That Down Syndrome Girl

There's room for everyone here. The "Family Guy" folks are jackasses and Sarah Palin is one grim wench:

There's been hoo-hah galore this week over "Family Guy's" crass subplot featuring a Down Syndrome character whose mother is the "former governor of Alaska." And predictably, no one's been more vocal than the former Alaska governor and mother of a Down Syndrome child herself, Sarah Palin, who called the episode "a kick in the gut."

But the story took an interesting turn Thursday when the actress who voiced the "Family Guy" character, Andrea Fay Friedman, fired off an email to the New York Times defending the episode. Friedman, who has Down Syndrome, said, "I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor. I thought the line 'I am the daughter of the former governor of Alaska' was very funny. I think the word is 'sarcasm.' In my family we think laughing is good. My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life."

Speaking of senses of humor, as both Gawker and the Palingates blog were quick to point out, the Paper of Record somehow saw fit to excise the kicker from Friedman's missive – "My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes." Boom! Roasted!