(CNN) -- Seth MacFarlane: Sarah Palin expressed outrage at a Fox television program, created by MacFarlane, for joking about people with Down syndrome and making an apparent reference to her 22-month-old son, Trig, who has the genetic disorder.



The former Alaska governor said on her Facebook page that she was too angry to offer a coherent response, so she had her daughter Bristol release a full statement on the family's behalf.



The Palins directed their criticism at the prime-time Fox cartoon, "Family Guy." In Sunday's episode, a teenaged female character with Down syndrome told another character that "my mom is the former governor of Alaska." A song and dance routine by another character also used language that ridiculed people with disabilities.



According to the show's Web site, "Family Guy" earned an Emmy nomination in 2009 for Outstanding Comedy Series, "only the second animated series in television history to be honored with such distinction." On the show, MacFarlane performs the voices of the father, Peter Griffin, and his 1-year-old son, Stewie, who is, the Fox Web site reports, "a diabolically clever baby whose heterosexuality is hanging by a thread." MacFarlane is also the voice of the intellectually superior family dog.



The Web site Seth McFarlane Unlimited reports that MacFarlane began drawing cartoons at the age of 2 and is the recipient of two honorary degrees. While receiving the one from Harvard in 2006, he delivered the Class Day Speech playing the roles of several of the characters from "Family Guy." He also received a degree in 2007 from his alma mater, the Rhode Island School of Design.



CNN Political Ticker: Palin slams Fox's 'Family Guy'



'Family Guy': About the show



Dalai Lama: The Tibetan spiritual leader is on his way to the United States for a number of speaking engagements and is scheduled to meet with President Obama on Thursday, even though China has warned that such a meeting would harm ties between it and the United States, a White House spokesman said on February 2.



"The president told China's leaders during his trip last year that he would meet with the Dalai Lama, and he intends to do so," Bill Burton told reporters earlier this month. China warned that ties between two of the world's superpowers would be strained if Obama met with the Dalai Lama. "It will seriously undermine the foundation of Sino-U.S. political relations," said Zhu Weiqun, a Communist Party official who is in charge of talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama.



Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of advocating for Tibetan independence from China. In explaining Obama's intention to hold the meeting, Burton said the Dalai Lama "is an internationally respected religious and cultural leader, and the president will meet with him in that capacity." Tibet is technically autonomous from the central Chinese government, but the Dalai Lama and others have said they favor genuine autonomy and resent the slow erosion of their culture amid an influx of Han Chinese, the most numerous ethnic group in China. Zhu said there would be no compromise on China's control of Tibet.



The 14th Dalai Lama was born in July 1935. According to his official biography, the child named Lhamo Dhondup at that time was recognized at the age of 2 as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. He went through years of monastic training and assumed political power in 1950, a year after China's invasion. The Dalai Lama ultimately fled China in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. He lives in exile in the north Indian town of Dharamsala.



CNN: White House says Obama will meet with Dalai Lama



CNN: Discord over Dalai Lama



DalaiLama.com: A brief biography



Jesse Sullivan: The 25-year-old from Petersburg, Illinois, has been living for two weeks at the corner of Florida and North Capitol Avenues in Washington. He's been living there in a tent to show solidarity with Haitian families in crisis, he says, and to remind people that emergency shelter is still sorely needed for victims of the January 12 earthquake.



When CNN
Who is to meet with Dalai Lama despite protests? Who reacts to 'Family Guy' creator? Who is protesting Obama's visit ?
President Obama CNN Political Ticker: Palin slams Fox's China
question: Who is to meet with Dalai Lama despite protests?, answer: President Obama | question: Who reacts to 'Family Guy' creator?, answer: CNN Political Ticker: Palin slams Fox's | question: Who is protesting Obama's visit ?, answer: China