Voting for Hillary? Watch this. Not sure? Watch this.

Enough with the email talk. Do you want to feel real emotion and see the real reasons why Hillary Clinton should be our next president? Just watch this video. And if you're moved by it, share it with others. I don't want to write too much about it. Just watch it. I think it's one of the best, most authentic videos of this long campaign season.


Also, view "Reasons Why Deaf People Support Hillary Clinton" (select closed captioning if preferred).


Want to read more and get involved? Follow the Facebook page "Deaf People for Hillary."

Special Hockey Players Brave Cold at NHL Winter Classic

I started 2010 by spending a fun day with young disabled hockey players at the NHL Winter Classic -- the first hockey game ever played at Fenway Park in Boston. The owner of the Boston Bruins, Jeremy Jacobs, personally ensured that youth hockey players would get free tickets to the game, and he was thoughtful to make sure each of the special hockey teams in New England were invited. We had players from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, and this video shows how much fun they had.

Thanks to the Bruins, Mr. Jacobs, the Bruins Foundation, and the NHL's Hockey is for Everyone program for supporting special hockey players, coaches, volunteers, and parents. To learn more about special hockey and the American Special Hockey Association, visit our website, join our Facebook group, or follow us on Twitter.

Special Hockey at NHL Winter Classic from Mark Miller on Vimeo.

Surfing Dog Helps People with Disabilities

This video is 5:14, but if you watch the whole thing, you'll be happy you did. Ricochet was trained to be a service dog, showed promise, but did not make the cut. But she was able to turn her amazing ability to surf into a service to people with disabilities. Just amazing.

On Obama, Athletes, and Insults

I'm writing from Buffalo, N.Y., where I'm coaching in the USA Disabled Hockey Festival. I'm surrounded by athletes whose courage and competitiveness would rival that of most professional athletes. They include teams of athletes who cannot walk, but who leave their wheelchairs to play ice hockey with specially designed sleds. (Imagine "Murderball" on ice.) Other teams are made up of men and women with autism, Down Syndrome, and other developmental disabilities. I just had lunch with Max Maksimyadis, the 2008 USA Disabled Hockey Athlete of the Year, a dominating goalie who doesn't even use a stick. His cerebral palsy allows him to use only one arm, and he chooses to use that arm to catch. (Read his inpiring story.)

So I was disappointed to come across the news about President Obama's insensitive insult to all athletes with challenges on the Tonight Show last night, when he referred to his embarrassing bowling performance -- "it was like Special Olympics or something." Tim Shriver, the head of Special Olympics, credited the president for recognizing his gaffe and apologizing even before his interview on the Tonight Show aired. Maria Shriver, Gov. Schwarzenegger's wife and Tim's sister, said laughing at Special Olympians "hurts millions of people throughout the world."



This story will likely blow over after a while, but it really bothers me. I expect that kind of behavior from people who are insensitive to people with disabilities, not from people who I believe are open-minded and accepting of people who are different from them. Your thoughts?

Palin Does Good -- Really

During the campaign I occasionally (or frequently) criticized Gov. Palin for her past record on many of her key issues. I suspect she will not be a prominent figure in this blog now that she's back in Alaska, but when she (or Sen. McCain) take action related to special needs, I'll weigh in and invite your comments.

And today's one of those times. To her credit, Palin this week unveiled a plan to invest an additional $5 million to support children's health -- including areas like autism screening, Head Start, obesity prevention, a test program of half-day preschool, and expanded insurance under Denali KidCare (which covers low-income children and pregnant women). The proposed increase to Denali KidCare would cover an additional 1,300 children and about 225 pregnant women. Interestingly, last year Palin opposed an increase in the program despite the fact that the state had a large surplus because of high oil prices.

Today, as the price of oil drops, many Alaska officials worry there may be no additional money for programs like these -- and in fact, some services may need to be cut. Her proposed increases would take effect in the next fiscal year -- at which time a balanced budget would depend on oil prices being $20 higher than the current $40 or so.

If you miss seeing Palin on your TV every day, here's a video of her announcement.

The Secret Life of Fruit Flies

Read "Palin Wants to Help Special Needs Kids By Doing Away With Science." In Palin's recent speech, she mocked research on fruit flies and said that money could be spent on autism research. Turns out, fruit fly research has been instrumental in helping improve our understanding of autism. In fact, research on fruit flies is no more unusual than research on mice and rats. Oops.

On Countdown, Newsweek senior White House correspondent Richard Wolfe called this the "most mindless, ignorant, uninformed comment we've seen from Gov. Palin so far....If you give your first major policy speech of the campaign and make this kind of basic error, you either don't have a scientific advisor or you don't have a speechwriter who knows what they're saying." Watch the video here.

Autistic Author Questions McCain-Palin "Friendliness"

All the way from Australia, Donna Williams, a noted author and lecturer who has autism, asks: "Palin and McCain: Are They Really Autism-Friendly?" She received emails from people urging her to encourage people to vote for McCain-Palin because of Gov. Palin's personal connection with autism and Down Syndrome. Instead, Williams is encouraging people to view this video and "see past the rhetoric."

Obama Video from Primary

Long before Sen. McCain selected Gov. Palin as his VP candidate and started talking about autism and other disabilities, Sen. Obama released this video that outlines his vision for Americans with disabilities.