A family day at the fair turned into a frightening situation in Florida recently, when mom Sheri Pinkerton found herself dangling from the "Crazy Bus" ride, nearly 40 feet above the crowd ... clinging to her two-year-old daughter. The pair had been exiting the ride when it suddenly started up again, trapping Sheri's leg and lifting them both into the air.

Sheri found herself struggling to hold on, and a group of onlookers below were urging her to let go of the child. So Sheri made a gut-wrenching decision -- the only one she could make -- and let go, forcing her frightened daughter to let go of her shirt in the process. I can't even imagine. Her toddler fell safely into the arms of bystanders, and carnival officials used a ladder to rescue Sheri and other trapped passengers.

I think every mother's instinct would be to hold on for dear life, no matter what. But Sheri had the presence of mind to realize that if they both fell together, it could end badly. It's obvious from this video that she's still struggling with her decision and from the stress of their ordeal. Fair officials think that the incident was caused by the operator forgetting to set the brake, but the ride has been closed while the incident is under investigation.

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Welcome to Red Mom Blue Mom, ParentDish's special coverage of the 2008 Presidential election. Each Tuesday through November 4, columnists Rachel Campos-Duffy (Red Mom) and Ada Calhoun (Blue Mom) will take on issues relevant to parents on both sides of the aisle. You can find past Red Mom/Blue Mom posts here.


Blue Mom: Who owns America's kitchen table?
By Ada Calhoun

When Joe Biden gave his first speech as the vice presidential nominee, he said, "Ladies and gentlemen, your kitchen table is like mine. You sit there at night . . . after you put the kids to bed and you talk . . . about how much you are worried about being able to pay the bills. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that's not a worry John McCain has to worry about. It's a pretty hard experience. He'll have to figure out which of the seven kitchen tables to sit at."

Burn!

McCain's had trouble relating directly to everyday people, especially since Biden joined the Obama ticket. According to OutTheOtherEar, Biden has the lowest net worth of all the senators, and impeccable working-class credibility.

And don't the Republicans know it. According to a September report on Politico, Karl Rove said, "The most important thing for McCain to do is find a way to show a comfort with the kitchen table issues."

Enter Sarah Palin.

Asked on Hugh Hewitt's show, "Have you and your husband, Todd, ever faced tough economic times where you had to sit around a kitchen table and make tough choices?" Palin said,"Todd and I, heck, we're going through that right now even as we speak, which may put me again kind of on the outs of those Washington elite who don't like the idea of just an everyday working class American running for such an office."

At last week's vice presidential debate, Biden and Palin worked hard to out-kitchen-table each other. In the course of the ninety-minute exchange, the phrase "kitchen table" was used five times.

The kitchen table has proved to be an especially powerful metaphor, because what we need at the moment are leaders who embody the pragmatism of a family forced into a tight spot by circumstances who together can figure out a way to get back on track.

We don't really need someone who has been broke, but a little personal fiscal suffering doesn't hurt. As Chris Rock said in a much-watched Larry King episode last week, the candidate who understands the economy best is always "the guy with one house."


Red Mom: Can't solve debt with more debt
By Rachel Campos-Duffy

Besides Texas Congressman Ron Paul, only Governor Sarah Palin is talking plainly and honestly about the role of personal responsibility in this financial crises. During last week's vice-presidential debates she said: "Let's do what our parents told us before we probably even got that first credit card. Don't live outside of our means. We need to make sure that as individuals we're taking personal responsibility through all of this... we have an opportunity to learn a heck of a lot of good lessons through this."

"Kitchen table" issues are front and center this election. Palin's statement resonated strongly with Americans on both sides of the political aisle because she spoke to the heart of the conversations so many of us are having around our own kitchen tables after the kids have gone to bed.

Since the financial crises, my husband and I have recommitted to our budget and canceled a family trip we had planned for the fall. Both of us have October birthdays and we made a pact not to buy each other gifts and to celebrate at home this year. And for the first time ever, I may actually get my Christmas shopping done early because I'm already actively seeking out sales and determined to avoid last minute Christmas impulse purchases.

American families understand that in difficult financial times they cut back. Shouldn't the federal government employ the same kitchen table common sense principals? Unfortunately not. In fact, but for a few conservative Republicans and blue-dog Democrats, our representatives in Washington thought this was a good time to spend more of our money. That's akin to Sean and I deciding that this would be a great time to hire a designer and redecorate. The supposedly do-or-die $700 billion bailout bill included more than $100 billion in additional pork spending and special interest tax breaks. And it's worth noting that the $700 billion loan is actually money we are borrowing from China since our national debt, the cumulative amount the federal government has borrowed and not repaid, is a record $9.5 trillion.

The Democrat-controlled Congress holds the purse strings and government spending is out of control. Our politicians want us to believe that going $700 billion dollars deeper into debt is going to help what is essentially a debt problem. It's like believing you can cure Joe Six-Pack's drinking problem with a case of Sam Adams.

Twenty-four hour Internet access is so common these days that one out of every four workers plan to work during their 2008 vacations, according to a survey conducted by careerbuilder.com, which is an increase of 20 percent over the previous year's results.

Almost one in ten surveyed also said their bosses expect them to check e-mail and/or voice mail while they are away from the office, and 15 percent of workers said they gave up vacation days in 2007 because they were too busy to use them.

Industry and expectations seem to play a big role in workers' desire to stay connected. We all know how important the IT guys is -- and next time you call him because your laptop explodes, be nice. Nearly 19 percent of IT professionals said checking their e-mail and voice mail during vacation is expected, compared to 12 percent of those in the professional and business services sectors.

As a mother of two who works out of the home, my work weeks are just as busy -- if not more so -- than when I hunkered down in my cube at the Huge Multinational Corporation that used to write my paycheck. The rewards of being home while my kids are growing up are more than worth the trade-offs, but the downside is that working at home means I can work pretty much 24/7.

Lately I've found myself checking my e-mail when I could be on the floor playing with my son or daughter. We're traveling this week, and I won't have access to my beloved interwebs for two entire days -- that's 48 hours of unplugged time.

I have to say I'm really looking forward to it. You know things are bad when a 12-hour, two-day road trip with your husband, a 3-year-old and an 8-week old is considered a "vacation."

What about you? Are you over-connected or do yo know when to turn it off?

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When I married the first time, I was quite young and didn't think twice about taking my husband's last name as my own. That's what a woman does when she marries, right? But when I married again nearly 20 years later, I didn't even consider taking my new husband's name. Well, maybe I considered it. But after realizing that he didn't care what I called myself, I knew that I would always and forever be a Maple. What we didn't discuss during those pre-marital negotiations was him taking my last name.

I don't think he would have done it even if I had suggested it, but there are men who would - and do - happily change their last names to that of their wives. There are no real statistics on the subject, but anecdotal evidence suggests that this might even be a trend. And while this trend my seem terribly modern to some, it was actually not uncommon in 14th and 15th century England for men to take their wives' last names if hers was more prominent.

These days, I imagine a man would have a better reason than popularity to exchange the name he was born with for his wife's. Maybe hers is easier to pronounce. Maybe a hyphenated version of both their names would be long and awkward. Or maybe he just likes her name better. I understand why couples want to have the same last name - to show they are united as a family and for the sake of the children. But I see no reason why it must be his last name. Do you?

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We've been hearing a lot about soccer moms and hockey moms in this election, and about how important their voices are. Here at ParentDish, we think we have the inside track on the mom voice, because it's really our voice after all.

This past week, ParentDish columnists Rachel Campos-Duffy (Red Mom) and Ada Calhoun (Blue Mom) appeared on XM Radio's POTUS channel to discuss the Vice Presidential candidates. You can listen to the interview here, and you can read Red Mom Blue Mom at ParentDish every Tuesday through November 4.

And please, don't forget to vote.

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A seven-year-old breaks into the local zoo. Sure, it's an unusual story, but you'd expect to hear that he just wanted to get a closer look at the animals and that his parents were relieved to find him safe and sound.

What happened in Australia this week, however, was far more disturbing. A 7-year-old boy hopped the fence of the Alice Springs Reptile Center in central Australia. He then took a rock and killed several animals, feeding them to the zoo's 440-pound saltwater crocodile, Terry. Not satisfied, he threw several more live animals over the fence to Terry. In all, the reportedly blank-faced boy killed 13 animals worth over $5,000, including a beloved 20-year-old goanna. The zoo's director Rex Neindorf says that the boy was lucky not to be eaten by Terry himself.

Because of his young age, authorities can't press charges, though the zoo plans to sue the boy's parents. "I just want people to learn that they can't let their children go and run amok," said Neindorf. "If we can't put the blame on the child, then someone needs to accept the responsibility." Taking responsibility is important, that's true. But the horrific abuse this boy inflicted on the zoo animals should be a far greater cause for concern for his parents and authorities alike than traditional punishment. Children "run amok" all the time; most don't commit crimes as gruesome as this one.

What do you think?

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A British boy on holiday in Spain suffered a reaction to a supposedly temporary tattoo of TV character Bart Simpson, and now the three-year-old may be facing a lifelong relationship with the sitcom scamp -- doctors said the red, raised outline of the tattoo may cause a permanent scar.

Vinnie England, of Southmead, Bristol, got the tattoo at a street stall in Benidorm, Spain. The two-inch image was supposedly done in henna, a typically temporary, reddish-brown ink that fades within 10 days. Vinnie's tattoo was black, causing speculation that the ink used may have contained the chemical paraphenylenediamine or PPD, most often found in hair dye.



Vinnie's mum, Hayley Shipway, 24, noticed a red ring forming around Bart's outline and took him to see the doctor. The reaction was treated with a steroid cream, but the next day it appeared to be worse. Shipway said the reaction resembled a series of pin pricks, and was red and sore.

The reaction is so severe that Shipway was warned that it may scar.

Shipway expressed her guilt over the incident, saying that she often allowed her son to have stick-on tattoos, and that she never expected he'd have a reaction to the one he got in Spain.

I have a tattoo, but I was over 21 when I decided to mark my body for the rest of my life. This poor kid didn't have a choice. But hey, if he ever decides to join the Navy, he'll be ahead of the game.

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I've heard of towns where, for religious reasons, official Halloween activities are moved up a day if the big day happens to fall on a Sunday. But a town in Massachusetts is pushing trick-or-treating back a day because this year, it falls on a Friday. Now, to me, Halloween on a Friday is about as good as it gets. Because it is a school day, I won't have to listen to "is it time to go yet?" all day long and because the next day isn't a school day, I don't have to worry about bringing my kid down from her sugar high by her 8:30 bedtime.

So, just what do city officials in Oxford, Massachusetts have against Halloween on a Friday? According to Jennie Caissie, chairwoman of the town's Board of Selectmen, the move was prompted by safety concerns. She says that allowing trick-or-treating to occur on a Friday evening would put kids on the streets during "prime time traffic."

I suppose that is a valid concern, but some people think this rescheduling of Halloween is more trick than treat. "Halloween is for the kids and it should be celebrated on Oct. 31. Don't mess with our kids and their holiday," says resident Lorri Shadis.

Police Chief Michael Boss agrees with the decision to move Halloween. "It's safer for kids on Saturday than on Friday. It's only 24 hours. I think if parents address the situation correctly, the kids will be fine. They don't care, as long as they get their candy. Kids don't have to check their calendars to see which night they are free. Besides, their candy will last one day longer."

Disappointing children is one thing, but there is another obvious flaw in this plan. All the towns around Oxford will be celebrating Halloween of Friday as per usual. I suspect there will be lots of kids who talk their parents into driving over to Oxford on Saturday in order to replenish their candy stash. The streets may be safer on a Saturday night, but chances are they are going to be a lot more crowded.

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Who's to blame for the demise of the nuclear family? Why, Bridget Jones, of course.

Wait ... what? A fictional character responsible for breaking up families? That's what David Willetts, who recently spoke at the UK's Conservative party conference thinks, anyway. Calling Bridget a real "phenomenon," he went on to say that more women than ever are finishing university. While that statistic is "fantastic," he went on to say that "even if men want to be the breadwinner ... they are no longer given the opportunity to bring home the bacon, and the evidence is that that is bad for families."

Here I thought I was a part of Generation X, but actually, I'm part of the "Bridget Jones generation" -- educated women who want to have it all, but are crushing the self-esteem of men everywhere and the notion of marriage and family in the process. Give me a break. Willett's attempt to pin the problems of the nuclear family on educated women, using a popular female icon, just shows that he doesn't understand the needs of a modern family or equality issues.

Besides, I don't think I'd call Bridget a feminist, would you? What do you think of Willett's comments?

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Teachers Unions are passing out thousands of Obama buttons and encouraging their members to wear them in school despite being told not to by the Department of Education. While teachers continue to wear their buttons, unions are fighting back on the grounds of free speech.

"It's not teaching kids to vote for Obama; rather, it's showing them the democratic process in action," says a button-wearing Brooklyn social-studies teacher.

In Virginia, the Teachers Union sent its members an e-mail encouraging them to wear "blue" to show support for Barack Obama. The e-mail reads:

"Let's make Obama Blue Day a day of Action! Barack the vote! There are people out there not yet registered. You teach some of them. Others, including our members, remain on the fence!"

To be clear, the e-mail asks that teachers wear blue shirts, not campaign shirts or any shirt containing candidate names or slogans. In response to criticism from both the state Republican Party and school parents, the president of the VEA said:

"The e-mail did not encourage teachers to talk with students about voting for any specific candidate, although it did suggest that teachers can encourage eligible students to register to vote. There is nothing wrong with encouraging students who are 18 years of age or older to register to vote."

As a parent, I am very concerned about this kind of activism in schools. There is a place for political discussions and even spirited debate in the classroom, but any debating and persuading should be between students, not students and teachers. The job of the teacher is to be an impartial moderator who is sensitive to young and impressionable pupils. Unfortunately,I have seen first hand the intimidation and even ridicule that students have endured at the hands of overtly partisan teachers.

Teachers Unions should not use our publicly funded schools or their position of authority for political activism of any kind. Parents, regardless of political affiliation, should be outraged and vigilant.

For more on Rachel Campos-Duffy visit her website at www.rachelcamposduffy.com.

Presidential nominee John McCain allegedly had a date set with actress Jenny McCarthy. The topic of their discussion? Not love but, rather autism, and specifically the link between the condition and the use of thimerosal in the vaccines McCarthy believes cause autism.

McCarthy was eager to meet with McCain after learning he believes there may be a link as well, and apparently flew herself out for a meeting with the Republican senator to try to make autism a major part of the presidential campaign.

According to reports, however, McCain backed out after his flack decided the subject matter was too controversial. Right, like presidential nominees should avoid discussing anything controversial! If they did all they'd end up doing at debates was drinking Yoohoos! Although not attributed anywhere, the post on IMDB claims McCain also bailed after learning there is no hard evidence linking vaccines with thimerosal and autism. Either way, McCain declined to meet with the former Playboy centerfold (huge mistake, dude!) and McCarthy has now set her sites on meeting with Senator Obama.

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I've written before about Katy Perry's song I Kissed A Girl and the general consensus seems to be that it is no big deal. The song is basically about a girl having a few drinks and losing her inhibitions. She kisses another girl at a party and likes it. That's pretty much it. But the song has lots of detractors, including officials at Van High School in North Texas.

Three girls at that school were temporarily relieved of their twirling duties as a consequence for playing that song at a pep rally. School administrators say the girls broke the student code of conduct and will have to sit out two football games and one pep rally as punishment.

One of the girls, Jordan Downey, thinks the school is overreacting. "It's a song," she said. "It's just like any other song." However, Downey admits that prior to the pep rally, school officials suggested that perhaps that song was not the best choice. "They told us that it probably won't be a very good a idea, and then we decided, like, it's not a big deal, we'll just run for it, no one's going to care," she said.

While some parents agree with the school's decision, the twirlers have found allies in the band members. They are wearing stickers that read "no twirlers, no band" and the entire drum line is threatening to boycott the games if the girls aren't allowed to perform.

This story reminds me of my own days as a twirler in school. I once performed a solo at a pep rally to Rick James' Super Freak. That song is way dirtier than I Kissed a Girl and nobody said a word about it. Maybe if James had been singing about a kinky boy instead of a girl, things might not have gone so well.

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The World Health Organization and UNICEF last week urged Asian mothers to return to breastfeeding in the wake of a series of infant deaths caused by melamine-contaminated powdered baby formula in China.

An update issued by WHO states that more than 40,000 children have sought medical attention after eating the formula, and nearly 13,000 more are receiving treatment in hospitals. So far, three deaths have been confirmed.

The organizations stress that breast is best for babies.

According to an article on Rueters.com, "no infant formula contains the perfect combination of proteins, carbohydrates and fats to enhance infant growth and brain development as breast milk does." Breast milk also contains antibodies that protect children against stomach upsets like diarrhea.

Experts say more and more Asian women have turned away from breastfeeding and adopted formula as the preferred food for their children.

However, medical experts warn that, on top of risking their infants' health, mothers in China are also putting themselves at risk by consuming more and more dairy products.

Right now, only 1 percent of the Chinese population is diagnosed with breast cancer, but occurrences of breast cancer-and also osteoporosis- will increase doctors say, if Asians continue to adopt a more Western-style diet.

Breastfeeding advocates advise women to exclusively breastfeed their babies for at least the first six months of their lives.

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When it comes to online schooling, Florida is leading the way. The state already funds two online kindergarten through eighth grade schools as well as one that offers middle and high school courses. Last year, more than 57,000 students took advantage of the opportunity to take some of their classes through the Florida Virtual School, but very few opted to take all of their courses online. But with a new state law going into effect next year, more students will have the option to do just that - beginning in kindergarten.

The new law not only allows Florida school districts to create their own full-time online schools, it requires that they do so by the 2008-2009 school year. "The rest of the country will be watching to see how it goes," said Julie Young, president and chief executive officer of Florida Virtual School and a board member of the North American Council for Online Learning.

Some are concerned about private companies who sell online curriculum profiting from public education dollars and others worry about the financial implications of the law's reference to providing computers and Internet access to students 'when appropriate'. But what would concern me the most is the social impact on a child who never actually spends time in a classroom with other children.

While I do think online classes (as well as home-schooling) can be appropriate for some students some of the time, I have a hard time imagining an entire generation of children who never attend school. A brick-and-mortar school not only provides book-learning, but social learning as well. For many children, the classroom is where they practice and perfect their budding social skills - cooperation with others, listening quietly, following rules, sitting still. What becomes of all of that when the classroom is at home? Would you let your child be an exclusive online learner?

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Welcome to Red Mom Blue Mom, ParentDish's special coverage of the 2008 Presidential election. Each Tuesday through November 4, columnists Rachel Campos-Duffy (Red Mom) and Ada Calhoun (Blue Mom) will take on issues relevant to parents on both sides of the aisle. You can find past Red Mom/Blue Mom posts here.

Red Mom: Stop living a lie!
by Rachel Campos-Duffy

I tried to boycott Oprah after she wouldn't invite Sarah Palin to the show, but I didn't last very long -- only three days, I think. So last week, back to my weekday ritual of watching Oprah while making dinner, I chopped vegetables while financial counselor Suze Orman ripped into a nice, middle-class couple who were in total denial about the state of their finances. Just as I began to wonder if these people would ever recover from this public lashing or venture out in public again, Suze turned, looked right into the camera and directed her words at all the home viewers who may be using credit cards unwisely: "Stop living a lie!" she yelled.

I thought a lot about Suze's words this past week as the nation's financial crisis unfolded. While many American families spent the week revising their budgets and preparing for leaner times, our "leaders" came up with yet another scheme to continue living the lie: a $700 billion tax payer-funded bailout that does nothing to reduce our $9 trillion dollar annual budget deficit. What a joke!

Common-sense Americans know that in government and families, debt is at the heart of this problem. Couple the de-stigmatization of debt with an American sense of entitlement -- "I deserve it!" -- and you start to see how we got here. The one thing the rich, poor, and middle class all have in common is a penchant for charging everything from clothes to family vacations. And on these trips, no one packs the minivan with a cooler anymore. It's drive-thrus and restaurants for America's most pampered generation.

In 1995, the Clinton administration expanded the "Community Reinvestment Act" in its eagerness to offer everyone, even those who couldn't afford it, a piece of the American dream. In exchange for boasting rights to a "more broadly shared prosperity," one of Clinton's favorite claims, the act incentivized high-risk lending practices to minorities and low-income communities.

Of course, I would like everyone to share in the American dream of home ownership, but Clinton's policy essentially offered a lie (they couldn't afford the houses!) and resulted in defaults that are the cause of our current economic woes. And while politicians on both sides of the aisle took campaign money from lending institutions, it was Democrats like Rep. Barney Frank, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, and Chuck Schumer, chair of the Joint Economic Committee, who criticized and voted against Republican legislation, co-sponsored by John McCain, that would have reigned in these dangerous practices.

During last Friday night's first Presidential debate, John McCain suggested a spending freeze on non-essential government expenditures in response to the crisis. He was widely mocked by the Democrats and the press for making this statement. But if American families must cut back and live within their means, why shouldn't we expect the government to do the same?

In a plea for a return to the concept of delayed gratification, Oprah sensibly asked her audience, "Remember lay-away? What ever happened to lay-away?" Indeed, bring back lay-away -- for Main Street, Wall Street and Washington!


Blue Mom: Bailing out the bullies
by Ada Calhoun





My favorite explanation of the U.S. financial crisis comes from Rachel Maddow. This bailout analogy casts Wall Street as a sugared-up child left with buckets of Halloween candy and no adult supervision.

It's perfect, because parenting is, in essence, regulation. How much do you get onto your kid to behave a certain way, and how much do you let him do what he wants? Do you step in and clean up his messes punishment-free, or do you make him reap the consequences of his actions?

There are kids on the playground where I spend a lot of the week whose parents are the disciplinary equivalent of small-government fiscal conservatives.

"You just gotta let it work itself out," they say, shrugging and going back to their Blackberries. "I told him not to snatch toys, but he just doesn't listen."

Meanwhile, their kid is running across the concrete with toy cars in every pocket and four in each hand, leaving a small army of weeping toddlers in his wake.

Of course, sometimes things like that do work themselves out. The preyed-upon kids get tougher and hold on tighter to their Tonka trucks. After a weekend at his old-school, no-nonsense Grandma's, the kid starts sharing. The hands-off parents are vindicated.

But sometimes, things don't work themselves out. Sometimes the kid grows into a sociopathic monster with no friends because he never learned how to be decent.

For the past eight years, the Bush administration has been the worst kind of laissez-faire parent, letting Wall Street and predatory lenders and oil companies and a lot of other grabby kids do whatever they wanted. And things worked fine, until they didn't at all.

Now all the good kids, bruised and battered and toy-less, have to break their piggy banks to help the bullies. The government has to step in -- we have to step in -- and insist on a higher standard of behavior, not just because we love our plastic fire trucks, but because we don't want to support a culture of greed, selfishness and fear.