Alan Simpson Calls Seniors "Greediest Generation"

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Carl Jarvis

To: Carl Jarvis

Sent: Monday, November 29, 2010 9:29 PM

Subject: Re: Alan Simpson Calls Seniors "Greediest Generation"

Well, in a broad sense, we are all Americans.  That is if you measure being an American as one who holds citizenship in this nation.  But I contend that there are people who truly care about their country and its people and its future.  These are those I call Americans.  Then there are those who will suck the marrow out of your bones, steal your grandma's gold tooth, sell your daughters into prostitution, march your son off to die for some Lie, cheat you out of all you have worked for and then take it all to some safe haven off shore.  These are the people I call "The Enemy". 

Many of them wave the American flag and sit in the front pews in their church, take care of their own mothers and families.  But they sneer at you and me and have no compassion for our elderly and infirm.  They do not want to provide public education for our children because they believe it is foolish to spend money that should be in their pockets on stupid, worthless idiots.  They see us as cattle.  In their private clubs they talk of ways to use us, to manipulate us, to direct us and to misdirect us.  If, and when that fails, they are now owners of the most powerful military force in human history.  They will crush us if necessary. 

 

And we are fools of the first order if we continue calling them Americans.   

 

Curious Carl

 

More thoughts on, blind man fights to stay in home

 

 

As rehabilitation teachers of older blind and vision impaired people, our most often requested assistance is for personal readers.  This is not a service we provide.  Most service agencies, both public and private, do not provide such services, either. 

Many of our clients cannot afford to pay regular readers.  They rely on volunteers.  No agency wants to take on the liability issues around referring volunteer readers.  When, as often is the case, no close family members are available, people turn to their church or to senior centers or other organizations that they may be connected to.  But we have encountered several tragic situations where a trusted church member has stripped an elderly blind person of nearly every cent they had put away for their retirement. 

Other folks tell us about missing valuables after inviting a volunteer into their home.  Even those agencies providing paid workers, despite careful screening, have had similar experiences. 

Being blind and getting old is not a walk in the park.  No Tra La La La, safe haven for these folks.  I wish we could take all of you along on our visits and introduce you to some of the people and some of the conditions they find themselves in. 

Despite all our best laid plans, Life can turn on anyone.  Think of out living all your close family.  "I never thought I'd be this old", a 100 year old lady told us.  "I was born one block from this very house, grew up, married and raised my three children here.  They are all dead and between them they had only two children, both gone now.  I'm a stranger in my own town.  I don't know anyone."  This lady, nearly totally blind and with a severe hearing loss, lived alone because she had no place to turn.  A fellow had just promised to repair her rotten window frames and had taken $3,000 of her savings.  She's never seen him again. 

There's not room enough to recount all the sad tales here, but I really wish you could just tag along for a few days. 

 

Curious Carl

 

What to Expect When Getting a New TSA Pat-Down

There's a lot of indignat chatter over the new more agressive airport pat downs.  People feel that they're being violated for no good reason.  Seems that there are those who believe Terrorists are just waiting to sneak on board our planes and blow us all to Kingdom Come.  But you gotta keep things in balance.  Remember, there are people out there who believe that Sarah Palin knows all about Russia because she can see it from her back porch. 

There are people who have actually spent time with Big Foot. 

There are many people who have been snatched out of their homes and taken to a space ship where they were sexually violated. 

And there are people who believe that we are being ruled by a Socialist, Nazi, Commie, Left Wing, non-American who plans to become our first Dictator. 

 

Some people are so gullible that they'd believe anything.  I'd continue except I just saw a big white rabbit hurry by looking at his pocket watch.  I want to follow him. 

 

Curious Carl

Alan Simpson Calls Seniors "Greediest Generation"

When is President Obama going to get it through his head?  There are we, the American people and there are, them, the enemies of the American people. 

Alan Simpson  is one of the enemies of the American people. 

When will president Obama wake up to the fact that the enemies of the American people have declared open warfare on the American people and are not willing to discuss compromises.  They have us on the ropes and they know it.  Especially with a president who is afraid or unwilling to lead.  It no longer matters whether president Obama has been misled by his "advisors", or if he is one of the Foxes in the Hen House.  He is now becoming part of the problem. 

 

Curious Carl

 

Original article: blind man fights to stay in home

Blind Man Fights to Stay in His Home:

 

Facing Eviction Because NYCHA Failed to Provide Him with Vital Notices

 

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y., Nov. 23, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today Justin Williams, a blind tenant whose Section 8 rental subsidy was terminated without
proper notice, filed suit in federal court alleging that the termination of his rental subsidy by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) was in violation
of the Americans With Disabilities Act.  Among other things, Mr. Williams claims that when NYCHA terminated his subsidy, it failed to notify him in an
effective manner given that he is blind.

 

NYCHA's failure to notify Mr. Williams of the termination was the culmination of a series of failures to notify him of important information, including
two changes in the location of his NYCHA service center. Mr. Williams' lawsuit claims that NYCHA's policy of mailing only written notices to Section 8
tenants does not reasonably accommodate people with visual impairments, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the
Fair Housing Act, and the New York City Human Rights Law.  He also claims that NYCHA denied him due process of law as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment
of the United States Constitution.

 

"NYCHA is claiming they did not know that Mr. Williams is disabled," said Mr. Williams' attorney, Nancy Goldhill of Staten Island Legal Services. "But he
appeared in person at NYCHA's Staten Island office each year to recertify for his benefits until that office was closed. He came in with his white cane,
and the NYCHA staff, recognizing his disability, helped him complete the necessary paperwork. To claim no one was aware that Mr. Williams is blind is simply
absurd. NYCHA could have easily met its obligation by calling Mr. Williams to notify him that his rental subsidy was in jeopardy, but it failed to accommodate
him in any way."

 

"I don't understand why this is happening," said Mr. Williams. "For 15 years I went to NYCHA's Staten Island office to recertify and they know I am blind.
If my Section 8 voucher isn't restored, I don't know what I'll do or where I will live. I am afraid I will become homeless."

 

When he initially applied for the housing subsidy, Mr. Williams provided NYCHA with information regarding his disability and his receipt of Supplemental
Security Income. Later, when Mr. Williams began to receive Social Security Disability benefits, he provided NYCHA staff with proof of this determination
as well. In failing to provide Mr. Williams with actual notice that his housing subsidy was being terminated, NYCHA violated its duty to make reasonable
accommodations for persons with disabilities.

 

Mr. Williams is seeking the restoration of his Section 8 subsidy as well as an order that NYCHA cease its discriminatory policy by providing equal and meaningful
access to all Section 8 benefits information in formats that are accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired.  Such an order would ensure that
hundreds of others similarly situated to Mr. Williams will not have to go through the ordeal of facing homelessness because they cannot read notices.

 

SOURCE Legal Services NYC

from Sylvie: blind man fights to stay in home

Carl makes a very relevant point.

I think it is important to also remember the very many people who are in the
process of adjusting to disabilities. After all, most people are not
disabled from birth or even as children. Most, including most with visual
impairments, acquire disabilities as adults. And, it takes time for a
process of adjustment, support from friends and/or family (which not
everyone has), and assistance from competent social service organizations. I
have seen adults who were functioning well and responsibly, and contributing
to their communities, suddenly become temporarily disoriented and depressed
because of developing one or more disability. Just telling those people that
they need to take responsibility for themselves, as well as learn to cope
with their disabilities and learn new compensatory skills and get on with
their lives, and build new futures, is both cruel and stupid. Maybe people
who have been disabled since birth or childhood don't understand the trauma
of becoming disabled as an adult, and maybe some people who were able to get
through it and succeed in their own lives don't have compassion for those
who are finding it more difficult than they did, but, they don't have the
right to ignore the problems that the others have. It is unjust and
inhumane.

We are all interdependent. We all need care and love and support as children
and seniors and people who are going through trauma. Even the most
able-bodied need support and help from others. None of us is an island!

As a matter of fact, one of the things I tell students who I am helping to
learn to deal with visual impairment is that they shouldn't be embarrassed
or humiliated to ask for or get assistance from others, because they
certainly have some support and assistance to offer. It isn't a matter of
just accepting help, but of sharing. And I really mean it. There are plenty
of things I can offer my fully sighted neighbors that are important and that
some others can't offer... and we all have things we can give as well as
needing social support and assistance... So, the talk about  responsibility
leaves out the component of our interdependence in a social
world that we are always in the process of creating.

For justice and peace,
Sylvie

----- Original Message -----
From: "Carl Jarvis" <carjar82@gmail.com>
To: <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2010 4:48 PM
Subject: blind man fights to stay in home
Hi Nancy,
Agreed.  Each of us should be responsible for our own self.   Having said
that, let me share a little known secret with you.  There are countless
older men and women living alone, looking and acting quite ordinary, who are
no longer capable of being responsible.
We have worked with hundreds of folks who have lived full, responsible
lives, raising families, holding important jobs, contributing to their
community and caring for their own elders, but who are now unable to manage
their own affairs.
I am speaking of people who spent 70 or 80 years managing their own lives
only to come to a place where they are so confused that they can't recall
who they just spoke to on the phone.  They think they paid their bills, but
can't tell you who they send them to or where the receipts are.  Once simple
tasks become too complex.
But these are usually proud people.  They come from a time when they were
taught to take care of their own needs.  They are not people who ask for
help.  That is a sign of weakness.  That is a sign that they are getting too
old to continue life as they are now living it.
So they cover up.  Until the bottom drops out and suddenly they are being
tossed out of their homes or they are found half starved to death or
suffering from hyperthermia or living in filth, only then are they found
out.
To expect them to take responsibility for their affairs is like asking my
cat to clean his own litter box.
So now we have a group of folks who have lost their mental edge.  And what
do we do?  Why we hand them piles of papers to read, understand, fill out
and return in a timely manner.
Reapplying for Section 8 Housing is no simple matter.  I have watched my
wife do this task for her 84 year old mother.  All of the doctor's payments,
medications, checks, receipts, scribbled notes are crammed into a large
Manilla envelope and handed over to my wife to begin sorting out.  Of course
the first thing we learn is that the packet came two weeks ago and is due
next Thursday.
I ask myself, "What would my mother-in-law do if she did not have a daughter
who checked up on her and helped with the paper work?"
Should we simply say, "You must take responsibility for your affairs."  That
statement assumes that we believe that she can do so.
The truth is that many older people have reached a point where they can not
any longer go it alone.  And yet, many of them have no one to turn to.  So
they just keep muddying along until the roof falls in.
If we are a caring community at all, we must make certain that these people
have the support network they need in order to survive.  This means that we
insist on agencies that have enough understanding and enough staff to
actually take care of their clients.

Curious Carl



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blind man fights to stay in home

 

As rehabilitation teachers of older blind and vision impaired people, our most often requested assistance is for personal readers.  This is not a service we provide.  Most service agencies, both public and private, do not provide such services, either. 

Many of our clients cannot afford to pay regular readers.  They rely on volunteers.  No agency wants to take on the liability issues around referring volunteer readers.  When, as often is the case, no close family members are available, people turn to their church or to senior centers or other organizations that they may be connected to.  But we have encountered several tragic situations where a trusted church member has stripped an elderly blind person of nearly every cent they had put away for their retirement. 

Other folks tell us about missing valuables after inviting a volunteer into their home.  Even those agencies providing paid workers, despite careful screening, have had similar experiences. 

Being blind and getting old is not a walk in the park.  No Tra La La La, safe haven for these folks.  I wish we could take all of you along on our visits and introduce you to some of the people and some of the conditions they find themselves in. 

Despite all our best laid plans, Life can turn on anyone.  Think of out living all your close family.  "I never thought I'd be this old", a 100 year old lady told us.  "I was born one block from this very house, grew up, married and raised my three children here.  They are all dead and between them they had only two children, both gone now.  I'm a stranger in my own town.  I don't know anyone."  This lady, nearly totally blind and with a severe hearing loss, lived alone because she had no place to turn.  A fellow had just promised to repair her rotten window frames and had taken $3,000 of her savings.  She's never seen him again. 

There's not room enough to recount all the sad tales on this list, but I really wish you could just tag along for a few days. 

 

Curious Carl

 

   

Arizona Sheriff Enlists Gun-Toting Celebrities for Racist Agenda

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's style of law enforcement has been ineffective and is leaning toward the establishment of a police state in order to "control" crime.  We seem to forget that his techniques have been tried over and over again throughout history with little in the way of positive results.  Violence begets violence.  Chopping off the hands of beggars who steal a loaf of bread never ended theft.  Bringing runaway slaves to "justice" at the end of a rope, or worse, never ended the growing unrest among enslaved people in the South.  The Romans murdered whole populations, burned their towns and salted the soil.  What ever happened to the Roman Empire? 

Sheriff Joe Arpaio will never bring about peace and security through the use of fear and force.  Unless we believe that we are safe under a police state. 

During the late 40's, 50's and 60's, America's Working Class bustled with plenty of jobs.  The Middle Class prospered and a growing Upper Middle Class took on shape.  Crime was at its lowest during these robust days.  Certainly among the disenfranchised crime flourished.  Desperate people use desperate means to survive.  But with unemployment below 4%, and even shown as low as 2%, city streets, highways, neighborhoods, schools and parks were considered safe. 

There is no easy solution, but we are at across road.  Do we roll up our sleeves and build a healthy society with good jobs and hope for a future?  Or do we arm every Hollywood Hero and Macho Gun Toting Maverick in the hope that they will bring peace to our crumbling land? 

 

Curious Carl

 

Howard Zinn: Hopeful in bad times

Words to hold close to the heart.

Curious Carl

 

"There is a tendency to think that what we see in the present moment we will
continue to see. We forget how often in this century we have been astonished
by extraordinary changes in people's thoughts, by unexpected eruptions of
rebellion against tyrannies by the quick collapse of systems of power that
seemed invincible...



To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on
the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of
compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.



What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our
lives. If we only see the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something.
If we remember those times and places--and there are so many--where people
have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least
the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different
direction."



-- Howard Zinn



Activist, historian, writer

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Fw: Hiding From Reality

 

I remember after WW II, people kept asking, "How could so many Jews just allow themselves to be led into the gas chambers? Why didn't they put up a fight?" 

That question might well be asked today.  "Why do so many Americans allow their money, property, and dignity to be taken from them without putting up a fight?" 

We've gotten real good at describing the problem, but we still can't seem to figure out an answer. 

 

Curious Carl

 

 

Saint Peter has horns?

Whether we keep our eyes and ears open, or whether we pretend to shut the world out, crazy events are whirling all around us. 

I'm pretty certain that none of us can enter a "Make Believe Land".  We've already eaten from the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. 

So the trick is to avoid becoming depressed over that which we have no control. 

In some ways we are merely passengers on this Ship of Fools.  Yet we do have some influence over those family and friends close to us.  How we conduct ourselves, the face we present to our loved ones, may well be a positive influence in their lives. 

Besides, we do what we do and believe what we believe because we know that it is the right thing.  Being true to ourselves is uplifting, not depressing. 

We gather in all of the information that we can because it provides us with deeper understanding and helps uphold what we believe.  It also gives us balance to defend against the overload of misinformation being dumped on us by the corporate media. 

Above all, we must keep an open mind and a lively sense of humor. 

I love Michael Moore and Jim Hightower and others like them. 

If we are going to Hell in a hand basket, I want to be able to laugh over the sight of the likes of George W. Bush trying to figure out why Saint Peter has horns. 

 

Curious Carl

Ve are der super race! continued

Why is it that we can be so smug and wise when we look back in History, but we are so stupid and blind to what is occurring all around us? 

A witch hunt is a witch hunt, is a witch hunt...

When the Second World War ended we Americans went about proclaiming that we would never again allow anyone or any nation to hunt down and exterminate other people as the Germans did to the Jews.  Forgetting what we had done to the American Indian, we stuck out our Christian chests with pride and set out to do good in the world. 

We hardly got past the war when we began to hunt down the Evil Commie's.  But we still held a grudge or two against the Japs and we had begun to not like those Mexican Illegal's, either.  Queers were always fair game, as were uppity Blacks.  We did bully our women, too.  Now we are leveling our aim at anyone who "looks Eastern". 

But thank goodness we learned our lessons from those Dark Days  back in Witch Hunt times. 

 

Curious Carl

 

Vee are der super race!

Our sense of being the Superior, God Chosen People is the underlying characteristic of all Empire Builders.  Ancient Greece and Rome were no different than modern England or America.  Watch China as she flexes her Empire muscles.  Oh yes, the Germans and Japanese fit the mold, too. 

Sad to say, another characteristic of Humans is the inability to learn from our own history. 

 

Curious Carl

 

bad dog! From the Senior Side

Hi Nancy,

I took some liberties with your note and I would like to run it in the WCB Newsline under our column, From the Senior Side. 

The following is my proposal. 

Carl

 

***************

 

From the Senior Side

 

Nancy Kelly-Patnode may be a Senior Citizen and she may have lost considerable eyesight, but Nancy has not lost her desire to be independent.  After receiving training from Peninsula Rehabilitation Services, Nancy went about her full, active life.  Here is a letter she sent us a short time ago. 

 

Hi Carl and Kathy.  Thought I'd tell you what happened to me last Friday after our Jefferson County Council luncheon.  I was walking to QFC like I always do with my trusty cane and all of a sudden a huge boxer dog came up behind me and attacked me, biting me on the upper leg.  I whirled around and started smacking him with my trusty white cane and he came at me from the front snarling and lunging.  I kept smacking him with all my might and finally he decided I was the bitch from hell and took off.  Not one darned person stopped to help me and there were many driving by.  That made me as mad as the dog attack.  I walked on down to the used clothing store close to the corner and asked them to call 911.  I explained what had happened and asked for the animal control to come.  When he got there I explained what had happened and that I was ok.  My pants were wet where the dog had bitten, and it stung but didn't break the skin.  I wasn't scared but boy was I mad.  I never realized that I am a FIGHTER!!!Yea Nancy.  So if you need someone to go with you in a fight,  then I am your woman.  The animal control didn't find the dog so I called (Husband)Pat.  He came right away and then set about trying to get the animal control guy to tell me I can't walk alone anymore.  But he told Pat "No" to that and told me I did a great job and not to worry about how many times I'd smacked the dog because I should use anything I could get my hands on to defend myself.  So Pat and I went on to the grocery store and then drove back and there the dog was.  We drove in the driveway and the dog went after the car too.  The owner came out and I explained what had happened and she said...."he has been doing that a lot lately, and I have a 3 month old baby"..  Then she said,  "He won't even let me catch him".  I told her to get rid of the dog before he hurt the baby and that the animal control was going to come.  Then we called the animal control, told them the address and what the owner had said.  He said"....well the dog has got to go."  I haven't seen it since but boy do I look closely as I go past her house.  The funny part of this is that I never knew I was so tough...guess the weight lifting has paid off and boy am I lucky I am sight impaired and have that wonderful white cane.  Yea.....for all us "Un-handicapped folks". I'm woman, I'm invincible, I'm a fighter and I'll always be independent.  So to the two of you....I thank you very much for the white cane.  I use it with pride.

Nancy

 

Republicans Vote Against Equal Pay for Women-Unanimously

Republicans Vote Against Equal Pay for Women-Unanimously
Senate Republicans don't care about equal pay, privileging small business
over gender equality. The Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have expanded
womens' recourse against wage discrimination, died in the Senate today,
under the oft-invoked guise of protecting small business. Even some
previously pro-equal pay women turned their backs on the bill-Vermont
conservatives Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins both registered "no" votes.
Ironically, the bill failed by just two votes.



The bill would have worked to ensure equal pay for women, giving them more
remedies in the court system for wage discrimination.

The summary of the bill states that it "amends the portion of the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) known as the Equal Pay Act to revise remedies
for, enforcement of, and exceptions to prohibitions against sex
discrimination in the payment of wages."



After Fair Pay was annihilated, Obama released a strong statement expressing
his dismay. "I am deeply disappointed that a minority of Senators have
prevented the Paycheck Fairness Act from finally being brought up for a
debate and receiving a vote," he said. "This bill passed in the House almost
two years ago; today, it had 58 votes to move forward, the support of the
majority of Senate, and the support of the majority of Americans. As we
emerge from one of the worst recessions in history, this bill would ensure
that American women and their families aren't bringing home smaller
paychecks because of discrimination."

Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Women's Law Center, echoed
Obama's sentiments. "In this difficult economy, in which nearly 40 percent
of mothers are primary breadwinners, women shoulder increased responsibility
for supporting their families and cannot afford to have employers
discounting their salaries," she said in a statement. "Among other important
provisions, the law would make it illegal for employers to retaliate against
employees who seek to learn whether they are being paid unfairly."

Republicans' justification for killing the bill was based on the potential
for "excessive litigation against the small business community," aka bosses
who knowingly discriminate against their female employees might actually
have to own up to their actions in a court of law. Meanwhile, women still
earn 77 cents to every dollar a man earns, on average-a statistic that
hasn't changed in decades, and likely won't anytime soon. So thanks for
that, Republicans.

By Julianne Escobedo Shepherd | Sourced from AlterNet

Fw: Republicans Vote Against Equal Pay for Women-Unanimously

Subject: Republicans Vote Against Equal Pay for Women-Unanimously

 

 

In response, a  friend wrote:

"All we can be sure of is that the
wars will continue and that the multi-national corporations and big banks will prosper." 
Actually it's better than that, my dear friend.  Prisons seem to be doing just fine.  And my money, or what's left of it, is on crime.  Crime should be on the upswing, what with police and sheriff departments undergoing mass layoffs. 

Oh yes, another industry on the rise, begging. 

Better stake out your street corner early or it will be grabbed up.  You'll need a small tent and two Pit Bulls to secure your corner when you are off to pee in the gutter or grab a bite from the local garbage bin. 

For exercise you might join in with the Dine and Dash bunch.  But we don't advise that for blind folks. 

 

Curious Carl

 

WHOSE INFORMATION HIGHWAY WILL IT BE

This is a piece I wrote about ten years ago. 

Curious Carl

THE REHABILITATION COUNCIL: WHOSE INFORMATION HIGHWAY WILL IT BE?

By

Carl Jarvis

In theory Mass Transit is the ultimate solution to our traffic woes. But it is only effective if the masses choose

to use it. Otherwise it remains just another pretty theory. The same may be true for the Rehabilitation Council

for the Department of Services for the Blind.

The Rehabilitation Council exists for the purpose of insuring that persons who are blind in the state of

Washington receive the most efficient and effective services possible. It is also the purpose of the Council to

provide direct public and consumer guidance to the Director of Services for the Blind. Also, where

appropriate, to advise or report directly to the Governor, and to make recommendations to the state Legislature

to promote efficient and effective services. And finally, to enhance services, and opportunities and rights of

Washingtonians who are blind by working closely with other state councils, state agencies and state

organizations...

Although the Rehabilitation Council is advisory in nature it has broad duties and responsibilities to assist in

achieving Its purpose. Meeting on a quarterly basis with the Department Director and, in partnership with the

Department, the Council reviews, analyzes, develops, makes recommendations, and agrees to the

Department's state plan, goals and activities, budget requests, permanent rules concerning services for the blind,

and major policies... We will not outline the entire list here, but we do want to underscore one additional

responsibility. The Rehabilitation Council shall prepare and submit an annual report to the Governor and the

Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services Administration on the status of vocational rehabilitation programs.

The report should be made available to the public.

Like mass transit, the Rehabilitation Council is in the moving business, carrying information, recommendations

and concerns back and forth between the public and consumers, Department Director, the Governor, the

Legislature, and the RSA Commissioner.

In theory the Rehabilitation Council should be a free-flowing exchange of information, assisting the Director

and Department in improving the quality of programs and services. Toward this end, the Federal Government

has established requirements ensuring broad public representation on the Council. The members have

been expanded from 10 to a minimum of 16, plus the Department Director serving as an ex officio, non-voting

member.

As the Rehabilitation Council changed and expanded over recent years there has been a growing concern within

the blind community, that this expansion, rather than increasing the flow of information, is having quite the

opposite effect. As new members are sought, representing areas such as labor, business and industry, it becomes

increasingly more difficult to find individuals who are themselves blind, or have knowledge of blind affairs.

Instead of free-flowing information, the Rehabilitation Council must spend a greater portion of its time in

educating its members. In this area the Department does a good job. Program managers and staff present at

each Council meeting providing in-depth looks into their programs and activities, walking members through the

complexities of the state budget and state plan, and exploring innovative/creative plans for future services.

What is missing is a most critical element. Without it the Rehabilitation Council has no ability to fulfill its

purpose. What the Council members are missing is the on-going education about blindness; its culture; its

history; its struggle for equality. Without this backdrop how can the Council possibly determine which services

and programs are most efficient and effective for blind Washingtonians?

Who better to provide this education and training to the Council members than Us, the Organized Blind? It is

we who are living it day by day. It is our history, sharing setbacks and victories. We are the ones who will be

affected by the Department's future policies and programs. And we are the ones who must plan how to provide

this education to the Council members. Through the Council we have direct access to the Director and the

Department.

If there is to be a bright tomorrow for blind people, they need our collective wisdom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are we asking the wrong questions?

Maybe it's time we began asking the question, Why do we continue to fight the wars of the Ruling Class?  Is it because we are so afraid of the Empire Builders muscle?  Or do we actually envy them and hope that we might one day figure out how to join their ranks? 

Whatever it is, we need to get to the bottom of this strange, unnatural behavior. 

And of course it is all tied together with our willingness to allow our Corporate First Class Citizens to rob us of our money, our labor, our health and our dignity.  Is there something in our culture that tells us we must lie down and invite our Masters to walk upon our faces? 

 

Curious Carl

 

soup kitchens serve soup

Subject: Re: Obama's Greatest Betrayal: The Coming Sell-Out to the Super Rich andWhat It Means for the Rest of Us

Why can't Americans get the message?  We do not have a political party representing us any longer.  Period. 

Instead of simply looking at the production, or lack there of, we continue to be wooed by the sweet talk. 

Like we think we can walk into a soup kitchen and order up a full course steak dinner?  Sorry, we got soup.  It comes in two flavors, Democrat and Republican, but it's still the same old slop. 

 

Curious Carl

 

why is it that them what's got, gets?

 

I am an advocate of public education.  Totally funded by our Federal government.  From pre-school through college. 

Furthermore, I would fully fund day care facilities for working parents, including single parents looking for work.  

And here is why. 

If we are to go forward as a nation we need to begin to act like one, rather than a collection of feuding Fiefddoms.  We need a uniform system that will educate each child to their potential.  This includes disabled and blind children, too. 

 If we do not take control of our own government and demand a high standard of education and the funding needed to reach that goal, we are guilty of letting our children and our nation down.  No priority can be higher than that of developing enlightened, educated and well balanced young adults to take up the task of building our future. 

Remember, we are already underwriting the education of the children of the Ruling Class.  Every child deserves that standard of education. 

 

Curious Carl

Paying the Price

 

I have said for years that the Labor Unions missed the mark when they did not expand to organize on a Global basis.  As the corporations began to go world-wide the unions should have followed.  Now we are witnessing the collapse of our Middle Class and of our once strong unions, which were a very central reason we had a strong Middle Class in the first place. 

Curious Carl

 

 

Things Could Be Worse

Capitalism is built upon the Fairy Tale that we can expand forever.  How else can they gobble up more and more, if there is not more and more to gobble? 

Curious Carl

----- Original Message -----

From: ted chittenden

To: Blind Democracy Discussion List

Sent: Sunday, September 12, 2010 4:33 AM

Subject: Re: Things Could Be Worse

As I have said before, we really need to look at creating a stable economy, not an economy of growth. This is what I think the Japanese have done. There is no such thing as unlimited growth, and this is a lesson we've yet to learn. "The sky is the limit" has never been, and will never be, true for any economy.

Ted
---- Mir

Hightower: If You Don't Fight for the Middle Class,Kiss It Good-Bye

Worth reading more than once.

Curious Carl

 

Hightower: If You Don't Fight for the Middle Class, Kiss It Good-Bye
By Jim Hightower, AlterNet
Posted on September 4, 2010, Printed on September 12, 2010
http://www.alternet.org/story/148047/

America's corporate chieftains must love poor people, for they're doing all
they can to create millions more of them.

They're knocking down wages, offshoring everything from manufacturing jobs
to high tech, reducing full-time work to part-time, downsizing our
workplaces, busting unions, cutting health care coverage and canceling
pensions -- while also lobbying in Washington to privatize Social Security,
eliminate job safety protections, restrict unemployment benefits, kill
job-creating programs and increase corporate control of our elections.

It's said that the poor and the rich will always be among us. But nowhere is
it written that the middle-class will always be there. In fact, it is a very
recent creation in our society (and an unavailable dream for most people in
the world). America's great middle class literally arose with the rise of
labor unions and populist political movements in the 1800s, finally
culminating in democratic economic reforms implemented from the 1930s into
the 1960s.

Social Security, wage AND hour laws, collective bargaining rights,
unemployment compensation, the GI Bill, the interstate highway program,
civil rights laws, Medicare, Head Start -- and more -- provided the national
framework necessary to sustain a middle class for the American Majority.

This essential framework was not "given" to us by corporate executives and
politicians -- indeed, they sputtered, spewed and fought every piece of it
tooth and nail. Rather, it came from union-led grassroots movements,
organizing for structural change.

This Labor Day, we see corporate executives and their politicians
relentlessly dismantling that framework, piece by piece -- and we see the
middle class disappearing and poverty rising with each dismantled piece. But
as labor icon Joe Hill said just before he was executed by Utah authorities
for his unionizing activities, "Don't mourn, organize." It's time for
working families to organize again for the revitalization of the middle
class.

Who'll take a stand these days for restoring America's founding ethic of the
common good?

You won't get this leadership from Washington -- and damned sure not from
those in the corporate suites who're ruthlessly pushing an ethic of uncommon
greed, saying to the middle class, "Adios, chumps."

Instead, look to places like Williamson, a town in upstate New York. This is
apple country, home to a sprawling Mott's apple processing plant.
Generations of families have worked at this plant, and there had not been a
labor dispute in over 50 years. But the Mott family is long gone -- and so
is the sense of shared purpose that had unified owners and workers.

In 2008, Mott's became a subsidiary of Dr. Pepper Snapple, a giant Texas
conglomerate that also owns 7Up, Hawaiian Punch and dozens of other brands.
DPS, as it's known, is doing very well, having banked a record profit of
half-a-billion dollars last year. But its honchos apparently missed that
basic kindergarten lesson about sharing. Indeed, the new owners introduced
themselves to the area by eliminating the company's annual summer picnic,
the children's Christmas party and other community-building touches.

Then, this March, DPS bosses abruptly demanded pay cuts averaging about
$3,000 per worker, while also slashing pensions and hiking employee costs
for health care. Why? Because they asserted that Mott's 300 workers were
paid more than others in the area and should simply lower their standard of
living accordingly. This from a corporation that paid its CEO $6.5 million
last year! Adding insult to injury, the plant manager called workers "a
commodity like soybeans" that can easily be replaced. Take the cuts -- or
else, demanded DPS.

The workers chose "else." As we celebrate Labor Day at the beach or at
backyard barbeques, they are on a strike for middle-class survival that's
now in its fourth month.

This is not just about them, but about what kind of country America will be.
If DPS succeeds in knocking down these skilled, experienced, loyal workers,
other profitable corporations will follow. The Mott workers are taking a
courageous stand for the middle class and our country's commitment to
economic justice. To stand with them, go to www.ufcw.org.


Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and
author of the new book, "Swim Against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go
With the Flow." (Wiley, March 2008) He publishes the monthly "Hightower
Lowdown," co-edited by Phillip Frazer.

C 2010 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/148047/

something to worry about

Speaking of open manholes. 

A great fear of mine when I first became totally blind was that I might drop through an open manhole.  I put the question to the first blind rehab teacher I met.  "How do you avoid falling down an open manhole", I asked. 

"Well, first of all", he mused, "How many open manholes have you encountered in your lifetime as a sighted person?" 

"I've seen a few", I offered. 

"And how many of those were just sitting there unattended?" 

I chuckled.  Every open manhole I'd ever seen was shielded by a metal cage and had a worker standing right there keeping an eye on the fellows down below. 

My rehab teacher laughed and said, "I think before you worry about open manholes you'd better start worrying about being struck by a falling star". 

To this day I am very careful when out walking after dark on a clear night.  One never knows when a falling star might drop down. 

 

Curious Carl

 

never question tradition

I'm all for obeying the rules...most of the time. 

But some rules just beg to be challenged. 

For example, when I entered the training program as a newly blind person, the rule was that we left our canes in the Orientation &Mobility class room and trailed the walls with our fingers while inside the building.  Everybody did it including the blind staff.  This was 1965, what we now refer to as the Dark Age.  Well, me and a couple of rascals got our heads together and decided that we would use our canes indoors.  My, my, my.  You would have thought the end of civilization had befallen us.  The blind staff spun about like chickens on a George Foreman rotisserie.  But nowhere in all their official rules and regulations did it say that we could not use our canes in the building.  I figured that after we completed our training and left the program things would revert to "normal" again, but 6 years later when I returned to train in the Business Enterprises Program I was pleasantly surprised to find that all blind students were using their canes.  However, several of the old time blind staff still trailed their way down the halls without canes. 

 

Curious Carl

 

Let's hope it's not Sarah Palin

I never pass up a chance to remind folks that we've been fed a whole lot of Fairy Tales telling us what good, fair people we are and how corrupt our oversized government is. 

I try hard not to get excited over this blather, but my usual laid back approach to the world has been seriously threatened this election. 

I am so sick of being talked down to and lied to by people only half my age and with less than half my IQ. 

What is the score now, 2 billion dollars handed over to the Media to be used in trashing our government and declaring every candidate Evil and Crooked.  With that much money sending a message that our government is untrustworthy and both Democrats and Republicans vowing to block anything the other side wants to do, how long will it be until some Strong Man takes over?  We can only hope that the "strong man" is not Sarah Palin. 

 

Curious Carl

 

It's WCB convention time!

Around noon today we'll point the old Ford truck South toward Vancouver, Washington and join up with our many dear friends from across the state for our annual WCB convention.  Some want to call it a conference.  Okay.  So, let them.  To my way of thinking it's a lot of silliness over nothing. 

Convention, conference, conclave.  Say, do Christians still hold Retreats?  Maybe we should call it the WCB Retreat?  But that sort of hints at running away from the world.  We do pull together and do some regrouping

and a little regroping, if the truth were known. 

Nonetheless, this is that gathering where decisions are made and directions are set which will impact blind people in our state for not only the coming year, but perhaps for years to come.  It's serious business this year.  Our very separate services for the blind may be dismantled.  Our talking book library my be crippled.  Our school for the blind may be under attack.  We already know that the Deaf Blind are in a fight for their lives. 

Frankly I just don't care what folks want to name it, what I am hoping is that in these most critical times we blind folks will bring massive energy to Vancouver and it will cause a "Big Bang" that will be heard and felt across our state. 

 

Curious Carl

Federal Court Upholds Warrantless Use of GPS

Judge Alex Kozinski went right to the crux of the matter.  While lawyers were prancing about blowing smoke and mirrors, Judge Kozinski told it like it is.  We live in a divided nation.  The wealthy are able to take care of themselves while the poor(the vast majority) are vulnerable.  Ask yourself just how many wealthy people are being tracked by the police, using gps devices attached to their vehicles?  How many cops go tippy toeing onto the property of the super rich to spy upon them? 

As the old Abba song goes, "It's a Rich Man's World". 

But we must like it.  We put more of the Bastards back in power. 

 

Curious Carl

 

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: S. Kashdan

To: Blind Democracy List

Sent: Thursday, November 04, 2010 6:29 AM

Subject: Federal Court Upholds Warrantless Use of GPS

COURT WATCH



Warrantless GPS



Federal Court Upholds Warrantless Use of GPS



by Stephen Bergstein



Z Magazine, Volume 23, Number 11November 2010



http://www.zcommunications.org/federal-court-upholds-warrantless-use-of-gps-by-stephen-bergstein



If there is one truism about the Bill of Rights, it's that the 18th century
constitutional framers could not have foreseen the many ways that the Fourth
Amendment and other protections would apply to a changing technological
society two centuries later. Yet the courts continue to apply the
straightforward protection against unreasonable searches and seizures to
sophisticated and even space-age police techniques that have the potential
to open up every facet of our lives to police surveillance.



This puzzle is again playing out around the country, as state and federal
courts are applying the Fourth Amendment to GPS tracking devices secretly
placed on private motor vehicles by police officers without a warrant,
allowing the police to monitor every move of the unwitting motorist. As
courts around the country cannot agree on this issue, the Supreme Court may
have to resolve the following question: Must the police secure a warrant
from a neutral judge before they can attach a GPS to your vehicle? If the
answer is "no," then the police may be allowed to place this device on
anyone's vehicle based on mere suspicion that the motorist is breaking the
law.



The Fourth Amendment is straightforward: "The right of the people to be
secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable
searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue,
but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly
describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be
seized."



While this amendment is more specific than other constitutional provisions,
courts have issued reams of case law in trying to apply the Fourth Amendment
to various factual situations. The Constitution does not always direct the
courts to the right answer. The answer is necessarily devised by judges who
apply their own standards of justice, balancing the rights of individuals
against the needs of the government. This is why courts sometimes see the
same legal issue differently. However, the touchstone of Fourth Amendment
analysis is that the police need a warrant to search those areas in which we
have a "reasonable expectation of privacy." Probable cause is necessary to
secure a warrant.



Court Upholds GPS Surveillance



ZMagNov10-Images/Corbett-BugsRemoved-small



In January 2010, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled in United States v. Pineda-Moreno that the Fourth Amendment allowed
federal agents to enter the defendant's driveway in the middle of the night
to place a GPS underneath his vehicle without a warrant. The officers
conceded that they had entered the "curtilage" of Pineda-Moreno's home,
defined as those portions of a homeowner's property so closely associated
with the home as to be considered part of it. The GPS allowed the officers
to track the precise movements of Pineda-Moreno's vehicle and he was
arrested after it left a suspected marijuana grow site.



If the officers attached this intrusive device without a warrant or any
showing of probable cause, how did the Ninth Circuit uphold the search of
Pineda-Moreno's vehicle, particularly when the government conceded that his
Jeep was parked right outside the home? What about his "reasonable
expectation of privacy"?



The San Francisco-based appeals court, which has jurisdiction over nine
western states, ruled that Pineda-Moreno had no reasonable expectation of
privacy in his driveway because it is a "semi-private area" and he did not
post "no trespassing" signs or erect any gate or other "features that would
prevent someone standing in the street from seeing the entire driveway." The
Court added that it was irrelevant for purposes of this analysis that the
agents entered the property in the middle of the night. It also concluded
that "the undercarriage of a vehicle, as part of its exterior, is not
entitled to a reasonable expectation of privacy."



Summing up its reasoning, the Court of Appeals observed that one of the
investigating agents testified that "an individual going up to the house to
deliver the newspaper or to visit someone would have to go through the
driveway to get to the house." If a neighborhood child had walked up
Pineda-Moreno's driveway and crawled under his Jeep to retrieve a lost ball
or runaway cat, Pineda-Moreno would have no grounds to complain. Thus,
because Pineda-Moreno did not take steps to exclude passersby from his
driveway, he could not claim a reasonable expectation of privacy in it,
regardless of whether a portion of it was located within the curtilage of
his home.



The notion that law enforcement may secretly place GPS tracking devices
under the car parked in a person's driveway without a warrant is certainly
frightening to many Americans, as evidenced by mainstream media and Internet
commentary on the issue after the Ninth Circuit handed down this ruling.
Fortunately, other courts and judges have pushed back against this
intrusion.



Judge Kozinski's Dissent



After the Ninth Circuit decided Pineda-Moreno, the defendant's lawyers asked
the entire court to reconsider the decision, formally known as an en banc
petition. Standing by its ruling, the Court declined that invitation, but
not before five judges issued a dissenting opinion from the denial of en
banc review. Alex Kozinski, a conservative judge appointed by President
Reagan, wrote the blistering dissent. Judge Kozinski accused the three-judge
panel of issuing a "dangerous" opinion that ignores Supreme Court authority
that the curtilage is part of the home for Fourth Amendment purposes. He
further noted that just because strangers may enter the property to deliver
the newspaper or retrieve a lost ball, "there are many parts of a person's
property that are accessible to strangers for limited purposes," including
the mail carrier, the gardener, and "the cable guy." He added that, "to say
that the police may do on your property what urchins might do spells the end
of Fourth Amendment protections for most people's curtilage."



What Judge Kozinski wrote next made him an Internet star for a few days, as
he did what many liberal constitutional scholars have begged federal judges
to do for decades: apply the law in a way that recognizes how it affects
most people. Judge Kozinski noted that, unlike the vast majority of the 60
million people living within the Ninth Circuit's jurisdiction who "will see
their privacy materially diminished by the panel's ruling," the "very rich"
can easily erect structures (such as electric gates, tall fences, and motion
detectors) that make it clear to outsiders that no one is allowed on their
property, including the police.



Judge Kozinski was just getting started. After noting how the panel's
decision protects the rich from intrusive police practices, the conservative
jurist advanced a progressive policy argument that we have rarely seen in
the era of Republican-dominated courts: "There's been much talk about
diversity on the bench, but there's one kind of diversity that doesn't
exist: no truly poor people are appointed as federal judges, or as state
judges for that matter. Judges, regardless of race, ethnicity, or sex, are
selected from the class of people who don't live in trailers or urban
ghettos. The everyday problems of people who live in poverty are not close
to our hearts and minds because that's not how we and our friends live. Yet
poor people are entitled to privacy, even if they can't afford all the
gadgets of the wealthy for ensuring it. Whatever else one may say about
Pineda-Moreno, it's perfectly clear that he did not expect--and certainly
did not consent--to have strangers prowl his property in the middle of the
night and attach electronic tracking devices to the underside of his car. No
one does."



Although four judges signed onto Judge Kozinski's dissenting opinion, the
original decision in Pineda-Moreno remains the law of the Ninth Circuit. In
addition to ruling that the police may place a GPS device underneath the
vehicle in a homeowner's driveway without a warrant, the three-judge panel
also held that the Fourth Amendment does not prohibit the police from
continuously monitoring the vehicle on the highways.



The View Around The Country



Fortunately, Ninth Circuit rulings are not binding on other courts. In
August 2010, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals issued a contrary ruling on the
issue of whether the police may track a motorist over a prolonged period of
time through GPS technology. In United States v. Maynard, the police tracked
the defendant's vehicular movements 24 hours a day over the course of 4
weeks. They did this without a warrant. While the Supreme Court has held
that short-term surveillance through electronic devices like beepers does
not violate the Constitution, the DC Circuit ruled that long-term GPS
tracking interfered with Maynard's reasonable expectation of privacy. Unlike
short-term police tracking--which is no different from any member of the
community briefly tailing the driver--motorists cannot reasonably expect
that the community or the police will observe their movements all day for
months at a time, "including his origin, route, destination, and each place
he stops and how long he stays there."



Writing for the three-judge panel, Judge Douglas Ginsburg reasoned, "the
whole of one's movements is not exposed constructively even though each
individual movement is exposed, because that whole reveals more--sometimes a
good deal more--than does the sum of its parts."



While a single journey may not tell us much about the driver, continuous
surveillance is another matter and it is far more intrusive than short-term
tracking. As Judge Ginsburg explained: "Prolonged surveillance reveals types
of information not revealed by short-term surveillance, such as what a
person does repeatedly, what he does not do, and what he does ensemble.
These types of information can each reveal more about a person than does any
individual trip viewed in isolation. Repeated visits to a church, a gym, a
bar, or a bookie tell a story not told by any single visit, as does one's
not visiting any of these places over the course of a month. The sequence of
a person's movements can reveal still more; a single trip to a
gynecologist's office tells little about a woman, but that trip followed a
few weeks later by a visit to a baby supply store tells a different story. A
person who knows all of another's travels can deduce whether he is a weekly
church goer, a heavy drinker, a regular at the gym, an unfaithful husband,
an outpatient receiving medical treatment, an associate of particular
individuals or political groups--and not just one such fact about a person,
but all such facts."



To the Supreme Court?



Various state courts have also ruled that the warrantless use of a GPS
tracking device violates the search and seizure provisions of their state
Constitutions, including New York, Washington, and Oregon. These divergent
rulings on GPS surveillance will likely send this issue to the Supreme
Court, which often hears cases to resolve conflicting rulings around the
country. If that happens, the Court will have to re-examine its cases
holding that the use of more primitive surveillance technologies did not
have to satisfy Fourth Amendment standards.



One such precedent is United States v. Knotts, where the Supreme Court ruled
in 1983 that, without a warrant, the police could place a beeper in a drum
of chloroform to track the container's movements, allowing them to follow
the vehicle that transported the container through a monitor that received
signals from the beeper. As Justice Lippman of the New York Court of Appeals
recently noted in People v. Weaver, "[a]t first blush, it would appear that
Knotts does not bode well for Mr. Weaver, for in his case, as in Knotts, the
surveillance technology was utilized for the purpose of tracking the
progress of a vehicle over what may be safely supposed to have been
predominantly public roads and, as in Knotts, these movements were at least
in theory exposed to 'anyone who wanted to look'." But, as Justice Lippman
noted, the similarities between a beeper in 1983 and GPS tracking devices in
2009 are superficial. The former was a primitive tool that "functioned
merely as an enhancing adjunct to the surveilling officers' senses; the
officers actively followed the vehicle and used the beeper as a means of
maintaining and regaining actual visual contract with it." It appears the
beeper was used on only one occasion in Knotts.



On the other hand, Justice Lippman observed, GPS provides for sophisticated
and comprehensive surveillance that does not simply enhance human sensory
capacity but, instead, "facilitates a new technological perception of the
world in which the situation of any object may be followed and exhaustively
recorded over, in most cases, a practically unlimited period."



It is difficult to predict how the Supreme Court will view GPS surveillance
under the Fourth Amendment. Constitutional provisions intended to protect
criminal defendants produce seemingly contradictory rulings from the Court,
which is generally divided between four liberals and five conservatives.
Recently, over a convincing dissent by recently-appointed Justice Sotomayor,
the Court undercut the historic Miranda ruling in holding that suspects must
speak up in order to invoke their right to remain silent.



On the other hand, in 2001, the Court ruled in Kyllo v. United States that
the brief use of thermal imaging technology across the street from the
defendant's home to detect heat lamps associated with marijuana cultivation
constituted a "search" under the Fourth Amendment, requiring a warrant. The
Kyllo ruling bodes well for civil liberties advocates: two of the Court's
most prominent conservatives, Justices Scalia and Thomas, voted to strike
down the thermal imaging search.



Stephen Bergstein is a New York attorney who writes on civil rights
decisions (



www.

What's that sucking soound?

Do you hear that giant sucking sound?  It's the American Way of Life being sucked up by the Empire Builders.  For a long time now I have been concerned that we may be tumbling over the brink of no return. 

We are still thinking in terms of Nations, while the Empire Builders are creating an entire new World Order.  In this New World Order nations will look like the old Fiefdoms, serving their Masters needs.  We, the common workers, will not have a say in the World Order.  We will exist as do the cattle and the chickens, to provide nourishment for the Ruling Class. 

But hey!  I could be wrong. 

 

Curious Carl

 

electing a president is like getting married

Hopefully we have learned a thing or two from our lasgt presidential election. 

First, let's hope we've learned that when a politician speaks in generalities that is generally all we'll get. 

Second, and most important, electing a president is like getting married.  You'd better be getting someone you can live with because you ain't going to make them over. 

 

Curious Carl

 

Fw: fact sheet for 2010 Independent Living Older Blind(ILOB)

For many older men and women, significant loss of vision turns their Golden Years into lonely, fearful ones. As people become older and their fading eyesight begins to interfere with their normal activities, they tend to withdraw from their community.  They are fearful of falling, becoming lost or simply looking confused and foolish.  In time they become invisible, isolated and cut off from the very information they need to reestablish themselves. Older blind and visually impaired people need to learn new ways to accomplish routine daily tasks which can enable them to live independent and productive lives, minimizing the need for more costly in-home or nursing home care. Essential skills include:

• Independent living skills—using specialized adaptive devices and techniques for personal and household management.
• Communication skills—using large print, writing guides, and time-telling devices, and using Braille for reading or labeling and making notes.
• Mobility skills—using orientation techniques, long canes, and other mobility tools for safe and independent travel.
• Low-vision therapy—using special low-vision optical and adaptive devices.

 

In Washington State, The Independent Living for Older Blind Program (ILOB) is the only statewide program providing training, counseling, adaptive devices, and information to enable older people with vision loss to maintain or increase independence in their homes and community. The ILOB program, administered by the WA Department of Services for the Blind (DSB), serves people 55 years of age and older whose vision loss is interfering with their normal activities.  

 

In state fiscal year 2010, the ILOB Program assisted 1100 individuals with gaining the confidence and skills to perform tasks such as meal preparation, managing medications, household chores, getting around at home and in the community, reading, writing, banking, recreational and other activities.  In other words, to live full, independent, meaningful lives as they had done prior to vision loss. 63% of those served were at least 80 years of age, with 23% over 90 years old.  87% of ILOB participants lived in a retirement community or in their own home.  With the assistance of the ILOB services all of these individuals were able to remain in the community. The cost for this skills training is about $1,000 per individual.  The major share of this money is Federal dollars with only 10% provided by the state. 

 

Recent state budget cuts have already strained the ILOB Program.  The waiting list for services averages 100 individuals. DSB's projected budget cut for next year is an additional $250,000 state dollars which will also impact receipt of federal funds. This means that DSB will likely have to reduce the number of individuals served in ILOB and reduce the types of services available through the program.

 

According to the American Foundation for the Blind(AFB): 

"Low vision affects more than 6.5 million Americans aged 65 and older. If you have been told by an eye care professional that you are visually impaired in a manner that cannot be corrected with eyeglasses or contact lenses, but you still have some usable vision, you have low vision." Using AFB's figures, Washington State has approximately 135 thousand older adults with low vision. The Washington Council of the Blind(WCB) believes that people with low vision who are 55 years of age and older represent our greatest underserved population. 

 

The WCB Aging and Blindness Committee is looking at steps we can take to reach low vision folks who are not aware of the ILOB services, as well as ways of partnering   with DSB to bring attention to the need for both funding and staffing.

 

 

Okay, who's screwing us?

Are we divided or confused?  I think most average Americans realize that we're getting screwed.  We just fight over who we think is doing the screwing. 

 

Curious Carl

Welcome to the Twilight Zone

In a way, many Americans are becoming refugees escaping from a disaster.  Very much like the refugees in Haiti, only Americans are caught up in a man made disaster.  But just like the Haitians, thousands of Americans are losing their homes and being driven into the street. 

And just like the Haitians, our great leader has promised relief.  And just as with the Haitians, nothing is happening.  There is no relief for the little guy.  Relief comes only to those who do not need it. 

I just shake my head at times.  How bad does it have to get before we understand that we are expendable.  Can't we see that our houses and property are more important than our lives?  Once our jobs are being done cheaper by slave labor in China, South Korea, Latin America, etc., and once our property has been stripped away, we have no more value to the Empire Builders.  In fact we are a liability.  And so many of us are herded into either the military or into prisons.  As for the rest of us, we are fed lies and filled with fear and mistrust and turned loose on one another. 

Welcome to the Twilight Zone. 

 

Curious Carl

 

The Real Problem With The Mama Grizzlies

Have I missed something in my understanding about Grizzlies?  I don't recall any "Family Unit", other than Mamma and young.  Papa left his sperm and headed off to do whatever Papa Bears do, leaving Mama to raise the young. 

But all of that aside, I'd draw a closer relationship between Sarah Palin and a mama Crocodile, rather than a Grizzlie.  Just drop your eggs and head on out to bask in the Sun. 

 

Curious Carl

 

where's the cheap food?

What do the really poor people eat these days? 

When I was a boy back in the Dark Ages, we were very poor.  The job my dad found in Seattle in 1937 ended shortly after he moved us from Spokane.  We went on WPA.  I recall my dad earned a whopping 54 dollars a month.  He moved up to be a supervisor and made about 68 dollars.  But we shopped for most of our food at the Pike Place Public Market.  Lots of local truck farmers had stalls there along with the big California produce houses.  We could always grab some free soup bones when we were really hard up.  Fish heads were tossed out, and they made great soup(ugh!!). 

But you could buy sacks of flour, sugar, corn meal, oats and rice for pennies a pound.  Pasta was dirt cheap, too.  Lots of noodle dishes.  Lots of pot pies and casseroles containing stuff we never new the name of, but it all tasted delicious. 

But where is the low cost food today?  MacDonald's Happy Meal? 

 

Curious Carl

 

the string broke

Did you ever try finding the pork in a can of pork and beans?  My mother would look at the little hunk of lard in the top of the can and say, "Look!  The string broke and we got the pork!"  She claimed they dragged that hunk of pork through many cans before they lost it. 

 

Curious Carl

 

Article, CNN Poll of Polls: More Approve of Obama's Performance than Disapprove

Subject: Re: Article, CNN Poll of Polls: More Approve of Obama's Performance than Disapprove

But once again it is the guys with the most dollars who get to tell us over and over that Obama is an "out of control" president and running us into disgrace and debt. 

I think it's time to just pull the plug on the commercial media. 

 

Curious Carl

 

backing down or regrouping?

Backing down, or regrouping?  Just because the majority of the people decide to enter an illegal war does not mean that we who constituted the minority should back down.  Remember the old British phrase, "The Loyal Opposition"? 

Well, very often that is just where I find myself.  But I never think of "backing down".  Regrouping is a better direction to go. 

When I expressed my concern over entering into the Viet Nam Conflict(remember?  Not a War?", many folks I knew, including some I was related to, actually called me a Traitor to my Country.  At church some of my good Christian friends would not speak to me and would actually move if I sat in the same pew.  My in-laws took me to one side and told me I should keep my opinions to myself because my actions were upsetting their daughter(my first wife Judy). 

When Judy and I returned home I asked her to tell me her feelings.  She said she supported what I was saying, but her parents had jumped all over her until she broke down and cried.  Then they tried to lay that at my feet. 

Because I was newly blind and enrolled at the University of Washington, I did not take part in many rallies or protests.  But I did feel obliged to express my opinions.  I believed, and still believe that it is my responsibility as a loyal citizen to do just that. 

I see the same thing today.  If you support the illegal wars, you are a Patriot.  If you oppose the illegal wars and torture, you are an enemy of the State. 

Anyway, once again our Supreme Court has it all wrong.  But why not?  They come out of the same contaminated pool as do so many other politicians who have been bought and paid for.  We are misled to believe that somehow when these men and women don their judicial robes that they are above politics.  Please!  They are the very ultimate of the corrupt system that put them in their seat of power.  And they know just who their Masters are. 

 

Curious Carl

 

God must have some sense of humor...if there is a God

When I became blind I was 30 years old, scared silly, feeling helpless and out of control.  So there was a period of time during which I found my ability to see the funny side of life just a bit difficult. 

But I knew I was bouncing back when I began laughing at things that should have really embarrassed me.  Like the time I took the arm of my chair and sat right down beside it on the floor.  I began laughing when my wife got all flustered.  "I thought I'd broken the chair", I giggled.  I had gained about 25 pounds since becoming blind. 

And there was the day my wife and I went bowling with my folks.  I cranked the ball up just like I always did when I could see, heaved it out onto the lane and listened for it to hit the boards.  Nothing.  Then from two lanes over there was a huge crash as my ball first slammed to the lane and then crashed into an automatic pinsetter that was just depositing its pins on their spots. 

Of course at the moment I was stunned and just sat shaking.  But on the way home the humor of the situation hit me.  I could imagine the looks on the faces of the folks on other lanes, preparing to bowl as this ball comes flying along out of nowhere.  Even now I get a chuckle thinking about it. 

I figure that if there is a God, He has to have one heck of a sense of humor.  Just look about you and see all of the practical jokes He's played on us. 

Yup, a heck of a sense of humor. 

 

Curious Carl

 

Talk about rejection!

Now here's one thought to hang onto while some of us are licking our wounds following this "Mandate" by the people. 

Not all First Class Corporate American Citizens are loved by the common people. 

What a crushing blow to an inflated ego!  I mean, how would you feel if you'd just spent millions of your own First Class Dollars only to discover that the majority of the voters like some schlob better than you? 

 

Curious Carl

 

The Little Man Who Wasn't There!

"Last night I saw upon the stair,

a little man who was not there. 

He was not there again today,

oh how I wish he'd go away!" 

 

During this entire election campaign the little man who was not there was the Pentagon. 

Take a moment to pick up a pencil and a piece of paper, a small piece will do, and list all the politicians you heard speaking either in support or in opposition of the illegal wars? 

The single biggest drain on our nation's resources.  Instead, we heard bold promises to reduce big government, like health care and education and social programs and agencies protecting the quality of our food and water and environment. 

But not a single call for cutting the biggest robbery to our treasury. 

I stand on my charge that America has been the victim of a bloodless military coup.  The Pentagon is now the Untouchable One. 

If I am correct, and of course I am, we are headed for sad days. 

 

Curious Carl