deficiency judgments

This morning(Sunday, October 30), there was an article on NPR about Bank of America suing for recovery of the balance on a foreclosure. 

By securing a deficiency judgment, the bank is demanding that the $108 thousand  be paid.  They did finally settle for a far lesser figure, but it left the family devastated. 

In most states Deficiency Judgment laws exist.  Banks are now either going after the unpaid mortgage or they are selling the paper at pennies on the dollar to companies set up to collect as much as they can. 

Anyone having gone through a foreclosure should check out the Deficiency Judgment policies in their state. 

Carl Jarvis

 

50% of All Workers Made Less Than $26,000 in 2010

Subject: Re: [acb-l] 50% of All Workers Made Less Than $26,000 in 2010

Okay friends,

We are not going to convince one another who the good guys are and who the bad guys are.  We are just busy pulling ourselves apart. 

The fact is that the Blind Americans are falling further behind in the struggle for economic equality.  Although if we wait long enough we will be joined at the bottom of the heap by many sighted Americans. 

So let's get real.  There is not one single person, nor one political party that is going to bail us out.  Either we figure out how to do it or it will go undone. 

How can the ACB impact the economic woes of our members? 

Perhaps the NFB has the answer.  We can solicit money from the Ruling Class and build us our own research center and put our elite in good jobs.  The rest of us can feel warm and fuzzy thinking about them as we go to bed in our cold rooms with our empty stomachs. 

 

Carl Jarvis

 

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

From: Frank Ventura

To: acb-l@acb.org

Sent: Sunday, October 30, 2011 9:59 AM

Subject: Re: [acb-l] 50% of All Workers Made Less Than $26,000 in 2010

Ah yes our old buddy Newt who threatened to shut down government unless
the president and the rest of congress agreed to deep social security
cuts and cuts to most domestic spending. Cuts to domestic spending?!?!?
Ah so much for the "jobs" party.


Sincerely,
Frank M. Ventura

50% of All Workers Made Less Than $26,000 in 2010

Subject: Re: [acb-l] 50% of All Workers Made Less Than $26,000 in 2010

Hi Dave, 

So if you turned ten about 39 years ago that would make you about the same age as my eldest daughter.  I still think of her as an impetuous youth. 

Regarding Thomas Jefferson, whose birthday happens to fall on my own although I'm not quite as old, Thomas was a Landed Aristocrat.  The government he mentioned in your quote was his government.  It was established by he and other land owners.  They also were required to be White and over the age of 21. 

But my point is that this was the government he and his fellow revolutionaries set in place.  It did their bidding.  They were not afraid of it.  But this was not the feeling of many Americans.  Blacks for example.  Women.  Chinese.  Mexicans.

The Landed Aristocrats did not have their children working in the mills six days a week for ten or twelve hours a day.  They did not live in shacks, hiding their women in fear of some lustful white overseer. 

So often we quote Jefferson and others of that time, as if they and we lived the same lives.  As well off as I am, my life has little resemblance to the lives of Washington, Jefferson, Adams, etc. 

My people are Working Class people.  If you've noticed lately, we are a fast disappearing breed.  And this government does not represent the Middle/Working Class.  Nor does it represent the blind or other disabilities. 

But it is not feared by the people it actually represents, the Ruling Class.  Those First Class Corporate Citizens who can afford to buy and sell politicians.  Politicians of all parties. 

Recently my governor wept as she told us about the huge cuts our state must undergo in order to balance our budget.  But even as she wept over the hardships it will cost the blind and the elderly and the children, she never once mentioned that it would hurt the Ruling Class.  They are receiving the sort of government they paid for.  They will suffer no cuts.  None of their elders will go without the care they need.  Their blind and disabled members will never go without. 

That is who this government represents.  And the Ruling Class does not want to have our tax money supporting the rest of our needs.  It is a waste of money to them.  And unless we join forces and stop them, they will put an end to all such programs as public education, elder care, vocational rehabilitation, social security, Medicare. 

That is not the sort of government that I can support. 

 

Carl Jarvis

 

SSI Increase

Subject: Re: [acb-l] SSI Increase

Dave,

As a person over retirement age, most of the small raise in my social security check will be eaten up by a raise in Medicare.  But even more to the point, my supplemental health insurance will go up 10% in January, 2012. 

While I know it will probably strike you as outright Socialism, we in the ACB had better begin pulling together and not bashing one another's beliefs. 

One man did not get us into this economic mess.  Not even Ronald Reagan.  Not Carter or Bush(either one) or Clinton or Obama. 

Are you suggesting that the solution to our current problems as blind people, will be solved by putting a new face in the Oval Office? 

Tell me Dave, what is the definition of insanity? 

 

Carl Jarvis

 

 

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

From: Dave

To: acb-l@acb.org

Sent: Sunday, October 30, 2011 6:07 AM

Subject: [acb-l] SSI Increase

Do you think that the increase of 3.6% for Social Security recipients is a coincidence in an election year?  Since there has been no increase the last two years.  and I don't want to hear the garbage of there has been no increase in inflation, all you had to do was go to the grocery store and buy food. 

I must be a seer of the future as I told everyone that because of the elections coming up there would be an increase, otherwise he would lose a lot of senior and disabled persons votes.

Same crap just a different day.

---

_______________________________________________
acb-l

50% of All Workers Made Less Than $26,000 in 2010

Subject: Re: [acb-l] 50% of All Workers Made Less Than $26,000 in 2010

Hi Carla,

Good point regarding high paid union officials.  Also over paid politicians. 

If I were King, I would pay union officials on their performance.  Negotiate a fair deal for your members and you receive a fair salary.  Fail to provide fair benefits for your members and you receive your pink slip. 

But I really don't think we'll find any union bosses among the 1% of our wealthiest citizens. 

 

On another point, I know it seems as if some of us gripe about living conditions in our Great Nation, from time to time.  Especially those who lose their jobs through no fault of their own, or our own blind brothers and sisters who train and strain to find work without success.  For those of us fortunate enough to have secure employment or retirement, it does get under our skin a bit.  But I do recall that it is our duty as citizens to speak up when our government is not meeting our needs.  We would be failing in our duty if we sat by and watched our jobs and factories go overseas or into Canada or Mexico, while our neighbors hit the streets and crawl under bridges to stay dry. 

If protesting such growing conditions is griping, then I am guilty.  But I won't be moving to another country without doing all in my power to make certain that my fellow ACB members have a fighting chance to share in the American Dream. 

 

Carl Jarvis

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

From: carla ruschival

To: Carl Jarvis ; blind-democracy@octothorp.org

Cc: acb-l@acb.orgcracy@octothorp.org>

Sent: Saturday, October 29, 2011 12:29 PM

Subject: Re: [acb-l] 50% of All Workers Made Less Than $26,000 in 2010

I'm sure, Carl,
that you are
including those
high-paid union
bosses in that
one per cent
that is sucking
the marrow out
of their
members' bones. 
Or maybe not,
since those
often-inflated
union wages
have played
their own part
in driving our
manufacturing
jobs overseas.

Just a thought.

Strange how
those who enjoy
the benefits of
capitalism, but
really despise
it, gripe and
gripe and gripe
and yet accept
what it has
offers. 
Strange also
how millions of
illegals come
here, often at
great risk to
themselves, to
take advantage
of this
capitalist
society.  Since
they are often
fleeing other
systems, seems
to me they
would stay home
and enjoy the
richness of
their
far-superior
forms of
distribution of
wealth.  And of
course one
would wonder
why those who
despise our
system so much
just don't pack
it up and move
somewhere where
they could be
happy; there
are many
choices.

Ah yes, points
to ponder.

50% of Workers Made Less Than $26,000 : keeping it blindness focused

Subject: 50% of Workers Made Less Than $26,000 : keeping it blindness focused

As blind people, our hopes for a better world can not rest on the back of one man.  Nor can they be tied to only one Political Party or another. 

While we can debate the causes and who is responsible, nonetheless we are caught in a major recession(depression).  Fighting one another or calling names at public official or political parties will only drive us apart.  We in the ACB are in this together.  Even those of us who feel our lives are safe and secure.  Even as safe as my life appears to be at present, I have many friends within my state organization who are being pressed to the wall.  And what a small disaster might push me into similar circumstances.  A heart attack?  Cancer? 

My daughter develop Rheumatoid Arthritis and her medical bills far outstretch her health coverage.  And then her husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's.  Talk about a heavy load to bear. 

So it could hit any of us at any point in our lives. 

The central question should be, What are we, the ACB, going to do about the world we find ourselves in? 

Spreading blame might make us feel better for a moment, but it will not put bread on the table or pay the rent. 

What can we as an organization offer to our people, our blind brothers and sisters when they need our support? 

On Blind Democracy, I rant and rave because that is the nature of that list.  I am a Radical and that is what we Radicals are supposed to do. 

But this is the ACB list and we should be pulling together, not undermining individuals beliefs. 

So, what are each of us thinking?  How do we move this organization into a place where we are truly an effective force in blind people's lives? 

 

Carl Jarvis

 

Biased? You betcha!

Subject: Biased? You betcha!

Biased?  Only a fool would deny it.  But what is even worse is that we human beings are totally brainwashed.  And a majority of us around the world do not believe that we are.  Worse than that, we did it to ourselves.  Long, long ago.  Even before old blind Homer was wandering around trying to make sense out of stuff.  Back to those fearful folks huddled around the first camp fire, staring out into space and wondering what it was all about. 

So they made up a story.  They created a mighty Being, even at times they created many mighty Beings, who had all the answers. 

That made it much better.  They now could go about the business of tracking their dinner and gathering their berries.  They even began to make up stories about just what the mighty Being, or Beings did, and how He/They pulled off this creation. 

I could go on, but the point is that human beings came to rely upon the single, wise Creator.  This fellow knows all. 

This might be of no particular consequence except that we carried the concept over to our daily lives. 

Because of generations of conditioning we never really believe in our collective strength to solve our problems and to make a better world to live in.  We must have our brilliant leaders.  While we talk about democracy, we look to the strongman to lead us.  Like our great Creator, we believe that it takes one very wise person to guide us.  And even when they turn out to have feet of clay, even as our great Creator has, we quickly turn to the next emerging wise leader. 

Now we see around the world the strongmen are falling.  With each mighty crash we cheer, believing that now the world is a safer place to live in.  Yet if we just glanced through our dusty old history books we'd see that this has been going on longer than the written word.  Mighty leaders rise up, stride the Earth and then crash and burn only to be followed by another, and another.  Do we learn anything from this? 

Instead of pondering what it all means, we rush to our place of worship and pray to our Great Being to send us a new Savior. 

Ship of Fools? 

 

Curious Carl

 

 

 

 

 

 

video - reporter's talk about Libya

Subject: Re: video - reporter's talk about Libya

Over the years since Ronald Reagan's raid on Libya back in 1987, I have watched the flow and ebb of the American Empire's efforts to control that nation and its oil.  For years the writing has been on the wall.  Just like Iraq, we support the strong man until we no longer need him. 

And of course the Media will obey the voice of their Masters.  We can never know the real truth because it has been so distorted.  But we can at least know that when the American Empire moves on a nation it is to satisfy the Empire's Greed, not to bring democracy to some poor downtrodden people. 

 

Carl Jarvis

 

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

From: Miriam Vieni

To: Blind Democracy List

Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 8:39 AM

Subject: video - reporter's talk about Libya

This is a very different point of view than you'll be hearing and reading,
almost everywhere.  Just go to the link and it should automatically play the
video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPDfJVngAXM

It's tough to always be right

When I was a Christian, I studied the Word of God, the Holy Bible.  My particular denomination believed that all answers to all of Life's problems were to be found between those Holy covers.  And so I read and studied and contemplated.  I accepted the absolute fact that God created the Universe and all within it.  When any question arose, you simply took it to the Church Elders.  They knew the Word of God in such minute detail that they could tell you exactly what God intended the answer to be.  No question.  Everything was in absolute.  If God felt that Richard Nixon should be president of the United States, there was no questioning Him. 

When our Elders declared that Senator Kennedy was not to be selected as president because he would allow the Pope to run the nation, I began to back away from religion. 

At first I contented myself just to question the Elders basis for their declarations.  After a while I found that the church was barely tolerating me, and I was barely tolerating the church. 

It truly is a strange world to live in.  Always being absolutely right...As long as being Right is approved by the church elders. 

 

Curious Carl

 

 

 

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

From: Roger Loran Bailey

To: Blind Democracy Discussion List

Sent: Sunday, October 23, 2011 10:57 AM

Subject: Re: Echo Chamber?

That reminds me of a comment I once heard from a caller on a local radio
talk show. He said, "The left has one thing that puts them at a really big
disadvantage. They are willing to admit that they might possibly be wrong."


_     _      _

"The meme for blind faith secures its own perpetuation by the simple
unconscious expedient of discouraging rational inquiry." - Richard Dawkins


Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rogerbailey81


The Militant:
 http://www.themilitant.com
Pathfinder Press:
 http://www.pathfinderpress.com
Granma International:
  http://www.granma.cu/ingles/index.html
----- Original Message -----
From: "alice dampman humel" <alicedh@verizon.net>
To: <aevincent@ca.rr.com>; "Blind Democracy Discussion List"
<blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 23, 2011 9:12 AM
Subject: Re: Echo Chamber?


>I agree with Carl and Abby here. While all of us are fairly
> entrenched in our leftie views, I think most of us do something
> that, in my experience at least, very few right wingers do, and
> that is *listen* to what the other person is saying. The other
> almost insurmountable problem I see with many right wingers is
> that they are so wound up in their own spin that there is nothing
> even resembling "fact." Events, numbers, comments, all are
> twisted to end up in lockstep with their agendas, and their minds
> are made up, dare I say closed, to any other possibility and even
> to the possibility that their "facts" are really nothing more
> than interpretations. These two things and perhaps others make
> true debate, discussion, and communication all but impossible
> with many, but of course not all, right wingers, particularly
> those on the far right, and most assuredly with the 1%.
> I, too, face enough right wing opinion all around me, from the
> local government to the mainstream media, to the people on the
> street. It has been a truly encouraging experience to be on this
> list and hear so many others speaking from the left, to feel that
> I am really not as alone as I sometimes feel. Of course, that
> does not mean we are little automatons who march in that right
> wing sort of lockstep I mentioned above, and I find those debates
> about one point or another of disagreement to be informative and
> enlightening.
> Alice
> alicedh@verizon.net
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Abby Vincent" <aevincent@ca.rr.com>
> To: "'Blind Democracy Discussion List'"
> <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
> Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2011 11:41 PM
> Subject: RE: Echo Chamber?
>
>
> Although Libertarians sometimes provide entertainment value, I
> don't like hearing their beliefs any more than I like hearing
> modern-day Republicans.  I wish places like the Senate could be
> the great debating society they were intended to be.  No more.
> Democracy is just an obstacle the 1% have to overcome.  I agree
> with Carl that I wouldn't like this list if we tried to get both
> the left and right points of view.  I'm and old leftie and I need
> a lefty support group.
>
> Abby
>
>
>
> From: blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org
> [mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On Behalf Of Carl
> Jarvis
> Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2011 8:13 PM
> To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
> Subject: Re: Echo Chamber?
>
>
>
> All:
>
> While I enjoy discussing issues with folks of other persuasions,
> I joined this list mainly to get away from the constant hammering
> by the Right of Center.  There are so many places we can turn to
> for the 1% view point.  I'm looking for information and opinions
> to bolster my already biased beliefs.
>
> Naturally I am open to being convinced of the error of my ways.
> But I should warn you that it will take more than anything I've
> read on this list or heard on Fox.  I just believe that when I'm
> right, why mess my head up with other peoples misinformation.
>
>
>
> Carl Jarvis
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> From: ted chittenden <mailto:tchittenden@cox.net>
>
> To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
> <mailto:blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
>
> Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2011 11:27 AM
>
> Subject: Re: Echo Chamber?
>
>
>
> Kevin:
> It's hard to get both left and right together when both sides
> don't even agree on the facts. In addition, at least one of the
> other list members (Miriam, if memory serves) has said in the
> past that she, for one, would not feel comfortable with people on
> the "Far Right" on this list. It's hard to argue with her
> point--there was a far-right list member in the past who actually
> used another current member's mention of his/her (I won't mention
> names) sex life against him/her.
>
> All of that said, I will provide, when I can and if I feel it is
> appropriate, issues from the "Whiskey and Gunpowder" Internet
> magazine for wealthy libertarians to this list--it certainly
> holds views that are primarily not held on this list.
>
> Ted
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Blind-Democracy mailing list
> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>
> _______________________________________________
> Blind-Democracy mailing list
> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy

_______________________________________________
Blind-Democracy mailing list
Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy

NPR, from edgy to hedgy

Once upon a time NPR lived on the edge.  Today they are more apt to hedge.  This is what intimidation and fear can do. 

Fox can say and do whatever they please because they know their Master's voice and stay within the lines.  NPR is dangling out there without knowing just who will protect them at any given time.  So they swing to the left and they swing to the right.  They can't find a center line to hug because the center line keeps moving...usually to the Right. 

Poor NPR.  Their one time pace setting programming has been scattered to the four winds. 

 

Curious Carl

 

NPR, I knew Thee when...

Ah, dear NPR, I knew Thee when. 

 

Yes, I do remember you so well.  Young, fresh, eager, and pure of heart.  You swept onto the scene like a Home Coming Queen, swirling forward to have the first dance. 

I fell in love with you back then.  Your strong, independent spirit made the other networks appear dowdy and frumpy and stuffy.  A bunch of old crows gabbling over the back fence.  But you dashed about with open arms, embracing all that came your way.  I loved you, NPR.  I loved you because you were your own person.  You were wise beyond your young years.  You did not shy away from any new story.  You told us it all. 

But that was so long ago.  I weep to think of the terrible change that over took you my sweet NPR. 

That brightness, that fearless spirit.  Gone. 

Now I find you with the other old crows, hanging over the back fence, gossiping about nothing important.  Twisting the news and hiding from controversy. 

And so, NPR, it is to be Farewell!  We thank you for what you gave us in past years. 

But you have broken the trust between us by creeping into the beds of Corporate America and allowing them to seduce you. 

It's amazing that in my lifetime I have watched you go from a sweet, innocent virgin to a haggard, worthless prostitute. 

 

Curious Carl

 

NPRNPR, then and now

NPR. 

Then: National  Public Radio. 

 

NPR

Now: Nothing Particularly Relevant. 

 

Curious     Carl

 

Meet the Guy Who Snitched on Occupy Wall Street to the FBI and NYPD

 

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

From: Carl Jarvis

To: Blind Democracy Discussion List

Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2011 9:08 AM

Subject: Re: Meet the Guy Who Snitched on Occupy Wall Street to the FBI and NYPD

One thing we can always rely on.  Snitches.  Snitches, spies, double agents and traitors.  They are as much a part of the business of running our nation as are the laborers in the fields or the bankers on Wall Street or the politicians huddled in the White House looking for their orders. 

We don't have to look far in our history books to find the names of traitors, spies, and turn coats. 

And of course we need to factor in the rabble rousers.  These are the thugs hired to turn peaceful demonstrations into ugly mobs.  A few bricks tossed through windows or at cops, and the fun begins. 

Have you noticed that when the Ruling Class gather together they have armed guards and meet in very secure locations? 

It's really hard to infiltrate such fortresses and make mischief.  But they have a very easy time of it because most of our gatherings are very public. 

If the Ruling Class had to meet on street corners or in public parks we could have ourselves a dandy time, too. 

 

Carl Jarvis

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

From: S. Kashdan

To: Blind Democracy List

Sent: Monday, October 17, 2011 11:52 PM

Subject: Meet the Guy Who Snitched on Occupy Wall Street to the FBI and NYPD

Meet the Guy Who Snitched on Occupy Wall Street to the FBI and NYPD



By Adrian Chen



Gawker, October 15, 2011



http://m.gawker.com/5850054/meet-the-guy-who-snitched-on-occupy-wall-street-to-the-fbi-and-nypd



The Occupy Wall Street protests have been going on for a month.  And it
seems the FBI and NYPD have had help tracking protesters' moves thanks to a
conservative computer security expert who gained access to one of the
group's internal mailing lists, and then handed over information on the
group's plans to authorities and corporations targeted by protesters.

National Review Article - Online Issue 18th October 2011

Subject: Re: National Review Article - Online Issue 18th October 2011

Some interesting comments by Jim Geraghty.  

My first thought in reading his comments is that not only are there more people today than back in the 80's, but there are dozens more TV channels to select from and dozens of personal entertainment devices to satisfy even the smallest of factions. 

My second thought is that there never was a Main Street, U.S.A.  It has always been one of those Fairy Tales, along with the Easter Bunny. 

Time alone will blur the many differences that always existed in this Melting Pot of a nation.  But add to that the deliberate lies the Ruling Class tell in order to create that Great Nation which we all want to return to, and you have a real fantasy story that would make Dean Koontz blush. 

 

The fact that only 1 in 3 believe that it is Wall Street at the bottom of our economic woes and 56% who blame Washington should tell us just who has the real power to deceive the American Public.  With all its supposed power and influence, Washington can't seem to deflect the blame nearly as well as Wall Street.  Gee, who owns the Mass Media?  In fact, who owns the politicians? 

 

Jim Geraghty makes no comment on why there are so many people crowding into the public squares around the Globe, while in Washington D.C. a small group of "Do Nothing" politicians block all efforts to pass any legislation that will go against the will of their Owners, the Ruling Class. 

Think of it Jim Geraghty, here we have the largest, longest mass protest in years, spreading world-wide, and you and your conservative friends just kiss it off as a throw back to the Hippies of the 60's. 

You represent a proud line of "protectors of the status quo" Jim Geraghty. 

But change is coming and your 1% will find itself on the short end of the new Order. 

 

Carl Jarvis

Morning Jolt

. . . with Jim Geraghty

October 18, 2011

1. For Good or for Ill, Body-Painted Marxist Women Are Not Yet 'Mainstream'

 

A recent topic of one of my Thursday-night, pre-show dinners with Cam was whether there was such a thing as "mainstream" anymore.

I'm sure a lot of folks will read that sentence and declare, "Of course there is; it's a lot of people who are like me." I hate to tell you this, but if you're reading this newsletter, you're a lot more interested in politics than the average American. (You're also smarter, wiser, and better looking, and you have a better sense of humor.) But put it aside from the realm of politics for a moment.

In the late 1980s, the No. 1 show on television was The Cosby Show and had an average audience of 30 million. Last year, the final performances for American Idol had 20.5 million in a country with many more viewers. There are few remaining unifying cultural events (other than maybe the Super Bowl or the Olympics), and in this country of 300 million, it's easier than ever to tune out the aspects of life that don't interest you. We have a more diversified and fragmented culture, served by a more diversified and fragmented media. I'm not saying that's a bad thing -- I'm a guy who writes for a niche audience of mostly right-of-center political junkies. But I wonder if this gives every faction in our culture and our politics a misguided sense that it's a lot more popular or "mainstream" than it is.

Thus, the Occupy Wall Street crowd might be convinced that it's "mainstream" because the vast majority of the people it encounters have the same views and grievances. Of course, they've made some "smart" moves in how they've set out to get attention. They've done so in lower Manhattan, where every major media entity in the country is either located or has a news bureau. They're clearly playing to baby-boomer Woodstock nostalgia, appealing to the aging boomers working within major mainstream media organizations. They've got interesting visuals. And sometimes they have naked women. And there's no real deadline; just show up at any time, day or night, and the story will be there.

Still, what stirs nostalgia and excitement in a newsroom just around the corner from Wall Street may not be so appealing to voters who live closer to Main Street in the rest of the country. The Hill:

 

The Hill poll found that only one in three likely voters blames Wall Street for the country's financial troubles, whereas more than half -- 56 percent -- blame Washington.

Moreover, when it comes to the political consequences of the protest, voters tend to believe that there are more perils than positives for Obama and the Democrats.  

 

A plurality believe that the Occupy Wall Street movement will hurt Democrats and Obama in the 2012 election. Even those whose sympathies lie on the left of center seem unsure about the likely political repercussions. Just half of all liberal likely voters -- the group most likely to blame Wall Street for the recession -- and fewer than half of all Democrats believe the protests will help their side next year.

 

"Those who fan the flames may be consumed by them," observes Don Surber.  
"As the more radical groups attempt to join as well (see this photo essay for an example), the folks in flyover country are going to get even more turned off," predicts Bruce McQuain at Q and O:

 

Personal observation, but it just seems to me the radical left just hasn't had much to protest about since Bush left office. The anti-war movement (of which most of these groups showing up for OWS were a part) melted away when Obama took office. He even started a third war and not a peep. 

There will obviously be those who try to compare this to the Tea Party movement, but those comparisons will fall flat. This is just the left looking for an excuse for the usual suspects to do what they do best -- protest. And, despite all the effort by the media to paint the OWS as something other than that is only going to prove the voters are a bit more sophisticated than the spin artists believe.

 

Susan Duclos writes, "Obama created them, embraced them, he owns them now. The voting public is smarter than progressives give them credit for and have not bought into the coordinated 'message', despite the media's now proven complicity in helping craft that message rather than doing their job of just reporting."

Occupy the Boardroom. Send Wall Street a message today!

Subject: Re: Occupy the Boardroom. Send Wall Street a message today!

Dick and all lovers of Capitalism,

We disagree here.  My view is that government is the tool of the people.  The people who control the government.  In America today it is the 1% Ruling Class who can afford to pay for the finest government in the world.  This government of theirs has followed their instructions pretty consistently, giving them all sorts of ways to increase their wealth and control over the 99% who cannot afford to buy a government. 

Americans say we do not want war.  We want peace.  Yet, there is greater profit in war than there is in peace.  So the 1% pay their governmental officials to give them some good wars. 

The 1% no longer need to locate their factories in America, and no longer need to mess with unions.  They have paid a government to open the doors for them to move about the world and find cheap labor and then ship their products back into America to sell. 

The Ruling Class educates their own children in private schools.  They do not want to pay high taxes to support schools for the masses.  They pay their government to begin the process of dismantling public education.  First by discrediting all that it has done over the years to make this the strong nation it is, and then to cut off funding so the schools will fall apart.  Break the teachers unions and send them packing. 

The Ruling Class take care of their own elderly members.  They do not need Medicare or old age programs or nursing homes.  These are systems that are just burning up money that could be better spent in building better missiles.  So the Ruling Class buys a government that tears down all such spendy programs. 

The Ruling Class does not need jobs or job training.  They take care of their own.  President Obama can't push through a weak job bill because it would call for a teeny bit of sacrifice by the Ruling Class.  Why should they suffer even a little bit when they don't need to? 

 

And the best trick of all is that the Ruling Class has figured out how to manipulate the public perception to where many Americans think that it is the incompetent government that is the problem.  Trust me, Dick.  If the government were not serving the needs of the people who bought it, it would be dismissed in the next election and a new, more trust worthy government would be  bought and set in place. 

This is Capitalism at its finest! 

 

Carl Jarvis

 

 

Fw: Do Americans simply love Fairy Tales, or what?

Subject: Do Americans simply love Fairy Tales, or what?

I'm still stuck on this recurring theme that America has an incompetent government. 

What disconnect is going on in American's minds?  Do we just like being schmoozed? 

Have our little brains been so conditioned by tales of Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy that we believe any pretty lie that comes past our eyes and ears on the Tube? 

How do we reconcile our belief that government is incompetent, on the one hand, and so powerful that it can declare illegal wars and bomb the Hell out of nations not even at war with it, on the other?  This incompetent government has built the most frightening military machine ever known to the world.  Spies in every corner of the world.  Secret missions that never see the light of day.  Unrestrained murder of people huddled in villages, even hunting down American citizens to kill without a fair trial...or any sort of trial. 

This incompetent government has been able to destroy the great American Middle Class.  That's no small feat. 

This incompetent government has allowed the working folks to now face a significant decrease in their standard of living.  This incompetent government has supported the crushing of public unions, and is now supporting the end to the Postal Union and Postal Services which have served the American People for centuries.  This incompetent government is tearing down the public education system along with public health. 

And how is this incompetent government able to do all of this? 

Because, my Fairy Tale Believers, it is doing exactly what it has been paid to do.  There is no such thing as an Incompetent Government.  That is smoke being blown up your noses. 

Come on!  We've seen far less incompetent governments around the world crash and burn. 

This government is doing what it has been paid to do.  And we are sucked into believing that all the bright people we elected to office suddenly become stupid as soon as the enter Washington D.C.  Really?  We really believe this?  Now tell me just who the dumb ones are. 

But you see, we've been conditioned to believe in Fairy Tales. 

 

Carl Jarvis
*************
Too long have the workers of the world waited for some Moses to lead them out of bondage. I would not lead you out if I could; for if you could be led out, you could be led back again. I would have you make up your minds there is nothing that you cannot do for yourselves. --Eugene Victor Debs
1855-1926

 

"I am opposing a social order in which it is possible for one man who does absolutely nothing that is useful to amass a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars, while millions of men and women who work all the days of their lives secure barely enough for a wretched existence."
Eugene Victor Debs 

 

check out my blog
www.curiouscarlscorner.blogspot.com

 

*************
Too long have the workers of the world waited for some Moses to lead them out of bondage. I would not lead you out if I could; for if you could be led out, you could be led back again. I would have you make up your minds there is nothing that you cannot do for yourselves. --Eugene Victor Debs
1855-1926

Blind Equality Day?

Blind Equality Day! 

 

Next thing you know we'll be having us a Black equality day, a Women's equality day, a Latino equality day, a Gay equality day and a special Equality Day for all those we forgot. 

But still, there is some good stuff in here.  It just serves to remind us that we really are not equal...yet. 

Carl Jarvis

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

From: Miriam Vieni

To: Blind Democracy List

Sent: Friday, October 14, 2011 7:49 PM

Subject: Blind Equality Day?

So glad to read this.  Now that I have, I know that I am equal to sighted
people.  I don't think I'd be aware of this without a proclamation, however,
at least not from the interactions I have with most sighted people.
                   THE WHITE HOUSE

                    Office of the Press Secretary

                    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                    October 14, 2011

                    Attached is a proclamation signed by the President today
regarding Blind Americans Equality Day, 2011.

                    THE WHITE HOUSE

                    Office of the Press Secretary

                    For Immediate Release October 14, 2011

                    BLIND AMERICANS EQUALITY DAY, 2011

                    - - - - - - -

                    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

                    A PROCLAMATION

                    Generations of blind and visually impaired Americans
have dedicated their passion and skills to enhancing our national life -- 
leading as public servants, penning works of literature, lending their voice
to music, and inspiring as champions of sport. On Blind Americans Equality
Day, we celebrate the achievements of blind and visually impaired Americans
and reaffirm our commitment to advancing their complete social and economic
integration.

                    My Administration is dedicated to ensuring Americans
with disabilities have every opportunity to reach their full potential. Last
year, I signed the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video
Accessibility Act to set new standards that enable people living with
disabilities to access broadband, digital, and mobile innovations. To help
level the playing field for employment, we are working to improve the
Federal Government's compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Making electronic and information technology 508 compliant will give
applicants with disabilities a fair chance and allow employees with
disabilities to use necessary tools while on the job. By taking these steps,
my Administration reaffirms its pledge to openness by making sure that
people with disabilities can better access all the information the Federal
Government has placed online.

                    This year also marks the 75th anniversary of the passage
of the Randolph-Sheppard Act. For decades, the legislation has provided
openings for blind Americans to work as vendors on Federal property,
creating meaningful entrepreneurial opportunities and enabling them to
contribute to our economy. These jobs have enriched the lives of those
participating in the Randolph-Sheppard program and enhanced public
understanding of blindness for those who have interacted with the program's
vendors.

                    Though we have made progress in the march to equality
for the blind and those with low vision, there is still more work to be
done. In addition to improving access to technology and employment
opportunities, this January, I signed the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act.
This landmark legislation requires electric and hybrid car manufacturers to
add sounds to alert all pedestrians to the presence of these unusually quiet
vehicles. These provisions will help increase the safety and independence of
blind and visually impaired Americans.

                    By joint resolution approved on October 6, 1964 (Public
Law 88-628, as amended), the Congress designated October 15 of each year as
"White Cane Safety Day" to recognize the contributions of Americans who are
blind or have low vision. Today, let us recommit to forging ahead with the
work of perfecting our Union and ensuring we remain a Nation where all our
people, including those living with disabilities, have every opportunity to
achieve their dreams.

                    NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United
States of America, do hereby proclaim October 15, 2011, as Blind Americans
Equality Day. I call upon public officials, business and community leaders,
educators, librarians, and Americans across the country to observe this day
with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs.

                    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fourteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
thirty-sixth.

                    BARACK OBAMA

_______________________________________________
Blind-Democracy mailing list
Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy

what makes a teacher?

 

I'm left handed.  The method of working with left handed children back when I was growing up was to make them use their right hands.  Simple.  I began to stutter and stammer so badly that no one could understand me.  Finally my folks took me to a progressive doctor who asked the question about my left or right handedness.  His advice was to allow me to use whatever hand I chose.  Presto Chango!  My stutter disappeared. 

But now for the rest of the story. 

My third grade teacher taught us hand writing(cursive).  She showed us how to turn our papers so that the upper right hand corner turned up so we could draw our pens across the paper in a normal manner.  Seeing this, I turned my paper so that the upper left hand corner was tilted higher.  It made sense to me.  But not to my "teacher".  She promptly marched down the aisle and twisted my paper to the "proper" position.  Without so much as a "how dee doo". 

This left me only one choice, if I were to write in a normal manner.  I wrote with a back hand slant.  Looked really neat to me.  But not to my "teacher".  "Go back and do it correctly", she scolded. 

The only other thing I could do was to write, "up and over".  By twisting my hand and wrist, I could write from above the line.  This meant that I often smeared the paper, but the letters all slanted correctly.  Sloppy, but properly. 

Many years later I taught myself to write normally, but the damage was done and I've always been a sloppy writer. 

That woman was not a teacher.  She followed her training, not her good sense.  A good teacher adapts each situation to what is going on around him/her.  The focus must be on the student, not on some hard and fast rule designed in the backroom of a professor who is being paid to [publish, not to teach. 

But we continue to believe that we can stack thousands of children into huge school prisons and "teach" them.  Wrong!  Just look around you for proof that it isn't working. 

 

Carl Jarvis

 

allowed to exist...

Hi Dick,

I like your choice of words.  "...have nothing better to do so they are joining in 'protesting' the system that has allowed them to exist." 

Allowed them to exist.  Is that what America is coming to?  We are to be allowed to exist?  Does the president's proclamation declaring a Blind Equality Day mean that we blind will be allowed to exist? 

Interesting thought.  Didn't we allow the Negroes to exist, too?  Not to participate, but to exist. 

Serfs, Peasants

and those other low born folks could exist, also. 

Of course we did not feel quite the same way toward the Native Americans.  You recall them?  The folks we ran into when we "Discovered" this Land of Plenty? 

And today we don't want to allow the children of illegal folks to exist, even if they came here before they knew what illegal meant. 

Next we'll probably begin shipping all those sneaky Muslims back to wherever Muslims come from.  And I noted that one good Preacher, a Presbyterian by trade, in supporting Rick Perry, cried out that Mormons are a Cult.  So what does that make his denomination in the eyes of the Catholic Church?  And that's funny, too.  I knew a preacher who told me that the Catholics were a cult.  Aren't we all! 

 

Carl Jarvis

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

From: R. E. Driscoll Sr

To: Blind Democracy Discussion List

Sent: Friday, October 14, 2011 9:21 AM

Subject: Re: Panic of the Plutocrats By PAUL KRUGMAN

It seems to me that Mr. Krugman is predicting a massive collapse of our system and a grass roots revolution that is eventually to be patterned after the recent occurrences in Egypt.  I do not personally hold with these theories.  My continued study of the matter in question (The Wall Street Revolutionists) indicates that it will soon die down and our activists will find another item of protest.  I personally think that most of the persons participating in the New York activity have nothing better to do so they are joining in 'protesting' the system that has allowed them to exist.

As an example I just received a prepaid, automated phone call tell me that if I did nothing we would collapse by reason of having the word 'God' prohibited in this country by court action.  I listened to the entire call and decided all that they wanted was a donation from me.

On 10/14/2011 10:19 AM, Charles Crawford wrote:

Hi Richard,

        I am not sure I fully understand your response to this article?  I think I'd rather hear your comments that you were going to write.  For my part, I am very impressed with Krugman's understanding of what is happening.

--  Charlie.

At 03:42 PM 10/10/2011, you wrote:

After reading this I thought I would write a few comments but then I decided the best thing that I could do is try to find my old safety hat (all metal) and protect myself as surely the sky will fall today or at the latest sometime tomorrow.

On 10/10/2011 1:56 PM, Claude Everett wrote:

October 9, 2011
Panic of the Plutocrats
By PAUL KRUGMAN
It remains to be seen whether the Occupy Wall Street protests will change
America's direction. Yet the protests have already elicited a remarkably
hysterical reaction from Wall Street, the super-rich in general, and
politicians and pundits who reliably serve the interests of the wealthiest
hundredth of a percent.

And this reaction tells you something important - namely, that the
extremists threatening American values are what F.D.R. called "economic
royalists," not the people camping in Zuccotti Park.

Consider first how Republican politicians have portrayed the modest-sized if
growing demonstrations, which have involved some confrontations with the
police - confrontations that seem to have involved a lot of police
overreaction - but nothing one could call a riot. And there has in fact been
nothing so far to match the behavior of Tea Party crowds in the summer of
2009.

Nonetheless, Eric Cantor, the House majority leader, has denounced "mobs"
and "the pitting of Americans against Americans." The G.O.P. presidential
candidates have weighed in, with Mitt Romney accusing the protesters of
waging "class warfare," while Herman Cain calls them "anti-American." My
favorite, however, is Senator Rand Paul, who for some reason worries that
the protesters will start seizing iPads, because they believe rich people
don't deserve to have them.

Michael Bloomberg, New York's mayor and a financial-industry titan in his
own right, was a bit more moderate, but still accused the protesters of
trying to "take the jobs away from people working in this city," a statement
that bears no resemblance to the movement's actual goals.

And if you were listening to talking heads on CNBC, you learned that the
protesters "let their freak flags fly," and are "aligned with Lenin."

The way to understand all of this is to realize that it's part of a broader
syndrome, in which wealthy Americans who benefit hugely from a system rigged
in their favor react with hysteria to anyone who points out just how rigged
the system is.

Last year, you may recall, a number of financial-industry barons went wild
over very mild criticism from President Obama. They denounced Mr. Obama as
being almost a socialist for endorsing the so-called Volcker rule, which
would simply prohibit banks backed by federal guarantees from engaging in
risky speculation. And as for their reaction to proposals to close a
loophole that lets some of them pay remarkably low taxes - well, Stephen
Schwarzman, chairman of the Blackstone Group, compared it to Hitler's
invasion of Poland.

And then there's the campaign of character assassination against Elizabeth
Warren, the financial reformer now running for the Senate in Massachusetts.
Not long ago a YouTube video of Ms. Warren making an eloquent, down-to-earth
case for taxes on the rich went viral. Nothing about what she said was
radical - it was no more than a modern riff on Oliver Wendell Holmes's
famous dictum that "Taxes are what we pay for civilized society."

But listening to the reliable defenders of the wealthy, you'd think that Ms.
Warren was the second coming of Leon Trotsky. George Will declared that she
has a "collectivist agenda," that she believes that "individualism is a
chimera." And Rush Limbaugh called her "a parasite who hates her host.
Willing to destroy the host while she sucks the life out of it."

What's going on here? The answer, surely, is that Wall Street's Masters of
the Universe realize, deep down, how morally indefensible their position is.
They're not John Galt; they're not even Steve Jobs. They're people who got
rich by peddling complex financial schemes that, far from delivering clear
benefits to the American people, helped push us into a crisis whose
aftereffects continue to blight the lives of tens of millions of their
fellow citizens.

Yet they have paid no price. Their institutions were bailed out by
taxpayers, with few strings attached. They continue to benefit from explicit
and implicit federal guarantees - basically, they're still in a game of
heads they win, tails taxpayers lose. And they benefit from tax loopholes
that in many cases have people with multimillion-dollar incomes paying lower
rates than middle-class families.

This special treatment can't bear close scrutiny - and therefore, as they
see it, there must be no close scrutiny. Anyone who points out the obvious,
no matter how calmly and moderately, must be demonized and driven from the
stage. In fact, the more reasonable and moderate a critic sounds, the more
urgently he or she must be demonized, hence the frantic sliming of Elizabeth
Warren.

So who's really being un-American here? Not the protesters, who are simply
trying to get their voices heard. No, the real extremists here are America's
oligarchs, who want to suppress any criticism of the sources of their
wealth.




More in Opinion (4 of 16 articles)
Editorial: The Myth of Voter Fraud
Read More >

Close

Regards,
Claude Everett
"Labor is prior to and independent of
capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if

labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves
much the higher consideration."
Abraham Lincoln,
Congressional address 1861

_______________________________________________
Blind-Democracy mailing list
<mailto:Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org>Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy

_______________________________________________
Blind-Democracy mailing list
Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy

_______________________________________________
Blind-Democracy mailing list
Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy

---

_______________________________________________
Blind-Democracy mailing list
Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy

The Empire is Falling! The Empire is Falling!

The Empire is Falling!  The Empire is Falling!

 

"The Empire is falling!  The Empire is falling!" 

No, that's not little Henny Penny charging about in a panic.  It's the 99%, growing in numbers and determination each day.  Like King George IV, the American Empire is oblivious to the storm clouds gathering at its Wall Street door. 

As with all Empires, this greatest of all Empires merely scoffs and sneers at the rabble gathering in their back yard. 

They have much more important business to attend to abroad.  There is money to be made, resources to be captured, nations to be enslaved.  So busy are they that the stench of their own internal rot fails to reach their greedy noses. 

But the Empire is falling!  The Empire is falling! 

One day soon the Empire will awaken and the sneers and jeers will stop.  The condescension will end and the iron fist will come smashing down upon the 99%.  This is when we learn what we are made of.  This will be the moment when we stand the test or fall back into serfdom.  There will be no middle ground.  It is Class War, make no mistake about it. 

If history repeats itself, and it does, the Empire will have learned nothing.  Their eyes are clouded by greed and they will resort to the tried and true methods of all crumbling Empires.  Might makes Right!  They have the guns and they have the money and they have the Law. 

But we have our resolve.  And we have our children and grand children to protect.  All of the weapons and wealth and power will not stand up to our determination. 

Rather than sitting on the sidelines timidly peering out at the events unfolding, we must step forward and work to ensure that out of the crash a true Democracy will emerge.  A 99% plus Democracy. 

For one thing is certain.  The Empire is falling!  The Empire is falling! 

 

Carl Jarvis

 

 

 

It is time to fight for FairWages forPeople with Disabilities, H.R. 3086

Subject: Re: It is time to fight for FairWages forPeople with Disabilities, H.R. 3086

In posting the article by David Andrews along with the bill in a second post, I was not attempting to state a position, but rather, I hoped to stimulate discussion on an issue that has been with us since, well, since 1938.  Frankly, I see serious problems if we just allow things to continue the way the are, but I can see serious gaps if we follow David Andrew's request that we urge our congress people to vote for HR 3086 as it now stands. 

So, after all my years in the field of work with the blind, I turn out to be just another bureaucratic Mug Wump. 

But more later. 

 

Carl Jarvis

 

some of my thoughts on HB 3086

Subject: some of my thoughts on HB 3086

Marlaina got it right.  I wonder if we are trying to fix a very complex problem with one broad swipe of the brush. 

Here's the deal.  We exist in a Capitalist System.  We are not going to change how our nation does business.  I know, some folks tell me that we can level the playing field if we work at it.  Personally I'd like to level the fellow who came up with that term.  I know this, if it's my playing field, you are not going to change it unless I gain, too. 

Now on the one hand we have a system that measures its bottom line in profit. 

On the other hand we have a very large number of people we are demanding to be paid at least minimum wage for their labor. 

Rather than phasing out special wage certificates under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 under which individuals with disabilities may be employed at subminimum wage rates, thus threatening the jobs of thousands of disabled Americans, why not establish a national board to determine which businesses are seriously working to improve the lives of the disabled, and which businesses are using them to improve their bottom line. 

Then provide Federal funding to those businesses who meet the criteria.  These grants would be used strictly to improve the income of the employees(not the Administration). 

And before anyone gets all puffy over my suggestion that the Federal Government subsidize these businesses, let me remind you that our tax dollars are already underwriting the entire Military, Industrial Complex.  We tax payers even underwrite silly stuff.  Like baseball and football fields. 

Isn't one of the functions of a government to protect and sustain their most vulnerable citizens? 

The Great Prophet Jesus once said, "Even as you have done this to the least of these, so you have done it to me". 

So let's get the cart back behind the horse and pay folks at least the wage minimum and then we can begin to sort out how to make the new system work efficiently. 

 

Carl Jarvis

*************
Too long have the workers of the world waited for some Moses to lead them out of bondage. I would not lead you out if I could; for if you could be led out, you could be led back again. I would have you make up your minds there is nothing that you cannot do for yourselves. --Eugene Victor Debs
1855-1926

 

"I am opposing a social order in which it is possible for one man who does absolutely nothing that is useful to amass a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars, while millions of men and women who work all the days of their lives secure barely enough for a wretched existence."
Eugene Victor Debs 

 

check out my blog
www.curiouscarlscorner.blogspot.com

 

some of my thoughts on HB 3086

Joan and All,

Your observation raises the question, would these employees be better off if they earned the wage minimum and only worked 4 hours per week? 

I have a friend who is 58 years old.  He has Down's Syndrome and is non verbal.  But he loves going to work.  He lives with his parents and his sister and brother-in-law, so he has a good support network.  But he becomes restless and grumpy if all he has to do is sit around watching TV or listening to CD's.  When we first met him, he was working at least 6 hours every day.  But over the years funding has dwindled and he went to 4 hour days, then to three day weeks and currently he goes out twice a week for 2 hours a day.  If he were paid wage minimum he would go out zero hours a week.  How does that give him dignity and independence?  Is the answer forcing wage minimum down everyone's throat?  Or is the answer a tougher one.  One plan is not going to fit all disabled people.  Just because curb cuts and wheel chairs serve a large percentage of the disability population does not mean that blind people will benefit.  Nor will providing the latest technology help the severely mentally disabled people to compete in this Capitalist System we all live together in.  In fact, the Capitalist System does not meet all of our needs.  We need...must have diversity in how we solve these issues, and stop trying to shove everything into one Grand Plan.  That's the lazy way, not the smart way. 

 

Carl Jarvis

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

From: Joan Ladeburg

To: Carl Jarvis

Sent: Saturday, October 08, 2011 8:51 PM

Subject: Re: [Wcb-l] some of my thoughts on HB 3086

We have some employees who are blind with developmental  disabilities at the Lighthouse.    They are a part of  the Lighthouse suportive employment program. 

Until September they were working Monday through Friday for 6 hours, but with the budget cuts, they're taking Fridays off now. 

from joan Ladeburg

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

From: Carl Jarvis

To: wcb

Sent: Saturday, October 08, 2011 10:09 AM

Subject: [Wcb-l] some of my thoughts on HB 3086

Marlaina got it right.  I wonder if we are trying to fix a very complex problem with one broad swipe of the brush. 

Here's the deal.  We exist in a Capitalist System.  We are not going to change how our nation does business.  I know, some folks tell me that we can level the playing field if we work at it.  Personally I'd like to level the fellow who came up with that term.  I know this, if it's my playing field, you are not going to change it unless I gain, too. 

Now on the one hand we have a system that measures its bottom line in profit. 

On the other hand we have a very large number of people we are demanding to be paid at least minimum wage for their labor. 

Rather than phasing out special wage certificates under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 under which individuals with disabilities may be employed at subminimum wage rates, thus threatening the jobs of thousands of disabled Americans, why not establish a national board to determine which businesses are seriously working to improve the lives of the disabled, and which businesses are using them to improve their bottom line. 

Then provide Federal funding to those businesses who meet the criteria.  These grants would be used strictly to improve the income of the employees(not the Administration). 

And before anyone gets all puffy over my suggestion that the Federal Government subsidize these businesses, let me remind you that our tax dollars are already underwriting the entire Military, Industrial Complex.  We tax payers even underwrite silly stuff.  Like baseball and football fields. 

Isn't one of the functions of a government to protect and sustain their most vulnerable citizens? 

The Great Prophet Jesus once said, "Even as you have done this to the least of these, so you have done it to me". 

So let's get the cart back behind the horse and pay folks at least the wage minimum and then we can begin to sort out how to make the new system work efficiently. 

 

Carl Jarvis

*************
Too long have the workers of the world waited for some Moses to lead them out of bondage. I would not lead you out if I could; for if you could be led out, you could be led back again. I would have you make up your minds there is nothing that you cannot do for yourselves. --Eugene Victor Debs
1855-1926

 

"I am opposing a social order in which it is possible for one man who does absolutely nothing that is useful to amass a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars, while millions of men and women who work all the days of their lives secure barely enough for a wretched existence."
Eugene Victor Debs 

 

check out my blog
www.curiouscarlscorner.blogspot.com

 

 

more thoughts on H.R.3086 -- Fair Wages for Workers with Dis

Subject: more thoughts on H.R.3086 -- Fair Wages for Workers with Dis

Another part of this bill that is troubling to me is the following: 

(3) Today, advancements in vocational rehabilitation, technology, and training provide disabled workers with greater opportunities than in the past, and the number of such workers in the national workforce has dramatically increased.

 

We should request a breakout of the advances alluded to here.  What are they and how do they provide disabled people with greater opportunities?  Which disabled people?  All of us? 

It this is true why is the percentage of unemployed disabled people still over 60% and estimated as high as 70% among the blind? 

 

Broad generalizations such as the above can sound very tempting, because we want to believe that here is the solution to a serious problem. 

But we also need to know what this bill will leave behind it.  Where are the bill's assurances that once we all receive wage minimum we will still have our jobs. 

Who are the expert witnesses who are advising Congress that passage of this bill will result in greater job opportunity for the disabled? 

From where do they get their information. 

The list of unanswered questions is almost endless.  But if we do not have the answers we cannot make sound decisions. 

 

Carl Jarvis

 

 

It is time to fight for FairWages forPeople withDisabilities, H.R. 3086

From a blind member who is employed by the Lighthouse for the Blind. 

 

This bill will do nothing but cause unemployment for thousands and thousands of severely developmentally disabled people who work for NISH affiliated agencies and a few other work centers.  Since there is no money for day programs these people will sit with nothing to do but watch the paint on their walls get old all day.   These people love to come to work every day and if you support this bill you will essentially be telling them you don't care if they want to work.  The agencies that employ people with severe disabilities pay them a commensurate rate based on their ability to do the job.  If they are forced to pay them the full minimum wage every hour for doing only sometimes as little as 5 or 10% of the amount of work that a non disabled person could do, they will simply lay them off and they will have nothing to do.  Please do not put these people out of work.  They love their jobs and many of them could care less about money and have no concept of it.  Many of them do not even see their checks because the group home they live in takes it to help pay their living expenses. They just know it's time to go to work and are happy to do so. This bill is a bad idea that will only increase the already staggering unemployment rate for people with disabilities. 

 

 

---

From: wcb-l-bounces@wcbinfo.org [mailto:wcb-l-bounces@wcbinfo.org] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Friday, October 07, 2011 5:27 PM
To: wcb
Subject: [Wcb-l] It is time to fight for FairWages forPeople withDisabilities, H.R. 3086

 

From: David Andrews <dandrews@visi.com
Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] Fwd: It is time to fight for Fair
Wages forPeople with Disabilities, H.R.  3086
Date sent: Thu, 06 Oct 2011 20:23:54 -0500



>It is time to fight for Fair Wages for People with Disabilities,
>H.R.  3086.  <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
>"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /



>We need to mobilize and gain quick cosponsor support.  Call
and/or
>schedule meetings with your Member of Congress immediately and
>express your support for H.R.  3086, the Fair Wages for People
with
>Disabilities Act of 2011.  Our success is dependent on our
efforts
>to respectfully educate all Members of Congress so that they
>understand the true employment capacity of people with
>disabilities.  Many of our talking points are listed in the
Findings
>section of the Fair Wages for People with Disabilities bill.  The
>text of the bill can be found at:
><http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.3086:>http://thom
as.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.3086:#.
>If you secure an opportunity to speak with the Member or the
>appropriate staffer, begin the education by sharing the following
>three points with them:


>    * The Tools Exist for Competitive Employment of People with
> Disabilities.  Most people still believe that people with
> disabilities cannot be competitively employed at or above the
> federal minimum wage.  Rehabilitations services, employment
> strategies, and adaptive technologies make it possible for
people
> with even the most significant disabilities to obtain employment
at
> the federal minimum wage or higher.


>    * It is Illogical for Doubters to Provide Training and/or
> Employment.  For years, those entities that have doubted the
> capacity of people with disabilities to be competitively
employed
> have been responsible for providing employment at subminimum
> wages.  This is extremely backward logic.  Employers that cannot
> provide the proper training and support for people with
> disabilities to obtain competitive employment at competitive
wages
> should not be providing training or employment for people with
disabilities.


>    * Removing the Misconception of Incapacity Provides More
> Employment Opportunities.  Employment of people with
disabilities
> at subminimum wages supports the misperception that people with
> disabilities are not productive enough to earn competitive
> wages.  This misperception is the largest barrier to the real
> employment of people with disabilities.  By eliminating the
legal
> contention that people with disabilities lack capacity for
> competitive employment, it is affirmed that when given the
proper
> training, support, and opportunities, people with disabilities
can
> be competitively employed in a variety of vocational
environments
> at competitive wages.



>We need you to schedule visits in your local districts
immediately
>and to make your calls to the Member's local and D.C.  offices
right
>now.  If they are willing to cosponsor, refer them to the
following staffers:



>Office of Representative Cliff Stearns (Republican, Sponsor)

>James Thomas, Legislative Director/O&I Policy Coordinator

>Phone: (202) 225-5744



>Office of Representative Tim Bishop (Democrat, Lead Cosponsor)

>Joanna Sara, Senior Legislative Assistant

>Phone: (202) 225-3826



>After you have had your visit or made your call, please provide
me
>with the following information:

>Which Member of Congress?

>Which State?

>Who did you speak to?



>Ask the question, "Will the Member cosponsor the Fair Wages for
>People with Disabilities legislation?"  What was their response?

>(  ) I was only able to express my support.

>(  ) The Member would like to co-sponsor

>(  ) The Member needs to research the issue.

>(  ) The Member can not support this legislation.

>(  ) Other: Explain________________________________



>Please contact me if you have any questions.  Also, feel free to
>refer the staffers directly to me (my contact information is at
the
>end of this e-mail).



>We have been working toward this goal since the founding of our
>organization.  The time is now for us to fight for Fair Wages for
>People with Disabilities, H.R.  3086.



>Sincerely,



>Anil



>Mr.  Anil Lewis, M.P.A.

>Director of Strategic Communications



>"Eliminating Subminimum Wages for People with Disabilities"

><http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Fair_Wages_For_Workers_With_Disabilities.
asp>http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Fair_Wages_For_Workers_With_Disabiliti
es.asp



>NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

>200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place

>Baltimore, Maryland 21230

>(410) 659-9314 ext.  2374 (Voice)

>(410) 685-5653 (Fax)

>E-mail: <mailto:alewis@nfb.org>alewis@nfb.org

>Web: <http://www.nfb.org/>www.nfb.org



_______________________________________________
acb-l mailing list
acb-l@acb.org
http://www.acb.org/mailman/listinfo/acb-l