I would love for this to all be a hoax. I'd be much happier believing that this was a hoax than believing that all those children are really dead.

However, I have family who live in Newtown. I've been there multiple times. They knew many of the people who died. They go to the same church as one of the families who are burying their kid today. They are absolutely devastated.

If this is a hoax, then none of the families are in on it.

I don't know if my family knows the Parkers, specifically. However, there is plenty of evidence that the Parkers are a real family. Robbie Parker's facebook timeline goes back to 2008. He has nearly 500 friends on facebook. The friends I checked all appear to be real people. One of them is even a mutual friend of one of my friends. Robbie has posted lots of photos of all three of his daughters over the last four years.

The family portrait that everyone has analyzed so carefully was posted in 2010. So, if the girls look different in recent photos, it's because they're two years older.

Emilie Parker really did exist.

If Emilie isn't now dead, then the Parkers must be fooling even their closest friends and family. I will not accuse two complete strangers of such an evil charade.

It is not strange that their friends decided to raise money for the family. Yes, many of the families in Newtown are quite wealthy, but Robbie and Alissa did not grow up there, and they're only in their early 30s. I doubt they've had time to build up much wealth. Plus, they are flying themselves, their two living daughters, and Emilie's remains back to Utah a week before Christmas. That costs money.

It is also not strange that Robbie had to prepare himself before he began his speech. I am not an actor, but I do a fair amount of public speaking. I always have to take a moment to get myself centered before I begin a speech.

If Robbie isn't acting sad enough for you, it's probably because he is able to compartmentalize his emotions to some extent. Someone said upthread that he works in a NICU. If this is true, then he's very likely witnessed babies dying before. He has learned how to temporarily set his emotions aside in such situations so that he can do his job. And he is probably coping with his own personal tragedy in much the same way, because that is the easiest way for him to deal with such a horrible experience.

Again, I would love for all of these children to still be alive. But, if they are, none of their families know it.