In a Q&A session with People magazine, Sarah and Todd Palin answer questions about

… her amnio results …

SARAH: I was grateful to have all those months to prepare. I can’t imagine the moms that are surprised at the end. I think they have it a lot harder.

… his upcoming role as Mr. Mom …

SARAH: I am thankful to be married to a man who loves being a dad as much as I love being a mom, so he is my strength. And practically speaking, we have a great network of help with lots of grandparents and aunties and uncles all around us. We have a lot of help.

So will your husband be on leave now indefinitely to be Mr. Mom?

SARAH: I would say so, yes.

… and worries that Sarah may be giving short shrift to her baby and family:

TODD: She’s heard that her whole life –- the challenges of being a female and mother in the work force. I remember the first time she ran for mayor one of her fellow council members told her you can’t run because you’ve got three negatives: Track, Bristol and Willow. Those are the three kids we had at the time. So when you tell her that kind of stuff, she just gets fired up. We’re an Alaska family that adapts.

Todd says ‘Trig’ is a Norse name for strength.

‘Tropic Thunder’: Hollywood still doesn’t get it — Lawrence Carter-Long in disaboom.com

Hollywood can ill afford to dismiss the views of disabled advocates and their allies now. It didn’t have to be this way, but by failing to consider the nations ‘largest minority’ Dreamworks created the controversy themselves.

Disrespecting the disabled belittles us all — Mary Yoder in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

I implore you to think twice before using derogatory terms or laughing at people because they have disabilities. Consider reaching out to someone who has an intellectual disability and find the gifts she/he brings to family and community, or talk to an employer who knows firsthand that people with intellectual disabilities make great employees. I ask you to put people first, period.

Youth sports buzz: Another word to ban on your team — Jon Buzby in the Norwich, CT, Bulletin

Kids often look up to their youth sports coaches more than any other influential person in their lives, including us parents. Schools already don’t tolerate the term. If we add one more heavily-populated place that doesn’t accept it — youth sports organizations — we can really make a difference. And when you think about it, isn’t that why we all coach youth sports?

Protests miss the point of ‘Tropic Thunder’ — James Bowman in the American Spectator

The right to cause offense; Protests at new satirical film are misplaced — David Thomson in the UK Guardian

Disabilities are not a punchline — letter to tricities.com in southwest Virginia

People with intellectual disabilities deserve respect — letter to the Daily Breeze in Cumberland, RI

Reasons why the film’s use of ‘retarded’ is offensive — letter to the Bloomington, IL, Pantagraph

From AP/USA Today, Chicago Tribune, youtube.com:

Tammy Duckworth, an Army helicopter pilot who lost both legs and injured an arm in Iraq, walked onstage on prosthetic legs at the Democratic convention to castigate Republican John McCain for backing an administration that has “let our warriors down.”

“Our troops are courageous, strong, fierce. This administration has redeployed them until they are overstretched, stressed and strained,” said Duckworth, now director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Duckworth is among those rumored as a possible appointee to Obama’s Senate seat if he becomes president.

From the New York Times:

Three mothers of children with Down syndrome started a private school in New York City three years ago to promote diversity and acceptance while offering inclusive education in small classrooms.

The mothers say that they did not feel confident that their children could get the education they wanted in New York City. They started the Ideal School of Manhattan to combine the intimacy of private schools and the inclusion of public schools. Some 25 percent of the students in their school have disabilities.

The average class size consists of 16 students and two teachers, one with special education training and one with standard classroom training.

The founders have benefited from an increasingly competitive New York City school system where parents are willing to explore other options when the first choice is not available. The annual pricetag for tuition is $32,000 a year.

(New York Times photo)

Sarah Palin has just joined John McCain as his running mate, and she took the stage in Dayton accompanied by her husband Todd and four of her five children — including youngest son Trig, who was born in April. (Oldest son Track is in the Army, and will deploy to Iraq next month.)

A few minutes before Palin appeared, I heard David Gergen on CNN referring to Trig Palin as “a Down syndrome child.” Ouch.

We can do better than that.

It’s worth remembering that people with Down syndrome are just that — people — and should be referred to as such. Let’s make an extra effort, when discussing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, to say that Trig “has Down syndrome,” or is a “child with Down syndrome.” Using language that puts the person first sends a strong message that people should not be defined by their disabilities. Like all Americans, people with disabilities deserve our respect and consideration.

And while we’re on the subject, let me offer some guidance on disrespectful language to avoid in discussing the lives of people who have Down syndrome.

Please, people, let’s not say that they “suffer” from Down syndrome, or that they are “afflicted” by Down syndrome. Down syndrome is a chromosomal condition that doesn’t interfere with a person’s ability to lead a happy, satisfying and productive life, and to contribute to their family and community.

Please, don’t refer to Trig as a “Down’s child,” a “Down syndrome child,” or “a Downs.” This is outdated language that demeans in its assumption that a person’s disability is the most important thing about them. And I shouldn’t have to tell you that old-fashioned terms like “mongoloid” and “mongol” are considered insulting by the disability community.

Looking for more information? Here’s a release from the National Down Syndrome Congress and the National Down Syndrome Society.

AP in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, CNN, New York Times: Senior McCain campaign officials have confirmed that Sarah Palin will be McCain’s vice presidential running mate.

The McCain campaign was keeping its vice presidential pick closely guarded this morning, but that didn’t stop the rumors from flying. One name frequently heard: Alaska governor Sarah Palin. Palin’s youngest child has Down syndrome.

McCain’s announcement is expected this morning at a rally in Dayton, Ohio. CNN reported that a private jet from Alaska arrived Thursday night at an airport near Dayton, fueling speculation that Palin would be McCain’s pick.

Palin’s spokesperson told ABC News that Palin would be attending the state fair in Anchorage today.

Robert Barnes and Michael Shear of the Washington Post said all the talk could be a “head fake” by the McCain campaign, but said that Karl Rove had endorsed Palin on Fox News, calling her a “breath of fresh air.”

The New York Times’ Liz Bumiller reported that the speculation was met with “bewilderment” from McCain advisers, who said that Palin’s relative lack of executive experience would undercut one of the campaign’s key criticisms of Obama — that he is too inexperienced for the job.

“While it’s a dramatic and interesting choice, it would make the argument he’s making difficult to make,” said one McCain adviser.

Sarah Palin has served less than two years as her state’s governor. She has cast herself as a political maverick, conservative and reformer who defied Alaska’s GOP establishment. The 44-year-old mother of five is a favorite of social conservatives for her opposition to abortion. A former high school athlete (basketball) and beauty queen, she has approval ratings in her state that are off the charts. She hunts, she fishes, and she was named America’s hottest governor by Alaska Magazine.

Alaska has three electoral votes.

See reports from CNN, the Washington Post, Politico.com, ABC News, Los Angeles Times blog,  and the New York Times blog. Reports were also heard on Fox and NPR.