to run in '12 on More r****dation Platform," screamed the headline. Mrs. Palin's policies, he wrote, "will increase jobs because Wal-Mart is building new stores each day and someone has to be a greeter." He added that she would achieve her goal of smaller government "because fewer Americans will have the cognitive ability to hold a government job." Mr. Nelson, a comedy writer, later apologized and the Huffington Post removed the post. But it is just one example of the strong "eugenic overtones" that Gary Bauer and Daniel Allot in Politico found in much of the coverage of Trig Palin. The American people are complicated. I know pro-lifers who have aborted when they found out their baby had Down syndrome. I know of a couple who are suing their doctor because amnio tests did not disclose that they would be having a baby with Down syndrome. And I know a woman who is strongly pro-choice but chose to keep her Down syndrome baby and couldn't be happier with her decision. I also know couples who choose to adopt children with Down syndrome and consider themselves blessed. I have no magic answers. I do have a beautiful daughter who lights up my world when I look into her trusting little face, who enriches our family with her life, and whose big-heartedness brings out the best in those who know her. I sometimes wonder how many Americans deprive themselves of that same joy because of an aggressive message that abortion is the only sensible choice. In my mind, President Bill Clinton had it about right when he called for abortion to be safe, legal and rare. If that is to be more than just a convenient political spin, we who support a woman's right to choose should do our part to celebrate the life side of choice. Mr. Jacobs is general counsel for News Corporation.[/rquoter]
Here's something for you to ponder basso - why don't you spend some time with your own disabled kid instead of tard-baiting others on the internet? At least put some substance behind the high horse before you ride around on it.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am thankful that basso has decided to stop treating this BBS as his personal blog, posting articles of little consequence or substance while offering virtually no in-sight of his own. Also thankful that he has realized how shameful it is to use Sarah Palin's baby as a political football to score points, shield to deflect criticism, and cudgel with which to bludgeon his foes.
I'm trying to figure out what the therapeutic benefits of this thread to him are. For me personally, I'm stuck at work today so I don't mind participating in this crap-fest. I'd rather not be here, in fact I'd rather be 1) out drinking beer (delicious seasonal brews) or 2) in the gym trying to rid myself of holiday excess. basso remains here however, doing what he does. Who knows why. But he likes it, so I guess that's cool.
Good point. This forum is as quiet as a mouse in church, and yet basso continues to smear poop on the walls. This makes me question my theory that he would go away even if we ignore him. Like if Clutch created a D&D vacuum for basso to post in. And then 10 years later he unlocked it for us to look at, it would literally be 9 and a half years worth of threads just like this one, with zero replies.
Why are you so angry? I am trying to help basso out here. He needs a snarky comment so then he can denounce his enemies as haters of Downs babies blahblahblah - I mean hell, he already did. It's basically like when the Nikolai Volkov would request people NOT boo when he played the Soviet national anthem prior to his match with Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Obviously, the intent was the opposite. Edit, see, e.g. approximately the 1:00 mark: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UJ53P5QIHWE&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UJ53P5QIHWE&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Anyway - I would asswhip you to kingdom come! I dare you to meet me in single combat. DARE YOU!
Basso, Nobody gives a good ***damn about Palin. She is only relevant because of posters like you who hold on to something that meaningless in the long run. You're not getting the sympathy vote for Sarah by posting this wannable "let's bake cookies" Thanksgiving article. You might be getting a sympathy vote for yourself, however.
A Hacksaw Jim Duggan reference... well at least this thread wasn't a total waste. Did you know he played football for SMU? Let's keep the Hacksaw vibe going. It's the only thing that can save this.
The haters keep on hating. Do you people really not realize that your hatred says a lot more about you than about the people you are hating? If a bigot says I hate all ______ people, who does that reflect badly on, the person making the bigoted, hateful remark, or the person it is targeted at? Clearly, it says more about the person spewing the hate. In the same way, your hateful remarks towards Sarah Palin say a lot about you, and not very much about anything else.
Tell that to the anti-Volkoff brigade. All of that boo-ing. The man was trying to sing for his fatherland. He knew nothing else, even if the Soviet wrestling machine that produced him was ultimately corrupt.
Basso = Jim Duggan Jim Duggan's Beard = Freedom & The American Way Sam = "Krusher" Kruschev Clippers = Communism/Haterade Mojo Man = Magnum T.A. Trig = 2x4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssGMOMt80P0#t=4m
following up on the Volkoff stream, this is what happened to him ultimately after the collapse of Soviet-style communism - I hadn't previously seen this, but it mirrors real-world events of the early 90's. <div><object width="480" height="332"><param name="movie" value="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x9cib5&related=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x9cib5&related=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="332" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object><br /><b><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9cib5_kings-courtted-dibiase-buys-nikolai_sport">King's Court-Ted Dibiase buys Nikolai Volkoff</a></b><br /><i>Uploaded by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/TSteck160">TSteck160</a>. - <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/us/channel/sport">More professional, college and classic sports videos.</a></i></div>
I wasn't going to post in this thread as I've stated before I do find it offensive for defenders of Sarah Palin to claim that people are hateful of special needs children. Especially when many of us work with special needs children or even have special need children or family members ourselves. This tactic though is one that essentially tries to lump all criticism of Palin into a criticism of her child and her decision to have it. Its the flip side of arguing that all criticism of Obama is racist and one that is meant to short circuit debate rather than engage in honest dialogue. If you are going to throw around accusations of hate towards Sarah Palin why then get offended when defenders of Obama decry racism? If can understand that you as a critic might be offended to be accused of racism in regard to Barack Obama then you should understand just how offensive and off base it is to accuse those who criticize Sarah Palin of basing their criticism on hating special needs children.
No one here has suggested that anyone "hates" special needs children. If you actually have seen anyone express that sentiment here on this board, feel free to provide a link to that post. I will not be holding my breath. The issue here is not the hatred of special needs children, it is abortion. Sarah Palin knowingly carried her Down's Syndrome baby to term, and clearly loves her son very much. That has created a tremendous amount of resentment on the left among people who apparently believe that it is appropriate, and even desirable, to abort children with Down's Syndrome. The fact that Sarah Palin is such a high profile conservative figure makes her a walking rebuttal of the left's typical stance on abortion. And a very powerful rebuttal at that. This is one of the most significant issue motivating the hatred of Sarah Palin by many on the left. And that hatred is made more intense because many on the left feel somewhat constrained about openly expressing their true feelings about Sarah Palin's actions on this matter. When people see pictures of her with her son, those kinds of sentiments come across as strikingly inhumane. So, all the haters can do is stew, and hate Sarah Palin some more, because she just will not go away.
If you actually have seen anyone express that sentiment here on this board, feel free to provide a link to that post. I will not be holding my breath. all i see time and time again are attempts to use palins downs syndrome baby as a political prop - its pathetic. 70% of americans - "palin isnt qualified to be president" you - "you hate downs syndrome babies"
