Happy Weekend Readers! It is the first Sunday in May so that means it is time for the 19th annual Flying Pig Marathon her in Cincinnati. People in much better shape than I got up much earlier than I to run various lengths longer than I could if you set wild dogs after me. This includes two of my uncles and Grounded Parents very own Topher Hunter, who capped off 4 races in two days with his run this morning.
Jimmy Kimmel’s returned to his eponymous late night show after a week off to reveal that his wife had given birth to a son with severe heart defects who required immediate emergency surgery. Thankfully all turned out for the best. His heartfelt monologue thanking the doctors and nurses who saved his son’s life also turned to politics, specifically the President and Congresses attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
“We were brought up to believe that we live in the greatest country in the world, but until a few years ago, millions and millions of us had no access to health insurance at all. Before 2014, if you were born with congenital heart disease like my son was, there was a good chance you’d never be able to get health insurance because you had a pre-existing condition. You were born with a pre-existing condition. And if your parents didn’t have medical insurance, you might not live long enough to even get denied because of a pre-existing condition.
If your baby is going to die, and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make. I think that’s something that, whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right?”
I’m gonna break Weekend Reads Protocol and embed that video here because y’all should watch it. And keep an eye out for an Internet Meme Demolition Derby later this week on the horrid reactions to Kimmel’s story from certain conservatives.
Kate Ristau reacts to Jimmy’s story with her own harrowing tale of emergency surgery for her son and the lifesaving benefits of Obamacare.
While on the happy subject of infant mortality, Ambreia Meadows-Fernandez at Yes! Magazine wants to make it perfectly clear that black mothers aren’t to blame for high infant mortality.
A West Virginia county is headed to court to defend it’s public school Bible study program. The Freedom From Religion Foundation has brought suit on behalf non-religious parents in the district.
As plaintiff Elizabeth Deal, an agnostic with a daughter in public school, tells the Washington Post:
Even though the class was optional, Deal said there weren’t any alternative lessons or activities for those who opted out. Her daughter was told to sit in the computer lab for that half-hour and read a book.
Bypassing the class left her vulnerable to bullying. Deal said other students told her daughter that she was going to hell. One day a student saw her daughter reading a “Harry Potter” novel and told her, according to the mother: “You don’t need to be reading this. You need to be reading the Bible.”
Anti-vaccine activists preying on the close knit Somali immigrant population in Minnesota have sparked the state’s worst measles outbreak in decades. Scumbags…
While anti-science cranks use autism to fearmonger and terrify the ill informed parents, Stephanie Gates has learned to embrace the label for her own son’s sake.
So I had decided, even after he was diagnosed, that I would not tell anyone. We weren’t going to be the autism family, if I had anything to say about it.
But my son needed a name for his uniqueness. He needed to understand why life is harder for him in many ways. He was frustrated and confused and needed a way to talk about his struggles. So I told my son he had autism. I gave him the word he needed. First in a conversation, then in the form of a child’s book called All Cats have Asperger Syndrome, which beautifully and simply describes what life is like for children with high-functioning autism.
All at once, that word was not in my possession any more. It was his to carry and study and share as he saw fit. And for my little boy, who knows nothing of how hard advocates have fought for needed services, and how that fight has shaped the special needs community … for my boy who doesn’t understand the weight and implications of labels in our society, or the danger of so freely sharing who we are with the world … for my little boy, the word autism was a relief.
Secular activist, author and Godless parent shared his thoughts about many things with Conatus News. Check out all the stuff Dan is into!
What do survivors owe their abusive parents? Emily Joffe at Slate takes a deep dive into these choppy waters. The answer is more complicated than forgiveness or apology alone.
Finally, Lemon Lime Adventures, a great resource for parents of children with sensory processing issues, anxiety or ADHD takes on the backlash against fidget spinners and other calming toys in the ironically titled “5 Reasons To Ban Fidget Spinners From Every Classroom In America” (Spoiler… all the reasons are bad.) All three of my kids have fidget cubes and love them.
Found a nifty short video blog from NFL receiver and Superbowl champ Greg Jennings… Enjoy
Featured Image Credit: Baby Trump Declares His Love, by The Schmoo
