Former New York Yankee Jim Abbott, who once pitched a no-hitter, is now campaigning on behalf of a government effort to encourage businesses to hire individuals with disabilities.

Abbott, 40, was born without a right hand and played 10 seasons of major league baseball. Now he’s joined forces with U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), and has been appearing at major league stadiums to underscore the message that employers should look past the disability to the valuable person within.

He’s hoping to turn around some profoundly discouraging statistics. According to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, in 2006, the employment rate for people with disabilities was 37.7 percent, compared to an employment rate of 79.7 percent for people without disabilities, a 42 percent difference.

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From BBC, AP/MSNBC:

The National Federation of the Blind has announced plans to stage protests against the movie “Blindness” at 75 theaters across the country when it opens this weekend.

The NFB says the movie, a Miramax Films release starring Julianne Moore, reinforces inaccurate stereotypes by portraying blind people as helpless, perpetually disoriented and unable to care for themselves.

“We face a 70 percent unemployment rate and other social problems because people don’t think we can do anything, and this movie is not going to help — at all,” said Christopher Danielsen, a spokesman for the NFB.

Based on a novel by Nobel Prize winner Jose Saramago, the film depicts a mysterious epidemic that causes residents of a town to go blind, resulting in a collapse of the social order. Blind people are portrayed as quarantined in a mental asylum, attacking each other, soiling themselves and trading sex for food.

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From Good Morning America:

Celebrity author Jenny McCarthy promotes her new book, “Mother Warriors,” in an extended interview with Diane Sawyer. (Video here.) She blames a “bloated” schedule of childhood vaccines for the rise in autism diagnoses, saying, “It’s ignorant to think that all children can handle these shots.”

McCarthy promotes a wheat-free, dairy-free diet and other measures as remedies. “This is very real — our kids can get better,” she says. Her book is being promoted as a collection of “recovery stories” from parents of children with autism.

Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt School of Medicine urges caution, saying the link between diet and autism has not been verified. Diane Sawyer’s words:

Inside the autism community, McCarthy’s a heroine. But her views on childhood vaccines have been dismissed by the mainstream medical community. They say study after study shows in most kids there’s no evidence that vaccines cause autism.

See also: Got Milk? PETA unveils billboard claiming link between milk and autism — Newsday

UPDATE: McCarthy slams actress Amanda Peet over vaccine remarks — Fox News

(Photo: Screen capture from ABC News.)

Woman with Down syndrome inspires families in Washington state – KNDO/KNDU-TV, Yakima, Washington — Karen Gaffney (left) speaks out about her experiences earning a regular high school diploma and a degree from Portland Community College, swimming across Lake Tahoe, and participating in a relay team that swam the English Channel. Says Gaffney:

“I’ve changed all that data.  I’ve changed their doubts. I have improved and inspired so many lives, spread my messages of being fully included in a regular classroom setting.”

Link to video here; earlier video of Karen Gaffney on the NBC Today show here.

People with Down syndrome live fully — letter to the Sacramento Bee from Elaine Linn. An excerpt:

People with Down syndrome go to school, work, have meaningful relationships, make decisions about their lives and live independently. They become dedicated employees and loyal friends.

… There’s something terribly wrong with a society that purportedly values diversity yet places a distinct lack of value on people who aren’t “perfect.” I don’t know one perfect person and it’s hard to understand this willing acceptance of terminating pregnancies based on inaccurate information about potential “imperfections.” Yet it exists 90 percent of the time with Down syndrome.

Avoid Tropic Thunder, a cruel comedy — by Eric Johnson in the Grand Forks, ND, Herald

The fact is that even among the various species of hate speech, ridicule of those with retardation is unique in its brutishness. Unlike racial minorities, religious adherents or the physically disabled, those with developmental disabilities cannot well defend themselves with wit and well-crafted retorts. That’s why the arguments of Downey and Black — that everyone has the right to say whatever they want — are especially hollow.

New system for developmentally disabled is needed — Sheila Romano in the Springfield, IL, Journal Register (institutionalization, housing)

Taking the fear out of difference — Baltimore Sun (education, attitudes)

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From Scientific American, the New York Times:

Sergey Brin, a co-founder of Google, says he has a genetic mutation that increases his likelihood of getting Parkinson’s disease, a condition which is shared by his mother and her aunt.

Brin discovered the genetic mutation in a test from 23andMe, his wife’s gene-screening company. He estimated his risk of getting the disease at somewhere between 20 percent and 80 percent.

Forbes magazine recently estimated Brin’s personal fortune at $15.9 billion. He said he may help provide more money for research into the disease.

(Photo from Scientific American)

From the [UK] Telegraph, Associated Press, Time Magazine, UK Times and elsewhere. Video from the [UK] Telegraph.

British comedian Russell Brand hosted the MTV Video Music Awards last night and received mixed reactions after encouraging the audience to vote for Barack Obama and calling President George Bush a “retarded cowboy.”

Here’s the exact quote, pulled from video of the broadcast (above):

“Some people, some people, I think they’re called racists, say America is not ready for a black president. But I know America to be a forward thinking country, right, because otherwise, you know, would you have let that retarded cowboy fella be president for eight years?”

The awards show had been hyped as a comeback appearance for Britney Spears, but the [UK] Times reported that she and Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus appeared “horrified” during Brand’s quip about Bush. Brand also joked about chastity vows taken by the Jonas Brothers, a hot young rock band.

Commenters to the MTV site criticized Brand’s insertion of political themes into an entertainment event, but few challenged his use of language. Comments can be seen here. (Scroll down to the bottom of the page.)

From the standpoint of history, the Republican convention seemed to mark a watershed moment for the disability community at large.

Sarah Palin’s speech last night included a rousing commitment to the disability community. Her baby son Trig was featured prominently in the news coverage of the convention, and she held him in her arms as she acknowledged uproarious applause from the crowd.

But what does the McCain-Palin candidacy really mean to the disability community?

A few questions to consider:

• Is Trig Palin’s presence on the stage and on the campaign trail likely to create a greater understanding and acceptance of people with Down syndrome and other disabilities?
• Is Gov. Palin’s pledge to advocate on behalf of “families of special needs children” a promise she’d carry out if elected?
• Are people who care about disability rights issues likely to support the McCain-Palin ticket over the Obama-Biden ticket?
• What do people in the disability community think about the ongoing debate over Palin’s role as a mother? Should parents (especially mothers) of children with disabilities hold challenging professional positions?
• What impact will the Palin family have, if any, on the rates of prenatal diagnosis and selective termination for Down syndrome?
• How will Trig fare over the next months of the campaign, and if his mother is elected? Do you think it’s appropriate for his parents to have brought him into the international spotlight? And …
• How can we convince the media to stop using terms like “Down syndrome child,” “Down’s child,” and “Down child”? (Screen shot from the home page of the Washington Post.)

Please post your comments.