A friend of mine at the W said the place is swarmed with Todd English questions and reporters. Really NY media? This is a case of two idiots that do not understand anything about PR. STFU and it will go away we will move on to someone else, this is just tragic #toddenglish
@JacobMarx: Damn, I am getting stupid , that did not even factor into my brain. I forgot that to some people all publicity is good publicity #toddenglish
I misread that as "Lindsey Lohan is a whole new drug," and thought to myself, 'I dunno, she's been on the market for a while and nobody's buying these days...' #toddenglish
IMO The Travolta's deep roots in the cult that is Scientology contributed to their sons death. Are they grieving? I am sure they am. But lets remember THEY made up the whole Kawasaki disease and discussed it on various interviews. Jetts blood is on his parents hands.
@ScooterPies: I suspect they were having Jett treated for autism on the sly, but going with the "Kawasaki syndrome" thing in public. I'm not a Travolta fan by any means, but I really doubt the guy would treat his son for one disease even though he knew he had something far different.
If the crew at Gawker had taken some interest in my idea to allow crowd-sourced editing, I'd use that to suggest (behind-the-scenes, where further attention isn't brought to it!) that you change "John Travolta testifies about the day his son dead" to "John Travolta testifies about the day his son died".
@The Lone Scout: I think I phrased it wrong this time. Don't think of it like a wiki, think of it like a "report this typo" button that alerts the editor without making a big fuss of it in the comments.
Yeah, WikiGawker would be terrible and wasn't my idea at all.
@croush1211: Chuck Norris wishes to remind all of you that any notion to change the site's name to Wawker, Texas Strangers, will be met with stony silence and/or roundhouse kicks.
i thought john travolta acknowledged his son's autism in his statement to the police when his son died in January. was he under some kind of obligation to "admit" it to the public? i think children of celebrities are owed a degree of privacy, especially concerning medical conditions. what and whether it is disclosed to the public is the family's decision, not ours.
@sloe-eyed: I know a number of people who do not disclose their kids's autism, including a high level medical publishing exec whose colleagues have no idea. It's an interesting line - if you tell people, you might learn more and find more resources - if you don't, you can do the hard work w/out the world watching you or telling you you're going about it wrong. If youur child is mildly autistic, you might not want that info to hold him back at school and elsewhere. And then there's the insurance debacle. Can't cast stones at the Travolta's who endured 16 years of grieving and sorrow already - and now the final version. Seizures are the devil incarnate. Watch your child seize and you're never quite the same. TF
@TroisFilles: I agree with you that the Travolta's endured 16 years of sorrow but that was mostly self-inflicted. If they had had the courage to go against the near-criminal beliefs of the cult they belong to, they could have accessed so much information that would have made their lives, and most importantly, Jett's life, completely different. The Travolta's wouldn't have been vulnerable to blackmail if they had accepted Jett for who he REALLY was and didn't keep his condition secret.
Their grief is real and I pray that they are able to find peace, somehow. I also hope they break whatever chains Scientology has on them. Scientology was no solace for Jett.
@topsy: I know lots of people who are not scientologists who choose to not share the diagnosis, but they are actively engaged in the child's healthcare for autism. John's brother was involved in autism charities at one point. Not going public doesn't mean not using services, school programs, doctors, etc. It's especially hard for celebs - do you "use" your child for the cause or keep that part of your life private. I don't have the answer. Have a good day, Topsy. Give my regards to Turvy. TF
@TroisFilles: the family might have talked about it extensively with his doctors, school and everyone who was involved in jett's care, but i don't consider that "going public" - it's private information. i just feel that the travoltas had no obligation to let people like you and me know that their son had autism. i think that the family is being portrayed a bit unfairly because the fact is, we have no idea who they have spoken to about his autism so shouldn't accuse.
@Lymed: Agreed, especially someone who you know doesn't have the shoulder of a significant other to lean on...because he gave her walking papers as a birthday present. For all her...whatever, she seems like a nice enough person. I'll wait till she grabs someone's mike at an awards show before trashing her.
@DahlELama: Seriously. I usually derive serious enjoyment from snarking on celebs, but I can't get it up for her lately. It seems like she has been publicly shamed in one way or another over and over again - now her dog gets eaten by a goddamned coyote? Dear Lord. Her love life is starting to mirror mine on the humiliation scale, and therefore, I've developed a whole new respect for her. I was even given the ole heave ho on my birthday this year too. This has also led me to the conclusion that my dog must be tethered to me at all times, although I'm fairly certain there are no coyotes where I live. You never know.
@Banjo-Sea Kitten: We have them in the suburbs of Seattle, so if you have outdoor kitties you don't have them long. We had a cougar recently, and of course there are always cars.
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But since that doesn't exist, I'll post it here.
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Yeah, WikiGawker would be terrible and wasn't my idea at all.
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Their grief is real and I pray that they are able to find peace, somehow. I also hope they break whatever chains Scientology has on them. Scientology was no solace for Jett.
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