From the in-box

John and Jane Roberts at his swearing-in ceremony in 2005 (AP Photo)

-- Doctors have started using the word "epilepsy" in connection with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. , who stayed overnight in a hospital in Maine after experiencing a seizure on Monday. The seizure was similar to one he experienced 14 years ago, according to a court press release.

-- Parents of children with disabilities send a few choice words in response to a recent Wall Street Journal story on special ed -- words like "union thugs" and "overpaid fat-cat administrators."

-- Researchers find a link between pesticide exposure and autism, but caution that it's too early to draw conclusions.

-- Reviewing the new reality series "Flipping Out," Ginia Bellafonte says the show at last sets the record straight on obsessive compulsive disorder.

"For years now, the comic detective series “Monk” has equated O.C.D. with intuitive brilliance. We’ve long required a corrective interpretation, and “Flipping Out” is it. Mr. Lewis isn’t a genius of anything. He’s just a delusional jerk."

-- A growing number of professionals are prescribing a new treatment to patients with depression and anxiety. They call it "bibliotherapy." In lay language, that means: read a self-help book.

"My lovely son, the Hollywood star"

Max Lewis and his mother, Sandy.
Max was featured in "Notes on a Scandal." (Daily Mail photo)

Here's a refreshing first-person article by Sandy Lewis in the (UK) Daily Mail. Sandy's 13-year-old son Max played opposite Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal," recently released on DVD. Sandy documents her personal journey, starting with the emotional story of her son's Down syndrome diagnosis and ending with his successful star turn in Hollywood.

Along the way, Sandy learns to ignore the negative predictions of "professionals" and instead to focus on the many strenths of her son, a gifted performer whose smile can light up a room. She has harsh words for the nurse who counseled her to institutionalize her baby, and for the parents who complained when they found their children shared a classroom with Max. She's looking forward to a bright acting future for Max, who is eagerly seeking roles that are written for "a boy with lots of talent."

Thisislondon.co.uk has another story on Max. Key quote: he likes acting "because I'm brilliant at it." For more information about actors with Down syndrome, go to www.dsiam.org, an online service based in Los Angeles.

The Zeitgeist

Current reporting on the r-word

A regional campaign chairman for Rudy Giuliani has come under fire for using the word “retarded” when referring to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Former South Carolina congressman Arthur Ravenel Jr. referred to the NAACP as the “National Association for Retarded People” at a rally in support of the Confederate flag in the year 2000. The Democratic National Committee has labeled the comment as “racist.”

From the Wall Street Journal:

“Mr. Ravenel said he wasn't sorry about his remarks but didn't mean to give offense to the retarded. He has previously said that he mistakenly transposed the name of the civil-rights organization with an advocacy group for the mentally disabled with which he worked in the past.”

The anecdote is part of a larger WSJ wrapup on the GOP’s political troubles in the South. The DNC has demanded a denunciation from Giuliani. A column from the Greenville, S.C., News is here.
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Celebrity Courtney Love, visiting London, was quoted criticizing the recently enacted British ban on smoking in bars, workplaces and public buildings. From the (UK) Sun.

Said Love: "The only place I can smoke in England is the Houses of Parliament! That's so retarded!"

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Stats, as of July 21, 2007

From Youtube.com
Videos with the keyword “retarded”: 33,900
Videos with the keyword “tard”: 4,420
Videos with the keywords “so retarded”: 518
Number of videos in the top-4-most-viewed that have the word “retarded” in the title: 1

From Urbandictionary.com
Number of synonyms for the word “retarded”: 50
Number of definitions for the word “retarded”: 31
Number of American presidents referenced in definitions of the word “retarded”: 2