Beauty and the Beast of War (Miss USA is GOPer)

Her name is Shandi and she says she'll use her position as the new Miss USA to explain US involvement in Iraq. After accepting the title at the 52nd annual pageant, the 25-year-old graduate student from Missouri, said: "What needed to be done had to be done." Shandi Finnessey, a Republican and 1.8 metre blonde from St Louis, is an author and wrote a book called The Furrtails, as part of her aim to integrate mentally retarded children into regular classrooms. She has a master's degree in counselling and also plays piano and violin. At a party following the event, Finnessey described her social life as "totally single and looking".

I do not think she has had surgery. I have two reasons for my statement:

1.My sister, the nurse, worked as a plastic surgeon's assistant for many years. She sees no signs of surgery.

2. My nieces, my brother's two daughters, are built like this, although they are shorter. They are like Barbie dolls. (Obviously a gene from the other side of the family.)

I found her to be a very likeable girl when interviewed on Linda Vester's program.

And no, I will not post pictures of my nieces.

I think you and gunny might be misunderstanding the motivation and foundation for the 'egregious' post.

That aside, the LAST place I would choose to place my kids....especially ones with special needs....is in the regular public schools. For example, my wife was once an ASL interpreter, within several districts, for mainstreamed deaf kids. One promising young man whom she was assisting was failing miserably, and very unhappy: he was contemplating dropping out and going to work at a crappy job. Wife talked to Kid's mom and encouraged her to enroll him in a school for deaf...much to the chagrin of the administration: they lost a lot of dough on the transfer...where he would be facilitated by instructors who overcame the same obstacles (roll models), and fellows who could communicate with him on his level. (a lot of inclusion stuff is, ostensibly, for the benefit of the non-disabled students....develop "sensitivity" and such...and not necessarily in the best interest of the disabled child)

Anyway, that almost dropout , last we heard, was matriculating through Rochester Technical Institute or some such....engineer, wife thinks.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Thanks for reminding me that I had a friend in jr high and high school who was deaf. How could I forget Sarah!!! She was very popular and had a lot of friends. She read lips, and could talk, even though she couldn't hear. I'm glad she wasn't segregated into her own little world of deaf people.

Your one anecdote sounds like a person who had emotional problems or something else going on. He obviously didn't like the school he was at - probably had nothing to do with being deaf. Maybe he wasn't popular. But my friend Sarah had no problems integrating into a regular school.

It's a shame you have such a narrow view of people. There is no reason to isolate, segregate, or ostracize people who have disabilities. And deafness is not such a severe disability that they have to be segregated and kept to themselves.

fellows who could communicate with him on his level

What the heck does that mean, "on his level"? He was deaf, not retarded. That just shows the problem you have with it.

(a lot of inclusion stuff is, ostensibly, for the benefit of the non-disabled students....develop "sensitivity" and such...and not necessarily in the best interest of the disabled child)

When I went to school, they didn't have "sensitivity" training - we just accepted people for what they were - disabilities and all. I'm not saying that everybody accepted people with disabilities, but I certainly did. I had no problem with it; still don't. Too bad that you do. The sensitivity programs were created for people exactly like YOU.

On his level meant that there were others generally who could sign at a high level, rather than groping with fingerspelling and basic sign. Another way to look at it would be a foreign language speaker who, for some reason, could not ever learn the language. The isolation is inherent in the circumstance.

There may be no comparison between Sarah and Joe: onset of deafness and type training have a lot to do with the comfort associated with operating in hearing culture.

The entire point was that this kid, Joe, was not learning in the mainstream program. He excelled in the school designed around his needs. Whatever.

As to a narrow view and all that, check out your own mind. You continue to read things of you own into other's writing, or something.

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