From Keith Olbermann's "Countdown:"

This is Sarah Palin's first policy speech and (big surprise) she blows it.  During the speech, she discusses how the McCain "budget freeze" shouldn't be a concern for kids with disabilities or their families...the McCain-Palin ticket will redirect money for "special needs issues" from "special projects" that "don't do the public any good." Her example is "fruit fly research in Paris, France" and she mentions it while looking at the crowd as if she's aghast that such a thing could exist.





The research is being done at the University of North Carolina, which is nowhere near France.  They've discovered through this research that "a certain protein is required for nerve cells to form and function properly." This could provide significant advances in the understanding of autism.

Oops...

Keith Olbermann:  "How could they let Governor Palin go out and mock research that has identified a genetic indicator for autism?  Who is stupid or insensitive enough to let that happen?

Richard Wolf (Newsweek):  "Keith, I'm going to be as restrained and measured as I possibly can about this. But, this is the most mindless, ignorant, uninformed comment that we have seen from Governor Palin so far and there's been a lot of competition for that prize."

So, the McCain-Palin ticket (if they can keep their feet out of their mouths long enough) will be the "champions" of the disabled. Sarah Palin should probably try out that title in Alaska first.

According to the Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education 2006-2011 State Plan:

When an individual needs services, it is often years before he or she begins to receive them. Because there are more individuals than can be served with available funds, the state maintains a list of those who wish to receive services. An added complication is the need for an integrated data management system that can better track the status of individuals on the waitlist, and maintain up-to-date information about their needs. An Ad Hoc Committee on the Waitlist developed a series of recommendations for managing the list. Monitoring the progress toward achieving the recommendations, and participating actively as the system is redesigned will be an important focus of the Council.

The last Developmental Disabilities Waiting Registry Report was done in December 2007. Per that report:

Number of individuals on the list as of 11/15/2007: 943

Number of individuals 22 years old or younger as of 11/15/2007: 719

Number of individuals on the list for 90 days or more: 836

Average length of time for individuals on the Registry: 43 months

The latest estimates say that the Alaska Budget Surplus now equals between $5 and $8 billion.  The estimate for what it would cost to deliver services to those 943 people on the waiting list is $45 million.

So, Governor Palin, if you REALLY want to prove you are ALL ABOUT special needs, come home and write a friggin' check.  Until then, please spare us at least this one huge, steaming pile.  There's a group of 943 mostly-kids (as well as their families) who know you are full of it.