Disability, the State of the Union, and Partisanship

Posted: January 30, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: advocacy, disability, Down syndrome | Tags: , , , , , | 33 Comments

After reading President Obama’s State of the Union address and congresswoman McMorris Rodgers’s Republican response, I’m sure of one thing—the way both used disability for their respective platforms highlighted the problematic way disabilities of all kinds get used in public narrative.  Frankly, both speeches felt like the same old nonsense—ideological battle fought out in code words and innuendo with very little substance. Read the rest of this entry »

Truth, Lies, and the Politics of a Preschooler

Posted: May 17, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: kids, parenting | Tags: , , , , | 8 Comments

Lately, Mouse and I have had a lot of discussions about truth and lies.  She’s been pretty late to this game; at heart, she has never been the type to spin tales.  She’s also previously been terrible at holding up to scrutiny.  Usually I’ll just ask her different versions of the same question, and she’s toast.

“Did you tell me the truth?  Yes. Did you tell me what actually happened?  Yes, mama. Did you lie?  Yes… Wait, mommy!”  (Crying ensues.)

Done. Read the rest of this entry »