This forced acceptance of “gender fluidity” has reached a point of lunacy now where it can no longer be ignored. While no one will convince me a person wanting to exchange his genitals is “normal”, if such a person is an adult and can find a doctor willing to indulge instead of treat him, fine. I have no interest in involving myself in that mess as long as my tax dollars aren’t funding it. Where I do involve myself, and indeed where we should all be getting involved, is when we’re seeing this nonsense affecting our children.

It’s happening all over; parents with a clear agenda they’ve pushed on minds too young to comprehend what’s happening claim their “transgender” children are entitled to use the restrooms and belong to the sports teams of the gender they “identify” with instead of the one they actually are. The latest state to promote the acceptance of boys using the little girls’ room because they say they “identify as female” is California.

Proponents claim this is about “rights” and “tolerance”, yet their definition of these concepts is so flawed, so narrow, that it would be laughable were it not so dangerous. My daughter has the right to walk into a ladies room secure in the knowledge there will be no boys in there, even if these boys like to wear dresses and curse their penises. My son has the right to use a locker room without worrying there’s a girl in there watching him undress, even if that girl says she wishes she had matching equipment. Kids who’ve been coached by adults with an agenda to believe they’re “transgendered” no more have the right to claim exclusivity with the opposite gender than I do to claim I’m the president and expect to take up residence in the White House. Saying something is so doesn’t make it true. A boy announcing he’s a girl doesn’t make it so.

The potential for abuse here is so obvious, even a leftist could see it. How many teenage boys will “identify as girls” in order to be free as they please to waltz into the girls’ locker room where girls are changing clothes, showering, and using the bathroom? How many girls will do the same? The simple fact is, these children – regardless of whether their gender confusion is legitimate – have no concept of the magnitude of identifying as “transgendered” and instead of encouraging it, parents should be stepping in and getting these children the help they need, not forcing everyone else’s kids to be placed in unacceptable situations.

I often say that I find a new reason every single day my children will never set foot in public school. This is certainly one of those reasons. While my kids are not subjected to this far left nonsense, I still get to fund it with my tax dollars in addition to the fortune I shell out in private school tuition. This is wrong. If I’m old enough to remember the days when “gender fluidity” wasn’t mainstream, I’m definitely old enough to remember when education was about reading, writing, history, and critical thinking and not a social experiment. We’ve abandoned that now in favor of this slouch toward Gomorrah. Enough is enough.

Melissa Harris-Perry, a host for a weekend show on scarcely watched MSNBC, was taped in a “lean forward” (euphemism for “lean more left”) promo for the network, said that children don’t belong to their families they belong to the collective.

The host declared, “We have never invested as much in public education as we should have because we’ve always had kind of a private notion of children. Your kid is yours and totally your responsibility. We haven’t had a very collective notion of these are our children. So part of it is we have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents or kids belong to their families and recognize that kids belong to whole communities.”

The context seems innocuous enough; continue to engage in insanity (doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results) by throwing more money toward education. The answer to our educational inadequacies and failings is always more funding, to some. Heaven forbid that we should consider using what resources we have more efficiently and effectively, and focus on teaching content that increases academic performance, instead of all the social engineering, and politically correct indoctrination that is so pervasively “taught” in our public schools.

Some don’t even think her terminology, referring to collective ownership of our kids, in the promo is controversial. The New York Times, and other media and extremist organizations have leapt to her defense. What should not be lost on us is that such entities are ideological compatriots to the host, and are firmly predisposed to the collectivist ideals of the left.

I’m sure the folks over at NAMBLA would rejoice over such a concept of collectivist ownership of our kids! And what about all those unborn children that are never given a chance to take their first breath? Should that not likewise be a grave concern to the collective?

In free societies, as America was originally founded to be, private property ownership is sacrosanct. The second line in our Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” The Lockean Creed, upon which that statement is based, equates private property with pursuit of happiness.

While children are not considered property, and are not “owned,” the responsibility for rearing, teaching, and nurturing them is a private one, owned by the parents who brought them into the world. For those who lack the temporal means to support those children, there are safety nets that allow for community support of such disadvantaged children. Even that, however, does not diminish or transfer the very personal and private responsibility of rearing children to the state, or to the collective.

If all of this sounds familiar, it should. Last year in the midst of the presidential campaign Team Obama posted a slide show on the campaign website, with much fanfare, about the Life of Julia. It revealed the Obama Team dream of governmental (in this context, euphemism for “the collective”) involvement at every stage of life, from birth to death, and how the government would be the nurturing parental surrogate through each stage.

Karl Marx said, “The theory of Communism may be summed up in one sentence: Abolish all private property.” Ms. Harris-Perry mirrors this sentiment: the children are not ours, they belong to the collective, and we need to abolish the notion that they are ours. Marx also said, “Anyone who knows anything of history knows that great social changes are impossible without feminine upheaval. Social progress can be measured exactly by the social position of the fair sex, the ugly ones included.” The MSNBC host would make Marx proud.

Who has the right to dictate how a child is to be reared? Certainly not the “collective,” and certainly not the government. It’s a private parental, and familial matter. Or at least it should be. The more government encroaches into health care management, social-engineering dictates, and redefinition of fundamental roles in society, the less control parents have over something as fundamental as the rearing of their children.

It is not just the economic aspects of socialistic and fascistic collectivism that must be resisted and repulsed, but perhaps even more significantly, the social and cultural collectivist agenda must be rejected. We have to recognize this steady encroachment for what it is, and that it is clearly antithetical to a free America.

AP award winning columnist Richard Larsen is President of Larsen Financial, a brokerage and financial planning firm in Pocatello, Idaho, and is a graduate of Idaho State University with degrees in Political Science and History and former member of the Idaho State Journal Editorial Board.  He can be reached at rlarsenen@cableone.net.

YouTube Description:

On March 23, my colleague Mark Finkelstein noted how MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry considers the unborn child a “thing” which takes a “lot of money” to “turn into a human,” costing thousands of dollars to care for each year of his/her life. Now it appears that Harris-Perry thinks that, after they’re born, children fundamentally belong to the state.

Narrating a new MSNBC “Lean Forward” spot, the Tulane professor laments that we in America “haven’t had a very collective notion that these are our children.” “[W]e have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents or kids belong to their families, and recognize that kids belong to their communities,” Harris-Perry argued.

“Once it’s everybody’s responsibility and not just the households, then we start making better investments.” By “investments,” of course, Harris-Perry means things like spending “as much in public education as we should have.”

Of course, if as Harris-Perry holds,”[t]he cost to raise a child [is] $10,000 a year up to $20,000 a year,” and if children should be viewed as collectively “owned” by “society,” then taken to its logical extension, a woman’s choices about having a child should be informed by the economic considerations of the “community,” would it not? But of course, that logic would take someone to justify, for example, the “one-child” policy in Communist China.

What’s more, the notion of collective responsibility for children was a philosophy that undergirded the Cultural Revolution in Communist China under Chairman Mao. I bring that up because, as you may recall, another Harris-Perry “Lean Forward” spot contains a reference to a “great leap forward,” which calls to mind the disastrous agricultural reform plan which starved millions of Chinese to death in the 1950s.

Just in time for Election Day, one Obama PAC is promoting a frightening new ad about the state of our country.  Using fear and children this ad is meant to remind voters that only the Democrats know the true path for a better future. What better way to reach the hearts of voters than through sad little voices of children especially filmed in heart wrenching black and white?

From the song, “Find a park that is still open
And take a breath of poison air”

From Carla Marinucci’s blog at the San Francisco Chronicle: The award-winning ad team that brought you “Got Milk?” and some of America’s most iconic ads have created a touching, memorable — and, yes, slightly terrifying — new spot that stars America’s children. Just in time for Election Day, it’s selling a striking message — about the country’s future.

Another verse, “The Earth is cracked
Big Bird is sacked
And the atmosphere is frying”

The Blaze: The ad is the brainchild of Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein, of the San Francisco-based Goodby Silverstein & Partners, for their Future Children Project. The Future Children Project states on its website, “Re-electing President Obama is a momentous decision that will require every single voter. What would the children of the future say if we let them down this November?”

No one can argue that this is a major propaganda ad. Little children reminding their parents that if they don’t vote for Obama again it will be their fault that the world is all messed up.

 And yes, if you don’t vote right, “You did your best
You failed the test

Mom and Dad
We’re blaming you!”

While unsaid, it’s obvious that the mean old Republicans are destroying the earth through its love of big business; intolerant and willing to let people die; unwilling to spend money for roads and schools…  Yes, in short, the GOP is inflexible and wants the children to suffer…  It’s the Democratic Party platform put to music.

You can watch the song; the lyrics are provided below just for fun.

The Future Children Project from FutureChildrenProject on Vimeo.

Imagine an America
Where strip mines are fun and free
Where gays can be fixed
And sick people just die
And oil fills the sea

We don’t have to pay for freeways!
Our schools are good enough
Give us endless wars
On foreign shores
And lots of Chinese stuff

We’re the children of the future
American through and through
But something happened to our country
And we’re kinda blaming you

We haven’t killed all the polar bears
But it’s not for lack of trying
The Earth is cracked
Big Bird is sacked
And the atmosphere is frying

Congress went home early
They did their best we know
You can’t cut spending
With elections pending
Unless it’s welfare dough

We’re the children of the future
American through and through
But something happened to our country
And we’re kinda blaming you

Find a park that is still open
And take a breath of poison air
They foreclosed your place
To build a weapon in space
But you can write off your au pair

It’s a little awkward to tell you
But you left us holding the bag
When we look around
The place is all dumbed down
And the long term’s kind of a drag

We’re the children of the future
American through and through
But something happened to our country
And yeah, we’re blaming you

You did your best
You failed the test

Mom and Dad
We’re blaming you!

In post WWII America, before “progressives” changed immigration laws to reduce immigration from Europe and accelerate immigration from third world countries, people were able to leave their home’s doors unlocked at night.  Keys could be left in the ignition with the doors unlocked and nobody would steal the car parked in front of the house. Getting divorced, having children out of wedlock, being dependent on welfare or food stamps, committing crimes, all brought shame to the individual and to the family.  The nation shared values based on a common heritage of European Christian beliefs.

At school, following a morning prayer children began each day by saying the pledge of allegiance.  Nobody was offended by saying either the prayer or the pledge.  Since their ancestors came to America because they loved America and wanted to be Americans, the children saw themselves as Americans, not Irish-Americans, or Polish-Americans or Belgian-Americans.

Kids knew that if they didn’t study they might fail, and if they failed they wouldn’t graduate.  When they played sports they kept score.  The better team won and only the best team earned the trophy.  They were familiar with concepts like good and evil, right and wrong, truth and lies, honor and dishonor, fairness and cheating, winners and losers.  They were expected to meet societal standards of performance and behavior.  They learned the difference between achievement and failure.  If they failed, they were encouraged to pick themselves up and try again.  Failure was not a disgrace.  It was simply a part of life people faced when they took risks and dared to achieve.

When they got home from school, Mom was waiting for them.  Her job was to run the home and play a big role in raising the kids.  She didn’t need to work outside the home.  Dad made enough money to support the family financially.  Both parents contributed to raising the kids and passing along the family values they once learned.  Latch key kids were the exception, not the rule.

Piece by piece, “progressives” began chipping away at this foundation of American society.

They eroded family values through Women’s Lib.  According to the “progressive” doctrine, if you were a stay at home Mom you were not “good enough”.  In order to be “equal” to a man, a woman must behave like a man and compete with men outside the home.  Once Mom left to compete for Dad’s job, when the kids got home from school nobody was there.

Great Society “progressive” programs further eroded the family and family values.  The more out of wedlock children they had, the more welfare paid unmarried mothers.  Instead of being a source of shame, having children out of wedlock became a source of money.  Failure to perpetuate the traditional two parent family and family values was rewarded by big government “progressive” spending.  Eventually, with help from Hollywood “progressive” propaganda, single motherhood became a cause for celebration, a badge of honor.  Fathers became unknown commodities to their own children.  Many kids were left to grow up instead of being raised.  The single mothers who did work hard to raise their kids were outnumbered and incapable of teaching their children the male perspective.  A mother cannot teach a boy how to be a man any more than a father can teach a girl how to be a woman.  The value of raising children in a two parent home is incalculable.

Thanks to “progressive” social engineering, flash mobs now feel entitled to invade a Wal-Mart in Jacksonville FL and take what they want:

http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-07-17/story/saturday-night-flash-mob-takes-over-jacksonville-wal-mart

Or in Troutdale OR:

http://www.kgw.com/news/Flash-mob-targets-Troutdale-Albertsons-store-159463245.html

What happened to the concepts of right and wrong, good and evil?  They are lost when there is no family to teach those values.  Yet “progressives” continue to cling to the idea that “it takes a village” to raise a child.  It looks like the village is doing a poor job.  Much as when a friend’s cold is brought home from school and introduced into the family, the “progressive” infection has spread through the family into society.

Now, “progressivism” has reached the highest levels of American government and threatens to destroy America’s exceptional ability to safeguard the individual’s God given Rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Abortion runs rampant; big brother government flies spy drones over private property and frisks innocent airline passengers while “progressive” taxation and draconian regulations impede the pursuit of happiness.

It has reached the point where the current Oval Office occupant is telling business owners they owe their business success to government built infrastructure.  If two individuals start competing businesses across the street from each another and one succeeds while one fails, it is impossible for the government built infrastructure to have been a contributing variable, much less the deciding factor.  The business that fails doesn’t pay higher tax rates, but the one that succeeds does.  To Americans taught common sense family values, that is what’s known as punishing success.

Since the failure of his policies preclude showcasing them as a reason to choose him for a second term, the “progressive” Democratic candidate for president of the United States has pinned his re-election chances to defining his GOP opponent as an out of touch with the middle class rich guy.   His campaign blames former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for the 2001 closure of GST Steel.   The truth is, Romney left Bain Capital in 1999 to save the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games and Jonathan Lavine was in charge of Bain during those GST layoffs.  Jonathan Lavine is bundling between $100,000 and $200,000 in contributions for the 2012 Obama Victory Fund.

It seems that the latch key kid from Hawaii by way of Chicago is unfamiliar with the concepts of good and evil, right and wrong, truth and lies, honor and dishonor, fairness and cheating.  It is obvious that the concept of winners and losers is not lost on someone willing to lie, cheat, steal and kill someone’s good reputation for the sake of winning.

This sort of winning through character assassination is more important than doing the job for which he obviously lusts.  Despite spending $878 billion to “stimulate” the economy, and unemployment remaining stuck at over 8% since he took office, his jobs council has not met in six months.

Not only has his Energy Department squandered billions of taxpayer dollars on failed “green” energy companies run by his political cronies, they are now unable to locate $500,000 in equipment that was paid for by some of that “stimulus” money.

While bludgeoning Romney with unproven allegations of “outsourcing” jobs overseas and championing his own “insourcing” by “saving GM” (note: George W. Bush loaned the money to GM in 2008), it somehow never gets mentioned that the heralded Chevy Volt makes no money, and that manufacturing it costs American taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars per car.

And what of the once great city of Detroit, home of GM and onetime center of the automotive world?  Plans to raze empty homes in Detroit are in their final stage.  After decades of “progressive” Democratic rule, Detroit, once a booming crown jewel of American industrial might is bulldozing itself to the ground.

This is how “progressives” roll.  Following their path leads to decay and destruction.  It matters not whether the damage inflicted is on decrepit homes or the cornerstone of civilization, the nuclear family.  It is still a dead end.

http://mjfellright.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/how-progressives-roll/

93% of Americans agree with the traditional liberty parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children.

But these rights are eroding in the United States Courts and under International Law.

The stories will shock you. Parents needs a child’s permission to see the child’s medical records. Parents cannot opt their children out of classes the parents find objectionable – even offensive.

ENUMCLAW, Wash., May 18, 2012 /Christian Newswire/

Charles is bossy, rude, and very proud of his flawless appearance. All that changed when his beautiful golden rim is cracked, and the Others start calling him Chip. As a result, his luxuriant lifestyle drastically transforms, and he finds himself on a dusty shelf in the Mission Thrift Store between a superhero cup and some old plastic cereal bowls. When Friendly Person decides that Chip can help him serve homeless people a cool drink or a hot cup of coffee, Chip finds that no one cares about his damaged rim. He discovers that life is not about beauty or gold; “life is about serving other people — even if you have a nick.”

A poignant story for four- to eight-year-olds, “Charles T. Cup”examines the concept of self-worth, the deception of outward appearance, and the value of service to others that children will understand. Using the setting of the Sunday Breakfast Mission in Wilmington, Delaware, Dalen Keys melds a thoughtful fantasy with real-life situations that teaches a lesson while it entertains.

Watch the trailer:  Click Here

Laughs provided by Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Courtesy of The Blaze, via YouTube Screenshot

The latest “viral” video making the rounds on the internet is of a very fed up father taking out his frustration on his daughter’s computer to teach her a lesson. Not only is it making the rounds online, it is actually being reported on the news. Where I come from, this is not really a news story, it is simply an example of how every action has consequences.

Since when did a father showing his daughter that her actions have consequences become the news? No one was physically hurt, although the ordeal has brought Child Protective Services to their doorstep. After talking with the daughter, and doing a routine investigation, CPS determined that all was safe and sound, and this was indeed just a father trying to teach his daughter a life lesson.

Not only has the video itself gone “viral”, but Tommy Jordan, the father that made the video, has become somewhat of a Facebook celebrity from the incident. The family is now overwhelmed from the media attention they have garnished, and have turned off their phones for the weekend just to get some family time.

So what is it that has made Tommy Jordan’s video go “viral”?

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself the question: Why does a video go viral?

We will take a look at a few examples to see if we can find the answer to that question.

First, let’s start with the definition from the urbanditionary:

1. Short for ‘viral marketing’. An online marketing strategy that encourages people to pass on a marketing message. Amusing and low-budget, a good Internet viral campaign will get surfers forwarding the ad to all of their friends to others, giving the company great word of mouth.

2.  precious, rare, infrequent, one in a million kind.
“continuously duplicating,” and can refer to a biological or computer virus.

Applicable Thesaurus entries: video, Youtube, internet, funny, web, Facebook

Tommy Jordan is not the first, and most certainly will not be the last person who will go viral. While this was not Mr. Jordan’s goal, there is no doubt that there is something unique about his approach.

Let’s look at a completely different case and point. Susan Boyle, the 2009 winner of the reality show Britain’s Got Talent. When asked what her dream was, she simply stated, “to be a professional singer.” She did not say fame, fortune or notoriety. She did not say she wanted to leave a boring life behind. In fact, the somewhat saucy Susan seemed quite content with herself and her life with her cat, Pebbles. She simply wanted to live out her dream- to sing in front of an audience. When asked why her dream had never worked out before, she simply stated that she had never been given the chance before.

As you can see from the above video of Susan Boyle’s first audition, she had absolutely no idea she was going to go viral. She simply was given the chance to live out her lifelong dream. She sang her song and exited stage left. They had to call her back on to the stage to face the judges. In her mind, she had fulfilled her dream and was ready to go home.

Then there is the case of the Evolution of Dance:

Judson Laipply had no clue his nifty stand-up dance routine would go viral. Mr. Laipply is a bit different from the other two examples, because it is safe to assume that though he had no idea how popular it would be, it was his ultimate goal. While Mr. Laipply more than likely thought it would be great to go viral, for Susan Boyle, it’s likely that she never imagined that she would become a household name. In fact, after she became so famous, dealing with the media attention became overwhelming for her, and she had to take a step back from the spotlight.

The last example we will look at is Webcam 101 for Seniors:

There is absolutely no doubt that Bruce and Esther Huffman from McMinnville, Oregon had no intention of going “viral”. It is probably safe to say that this was the absolute last thing on their mind, due to the fact that they had no idea the camera was turned on. They were simply trying to figure out their new webcam. They have since been dubbed “The Happy Huffmans” because of their good natured fun. As someone on YouTube stated:

“You can learn a lot about how to live a good life from this video.”

So let’s go back to the original question we asked ourselves: Why does a video go viral?

Could it be that we, as a society, have become bored with the constant drivel that is called entertainment? We are spoon-fed remakes of classic movies and music on one hand, and complete garbage on the other, so much of the time. When something or someone unique comes along, we devour it like mad! This would be the case in the examples of Susan Boyle and Judson Laipply. They become heroes because they are out of the ordinary.

In the case of “The Happy Huffmans”, could it be that in a day and age where our lives have become inundated with the “latest and greatest” technological gadget, this couple is a welcome change to the fast paced world we live in? They are clueless about the technological world, yet neither of them every get frazzled trying to figure it all out. The Huffman’s become heroes because they remind us to live a good life, treat others well and be happy.

Finally, in the case of Tommy Jordan, could it be that the world CRAVES his old fashioned lifestyle, where actions have consequences and the word “entitled” isn’t even a blip in the dictionary of a teenager? Could it be that so many people would love to do the exact same thing he did (whether it is a computer, cell phone, iPod, or some other gadget or extra-curricular activity), but they are just too scared to actually take action?

Mr. Jordan has stated that he is no hero. But he is. No, not in his eyes, which, quite honestly, makes him all the more a hero. A true hero does not see himself as such. However, Mr. Jordan did what he thought was necessary to get the message across to his daughter that he meant business. That is the essence of a hero.  Mr. Jordan has become a hero because he reminds us that we- the PARENTS- are in control of how we parent our children, not the progressive liberals, the education system, or the government!

As many have stated in the comments on Mr. Jordan’s Facebook wall, one day his daughter will appreciate what he has done! While it is very unlikely that she will appreciate the world-wide attention their family has received from the video, she will most certainly appreciate the fact that her Dad and Mom loved her enough to do whatever necessary to make sure she understands that she has crossed the line. Children need boundaries. There is no doubt that Hannah realizes she crossed a boundary with her actions, and she is now reaping the consequences. A tough lesson learned, but one that will no doubt last a lifetime!

In the day and age we live in, there will be more Tommy Jordan’s. There will be more Susan Boyle’s, Judson Laipply’s, and “Happy Huffman’s”. Their stories will be different, but they will go viral. Those who are just ordinary people, living out ordinary lives, not seeking notoriety will become the heroes in our viral world.

What no one on either side of the political aisle will stop and think about is how the abuses of these systems that were created to help are now hurting the very ones that need it the most.

My husband and I have adopted 5 children from the foster care system. One of the benefits we receive from the state for them is healthcare in the form of Medicaid until they are 18 years of age.

We received our youngest child when he was only 7 weeks old. He was born addicted to cocaine, and when he came to us, he was still experiencing withdrawal tremors from the drug he was born addicted to. This is one of the most excruciatingly painful things I have ever experienced in my life! I felt so helpless, just wanting to make the pain go away for him!

Thankfully, he stopped having the withdrawal tremors. He is now a healthy, vibrant 3 1/2 year old who is into absolutely everything!

However, about 6 months ago, we began to notice a spot on his spine. It actually began as a bruise, which we originally thought was caused by his tumbling around with his two older brothers.  He may be the youngest, but he thinks he is as big as they are!

Unfortunately, the bruise did not go away. I took him to the doctor, and she told me that bruises of this kind take a very long time to heal. She explained that they are deep, so the healing process and time is much more extensive than a “normal” bruise. Feeling slightly better about things, we went about life, watching and waiting.

However, while the bruise eventually went away, a bump began to appear on his back, in the very same spot. I took him to the doctor yet again. She examined him, and determined that due to the fact that she could move the bump around, there was nothing to be alarmed about. This time, I wasn’t so sure. She told me to keep a watch on it, and if it didn’t go away, bring him back.

Rather than going away, the bump grew bigger. I took him back to the doctor yet again, and finally received a referral to a dermatologist.

Three weeks later, I was finally able to see the dermatologist. Upon examination, he determined that he needed to refer us to a neurologist. I questioned him extensively, and he explained that it could be a number of things, including the possibility of fluid leaking from his spine. This set off alarm bells for me! I tried desperately not to panic, but the thought that this is a real possibility is alarming!

The dermatologist also scheduled an MRI, so the neurologist would have this information at that appointment.

That evening, while discussing everything with my husband, we began to question the length of time it was going to take to get the MRI.  I told him that I would call the doctor’s office back the next day, to see if there was any way we could get the appointment moved up.

Before I had a chance to call, they were calling me to give me the neurologist’s number. I started telling the nurse about my concerns for the length of time we were still going to have to wait. She told me that when she first called to make the MRI appointment, the first available was in March! The doctor was not happy with this, so he personally called back to get an appointment sooner. The nurse assured me that if he had thought it was an absolute emergency, he would have gotten him in immediately! She advised me that if my son complained of his back hurting we simply needed to take him to the emergency room.

We’ve made the necessary arrangements for both appointments- the MRI and the neurology- and were simply waiting.

Then I received a call from the dermatologist office telling me that Medicaid has denied the MRI request! Remember: the children are on Medicaid due to the fact that they were adopted through the state Foster Care System. This is not simply a case of irresponsible parenting on our part.

When the nurse told me that Medicaid had denied the request, I got angry! She said the reason they gave for the denial was because there “was not enough documentation” to warrant an MRI!

Now, if you are not familiar with what an MRI is, WebMD will help explain it:

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a test that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to make pictures of organs and structures inside the body. In many cases MRI gives different information about structures in the body than can be seen with an X-ray, ultrasound, or computed tomography (CT) scan. MRI also may show problems that cannot be seen with other imaging methods.

As a Mama Grizzly, I am watching my little boy like a hawk! At the slightest inkling of increased pain, we have been advised to take our son to the emergency room. Medicaid has denied my son the necessary test to determine what must be done, but rest assured I will not sit idly by! I have made it my life’s goal to fight for these children who start out in life with so much against them! I will not allow these innocent children to pay the price for the actions of those before them!

The sad thing is that this woman is just one example of the many in our country who expect that their decisions should come without responsibilities. The way I look at it, if you can’t provide for them, don’t have them!

Senator Thomas Carper (D)- Delaware

It is not too often that I can actually say I am proud of an elected Government Official. It is even more rare that I am able to say I am proud of a Democrat in office, much less a Democrat Senator.

Today, I am so proud of Senator Thomas Carper, a Democrat Senator from Delaware. He hears the voice of the children!

Tonight, there was an ABC News Exclusive Report with Diane Sawyer, on a report which will be released this Thursday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The report is the findings of a two-year-long investigation of psychiatric medications being prescribed to foster children at an alarming rate.

In the article from ABC News:

The GAO’s report, based on a two-year-long investigation, looked at five states — Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon and Texas. Thousands of foster children were being prescribed psychiatric medications at doses higher than the maximum levels approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in these five states alone. And hundreds of foster children received five or more psychiatric drugs at the same time despite absolutely no evidence supporting the simultaneous use or safety of this number of psychiatric drugs taken together.

One of my dearest friends called me this morning to tell me about the Exclusive Report that would be airing tonight. As I sat watching it, I was hurled back in time to the summer of 2008.

On June 4, 2008, my oldest daughter and son came into our home. When we were going through the paperwork with the caseworker at the actual placement, we were handed a Ziploc bag of  prescriptions. My husband’s job during the process was to find out what each medication was for, because the caseworker had no clue. (This was the second of four caseworkers we would have with these two children in our 13 months before their adoption was finalized.)

We had never heard of the first medication the little girl was on, which was Respiridone (Brand Name: Resperdal). When my husband pulled up the information online, we were appalled to find out that the medication is an antipsychotic medication.

From U.S. National Library of Medicine:

Risperidone (Risperdal) is an antipsychotic medication used to treat mental illnesses including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and irritability associated with autistic disorder. Ropinirole (Requip) is a dopamine agonist used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and Restless Legs Syndrome. It is also used to treat episodes of mania (frenzied, abnormally excited, or irritated mood) or mixed episodes (symptoms of mania and depression that happen together) in adults and in teenagers and children 10 years of age and older with bipolar disorder (manic depressive disorder; a disease that causes episodes of depression, episodes of mania, and other abnormal moods). Risperidone is also used to treat behavior problems such as aggression, self-injury, and sudden mood changes in teenagers and children 5-16 years of age who have autism (a condition that causes repetitive behavior, difficulty interacting with others, and problems with communication). Risperidone is in a class of medications called atypical antipsychotics. It works by changing the activity of certain natural substances in the brain.

Why is this medication prescribed?

Risperidone is used to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia (a mental illness that causes disturbed or unusual thinking, loss of interest in life, and strong or inappropriate emotions) in adults and teenagers 13 years of age and older.

What side effects can this medication cause?

Risperidone may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

• a long list can be found at the link above, I will highlight the ones that are shocking
• dreaming more than usual
• difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
• breastmilk production
• vision problems
• muscle or joint pain
• dry or discolored skin
• difficulty urinatingSome side effects can be serious. If you experience any of the following symptoms or those listed in the IMPORTANT WARNING section or the SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS section, call your doctor immediately:
  • unusual movements of your face or body that you cannot control
  • faintness
  • seizures
  • slow movements or shuffling walk
  • difficulty breathing or swallowing
  • painful erection of the penis that lasts for hours

  Risperidone may cause children to gain more weight than expected and for boys and male adolescents to have an increase in the size of their breasts. Talk to your doctor about the risks of giving this medication to your child.

There is much more information about this drug at the link above, as well as a wealth of information in other articles and websites. My daughter had nothing medically wrong with her that would have precipitated a prescription for an anti-psychotic drug at all, much less one such as Risperdal! It would have been understandable if they had been diagnosed with attention deficit issues, because she showed classic signs of ADHD. However, according to this NY Times article:

But Risperdal is not approved for attention deficit problems, and its risks — which include substantial weight gain, metabolic disorders and muscular tics that can be permanent — are too profound to justify its use in treating such disorders, panel members said.

One thing to keep in mind: my daughter that came to us with a prescription for Risperdal was 6-years-old when she came to us! If you read the information, you will see that the youngest age even mentioned in the “recommendation” is 10-years-old, but in most cases, the youngest recommended age is 13-years-old!

This is such a problem, that in 2010, a Philadelphia lawyer filed a lawsuit on the behalf of 10 families whose children were prescribe Risperidal.

I have been trying to have something done about this problem of foster care children being prescribed medications needlessly for 3 1/2 years now! In my next article, I will tell you things that will blow your mind, in regards to how many people I have talked to and reported this problem to, and nothing has been done!

Thankfully, Senator Carper from Delaware was appalled when he read the the GAO report, stating:

“I was almost despondent to believe that the kids under the age of one, babies under the age of one were receiving this kind of medication.”

Finally, someone in Washington is taking notice of how broken the foster care system is!

Thank you, Senator Carper, for hearing the voice of the children!