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Strollerderby
Miley has come a long way from her Hannah Montana days
We can argue until we’re blue in the face that parents alone should be their kids’ role models. But the reality is that unless your kids live in a bubble, they will likely and inevitably look up to public figures like athletes, politicians, musicians and actors for what they accomplish on the field, in office and on stage and screen — as well as what they do in their free time.
Some in the spotlight do their best to ensure their overall professional message is in line with the wholesome image they project on a daily basis, like, say, Taylor Swift and Daniel Radcliffe. Then there are those don’t seem to care much what others, or kids in particular, must think of them. Perhaps what’s hardest to explain to little ones is when the stars they admire are setting bad examples.
I don’t fault famous people for doing what they do for a living and then ensuring their private lives remain out of the glare of the paparazzi — in fact, I applaud them for that. But the ones who go after our kids’ wallets and then set poor examples by living their lives publicly and poorly is disgraceful.
Take a look at some of at some of the new worst young role models for kids (and no, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Heidi Montag, Tiger Woods, Snooki, Ke$ha, Taylor Momsen and the cast of Teen Mom aren’t on the list — they’re old news):
The mosaic of Trig photos used in the Wonkette post.
I have heard some horrible things uttered in the name of comedy, but one rule of thumb any comedian worth his or her salt understands is that if you are going to mock someone mercilessly, they better deserve it. (One of the reasons why you can say almost anything about Sarah Palin, for example, is because she’s purposely provocative, escalating the culture war by pushing birther buttons and claiming the media manufactured a blood libel against her.) What you can’t do, however, is throw all sense of propriety and decency out the window and write a very lengthy blog post filled with video and images that make fun of her 3-year-old son with Down Syndrome.
Some might say the heartless mockery Wonkette’s Jack Steuf displayed in his recent post “honoring” Trig on his birthday came as a direct result of refound interest in Trig’s parentage. (Proof that karma is real: those fed up with the incessant proliferation of the idea that Obama was not born in the US are once again wondering if Sarah Palin lied about being pregnant with Trig to cover up a Bristol Palin pregnancy.) Regardless, the things Steuf wrote are shocking and unbelievable and certainly have nothing to do with the political discourse. Steuf makes fun of Trig’s Down Syndrome by calling him “the great gentleman scholar” and “the magic intellectually disabled baby prop.” Then he made the biggest mistake of his life: he called Trig “the r word.” Continue reading »
Sarah Palin not looking very pregnant
Was Sarah Palin’s campaign-era pregnancy a hoax? A new academic paper investigating the controversy says evidence points to yes. The rumor, in case you’ve blocked it out, was that Sarah Palin lied about being pregnant with her fifth child, Trig, to cover up her teenage daughter Bristol’s pregnancy. Though the question quickly fell from the public eye, for some (perhaps more for conspiracy theorists than others) it has never really gone away.
I don’t know if Professor Bradford Scharlott of Northern Kentucky University is himself a conspiracy theorist, but he’s certainly a guy with a lot of interest in this story, having written a nearly 30 page paper on the subject.
His research has led him to believe that 1. Sarah Palin is most likely Trig’s grandmother, not his mother and 2. The media really dropped the ball on this one, and we might want to think about why.
Here’s the evidence he cites:
Sarah Palin wants respect for her kids.
OMG, Does Sarah Palin actually have a fair point for once?
Palin told FOX News that she thinks Kathy Griffin is a “50-year-old adult bully” for picking on Palin’s kids. Palin went on to describe Griffin as a “has-been comedienne” (who’s the bully now?), adding, “I would just ask for respect of my children. As (Griffin) had stated on CNN that her New Year’s resolution was to destroy my 16-year-old daughter, that takes it a little bit too far.”
Palin then taunts Griffin, asking her to come up to Alaska. Watch: Continue reading »
Dating after a split can be a good thing for your child.
According to Bonnie Fuller’s gossip website Hollywood Life, Bristol Palin is thrilled that her ex, Levi Johnston, is dating daycare provider Sunny Oglesby. Bristol is quoted as saying, “I have to be happy for Levi’s new relationship because it sounds like his new girlfriend is influencing him to want to actually spend time with Tripp.” Johnston has allegedly not asked to see his son in five months.
Fuller is billing this news as a “HollyShocker!,” and I suppose some people might be surprised to hear that a woman with a child could be happy that her ex is dating someone steadily. I relate to Palin’s elation, though. I can’t say that I was initially thrilled when I found out my ex was seeing someone and it was “getting serious,” especially since my daughter was the one who tipped me off – over the phone while she was visiting her Dad. I shouldn’t have been surprised that my ex had introduced our then 4-year-old to his new “friend” without even mentioning the relationship to me, let alone asking if I thought it was appropriate for them to meet, but I was. I was shocked and dismayed, in fact, especially because his new flame is only 16 years older than my daughter. Continue reading »
Bristol holding her brother, Trig, in 2008.
Recently, Bristol Palin and The Situation teamed up to deliver a PSA encouraging teens to “pause before you play.” (By the way, is it “The” Situation or “the” Situation?) The campaign was implemented by the Candie’s Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to prevent teenage pregnancy. Palin and the Situation, both famous for being themselves—whether while dancing or chasing tail—take two different approaches in avoiding teen pregnancy. And MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann apparently has a problem with Bristol’s involvement in the campaign.
Yesterday, Bristol responded to the dry-witted TV personality. And, I must say, I was surprised by what I read.
My buddy Carolyn Castilla wrote about the Candie’s PSA when it first went down. Since then, several people have taken pop shots at poor Bristol and or her ab-baring counterpart. Most recently it was Olbermann.
The Washington Post rehashed the, um, situation earlier today. Olbermann contends that the last person who should advocate abstinence is a young lady, who, herself, is a teenage mom. “She’s the Candies spokesperson for abstinence?” he asks his viewers sarcastically. “She and her son? Because it’s got to work this time?” Continue reading »
Do you text with your kids?
It is really no secret that Sarah Palin is all over the news, as well as your television no matter how many people want her to drop off the face of the earth, or simply out of the media eye.
Recently the heat has been turned up incredibly with the release of her latest book, and her reality television show featured on TLC. As anyone with common sense knows, reality television shows do not always accurately depict a person, or what takes place in their everyday lives. But as such a high profile person, I am sure Palin had heavy involvement in the editing of her show.
That all being said, the Huffington post took some shots at her parenting skills this week. Essentially blaming the mama grizzly for the shortcomings of her children, especially daughter and nationally known teen mother Bristol.
Joan E. Dowling of the Huffington Post takes a couple digs at Palin’s parenting skills, or lack there of in her recent article called Assessing Palin’s Parenting Skills. The biggest issue that I could see after reading the article, as well as watching her reality television show was the methods of parenting and discipline, and the way her children react to her requests, and rules. Or should I say, don’t react at all. Continue reading »
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