Why Rick Santorum would have killed my daughter

From Sarah Fister Gale writing for Open Salon:

Next month, my daughter Ella will turn 11-years-old. She’s a beautiful girl, with blond hair and green eyes. She’s an amazing artist, a brilliant writer, and she can do the splits without even warming up.

And if I hadn’t had an amniocentesis, she would have died the day she was born.

Just over 11 years ago, I received a call from my obstetrician’s assistant to let me know that there was an anomaly in my recent blood test. “It’s probably just a testing error,” she assured me.

Read on

Thanks, Luis V and Becky F!

Cool move, World. Let’s hire inspirational models

Above is a page out of a Target flyer that includes child model Ryan, a young six-year-old boy with Downs Syndrome. Ryan has also been featured in Nordstrom’s advertising, which is the second clipping above.

From Ryan’s mom:

The whole process of modeling is an extreme confidance booster for him. He received so much warmth and caring from the Nordstrom crew that he thought they were there just for him! We are honored that Ryan is making the Down Syndrome community proud. He is a beautiful boy inside and out. He makes us better parents, and a better family.

Via the Daily What