CNN's Banfield and John Kerry: Staged Portrayals Re UN CRPD Disability 'Rights' Treaty ??

Opinion- Editorial 

Sharon Howarth
Thursday December 6, 2012


Today, in a video segment on CNN, Senator John Kerry prosecuted his personal agenda saying that  former Senator Rick Santorum was "not factual" about the far-reaching negative effects of ratification of the UN CRPD 'disability rights' treaty when in actuality Kerry was engaging in his own fallacy promotion by rendering an ignorant position on constitutional and public international law.

Alex Newman, foreign correspondent for The New American, described the treaty in his December 3, 2012 piece as “a deeply controversial United Nations treaty on disabled people, dubbed the UN “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities” (UN CRPD), which critics say represents a serious threat to American sovereignty and certain unalienable rights.” The New American

Excerpt of Kerry's statements below --

December 5th, 2012

08:35 PM ET

4 hours ago

Kerry blasts Santorum's opposition to disability treaty

Posted by

CNN's Gregory Wallace

(CNN) - Sen. John Kerry fired back Wednesday at former Sen. Rick Santorum's strong opposition to a U.N. treaty promoting the rights of the disabled that failed in the Senate this week.

"Rick Santorum was just not factual," Kerry said on CNN's "The Situation Room."

view the complete article here   

Kerry 'co -chaired' the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations' evidentiary proceedings -- ummmm, actually he was ABSENT for much of the hearing, stating his apologies for such, as he wielded his gavel to convene the proceedings and then divulged that he had pre-arranged a substitute co-chair due to a "prior commitment"!

However, Senator Kerry WAS present during the expert testimony of Dr. Michael Harris, Chancellor of Patrick Henry College, where Harris also teaches constitutional and public international law. Kerry's presence and verbal exchanges with the constitutional law expert, leaves him with no excuse for his deliberate attempts to mislead the public during his statements on the CNN video clip, as he opposed Dr. Harris' position on the legal precedents of the treaty's potential to usurp U.S. sovereignty, states' and individual citizens' rights.

Compounding the Orwellian 'new-speak', CNN talking head, Ashleigh Banfield, ate Kerry's video bait and then regurgitated it as she metaphorically pointed her boney finger at the camera, aiming her own potentially career-boosting op-ed shot toward viewers, on the subject of disability rights.

The only thing missing was a "tisk-tisk" from blonde-highlighted Banfield's glossy lips, who in my opinion, possesses the journalistic integrity and sincerity of a Madison Avenue ad-exec.

For just one moment, gun-control sounded like a good idea to me, as Ms. Banfield ignorantly shot her mouth off, presumably with CNN's blessing.

In contrast to this latest CNN media debacle, Bob Costas made a tactical mistake and at worst, he misused his position to promote the political elite's agenda. Costas, at least, had a genuinely earned position from which to speak during his NBC broadcast, 90-second diatribe on gun-control.

C'mon CNN! Ashleigh Banfield providing commentary on disability and constitutional rights and public international law? I seriously doubt that this pretty talking head was actually elucidating her own statements on the subject. Instead, her teleprompter words were likely composed for her segment by producers and writers sanctioned to perform such scripted editorial positing from the powers-that-be at CNN. She proved in her segment this morning, that she is nothing more than a CNN lackey.

Banfield might do better for herself, pursuing her acting career in Hollywood, rather than in the television journalism field. Does anyone recall her embarrassing and ludicrous portrayal of Christiane Amanpour during Ashleigh's Middle East coverage, in a pastel-toned burka?

Well, John Q. Public, I guess Ashleigh's just glad she's got the job and can pay for all those designer glasses she wears. I bet they're tax deductible too.

A Window Into My Autistic World

Since most of us know and accept the age-old adage, "a picture is worth a thousand words", I hope this will speak volumes about our current quality-of-life as a family affected by autism.

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we must face that our lives are defined by the things we have and how they affect the standards of our daily existence. However, in our case, the typical western, privileged understanding of 'status' might not be applicable.

Think of this as your personal opportunity to move into my home for a day and enjoy your own front row, "day-in-the-life of Sharon Howarth".

____________________________________________________________________________

I start my day by checking out the weather to see what temp it will be today and how I should plan my wardrobe--

Temp on left is the highest our indoor temp will get in fall-winter months. Temp on right is left over setting from before our utilities were turned off in the summer. We tried to be economical with the a/c, finding 83-degrees was much more comfortable than the 95+ degrees we experienced in August as we finished out the summer with no electricity.

Of course, in winter, we enjoy our portable household heater aka 'electric blanket', especially when we sleep in the low-to-mid 40's every night.

'Warm shower' : heat hot water in electric tea kettle plugged into gracious neighbor's extension cord, mix hot water with cold in bathroom, transfer to sprayer and voila!, warm shower.

'Hot water heater' : when propane is available for outdoor grill, fill water heater with potable water, fire up that grill and wait for water to boil, about 10-12 minutes, depending on outside temperature. Carry into bathroom, pour into stopped tub , add cold water to relax in a warm, 2-inch deep bath. 

Stove:A hot breakfast can always provide a good start to your day! Just remember, 

1. Unplug the fridge then replug it when done cooking

2. NEVER use more than one hot-plate burner, electric kettle or griddle at a time

3. PLAN WAY AHEAD - since wattage is substantially decreased by using gracious 
neighbors' long extension cord, cooking process takes 2-3 times longer than normal. An added bonus-- the unused surface provides additional counter space for the small appliances and the oven is now great for extra storage!

'Refrigerator' : That thing you have to unplug anytime you need to use any other electricity from the gracious neighbors' extension cord...also handy for refreezing any scraps of leftover food to be turned into meals when desperate. No broth, bone, bread heel, or small amount of anything else, can be wasted. The freezer is handy for this purpose, as well as bringing perspective to the family on cold days-- when really discouraged, open freezer, place your head inside momentarily and realize that 'it's not so cold inside the house'!

'Cold Storage Room' : otherwise formerly known as the dining room. An added boon to having indoor temps at 45 degrees average during the fall-winter months. Another benefit-- no need to put away donated food from generous pantries since the food is easier to see near windows and keeps cool anywhere! 

'Energy -saver microwave' : low-wattage unit due to dimished power from gracious neighbors' long extension cord! Good for gradually reheating warm drinks for those cold fall and winter mornings. Don't forget to unplug fridge while using wave in 1' 30" intervals, since longer will trip breaker on outlet strip!! DON'T FORGET TO REPLUG FRIDGE WHEN DONE!

Having a dishwasher is truly a luxury: note the adaptive electrical cord I added in order to plug the dishwasher into the now infamous, extension cord. DON'T FORGET TO UNPLUG THE FRIDGE AND ALL OTHER SOURCES OF WATTAGE! NEVER RUN OVERNIGHT! DO NOT USE 'HEAT DRY' SETTING !

At the end of our day, we appreciate having ambient lighting in the bedroom. We have been certain to use energy saving fluorescent bulbs in order to insure that we can leave the refrigerator plugged-in. Who knew? Low wattage energy-saver bulbs prevents food borne illnesses! We had a total of three different bulbs in the house this summer in order to light the entire house-- we have truly gone green!

Pajamas: Just as at the start of my day, choosing appropriate wardrobe is important to sleeping comfortably-- I like to dress for bedtime in layers, two shirts, jama pants, double-thick socks, then jacket, warm hat and hand warmers (as shown above). Toasty, color coordinated and very reminiscent of that holiday classic ("...mamma in her kerchief and I in my cap, had just settled down for a long winter's nap").

'Portable nighttime task lighting' : Easily transported from room to room, adds a lovely organic fragrance if using soy candles with botanicals. Also great for adding a touch of romance in the bedroom to counteract the effects of body odor from infrequent showers and the unattractive nightwear required to avoid hypothermia! 

'Low-cost Antidepressant' : I find that sometimes I just need a little 'help' to take the edge off of my stressful days, and this just does the trick. 1-2 squares on a bad day, and this large bar will last for up to 7-10 days! Taken with hot ginger tea, you will fool your mind and body into a sense of warmth and well being for sweet dreams all night long.

A few additional pointers :

1. When folks ask about your plans for the 'holidays' don't say "keeping warm and well-fed" as your answer, as they won't take you seriously anyway. This is America and true Christians can't be homeless, hungry and cold. Jesus wouldn't allow it, nor would Kenneth Copeland.

2. Always, keep a smile on your face-- "you can't catch flies with honey", however, most Christians will swarm like locusts to attack you if you are needy and admit to it.

3. Always say thank you for any free food you get-- it doesn't matter that you are allergic to wheat, soy, corn, oats, milk, cheese, eggs, peanut butter, msg, gluten and above all, pork! I just regift most of what we can't eat to other poor families or back to another local pantry. When I was in a church fellowship, I also used food I was allergic to, for cooking potluck dishes to bring to the obligatory Wednesday -night junk-food, fellowship dinner.

4. Treasure those few who sincerely ask you, "please tell me, what do you really need me to help with?"  Give eternal thanks for those precious few who care enough to realize you might need toilet paper, an offer of a hot shower, or a visit to their warm home to wash and dry a few clothing items in winter.

5. An amazing realization: those who most often offer sincere and needed help are those who have been there themselves. Once you've done without, it's funny how you can recognize those in need, right away.

6. Try not to lose track of your daily dignity and your daily structure-- try to keep up with self-care, something fun that you enjoy (apologies to those of you who think that the unemployed and poor shouldn't take time to relax and have fun because that makes them 'lazy' or 'under motivated'). 

7. Above all, don't fall into the trap of isolating-- if possible, at least try to get out among others and walk around the mall, a bookstore, even Wal-Mart, just to recall your former life of privilege and plenty. Tell yourself, " I will not be in this state forever. I am so grateful for what I have now. I will find a way through this and it will make me stronger."

I'm prepared for some of my acquaintances to get angry and blame me for my problems (as it happened previously when I wrote several months ago about our poverty and creative attempts to secure employment). I really didn't expect to be mocked and ridiculed for asking for referrals and encouragement in an entrepeneurial employment plan we were trying to develop!

Do me a favor-- if you want to fuss and blame us, telling us we are privileged autistics because we can communicate with normal language skills and semi-neurotypical social skills, just keep that to yourself and make a donation to your favorite autism advocacy organization so you can feel good about helping more deserving autistic families than ours.

We don't need any more friends to tell us we're just lazy, crazy or manipulative, if you don't mind.

But, if you'd like to know the back-story on our family's current lifestyle and employment issues, send me a request in the comments below...

Summer Surprises and Other Ruminations

Wow-- I've been pretty preachy lately, intoning my elevated and academic writer's voice in the past several blogs I've posted.

Forgive me. Let's chalk it up to a from-the-hip diagnosis : MMAD syndrome, menopausally maniacal advocacy disorder, otherwise known as 'Mom's MAD'.

Now, free of that behavioral burden, let's dish about summer.

How was yours? If you spent it with an autie or aspie family member, you don't need to tell me how busy you've been.

But did you get to spend a few lazy, sunny days on the beach or sit on the porch or lay out by the pool? I truly hope so-- I'm certain you've worked hard and deserved to pamper yourself a little.

If you actually went on a real vacation, I'm truly happy for you and I promise I won't be jealous either.

Have you noticed how the older we get, the shorter summer break seems?

At 15, I felt that my June 1st through Labor Day vacation was endless and full of the promise that an unlimited time-frame can offer. I recall that I could hope for almost anything to happen in those magical, sun-infused months.

Not only did I dream of having the darkest tan of anyone in my high school ( unrealistic as I am a celtic roots, slightly-auburn-haired-Irish-cream-skin kind of girl), I was also able to convince myself that I could entirely remake my stubbornly hourglass hips, my social life, and my profoundly dysfunctional family in one summer!

Ahhh, youth...

More recently however, I've gradually lowered my expectations of summer -- maybe too low, in this constant-crisis year I'm dealing with.

I woke up the past few days to the southern heat and haze of August and after dark, I've noticed the neighborhood crickets' volume going up and their tempo slowing down-- late summer has already arrived!

This saddens me and reminds me that I've totally lost the season of my boys' childhood. Just two weeks ago, when I pitched the formerly well received concept of a picnic at the park, they groaned, "awww, Mom there's no wi-fi at the park."

I made them go anyway, if just to blanket their white flesh with a few moments of real, live sunshine.

There we were, our family foursome eating our home-made, um, I mean, carry-out fried chicken dinners, by the Tennessee River. It was a lovely mom moment. I sighed with fulfillment--my husband and my boys seated around me were framed in the laced sunlight of late afternoon trees, and then...

my 18-year-old son asked if we could go home, just as he finished throwing dinner down his throat.

Maybe he wiped his lips with the napkin, but I can't remember.

I was recovering from the shock of my own altered reality.

There are only rare glimmers of our former life-- you may recall reading previously that I was a home-birthing, demerara-sugar and home-made-carob-cake-earth-mother, before autism, revealing itself through a geographical ministry relocation, moved into our household of six kids, ultimately producing two very weary Aspie parents.

A few weeks ago, my 13-year-old did mention that we haven't gone to the pool yet this summer and while that comment seemed to portend some promise, all hope failed, days later, when I suggested he accompany his adult sister and niece to the pool. He quickly informed me that he "preferred to stay on the couch and play" his favorite online game.

I had to force him to go outside and ride his bike recently, by using the excuse of entertaining his visiting niece thus manipulating him to play outside! This is my youngest child who used to LIVE outside.

It's my fault, really. I've been sitting in my office chair daily, for much of this summer, trying to drum up free-lance web, video production and writing work to keep us in a few luxuries like food, electricity and housing.

So I understand their de-motivation. They're just doing the parallel play thing-- mom's hips are getting wider while she's sitting at the computer, so we'll be Aspie-cave-teens and do the same.

Meanwhile, a slowly creeping realization has overtaken me-- my physical and relational world has gotten much smaller while my virtual fellowship of friends and my online vocational and social opportunities have grown exponentially.

OMG, I really am acting like the Aspie, I've been told I am. I am getting more aspergated...

and, I haven't sat outside on the porch at all this summer. I haven't seen friends at gatherings, haven't gone on a single camping trip or outing to the pool, or an outdoor concert, 

while I have grown more excited by the day with my virtual and tech-production pursuits. 

[cue: play theme from Psycho movie, to distant sound of female shrieking in her home office]

Even worse, I sent my husband (who graciously doesn't mind helping at all, dear, beloved, man) outside to grill chicken! Unlike the stereotypical men of our southern climes, my Bruce doesn't grill and especially not chicken because we don't like salmonella poisoning. He often doesn't know what "done" means in poultry terms.

"Neurotypical Earth to Sharon...do you read me?"

So... breathing deeply...and trying to refocus...

I've made a small decision: for the next few weeks, I'm going to put on my Deep-South requisite flip sandals, take my laptop and my butt out on the front porch, wave at neighbors driving by, walk in the park at least two times each week and maybe, maybe, we'll make it to the pool this weekend although I don't know if my swimsuit will fit.

We all need and deserve a little break in the routine and a little sun on our faces, don't we?

I mean, they're going to close and winterize the community pool in a few more weeks!

The New Lexicon of Cyber-Social Skills

Sharon Howarth
This question was posted on facebook today-- it got me thinking...

What would you think if a public school teacher was quoted as saying: "I catch myself wondering if as a species, masses of us are "de-volving" ?  quote from Rudyard Kipling

This is currently a common topic among college professors.

There is much consternation and concern about incoming university freshman who not only struggle to appropriately use common writing forms such as grammatically correct sentence or paragraph structure. The theory behind these linguistic deficits? Constant use of an alternate, demand-inspired lexicon of idiosyncratically abbreviated spelling and word usage in tweets, texts and web chat sites.

Large numbers of these incoming students also reportedly demonstrate a disturbing lack of social skills, attributed to the mounting number of hours spent relating to social media and gaming software, rather than direct verbal and interactive contact with human beings.

The above-referenced college profs can also be heard discussing new educational trends expected to become a requisite mainstream offering by their various institutions: social-etiquette skills courses!

These educators are concerned with the anticipated tsunami of students who will have to be educated not only academically, but in the social graces, as well. They cite the increasing 'geek' factor that they see in students who don't appreciate the simple need for courtesy, eye-contact, verbal communication skills or general behavioral etiquette, all of which are necessary to obtain employment and succeed in the social environments they will doubtless encounter in the workplace.

As a family affected by autism spectrum disorders that include a panoply of social skills and communication deficits, I am amazed to see that the general public might be moving toward a sociological and behavioral state similar to our own-- the self-same functioning level which the autistic community struggles daily to overcome. This broadly based generational shift away from 'normative' or neurotypical social, cognitive and linguistic functionality, if unchecked, could likely result in the general population looking more like an autistic population with each passing decade.

This however, could be a good sign for high-functioning autistic/Asperger's folks everywhere. Perhaps while the neurotypical next-gen is moving into their not-so-socially-savvy young adulthood, we can take hope that our struggles with appearing to be more behaviorally mainstreamed may find some respite.

We might even offer some meaningful help to those confused and wired-in sons and daughters of an average neurological orientation!

It's a brave new world and I'm glad these educators have some plans to deal with the influx of ignorance and lowered functional status that is about to hit the zenith point in our tech-based society.

I would be remiss if I fail to acknowledge that I enjoy my own facebook network of friends and family, while regularly using abbreviations common to the tweet-and-text slang we've come to accept in common usage.

It's all about saving cyber-space which is apparently at a premium now.

lol! btw rotflmbo while i think abt the impact 4 all of u aspies or auties out there...

Autistic Pianist Plays Concerto with Symphony

Road Maps to Quality of Life : Detours?

I confess-- I do occasionally go back and read my own posts and I wanted to reference something I wrote way back at the beginning of this blog, in November, 2007.

"Finding the road map for living with Autism has been much more difficult. When Bruce was diagnosed, we were still using a dial-up internet modem at 28k, and navigating the web for support information about Asperger's Syndrome was slow and frustrating.

I did notice that most of the information was for parents. Everybody was encouraging parents to pursue early diagnosis and early interventions to help in educating their autistic kids.

And while I really appreciated the importance of this info, I felt left out. There was almost nothing about 'having an autistic husband' or 'how to handle the emotional isolation' that I was experiencing."    

  [link to my original article]

Today, I spent several hours scouring internet and phone, trying again, to find some help and appropriate autism services for my Aspie husband, Bruce.

I've  learned a lot this month--he is likely dealing with concomitant sensory disintegration issues as well as his more typical Asperger's-based unique talents and challenges. 

The Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation, capably explains sensory disintegration --

Sensory Processing Disorder  (SPD, formerly known as "sensory integration dysfunction") is a condition that exists when sensory signals don't get organized into appropriate responses. Pioneering occupational therapist and neuroscientist A. Jean Ayres, PhD, likened SPD to a neurological "traffic jam" that prevents certain parts of the brain from receiving the information needed to interpret sensory information correctly. A person with SPD finds it difficult to process and act upon information received through the senses, which creates challenges in performing countless everyday tasks. Motor clumsiness, behavioral problems, anxiety, depression, school failure, and other impacts may result if the disorder is not treated effectively.  

[link their website here ]

 A great description as it pertains to the child-focused autism population. However, I would humbly suggest that the SPD Foundation might add "vocational failure" to their list of challenges in order to be inclusive of our adult autistics out here, who just happen to be grappling with a statistically devastating inability to maintain independence and basic quality of life for ourselves and for many of us, our autistic children.

Sad to say, ASD community, there is no Santa Claus, but we Aspies and Auties who do manage to go to secondary educational institutions, often get married , happily make and have babies, purchase or try to buy homes, make car payments and yes, we screw up our checking accounts, far too often.

My hubby knows about autism related vocational issues, as even with his two master's degrees and a doctorate almost completed, he still hasn't been appreciably employed in over 12 years. 

Well...that is unless you count his brief tenure doing repetitive contract work with the 2010 U.S. Census which lasted less than 10 weeks, or the three months of  'training' with a sales organization that never turned a single paycheck for him. 

________________________________________________________

Warning!!Embedded Message to Governmental Agency: 

Yes, Social Security Administration, we did indeed, submit the paperwork 18-24 months ago, for all that voluminous "income" he earned, thus verifying for your agency that you should continue sending my husband's whopping $687 monthly disability benefits along with the government supplied Medicare/Medicaid insurance coverage that provides a bare modicum of medical service access to him. 

________________________________________________________

Here are some sobering statistics to consider.

According to a National Foundation for Autism Research (NFAR) web article, the California State Senate’s South Counties Autism Regional Taskforce (SCART) reported the following findings:

“While the national unemployment rate is considered high at 9.5%, adults with autism have an astounding 90% unemployment rate,” said Chantal Sicie-Kira, SCART Co-Chair.

Sicie-Kira, said that SCART's objective regarding vocational issues is to inspire other organizations to recognize the benefits of employing such [individuals] as the autism population who are differently-abled.

[article link]

I appreciate their intentions and the fact that their organization gave an award to NFAR for their advocacy. 

But NOBODY, NOWHERE, ever mentions actual programs that get us substantially employed!

Currently, worldwide, there are a total of two, yes...I...said...TWO direct employment programs which intentionally hire autistics for their skills and strengths, on Planet Earth! With that said, going "boldly, where no man has gone before" is starting to look really promising, folks.

Think about it. The U.S. adult autism community's unemployment rate runs annually at over four times Greece's 21.7% for 2012! 

Perhaps the Auties and Aspies among us should riot in the streets and glean worldwide attention for our plight, just like the disgruntled EU citizens on recent CNN reports.

Oh that's right-- we can't because we're trying to adapt and fit into a world that already stigmatizes us from basic employment opportunities. Making a scene would just reinforce most HR departments' concept of us as histrionic, incapable introverts or noisy dullards.  

That's why this 'creatively-unemployed' author/advocate is reporting that the current lack of available employment supports and adaptive workplace opportunities, look strangely more like road-blocks than a simple detour.

Honestly, after 12 years of snoozing in the rest stop, awaiting the next leg of highway to be constructed,  I think we've all been patient for long enough. 

Instead, our lives read like this frightening fairy tale: the wolf is at the door, the house is blowing down and we need to evacuate through the back door begging extended family members to aid us, instead of waiting any longer for promised help to arrive, since it never does.

Don't forget this: the lack of employment and financial viability many adult autistics face negatively impact our access to the supports and services we need for our autistic sons and daughters! We're parents and caregivers, too.

This week, Bruce has yet another vocational rehabilitation appointment coming up. Just as they have done for over a decade, more paperwork will be shuffled through, signed, copied and filed to keep his case open, but we have NO expectation of any referrals, direction or new opportunities. 

It's not the agency's fault, nor his case manager's, but I've been feeling some resentment as I spend my 15-20 un-remunerated-hours-per-week scouring the web landscape for new programs or funding, to create any viable opportunity for us to move into a more secure middle-class-ability to care for our family . 

At least our case manager is still getting paid by the government-funding provided for my husband's vocational assistance appointment. 

BOOK EXCERPT from my upcoming memoir

Shock and Awetism

Oops… fire in the kitchen!

There’s a lot of chemistry that happens in the average kitchen. Ours is particularly intriguing and periodically we graciously provide shelter to altered life-forms in the fridge, concurrently managing some pretty weird science on the stove. Honestly, culinary creativity at our house not only sometimes runs amuck but can occasionally get really dangerous.

________________________________________

I remember my first cooking experiences around junior high. In seventh grade, everybody took one semester of home economics (I never did figure out the economics part) and then one semester of wood shop.

Our ‘home-ec’ teacher absolutely swooned over her pet subjects such as the benefits of knowing how to use cream of tartar to soak and clean electric range parts. With apron strings carefully tied, steel-wool strategically on hand, we practiced removing cooked-on stains to assure a shiny, just-like-new finish on the aluminum burner rings and controls. I remember memorizing how to beat egg whites at just the right temperature to form ‘stiff peaks’, taking tests on how to convert tablespoons into ounces and the difference between dry and liquid measuring cups.

I also learned how to polish silver, bake cakes from Betty Crocker’s box selection, and how to boil an egg. Some weeks later I was assigned homework-- a new recipe for little appetizers made with smoky links and crescent rolls. When I unveiled this genius confection at the family dinner table, my parents dubbed my cooking skills a complete success. Thus encouraged, I gradually made my way through cherry supreme cookies, and later home-made loaves of bread.

This was all very practical science, and I could relate fairly well to the processes we were studying. Alas, the semester ended too early for me because I was stuck with the limited repertoire that I possessed-- those smoky links and cherry supreme cookies certainly didn’t comprise a well-balanced diet for my future domestic dependents!

In my later teen years, my dorm-food and domestic survival skills (translate ‘anti-cafeteria guerilla warfare’) though impressive, were not applicable to anyone other than the adolescent anorexic/bulimic pals that counseled me...   read rest of chapter