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| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 20 Registered: 10-2000 |
justice@jfanow.org Subject : ACTION ALERT! Concerns RE Voice-Over Internet Bill "ACTION ALERT! Concerns RE Voice-Over Internet Bill" From Voice Over Internet Consumer Equity (VOICE) coalition: Dear Board Members, APT has confirmed that the VoIP Regulatory Freedom Act of 2004, introduced by Senator John Sununu, is set for markup by the Senate Commerce Committee on July 20th. If passed as is, this bill would deal a serious blow to consumer protection and accessibility in the IP-enabled era. I urge you to take action to stop this from happening, by having your organization contact/visit members of the Senate Commerce Committee. They need to know how this bill will affect your constituency. I also encourage you to circulate this information to your network of members and/or others in the public interest community to enlist their support. For a complete Committee contact list, visit http://commerce.senate.gov/about/membership.html. If you are able to send or fax a letter, please email a copy to Elena at eberger@apt.org so that APT can read your organization's point of view. At the bottom of this email is the text of the letter that APT sent to the Committee today for your reference. What does the Sununu bill say? The bill categorizes VOIP as an "information" service, severely restricting any type of regulation from being imposed. If it is passed, the following consumer protections would be at risk: 1. Universal Service. VoIP providers would not be required to contribute directly to the universal service fund. This fund provides access to telephone service to residents in rural high-cost areas and low income consumers, and it is the funding mechanism for the E-rate. 2. Public Safety, Reliability, and Security. The provision of 911 and enhanced 911 services, reliability and security would not be required. They are all voluntary provisions. 3. Accessibility. Standards of accessibility by customers with disabilities would be voluntary for providers of VoIP services, leaving it to the industry to develop their own guidelines. Important provisions such as Telecommunications Relay Services would be optional. To read the whole bill, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?c108:./temp/~c108KS5dyo. Thank you for your support. Debbie Goldman President ======================================== July 16, 2004 Dear Senator: In advance of the Senate Commerce Committee markup of the proposed VoIP Regulatory Freedom Act of 2004 (S. 2281), the Alliance for Public Technology (APT) and the undersigned members of the Voice Over Internet Consumer Equity (VOICE) Coalition would like to express their concerns. We believe that this particular bill overlooks the most critical aspect of the ongoing debate over VoIP: the consumer. The VOICE Coalition agrees that emerging technologies such as VoIP offer exciting new possibilities and can dramatically alter the way in which Americans communicate with one another. But the full potential of these technologies will only be realized if we adopt public policies to ensure that providers fulfill the social obligations that have been the hallmark of the traditional public switched telephone network. These obligations include: * Universal Service. VoIP is functionally equivalent to traditional telephone service and is reliant on the public switched network that has been the backbone of this country's communications system. As such, VoIP providers should be required to contribute directly to the universal service fund to ensure access to telephone service to rural, high-cost and low-income consumers, and schools and libraries. * Accessibility. Consumers with disabilities expect, and Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 mandates, that all telecommunications services be accessible and usable. VoIP providers should be required to meet the same standards as traditional voice telephony providers, and to contribute to important provisions such as Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS). * Public Safety, Reliability and Security. The provision of 911 and enhanced 911 services, as well as basic consumer protections, should be required of all communications providers, regardless of the technology. The VoIP Regulatory Freedom Act of 2004 would require none of these important public interest provisions. The Act would also, by way of implementing two different regulatory scenarios for essentially the same telecommunications service, create an environment that is inhospitable to investment in and maintenance of the public switched network upon which all telephone service relies. The role of government in this case ultimately should be to create a regulatory framework that promotes the growth of VoIP while protecting the interests of all consumers. We respectfully submit that the bill currently before the Committee falls well short of this goal. We urge you to seriously consider the ramifications of your decision, and to refrain from passing any legislation that does not specifically require the public interest obligations outlined by the VOICE Coalition. We refer you to reply comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission on July 14, 2004 by APT on behalf of 33 other organizations. An outline is attached, and the full comments are available online at http://apt.org/policy/voip_reply_comments.pdf. Thank you for your hard work in this proceeding. We look forward to working with you in the future to ensure that all consumers will reap the benefits of emerging technologies such as VoIP. Sincerely, The Alliance for Public Technology Alliance for Technology Access American Association of Law Libraries American Association of People with Disabilities American Federation of Teachers Communications Workers of America Community Action Partnership Department of Professional Employees, AFL-CIO Independent Living Network MAAC Project National Association of the Deaf National Consumers League National Council of La Raza Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc. Telecommunications Research and Action Center # # # ===================== JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org JFA ARCHIVES. All JFA postings from 1995 to present are available at: http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html NOTE: Some Internet Providers (including AOL, Earthlink and Juno) may see JFA postings as spam because of the large volume of JFA mail recipients and fail to deliver the posting. If this happens, the JFA system may automatically unsubscribe some email addresses. Should you stop receiving JFA Alerts, please subscribe to JFA again as per the instructions at http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAsubscribing.html You may also need to contact your service provider to find out how to prevent JFA postings from being recognized as spam. PLEASE EMPTY YOUR EMAIL INBOX REGULARLY. JFA automatically deletes subscribers that are over their message quota. If you stop using an account please unsubscribe that old account. With hundreds of inbound emails and thousands of outbound emails daily, JFA can not respond to every message. We thank you for your understanding and continued outstanding advocacy! JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of the American Association of People with Disabilities http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html ===================================================================== Justice-For-All FREE Subscriptions To subscribe or unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@JFANOW.ORG with one or the other in the body of your message: subscribe justice unsubscribe justice | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 21 Registered: 10-2000 |
ADAPT Resolution on Community-Based Services "ADAPT Resolution on Community-Based Services" A Press Release from ADAPT: July 16, 2004 For Information Contact ADAPT Asks Governors to Resolve to End Institutional Bias and Support Community Services Seattle--- When the National Governors Association (NGA) holds its annual meeting in Seattle, July 17-19, ADAPT, the nations largest grassroots disability rights organization, will be there to challenge the governors on the issue of long term care. "Over two million people of all ages with physical, mental, sensory and cognitive disabilities are warehoused in nursing homes and other institutions due only to the lack of home and community services in their state", said Bob Kafka, National ADAPT Organizer. "We want the NGA to vote on and pass a resolution calling for reform of the current institutionally biased Medicaid long term care system, and indicating their support for legislation promoting community based services." ADAPT supporters from all over the country contacted their respective governors last week asking them to sponsor and vote in support of the resolution. Along with Medicaid reform, the resolution calls for the NGA to work with the states to implement the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Olmstead vs. L.C. and E.W. which calls for states to move people out of, and divert people from admission to, nursing homes and other institutions so they can live in their own homes and communities with the support they need. It also calls on the NGA to support Medicaid reform that is not based on block grants and capitation of funding. "We were very surprised to learn that even before we arrived in Seattle, the NGA sent out a statement about us that not only bears little resemblance to the truth, but actually seeks to undermine our right to freedom of speech", said Barbara Toomer, ADAPT Utah State Organizer. "In an effort to discourage the press and media from covering us, they wrote that we are much more interested in generating media attention than talking about the issues. For years, thats all weve asked for- a real meeting with the NGA Executive Committee to discuss how we can support each other in accomplishing an end to the institutional bias in Medicaid." On Saturday, July 16, ADAPT members and supporters from over 30 states and the District of Columbia will march to Victor Steinbrueck Park for a rally to kick-off their week in Seattle with the NGA. On Monday, July 19, ADAPT will publicly announce the Ten Worst States for Community Services, based on information the states report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that is then collated in a report for CMS by the Medstat Group, Inc. "Do we want media attention?" added Steve Verriden, Wisconsin ADAPT State Organizer. "Of course we do. We are, and we represent, Americas poorest and most vulnerable citizens. We don't have powerful positions to influence the policymakers, and we certainly don't have the $10,000 to $150,000 that corporations pay to gain entrance to the NGA meetings, where they can hob-nob with the governors over cocktails and fancy dinners. All we have to get our issues before the public and the policymakers is our ability to be newsworthy and articulate our belief that no American should be forced into a nursing home against their will simply because Medicaid in their state won't pay for the same services in their own home." ============================ The Resolution Dear Friends of Community Services: This is a resolution that ADAPT activists are proposing that the NGA members vote on and pass while they are in Seattle for their national conference, July 17th-19th. Over two million people with disabilities, old and young, with physical, mental and/or cognitive disabilities are warehoused in nursing homes and other institutions because of the lack of home and community services. ADAPT believes the NGA and each individual Governor play an integral part in the reforming of this institutionally biased long term care system. The ADAPT Community ================================ RESOLUTION Commitment To Community-based Long Term Care Services and Support WHEREAS millions of people with disabilities and older Americans currently need or will need long term services and supports to live in the community and this number is expected to grow at a rapid pace over the next three decades; and WHEREAS the current long term care system is fragmented, overly medicalized, bureaucratic, expensive with an institutional bias that unnecessarily forces people with disabilities and older Americans in nursing homes and other institutions; and WHEREAS the Supreme Court in the Olmstead vs. LC & EW decision ruled in 1999 that people have the right to services in the most integrated setting; and WHEREAS the American public overwhelmingly supports long term care services and supports be provided in their own home and communities; and WHEREAS the reform of the long term care (services and supports) system must be a cooperative partnership between the federal government, the states and the disability/older community, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the National Governors Association, NGA, by a vote of the membership and the Executive Committee supports the following: A) The current long term services and support system has an institutional bias that must be reformed through a cooperative effort by the federal government, the states and the disability/older community including those who use services; and B) The long term services and support system must include the principles that home and community services and supports are the first priority and that support services should be provided in the most integrated setting; and C) No person with a disability or older American should be forced into a nursing home or other institution because of the lack of integrated home and community options; and D) People with disabilities and older Americans must have full inclusion in the design, implementation and review of the long term services and support system; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NGA supports the passage and funding of the Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act, MiCASSA (currently S971 - HR 2032) and legislation that includes the Money Follows the Person initiative (currently S.1394 - HR 1811); and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NGA work with the individual states to assure that the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision is aggressively implemented and that the measure of this implementation be, in a year, how many people have gotten out of nursing homes and other institutions and how many people have been diverted from nursing homes and other institutions; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NGA work with the states to assure that any 1115 waivers submitted by a State should have statewide public hearings before development and submission to HHS, and that the 1115 waiver process should not be used to undercut current community Medicaid services and federal protections; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NGA supports reform of the long term services and support system that does not result in block granting, capitating or otherwise reducing or eliminating funding to the states or the removal of the current national Medicaid protections. Passed this day ____________ July 2004 FOR MORE INFORMATION on ADAPT visit our website at http://www.adapt.org/ # # # ===================== JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org JFA ARCHIVES. All JFA postings from 1995 to present are available at: http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html NOTE: Some Internet Providers (including AOL, Earthlink and Juno) may see JFA postings as spam because of the large volume of JFA mail recipients and fail to deliver the posting. If this happens, the JFA system may automatically unsubscribe some email addresses. Should you stop receiving JFA Alerts, please subscribe to JFA again as per the instructions at http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAsubscribing.html You may also need to contact your service provider to find out how to prevent JFA postings from being recognized as spam. PLEASE EMPTY YOUR EMAIL INBOX REGULARLY. JFA automatically deletes subscribers that are over their message quota. If you stop using an account please unsubscribe that old account. With hundreds of inbound emails and thousands of outbound emails daily, JFA can not respond to every message. We thank you for your understanding and continued outstanding advocacy! JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of the American Association of People with Disabilities http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html ===================================================================== Justice-For-All FREE Subscriptions To subscribe or unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@JFANOW.ORG with one or the other in the body of your message: subscribe justice unsubscribe justice | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 22 Registered: 10-2000 |
Update on ADAPT Action; ADAPT's 'Ten Worst States' "Update on ADAPT Action; ADAPT's 'Ten Worst States'" Press Releases from ADAPT <www.adapt.org>, the first about securing introduction of a resolution, the second concerning ADAPT's identification of the ten worst states regarding community services: July 19, 2004 ADAPT Scores Resolution Intro by PA Gov. Rendell at NGA Summer Meeting Seattle--- ADAPT blocked intersections around the Westin Hotel headquarters of the National Governors Association (NGA) summer meeting in Seattle for five hours before Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell agreed to introduce ADAPT's long term care resolution to the NGA membership. The resolution calls for reform of the Medicaid long term care system, so persons with disabilities, old and young, would have the choice to receive services and supports in their own homes instead of nursing homes and other institutions. Gov. Rendell's commitment to read the resolution to the NGA membership today, and begin a formal process to move it forward, not only prevented imminent arrest of up to 200 ADAPT activists, but it set the stage for a vote on the resolution by the NGA membership at their February meeting. Rendell delivered his promise in person to the 500 ADAPT activists. "I was so proud of my Governor today," said Nancy Salandra, an ADAPT Organizer from Philadelphia. "It's my birthday, and Governor Rendell gave me the best possible present when he came out of the Westin hotel to join us in the street and tell us that our resolution is an idea whose time has come, and that a lot of governors agree with us." Rendell's public meeting with ADAPT bucked the party line put out by NGA staff before the summer meeting. That "party line" was contained in a written statement that, among other things said NGA would "work to minimize media coverage generated by protests" and would "not arrange meetings with Governors for representatives of ADAPT" Additionally, Rendell sent Director of the Pennsylvania Office of Health Care Reform, Rosemarie Greco, to speak at the ADAPT kick-off rally at Victor Steinbrueck Park on Saturday. Some of the other Governors who chose to communicate with their constituents in Seattle include Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour who arranged to meet personally with Mississipians from ADAPT and committed to a follow-up meeting on July 23 back home; Kansas Governor Kathleen Sibelius who called personally during the rally, asked to have the ADAPT resolution faxed to her, and sent constituents a box of fruit; Montana Governor Judy Martz who, although ill herself, had her Communications Director Chuck Butler meet with constituents after Gov. Rendell's meeting with ADAPT. Sunday's blocking of streets around the Westin was a response to an early morning appearance at the ADAPT hotel by NGA Health and Human Services Committee Director Matt Salo. Salo called to arrange the meeting, only to arrive and tell the assembled 500 people that he had no power to do anything. He also stated to the TV cameras present that he would not even take the ADAPT resolution back to the committee. He quickly left amid loud booing from ADAPT. "I don't get it," said Mark Johnson, a Georgia ADAPT Organizer. "Is the NGA leadership in touch with its own members? When we arrived in Seattle we read the NGA staff propaganda about not covering or communicating with us, but individual Governors have been very responsive. They seem to understand that we share their concern about long term care reform, and we want to partner with them to be part of the solution. After all, having fought for and used home and community based services for years, we are the real experts, and we are ready and willing to share that expertise. Our very lives depend on it." ================================= July 19, 2004 ADAPT Announces 2004 Top Ten Worst States, then Visits Regional HUD Office Seattle---Mississippi topped the ADAPT 2004 list of the "Top Ten Worst States for Community Services", announced Monday at a morning press conference held on the "Triangle" on Fifth Avenue between Olive and Stewart, in front of the Westin Hotel. The Westin is where the National Governors Association has been holding its summer meeting. Mississippi's dubious honor of "First Worst" was the result of 87% of its long term care funding being spent on nursing homes and other institutions, while only 13% goes for community services. In addition, Mississippi is last among the states and the District of Columbia in community services for persons with developmental disabilities, and 47thin the nation on overall spending for community services. Following #1 Mississippi were; # 2 Nevada with the lowest spending per capita on all community services, and 67% of the long term care funds going to nursing homes and other institutions; # 3 Louisiana with 81% of all long term care funds going to nursing homes and other institutions, and being 51st in Medicaid community spending behind the other states and the District of Columbia; # 4 Tennessee, ranked 48th on home care per capita spending, and 46th in spending for people with physical disabilities; # 5 Illinois with 80% of long term care funds going to nursing homes and other institutions, and a rank of 46 in overall per capita spending in the community, and a rank of 46 in community spending for persons with developmental disabilities; # 6 Georgia with 79% of its long term care spending being on nursing homes and other institutions, and a rank of 48 in fiscal effort for all community services; # 7 Alabama with 77% of its long term care funds going to nursing homes and other institutions, and a rank of 46 in fiscal effort for all community services; # 8 New Jersey with a rank of 46 in spending on all community services, a rank of 50 in fiscal effort for community services for persons with developmental disabilities, and the 7th highest spending per capita on nursing homes and other institutions, with 79% of the long term care funds going in that direction; # 9 Florida with 74% of the long term care funds going to nursing homes and other institutions, and a rank of 43 in per capita spending for community services; and # 10 District of Columbia where 90% of the long term care spending is on nursing homes and other institutions, and with the highest per capita spending on Intermediate Care Facilities for persons with Mental Retardation (ICFs-MR), and second highest per capita spending on nursing homes. ADAPT's "Ten Worst" list is based on a combination of statistics the states report to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid which are then collated by the Medstat group; the 2004 National Study of Disability Finance from the University of Colorado Department of Psychiatry; and an informal survey of persons with disabilities, advocates and state personnel on their state's services. The rankings weighed the ratio of institutional spending to community spending, the per capita spending on nursing homes and community and ICFs-MR, and the overall spending on community long term care. Members of # 1 Mississippi's ADAPT chapter met with their Governor, Haley Barbour, offering to work with him to create a real home and community based services system in Mississippi so that their state "wouldn't always be in the top ten worst." Gov. Barbour will be presented with the "First Worst" wreath of lemons and dinosaurs once he returns to Mississippi. The Governors of the next nine states will receive visors with their state's picture, rank, the Governor's name, and a lemon and a dinosaur. After the "Ten Worst" press conference, ADAPT marched to the regional Housing and Urban Development (HUD) office as a follow-up to the May 26 National Housing Justice Memorial Day (NHJMD). Before everyone had lined up in front of the building, HUD Regional Director John Myers was out on the street agreeing to fax the NHJMD demands to HUD Secretary Alphonzo Jackson. The four demands are aimed at preventing any reduction in funding or the number of Section 8 vouchers available, keeping the Section 8 program in its current form with adequate funding, requiring impact studies for any proposed changes, and especially assuring input from the grassroots on any proposed changes. "Our main objective here in Seattle was convincing the NGA to pass our resolution calling for long term care reform that allows people to choose to receive long term care services in their own home, said Beto Barrera of Chicago ADAPT and the Disability Rights Action Coalition for Housing (DRACH). However, as we begin to free more people from institutional settings, they are going to need affordable accessible housing, and that's where HUD comes in." # # # ===================== JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org JFA ARCHIVES. All JFA postings from 1995 to present are available at: http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html NOTE: Some Internet Providers (including AOL, Earthlink and Juno) may see JFA postings as spam because of the large volume of JFA mail recipients and fail to deliver the posting. If this happens, the JFA system may automatically unsubscribe some email addresses. Should you stop receiving JFA Alerts, please subscribe to JFA again as per the instructions at http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAsubscribing.html You may also need to contact your service provider to find out how to prevent JFA postings from being recognized as spam. PLEASE EMPTY YOUR EMAIL INBOX REGULARLY. JFA automatically deletes subscribers that are over their message quota. If you stop using an account please unsubscribe that old account. With hundreds of inbound emails and thousands of outbound emails daily, JFA can not respond to every message. We thank you for your understanding and continued outstanding advocacy! JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of the American Association of People with Disabilities http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html ===================================================================== Justice-For-All FREE Subscriptions To subscribe or unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@JFANOW.ORG with one or the other in the body of your message: subscribe justice unsubscribe justice | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 25 Registered: 10-2000 |
"Bush Response to AAPD Questionnaire" The following response to AAPD's questionnaire is provided by the Bush-Cheney '04 Campaign. AAPD is non-partisan and shares information about candidates' disability-related policy positions for educational purposes. Jonathan Young JFA Moderator, AAPD ==================================== DISABILITY ISSUE QUESTIONS FROM THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES 1. What are your top three accomplishments on behalf of people with disabilities in your career to date as an elected official? My New Freedom Initiative builds on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to enhance opportunities for the 54 million Americans with disabilities. Many specific programs in the New Freedom Initiative benefit Americans with disabilities, including three that I believe are particularly noteworthy: the transportation, community life, and health care provisions. I have proposed $884 million over six years to remove transportation barriers still faced by individuals with disabilities. Further, my Administration has completed the regulation process for installing platform lifts on public transportation and worked with the States to sponsor "United We Ride," a five-part initiative to help States and communities coordinate human service transportation for older Americans, and people with disabilities. To enhance community life for people with disabilities, I issued an Executive Order calling for swift implementation of the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision to expand community-based services and community living choices for individuals with disabilities regardless of age. Ten agencies submitted the first report agency efforts to meet the order, identifying barriers to full community integration that exist in Federal programs and proposing more than 400 solutions for removing these barriers. The report sets forth a summary of the actions that Federal agencies propose to take in several key areas such as health care structure and financing, employment, housing, education, and personal assistance services. As a result, the Department of Health and Human Services has awarded nearly $158 million for the "Real Choice Systems Change Grants for Community Living" - a program that will help states and territories enable people with disabilities to reside in their homes if they wish. My budget proposes an increase of $2.2 billion over the next five years for the Department of Health and Human Services to fund demonstration projects that promote community-based services for people with disabilities. The Help America Vote Act includes $10 million to improve access to voting for people with disabilities and $5 million for protection and advocacy programs on behalf of people with disabilities. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has funded grants to enable older individuals and individuals with disabilities to remain in their homes. Of course, access to high-quality health care is vital to people with disabilities, and I have taken action to make health care more accessible and affordable. I have allocated $1.75 billion for a five-year initiative that would fund Medicaid services for individuals transitioning from institutions to the community. And I proposed strengthening Medicaid by allowing spouses of individuals with disabilities who return to work to keep their Medicaid coverage. I have allocated $102 million through fiscal year 2009 for this project. My New Freedom Initiative represents a clear and ongoing commitment to ensure that Americans with disabilities have every opportunity to enjoy all the opportunities our Nation has to offer. A caring and compassionate society can offer no less. 2. If you are elected/re-elected what will be your top three priorities during your first 100 days in office to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities living in the U.S.? I will continue to pursue the policies I proposed in the New Freedom Initiative - the most comprehensive proposal since the ADA that is focused on removing barriers faced by people with disabilities - and I will remain open to new ideas to assist people with disabilities as technologies develop or new needs arise. 3. What ideas do you have for bringing our four largest federal programs (Medicaid, Medicare, Supplemental Security Income, and Social Security Disability Insurance) in line with the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency)? The ADA is an excellent start in affording everyone an equal chance at success, but more must be done. My commitment to the 20% of Americans with disabilities is demonstrated in my New Freedom Initiative. I secured funding for a number of projects aimed at removing disincentives to work that currently exist in the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefit system. And in June 2001, I signed an Executive Order to create "Community-Based Alternatives for Individuals with Disabilities," directing agencies to require States to place qualified individuals with mental disabilities in community settings, rather than in institutions. The "Ticket to Work" law extends Medicare coverage for SSDI beneficiaries so employees can return to work without the fear of losing health benefits. It also expands Medicaid eligibility categories for certain working people with severe disabilities so that they can continue to receive benefits after their income or condition improves. I also created the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, which is responsible for conducting a comprehensive study of the Nation's mental health service delivery system. The Commission recommended improvements to enable adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbances to live, work, learn, and participate fully in their communities. My Administration is working to address the improvements recommended in the report. 4. What do you see as the most appropriate role for the federal government to play in the lives of people with disabilities and their families and what is your reaction to recent trends limiting the federal role in disability policy? I believe that the Federal government should not only provide an outstanding example of equality and fairness in its own employment policies, but should facilitate efforts that will help to establish an environment of opportunity that gives every American a chance to succeed and thrive. It is the government's duty to enforce the laws that protect the rights of Americans with disabilities and to invest in the projects that will further expand their opportunities. In keeping with this philosophy, the Justice Department is aggressively enforcing the ADA, which has been critical in tearing down the barriers once faced by Americans with disabilities. There is still more we can do, and my New Freedom Initiative is building on this progress. The swift implementation of the Olmstead decision is resulting in expanded community-based services and better assistive technologies for more Americans with disabilities. We are supporting these efforts with funding that will enable more individuals with disabilities to access new technologies, own their own homes, and fully participate in their communities. And by providing funding through grant funds and demonstrations, we are equipping States and localities - which are better able to address the needs of their communities - with the resources to provide the programs that will benefit their specific populations. 5. What concrete steps will you take to ensure your administration and your appointments to the federal bench and other entities include a representative group of qualified people with disabilities? I have worked to appoint qualified individuals of minority populations to the Federal bench and I will continue to appoint the most capable people of all backgrounds and abilities to top positions within my Administration. I believe that the best way to ensure that qualified people with disabilities receive Federal appointments is to ensure that individuals with disabilities have the opportunity to compete on a level playing field and fully demonstrate their abilities, without the fear of being discriminated against or overlooked. My Administration will continue to fight to ensure that all opportunities remain open to persons with disabilities by vigorously enforcing the ADA, aggressively resolving disability-related complaints, and continuing to implement my New Freedom Initiative. 6. What will you do as President to dramatically increase the percentage of children with disabilities who graduate from high school and go on to post-secondary education? The first step in increasing graduation rates is providing equal opportunities for success at every stage of the education system. I have proposed to increase funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by $1 billion in 2005, which would represent a 75% increase since 2001, and the Department of Education recently funded a number of grants to determine what strategies help students with disabilities access the general education curriculum and what kinds of early interventions promote the best results for students with disabilities. Through these focused efforts, I aim to see every student achieve academic success and graduate with the tools to succeed in the future. In addition, the No Child Left Behind Act is based on the belief that every child can learn. Under this law, schools are being held accountable for the education results of subgroups of students, including students with disabilities. This Act includes the Reading First program, which has already provided approximately $2.5 billion in funding to ensure that every child is reading on grade level by the end of the third grade. I have also proposed $100 million for the Striving Readers program and a $120 million increase for the Math and Science Partnerships program to help catch up middle and high school students who have fallen behind in reading and math. This funding will significantly benefit students with disabilities who may not have received proper instruction in the early grades. 7. What will your administration do to improve the accessibility of mainstream technologies and access to assistive technologies for people with disabilities? Since technology has the potential to aid everyone in our society, especially Americans with disabilities, increasing access to technology is a main priority of my Administration. I have secured $20 million for a fund to help individuals with disabilities purchase the technology they need to work from home. I promoted full implementation of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, requiring that electronic and information technology purchased, maintained, and used by the Federal government is readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. 8. How will you work with disability advocates and Congress to draft and promote legislation to restore civil rights protections for qualified disabled individuals who have been left out by U.S. Supreme Court decisions interpreting the ADA, especially in the area of employment? As part of a nationwide effort to build on the successes of ADA, I announced the New Freedom Initiative in 2001 to help level the playing field for Americans with disabilities. Men and women with disabilities deserve equal employment opportunities and my Administration has created programs that help expand workforce options for employees with disabilities. Tax benefits are now serving as incentives for employers to provide computer equipment and Internet access to their employees with special needs. This flexibility will expand the universe of accessible employment and will allow employees to take advantage of this flexibility for teleworking. My Administration is also ensuring the swift implementation of the "Ticket to Work" law, which provides incentives for people with disabilities to return to work. The law provides Americans with disabilities a voucher-like "ticket" that allows them to choose their own support services, including vocational education programs and rehabilitation services. It also extends Medicare coverage for some SSDI beneficiaries so employees can return to work without the fear of losing health benefits. To further encourage employees to return to work, the law also expands Medicaid eligibility categories so that individuals working with disabilities will receive benefits even after their income or condition improves. I secured $36.6 million in 2002 to fund State loan programs to help people with disabilities purchase assistive technologies, such as computers with special adaptive equipment. I have also mandated full implementation of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, requiring electronic and information technology purchased, maintained, and used by the Federal government to be readily accessible to people with disabilities. In addition, the New Freedom Initiative will provide resources for technical assistance to help small businesses comply with the ADA so that they can better serve customers and hire more people with disabilities. And I will continue to work closely with the Department of Justice to ensure full enforcement of the ADA. Since 2001, the Civil Rights Division has resolved over 1,000 disability-related complaints, over 500 of those through mediation. | Paid for by Bush-Cheney '04, Inc. | -------------------------------------------------- JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org JFA ARCHIVES. All JFA postings from 1995 to present are available at: http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html NOTE: Some Internet Providers (including AOL, Earthlink and Juno) may see JFA postings as spam because of the large volume of JFA mail recipients and fail to deliver the posting. If this happens, the JFA system may automatically unsubscribe some email addresses. Should you stop receiving JFA Alerts, please subscribe to JFA again as per the instructions at http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAsubscribing.html You may also need to contact your service provider to find out how to prevent JFA postings from being recognized as spam. PLEASE EMPTY YOUR EMAIL INBOX REGULARLY. JFA automatically deletes subscribers that are over their message quota. If you stop using an account please unsubscribe that old account. With hundreds of inbound emails and thousands of outbound emails daily, JFA can not respond to every message. We thank you for your understanding and continued outstanding advocacy! JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of the American Association of People with Disabilities http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html ===================================================================== Justice-For-All FREE Subscriptions To subscribe or unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@JFANOW.ORG with one or the other in the body of your message: subscribe justice unsubscribe justice | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 26 Registered: 10-2000 |
"ADA Statement From Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader" The following press release is provided by the office of the House Democratic Leader. AAPD is non-partisan and shares information about political parties' disability-related policy positions for educational purposes. Jonathan Young JFA Moderator, AAPD ===================================== News From House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi H-204, The Capitol, Washington D.C. 20515 http://democraticleader.house.gov Friday, July 23, 2004 Contact: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider, 202-226-7616 Pelosi Statement on 14th Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act Washington, D.C. -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the occasion of the 14th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): "Fourteen years ago, landmark civil rights legislation -- the Americans with Disabilities Act -- was enacted 'to provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities.' "The ADA recognized, and made the law of the land, the simple premise that every American has the right to live independently and to fully participate in all aspects of our society -- including our schools, our businesses, and our communities. "Today, we celebrate the successes of the ADA and the hard- fought victories that have prevented discrimination against individuals with disabilities. The ADA has promoted inclusion so that individuals with disabilities should not be isolated, living separate lives, but instead should have full access to public accommodations, governmental services, and the right to vote. "But we would be remiss to think that all the barriers are behind us or that we are close to meeting the goals of the ADA. Despite the clear intent of Congress, courts in recent years narrowed the scope of the ADA and have limited the enforcement of key provisions, especially those related to the workplace and the application of the ADA to state law. And the number of people with disabilities employed by the federal government has decreased. "We must renew our efforts to realize the promise of the ADA and work to restore its full protections. We will fight the attempts of the Bush Administration to appoint judges who try to chip away at the ADA and their attempts every year to cut funding for key programs in Medicaid, Section 8 housing, vocational rehabilitation, and assistive technology. The ADA brought our nation closer to the ideals of equality and opportunity that are both our heritage and our hope. Democrats are leading the way in our national effort to make those ideals a reality for all Americans." # # # ===================== JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org JFA ARCHIVES. All JFA postings from 1995 to present are available at: http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 27 Registered: 10-2000 |
"ADA Anniversary Message From the Dart Family" "I am with you always. I love you. Lead on. Lead on." Justin Dart, Jr. July 26, 2004 Dear Colleagues in justice, we love you. Justin loved you and will continue to love you. Happy Independence Day! Congratulations! Thank you for your great leadership! In order for us to better understand our responsibilities we have attempted to write a message to colleagues who will celebrate the 100th Birthday of ADA on July 26, 2090: To Dear Future Colleagues in Justice: Today we are praying. We are praying that you live in a much more accessible, inclusive, integrated, loving, truthful and just world where democracy has been expanded and strengthened. We have taken only the first steps in a long journey to justice. Regrettably in our year 2004, the ADA, IDEA, Independent Living funding, MiCASSA and our other civil rights laws are under attack. Our culture still incarcerates millions of humans with and without disabilities in barbaric institutions, backrooms and worse, windowless cells of oppressive perceptions, for the lack of basic empowerment supports. The powerful forces of the far right, forces of retreat, have started taking us back to the days of states rights; power and privilege for the few. Democracy itself is under attack. My late husband, Justin Dart, Jr., one of the leaders of the ADA, dedicated the last 50 years of his life promoting civil and human rights of all people. He was writing about his burning vision for the 21st century every day - until his last day. He wrote: "The goal of democracy: the best life for all The first goal of 21st century people must be the creation of a culture that guarantees the tools and choices of individualized empowerment to every person I call for solidarity among all who love justice, all who love life, to create a revolution that will empower every single human being to govern his or her life, to govern the society and to be fully productive of life quality for self and for all" On the 100th Birthday of ADA, are you closer to living the dream of individualized empowerment? On the 100th Birthday of ADA, are you in solidarity? Do you live in a more democratic world? Today, we are praying. Beloved colleagues of 2090, we cry out to you, "Expand the revolution for the next 100 years and beyond. Never give up. Keep leading on". "You have the power, therefore the responsibility. Live the Dream." We love you! Today, we are praying. Beloved colleagues, living together now in 2004, let us rededicate ourselves to the revolution of 1776, 1964 and 1990. Let us lead the revolution for our current and future generations. The world is watching America. The world is watching the ADA. The world will follow what we do. We have the power. We have the responsibility. Failure is unthinkable. Choose freedom! Vote in November as never before. Let us go forward together to embrace each other in reverence for individual human life. Solidarity forever! Together we shall free our people and we shall overcome. We love you so much! Yoshiko and the family "Get into politics as if your life depended on it. Because it does." # # # ===================== JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org JFA ARCHIVES. All JFA postings from 1995 to present are available at: http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html NOTE: Some Internet Providers (including AOL, Earthlink and Juno) may see JFA postings as spam because of the large volume of JFA mail recipients and fail to deliver the posting. If this happens, the JFA system may automatically unsubscribe some email addresses. Should you stop receiving JFA Alerts, please subscribe to JFA again as per the instructions at http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAsubscribing.html You may also need to contact your service provider to find out how to prevent JFA postings from being recognized as spam. PLEASE EMPTY YOUR EMAIL INBOX REGULARLY. JFA automatically deletes subscribers that are over their message quota. If you stop using an account please unsubscribe that old account. With hundreds of inbound emails and thousands of outbound emails daily, JFA can not respond to every message. We thank you for your understanding and continued outstanding advocacy! JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of the American Association of People with Disabilities http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html Justice-For-All FREE Subscriptions To subscribe or unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@JFANOW.ORG with one or the other in the body of your message: subscribe justice unsubscribe justice | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 32 Registered: 10-2000 |
"Kerry Response to AAPD Questionnaire" The following response to AAPD's questionnaire is provided by the Kerry-Edwards campaign. AAPD is non-partisan and shares information about candidates' disability-related policy positions for educational purposes. Jonathan Young JFA Moderator, AAPD ==================================== ""DISABILITY ISSUE QUESTIONS FROM THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES 1. What are your top three accomplishments on behalf of people with disabilities in your career to date as an elected official? One of my things that I am most proud of is having cosponsored the Americans with Disabilities Act, the most comprehensive nondiscrimination legislation enacted since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 1987, I drafted the Technology to Educate Children with Handicaps (TECH) Act, which created assistive device centers across the country to ensure all children with special needs have access to the assistive devices necessary to get an education. These centers train specialists, teachers, and therapists to identify students who could benefit from such technologies. These centers also inform parents, educators and therapists on how to support and incorporate these devices into children's educational experiences. I fought hard to enact this legislation so that children with disabilities could gain independence in the classroom and throughout their lives. The goals of my legislative proposal were later incorporated into the Technology Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988. I have had a long-time commitment to protecting the rights of individuals disabled by mental illness. I was an original cosponsor of the landmark Mental Health Parity Act passed by Congress in 1996, which requires parity for annual and lifetime dollar limit coverage for mental health treatment. While its enactment marked an important step in the fight for providing greater mental health treatment benefits, it is time now to take another step toward the goal of mental health parity. Consequently, I strongly support the Senator Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2003. This legislation will provide for equal coverage of mental health benefits with respect to health insurance coverage unless comparable limitations are imposed on medical and surgical benefits. In my work on the Small Business Committee, I was involved in achieving the landmark goal of assuring that veterans with disabilities have an opportunity to receive a three percent share of Federal Contracts. With federal contracts today worth $250 billion, small businesses owned by veterans with disabilities have access to $7.5 billion in business opportunities. 2. If you are elected/re-elected what will be your top three priorities during your first 100 days in office to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities living in the U.S.? I will offer Americans with disabilities freedom, independence, and choices. I will appoint a national bipartisan Community First Commission made up of distinguished Americans, including people with disabilities who will identify short and long term policy reforms that could and should be pursued to: * Guarantee that all Americans with disabilities who can live in their community with affordable supports have equal opportunity to do so regardless of age, disability, state of residence, employment status, or necessary form of assistance. * Create a greater federal role in equitably financing and enhancing the quality and appropriateness of long-term services. * Eliminate the institutional bias in Medicaid and Medicare that robs millions of Americans of their most basic freedoms, dignity, and daily independence. To make our system work and to offer real choices, we must ensure equal access to quality home and community services throughout our nation. I will work with the Community First Commission to determine how we can move MiCASSA forward. And I will work with states to fully implement the Olmstead Decision, as well as push Congress to finally pass the Family Opportunity Act. I believe we need full mental health parity once and for all - not just mental health parity for certain benefits or certain mental health conditions or with unnecessary loopholes that allow insurers to skirt their responsibility. I will fight to pass full mental health parity legislation I will utilize the skills and wisdom of the disability community in shaping policy and programs that will benefit the entire country, and I will seek out qualified people with disabilities to serve throughout my administration. Americans with disabilities deserve independence and the opportunity to be economically self-sufficient. I will reinstate the executive order by President Bill Clinton to hire 100,000 qualified individuals with disabilities as federal employees over five years. I will crack down on employment discrimination and nominate an Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice and a Chair to the EEOC who will make enforcement of the ADA a top priority. And I will promote creative solutions to address the transportation, technology, and housing needs for individuals with disabilities. To ensure that children with disabilities get the free, high quality education they deserve, I am committed to fully funding IDEA and working for strong enforcement and real compliance with the law. And to expand access to higher education, I will improve transitional planning, promote access and awareness in disability services, provide work-study alternatives, and collect data on students with disabilities to provide a true scientific understanding of the realities on the ground. 3. What ideas do you have for bringing our four largest federal programs (Medicaid, Medicare, Supplemental Security Income, and Social Security Disability Insurance) in line with the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency)? We must strengthen and protect Medicaid, not tear it apart. I am firmly opposed to the Bush administration's proposal to turn Medicaid into a block grant program. By investing in Medicaid, we can improve the health and independence of more than 10 million children, adults, and older Americans with disabilities throughout our country. No one should be forced to be in a nursing home or have their most basic needs go unmet because they live in a state that chooses not to offer necessary community living services. That is why I believe that we need to relieve pressures on state budgets; I have proposed spending $25 billion to help states struggling to bridge their deficits. I support strengthening and improving Medicaid in several key ways. First, I believe that we must pass the Family Opportunity Act. Currently, low-income families with severely disabled children receive federal disability benefits under Supplemental Security Income. However, if parents seek a better job or earn higher wages, their disabled children lose Medicaid coverage, which is essential to providing comprehensive coverage for children who require complex and often costly care. No parent should have to turn down a job or give up custody of a child to ensure that he or she gets health care. We need to fully implement the Olmstead decision. People with disabilities and older Americans must receive the support they need to live in their own homes and communities. States must be given increased resources and tools to carry out the Olmstead decision and must be held accountable for doing so. Americans with disabilities must be assured equal access to quality home and community living services. I will work with the Community First Commission to determine how we can best implement MiCASSA and the Money Follows the Person Act. We need to end the institutional bias that makes it impossible for millions of Americans to exercise the most basic of human liberties: freedom, choice, and independence. I will work toward eliminating the two-year waiting period to become eligible for Medicare. The federal government has a critical role to play to assure that workers with disabilities have the insurance coverage they need to be as independent and productive as possible. And I will direct HHS to fund a series of demonstrations aimed at identifying cost effective ways that best promote the health, independence and productivity of people with disabilities and to promote better health care. I will also work to provide real prescription drug relief through the Medicare program. My health care plan will lower prescription drug costs, and ensure that seniors and people with disabilities on Medicare can choose their doctors instead of forcing them to join an HMO. Another important program to millions of Americans with disabilities is the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (TWWIIA). TWWIIA seeks to guarantee continued access to vital Medicare and Medicaid coverage to enable individuals with significant disabilities to become competitively employed under certain conditions. As a result of this law, about half of the states today allow employed individuals with disabilities to buy into Medicaid if their incomes and assets do not exceed certain limits and meet other criteria set by each state. These Medicaid buy-in programs vary widely from one state to another, however, both in regard to the eligibility requirements they set and the benefits and services they make available. Moreover, if the current economic downturn continues, states that currently have these plans in place may have to cut back or eliminate them all together. In addition, few other states will be in a position to create new buy-in programs. The federal government must play a far greater role in ensuring that workers with disabilities have the insurance coverage they need to be as independent and productive as possible. Regardless of where these individuals live or how much they are able to earn, they should be able to buy in to a uniform, national set of benefits designed to do just this. To help achieve these ends, the Medicare program should provide for enhanced coverage for employed individuals with disabilities. 4. What do you see as the most appropriate role for the federal government to play in the lives of people with disabilities and their families and what is your reaction to recent trends limiting the federal role in disability policy? Now more than ever people with disabilities of all ages can live fuller, more productive lives if afforded the right opportunities and supports. The federal government has a strong obligation and role to play in ensuring that these Americans have the same chance to succeed in life as all other citizens. The government must meet its commitment to enforce laws that protect the disability community. The moral imperative is clear. The federal government must help provide high quality, accessible and affordable health care and community living services to people with disabilities. That's why my Administration will modernize Medicaid and Medicare and work with states to implement home and community based services. My administration also will play a role in enforcing civil rights laws for people with disabilities. The Department of Justice and the EEOC will make enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act a top priority. And I will ensure that the Offices of Civil Rights at the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services provide people with disabilities the protections they deserve. We need to have a more focused effort on recruiting and employing people with disabilities in America. One place we can start is with a targeted effort in the federal government. The federal government has massive spending powers that can and should be used to promote the employment of individuals with disabilities. I will promote increasing the goal for small business contracting and ensuring that business owners with disabilities have equal status to other minority business owners. The federal government must meet its obligation to provide a high quality education to all children with disabilities. My administration will put us on a path to fully fund IDEA. But funding must be accompanied by effective enforcement. As president, I will fight for strong enforcement that includes measurement and protecting procedural safeguards. The federal government can also improve the lives of people with disabilities in the areas of transportation and technology. Many of the technological advances made through the work of the Defense Department and NASA are transferable to people with disabilities, and could enhance their capacity to work. This technology should be made available when appropriate for use by people with disabilities. And the federal government should use its considerable economic power to encourage and lead private enterprise in building a more accessible society through technology. My administration will also ensure that transportation options are accessible to people with disabilities. 5. What concrete steps will you take to ensure your administration and your appointments to the federal bench and other entities include a representative group of qualified people with disabilities? People with disabilities will always have a seat front and center in my administration. When I am president, Americans with disabilities will play active roles not only in policy-making which impacts the disability community, but also in other areas of domestic policy. I will seek out the best and brightest to serve in multiple capacities throughout the government, including in the White House and on my Community First Commission. Also, I will reinstate the Executive Order by President Clinton to hire 100,000 qualified individuals with disabilities as federal employees over five years. And in a Kerry administration, the Office of Federal Contracts and Compliance Programs at the Department of Labor will be held accountable in ensuring that federal contractors are not just reaching out to people with disabilities, but hiring them as well. Goals will be set for the hiring of people with disabilities similar to the ones set for women and veterans. The federal government will leverage its considerable economic power to ensure that private industry provides employment opportunities to people with disabilities. 6. What will you do as President to dramatically increase the percentage of children with disabilities who graduate from high school and go on to post-secondary education? If the goal of the disability-rights movement is to create opportunities for Americans with disabilities equal to those of their peers without disabilities, then education is the key that opens those doors. Empowering Americans with disabilities to be productive, job-holding, tax-paying citizens is both a moral obligation and an economic win. First of all, we need mandatory full funding of IDEA. In 1975, Congress made a deal with our state and local school boards: give children with special learning needs the education they deserve, and the federal government would pay 40 percent of the additional cost, no matter what it takes. Nearly thirty years later, the federal government has broken that promise. Because of that broken promise, schools across the country have had to pit special education programs against one another. Class sizes increase, after-school activities are cut, and kids with special learning needs still aren't getting the services they need. Regardless of funding, a law will only be as good as its enforcement. Across the country - in school districts large and small - this law is not being followed. In many cases, the good intentions of teachers and principals are undermined by a lack of understanding of the law. The same is true for many parents, who often do not know the rights to which they are entitled. In some cases, school officials need to be taught that IDEA isn't just a guideline, it's the law. Exhausted parents cannot and should not bear that burden. That is why strengthening IDEA enforcement will be a priority in my administration. A college education is now a near-universal requirement for professional employment. Unfortunately, that level of independence is still but a dream for many of our youth with disabilities who continue to face significant barriers to higher education. I am committed to equipping the next generation of students with disabilities with the tools to succeed. First, I will improve transitional planning. As with other at-risk youth, early outreach programs can be enormously successful in affecting positive change. Yet despite the mandate for such services under IDEA, transitional-planning programs seem to be an early casualty of non-compliance. I will further leverage Department of Education resources to create and advertise a single national resource for transitional planning assistance. Making sense of the web of college financial assistance programs is a difficult task. When disability-assistance services are added to the mix, the task becomes overwhelming. We must better coordinate vocational rehabilitation, SSI, and federal student aid services in a way that is meaningful for students, not bureaucrats. We need to provide work-study alternatives. Lacking neither in work ethic nor financial need, many students with disabilities are physically incapable of utilizing work- study programs. Such assistance can mean the difference between attending college and staying home. It is in all of our best interests to ensure fair alternatives. Finally, even today, we rely primarily on anecdotal information when discussing disability issues in higher education. We lack a true scientific understanding of the realities on the ground. That must change if we are to adequately plan for the future. Policies can only be effective so long as they are practical. As president, I will direct the Secretary of Education to solicit disability status and accommodation-cost data so we can arm ourselves with the tools to take meaningful action. 7. What will your administration do to improve the accessibility of mainstream technologies and access to assistive technologies for people with disabilities? Technology must be harnessed effectively to empower people, particularly those who are often the least empowered in our society. I will work to make electronic information and technology truly accessible. Many of the technological advances made through the work of the Defense Department and NASA are transferable to people with disabilities, and could enhance their capacity to work. This technology should and will be made available when appropriate for use by people with disabilities. New technology is often costly, as the first people to use the technology are underwriting a large proportion of the development costs. The problem is that the persons most in need of the liberation that technology provides are often the least able to afford it. I will direct federal agencies to assess how their resources have been allocated to assist people with disabilities, and work on promoting a goal to increase targets across the board. I want our government to help cultivate new, cutting-edge technology. People who need assistive technology are often confronted with a bewildering array of potential funding sources that are difficult to sort out. I will assemble an intergovernmental team to review current programs which pay for assistive technology and direct them to develop a plan of cooperation. The plan would investigate the potential of pooling various federal funds to create a single funding mechanism. 8. How will you work with disability advocates and Congress to draft and promote legislation to restore civil rights protections for qualified disabled individuals who have been left out by U.S. Supreme Court decisions interpreting the ADA, especially in the area of employment? The Americans with Disabilities Act is the most important civil rights law for persons with disabilities. It is vital that we enforce the law and that we fight recent judicial and legislative actions to weaken it. First of all, I will nominate judges whom I believe will enforce and uphold our civil rights laws to ensure the protections promised under its enactment. I will work with Congress and the disability community to pass legislation that restores civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities who have been harmed by court decisions restricting the scope of the protected class under ADA. I will also nominate an attorney general and an EEOC chair who will make enforcement of the ADA a top priority. # # # ===================== JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org JFA ARCHIVES. All JFA postings from 1995 to present are available at: http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html NOTE: Some Internet Providers (including AOL, Earthlink and Juno) may see JFA postings as spam because of the large volume of JFA mail recipients and fail to deliver the posting. If this happens, the JFA system may automatically unsubscribe some email addresses. Should you stop receiving JFA Alerts, please subscribe to JFA again as per the instructions at http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAsubscribing.html You may also need to contact your service provider to find out how to prevent JFA postings from being recognized as spam. PLEASE EMPTY YOUR EMAIL INBOX REGULARLY. JFA automatically deletes subscribers that are over their message quota. If you stop using an account please unsubscribe that old account. With hundreds of inbound emails and thousands of outbound emails daily, JFA can not respond to every message. We thank you for your understanding and continued outstanding advocacy!"" | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 33 Registered: 10-2000 |
"""Bush Proclamation: ADA 14th Anniversary" A White House press release: THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary (Crawford, Texas) July 26, 2004 ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, 2004 BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) marked a milestone in our Nation's quest to guarantee the civil rights of all citizens. The ADA is a success story that has strengthened the foundation for an America where we celebrate the talents and abilities of every person. On the 14th anniversary of this landmark legislation, we recognize the important progress the ADA has brought about for our citizens and our Nation. Today, individuals with disabilities are better able to develop meaningful skills, engage in productive work, and participate fully in society. Yet, our work is not finished. The millions of Americans with disabilities continue to face both physical barriers and false perceptions. Removing those obstacles requires a determined and focused commitment to the goals of the ADA: equality of opportunity, economic self- sufficiency, full participation, and independent living. My Administration continues its work to achieve these goals. My New Freedom Initiative, announced in February 2001, sets out a comprehensive strategy for the full integration of people with disabilities into all aspects of American life. The Department of Justice has established the ADA Business Connection to build partnerships between the business community and people with disabilities. This program helps increase voluntary compliance with the ADA and brings individuals with disabilities into the mainstream of our economy. Through Project Civic Access, we have reached agreements with cities and towns across the country to ensure that people with disabilities are integrated into community life. In addition, I have signed executive orders that remove barriers to equal opportunities faced by people with disabilities. On July 22, 2004, I signed an Executive Order that makes government agencies responsible for properly taking into account agency employees and customers with disabilities in emergency preparedness planning and coordination with other government entities. To help coordinate this effort, the Executive Order establishes the Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities. I also signed an Executive Order on February 24, 2004, to improve transportation for people who are transportation- disadvantaged, including people with disabilities. This order helps Federally assisted community transportation services provide seamless, comprehensive, and accessible transportation services to people who rely on transportation services for their lives and livelihood. My Administration has also begun implementing the recommendations of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. The Commission was established by Executive Order and its report lays out steps that can be taken to improve mental health services and support for people of all ages with mental illness. By striving to ensure that no American is denied access to employment, education, cultural activities, or community life because of a disability, we strengthen our Nation. Through these and other efforts, we will continue to build on the progress of the ADA, and, by doing so, hold fast to our Nation's faith in the promise and potential of every person. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim July 26, 2004, as a day in celebration of the 14th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I call upon all Americans to celebrate the contributions people with disabilities make to America and to renew our commitment to upholding the fundamental principles of the Americans with Disabilities Act. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-ninth. GEORGE W. BUSH # # # ===================== JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org JFA ARCHIVES. All JFA postings from 1995 to present are available at: http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html NOTE: Some Internet Providers (including AOL, Earthlink and Juno) may see JFA postings as spam because of the large volume of JFA mail recipients and fail to deliver the posting. If this happens, the JFA system may automatically unsubscribe some email addresses. Should you stop receiving JFA Alerts, please subscribe to JFA again as per the instructions at http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAsubscribing.html You may also need to contact your service provider to find out how to prevent JFA postings from being recognized as spam. PLEASE EMPTY YOUR EMAIL INBOX REGULARLY. JFA automatically deletes subscribers that are over their message quota. If you stop using an account please unsubscribe that old account. With hundreds of inbound emails and thousands of outbound emails daily, JFA can not respond to every message. We thank you for your understanding and continued outstanding advocacy!"" JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of the American Association of People with Disabilities http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html ===================================================================== Justice-For-All FREE Subscriptions To subscribe or unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@JFANOW.ORG with one or the other in the body of your message: subscribe justice unsubscribe justice | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 34 Registered: 10-2000 |
"""Bush Proclamation: ADA 14th Anniversary" A White House press release: THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary (Crawford, Texas) July 26, 2004 ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, 2004 BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) marked a milestone in our Nation's quest to guarantee the civil rights of all citizens. The ADA is a success story that has strengthened the foundation for an America where we celebrate the talents and abilities of every person. On the 14th anniversary of this landmark legislation, we recognize the important progress the ADA has brought about for our citizens and our Nation. Today, individuals with disabilities are better able to develop meaningful skills, engage in productive work, and participate fully in society. Yet, our work is not finished. The millions of Americans with disabilities continue to face both physical barriers and false perceptions. Removing those obstacles requires a determined and focused commitment to the goals of the ADA: equality of opportunity, economic self- sufficiency, full participation, and independent living. My Administration continues its work to achieve these goals. My New Freedom Initiative, announced in February 2001, sets out a comprehensive strategy for the full integration of people with disabilities into all aspects of American life. The Department of Justice has established the ADA Business Connection to build partnerships between the business community and people with disabilities. This program helps increase voluntary compliance with the ADA and brings individuals with disabilities into the mainstream of our economy. Through Project Civic Access, we have reached agreements with cities and towns across the country to ensure that people with disabilities are integrated into community life. In addition, I have signed executive orders that remove barriers to equal opportunities faced by people with disabilities. On July 22, 2004, I signed an Executive Order that makes government agencies responsible for properly taking into account agency employees and customers with disabilities in emergency preparedness planning and coordination with other government entities. To help coordinate this effort, the Executive Order establishes the Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities. I also signed an Executive Order on February 24, 2004, to improve transportation for people who are transportation- disadvantaged, including people with disabilities. This order helps Federally assisted community transportation services provide seamless, comprehensive, and accessible transportation services to people who rely on transportation services for their lives and livelihood. My Administration has also begun implementing the recommendations of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. The Commission was established by Executive Order and its report lays out steps that can be taken to improve mental health services and support for people of all ages with mental illness. By striving to ensure that no American is denied access to employment, education, cultural activities, or community life because of a disability, we strengthen our Nation. Through these and other efforts, we will continue to build on the progress of the ADA, and, by doing so, hold fast to our Nation's faith in the promise and potential of every person. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim July 26, 2004, as a day in celebration of the 14th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I call upon all Americans to celebrate the contributions people with disabilities make to America and to renew our commitment to upholding the fundamental principles of the Americans with Disabilities Act. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-ninth. GEORGE W. BUSH # # # ===================== JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org JFA ARCHIVES. All JFA postings from 1995 to present are available at: http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html NOTE: Some Internet Providers (including AOL, Earthlink and Juno) may see JFA postings as spam because of the large volume of JFA mail recipients and fail to deliver the posting. If this happens, the JFA system may automatically unsubscribe some email addresses. 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| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 35 Registered: 10-2000 |
"John Kerry Acceptance Speech" The following remarks are provided by the Kerry-Edwards campaign. AAPD is non-partisan and is sharing Kerry's acceptance speech (and later Bush's acceptance speech) for educational purposes. Jonathan Young JFA Moderator, AAPD =============================== ""July 29, 2004 Speech to the 2004 Democratic National Convention Remarks of John Kerry For Immediate Release Boston, MA - We are here tonight because we love our country. We are proud of what America is and what it can become. My fellow Americans: we are here tonight united in one simple purpose: to make America stronger at home and respected in the world. A great American novelist wrote that you can't go home again. He could not have imagined this evening. Tonight, I am home. Home where my public life began and those who made it possible live. Home where our nation's history was written in blood, idealism, and hope. Home where my parents showed me the values of family, faith, and country. Thank you, all of you, for a welcome home I will never forget. I wish my parents could share this moment. They went to their rest in the last few years, but their example, their inspiration, their gift of open eyes, open mind, and endless world are bigger and more lasting than any words. I was born in Colorado, in Fitzsimmons Army Hospital, when my dad was a pilot in World War II. Now, I'm not one to read into things, but guess which wing of the hospital the maternity ward was in? I'm not making this up. I was born in the West Wing! My mother was the rock of our family as so many mothers are. She stayed up late to help me do my homework. She sat by my bed when I was sick, and she answered the questions of a child who, like all children, found the world full of wonders and mysteries. She was my den mother when I was a Cub Scout and she was so proud of her fifty year pin as a Girl Scout leader. She gave me her passion for the environment. She taught me to see trees as the cathedrals of nature. And by the power of her example, she showed me that we can and must finish the march toward full equality for all women in our country. My dad did the things that a boy remembers. He gave me my first model airplane, my first baseball mitt and my first bicycle. He also taught me that we are here for something bigger than ourselves; he lived out the responsibilities and sacrifices of the greatest generation to whom we owe so much. When I was a young man, he was in the State Department, stationed in Berlin when it and the world were divided between democracy and communism. I have unforgettable memories of being a kid mesmerized by the British, French, and American troops, each of them guarding their own part of the city, and Russians standing guard on the stark line separating East from West. On one occasion, I rode my bike into Soviet East Berlin. And when I proudly told my dad, he promptly grounded me. But what I learned has stayed with me for a lifetime. I saw how different life was on different sides of the same city. I saw the fear in the eyes of people who were not free. I saw the gratitude of people toward the United States for all that we had done. I felt goose bumps as I got off a military train and heard the Army band strike up "Stars and Stripes Forever." I learned what it meant to be America at our best. I learned the pride of our freedom. And I am determined now to restore that pride to all who look to America. Mine were greatest generation parents. And as I thank them, we all join together to thank that whole generation for making America strong, for winning World War II, winning the Cold War, and for the great gift of service which brought America fifty years of peace and prosperity. My parents inspired me to serve, and when I was a junior in high school, John Kennedy called my generation to service. It was the beginning of a great journey - a time to march for civil rights, for voting rights, for the environment, for women, and for peace. We believed we could change the world. And you know what? We did. But we're not finished. The journey isn't complete. The march isn't over. The promise isn't perfected. Tonight, we're setting out again. And together, we're going to write the next great chapter of America's story. We have it in our power to change the world again. But only if we're true to our ideals - and that starts by telling the truth to the American people. That is my first pledge to you tonight. As President, I will restore trust and credibility to the White House. I ask you to judge me by my record: As a young prosecutor, I fought for victim's rights and made prosecuting violence against women a priority. When I came to the Senate, I broke with many in my own party to vote for a balanced budget, because I thought it was the right thing to do. I fought to put a 100,000 cops on the street. And then I reached across the aisle to work with John McCain, to find the truth about our POW's and missing in action, and to finally make peace with Vietnam. I will be a commander in chief who will never mislead us into war. I will have a Vice President who will not conduct secret meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws. I will have a Secretary of Defense who will listen to the best advice of our military leaders. And I will appoint an Attorney General who actually upholds the Constitution of the United States. My fellow Americans, this is the most important election of our lifetime. The stakes are high. We are a nation at war - a global war on terror against an enemy unlike any we have ever known before. And here at home, wages are falling, health care costs are rising, and our great middle class is shrinking. People are working weekends; they're working two jobs, three jobs, and they're still not getting ahead. We're told that outsourcing jobs is good for America. We're told that new jobs that pay $9,000 less than the jobs that have been lost is the best we can do. They say this is the best economy we've ever had. And they say that anyone who thinks otherwise is a pessimist. Well, here is our answer: There is nothing more pessimistic than saying America can't do better. We can do better and we will. We're the optimists. For us, this is a country of the future. We're the can do people. And let's not forget what we did in the 1990s. We balanced the budget. We paid down the debt. We created 23 million new jobs. We lifted millions out of poverty and we lifted the standard of living for the middle class. We just need to believe in ourselves - and we can do it again. So tonight, in the city where America's freedom began, only a few blocks from where the sons and daughters of liberty gave birth to our nation - here tonight, on behalf of a new birth of freedom - on behalf of the middle class who deserve a champion, and those struggling to join it who deserve a fair shot - for the brave men and women in uniform who risk their lives every day and the families who pray for their return - for all those who believe our best days are ahead of us - for all of you - with great faith in the American people, I accept your nomination for President of the United States. I am proud that at my side will be a running mate whose life is the story of the American dream and who's worked every day to make that dream real for all Americans - Senator John Edwards of North Carolina. And his wonderful wife Elizabeth and their family. This son of a mill worker is ready to lead - and next January, Americans will be proud to have a fighter for the middle class to succeed Dick Cheney as Vice President of the United States. And what can I say about Teresa? She has the strongest moral compass of anyone I know. She's down to earth, nurturing, courageous, wise and smart. She speaks her mind and she speaks the truth, and I love her for that, too. And that's why America will embrace her as the next First Lady of the United States. For Teresa and me, no matter what the future holds or the past has given us, nothing will ever mean as much as our children. We love them not just for who they are and what they've become, but for being themselves, making us laugh, holding our feet to the fire, and never letting me get away with anything. Thank you, Andre, Alex, Chris, Vanessa, and John. And in this journey, I am accompanied by an extraordinary band of brothers led by that American hero, a patriot named Max Cleland. Our band of brothers doesn't march together because of who we are as veterans, but because of what we learned as soldiers. We fought for this nation because we loved it and we came back with the deep belief that every day is extra. We may be a little older now, we may be a little grayer, but we still know how to fight for our country. And standing with us in that fight are those who shared with me the long season of the primary campaign: Carol Moseley Braun, General Wesley Clark, Howard Dean, Dick Gephardt, Bob Graham, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Lieberman and Al Sharpton. To all of you, I say thank you for teaching me and testing me - but mostly, we say thank you for standing up for our country and giving us the unity to move America forward. My fellow Americans, the world tonight is very different from the world of four years ago. But I believe the American people are more than equal to the challenge. Remember the hours after September 11th, when we came together as one to answer the attack against our homeland. We drew strength when our firefighters ran up the stairs and risked their lives, so that others might live. When rescuers rushed into smoke and fire at the Pentagon. When the men and women of Flight 93 sacrificed themselves to save our nation's Capitol. When flags were hanging from front porches all across America, and strangers became friends. It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us. I am proud that after September 11th all our people rallied to President Bush's call for unity to meet the danger. There were no Democrats. There were no Republicans. There were only Americans. How we wish it had stayed that way. Now I know there are those who criticize me for seeing complexities - and I do - because some issues just aren't all that simple. Saying there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq doesn't make it so. Saying we can fight a war on the cheap doesn't make it so. And proclaiming mission accomplished certainly doesn't make it so. As President, I will ask hard questions and demand hard evidence. I will immediately reform the intelligence system - so policy is guided by facts, and facts are never distorted by politics. And as President, I will bring back this nation's time-honored tradition: the United States of America never goes to war because we want to, we only go to war because we have to. I know what kids go through when they are carrying an M-16 in a dangerous place and they can't tell friend from foe. I know what they go through when they're out on patrol at night and they don't know what's coming around the next bend. I know what it's like to write letters home telling your family that everything's all right when you're not sure that's true. As President, I will wage this war with the lessons I learned in war. Before you go to battle, you have to be able to look a parent in the eye and truthfully say: "I tried everything possible to avoid sending your son or daughter into harm's way. But we had no choice. We had to protect the American people, fundamental American values from a threat that was real and imminent." So lesson one, this is the only justification for going to war. And on my first day in office, I will send a message to every man and woman in our armed forces: You will never be asked to fight a war without a plan to win the peace. I know what we have to do in Iraq. We need a President who has the credibility to bring our allies to our side and share the burden, reduce the cost to American taxpayers, and reduce the risk to American soldiers. That's the right way to get the job done and bring our troops home. Here is the reality: that won't happen until we have a president who restores America's respect and leadership -- so we don't have to go it alone in the world. And we need to rebuild our alliances, so we can get the terrorists before they get us. I defended this country as a young man and I will defend it as President. Let there be no mistake: I will never hesitate to use force when it is required. Any attack will be met with a swift and certain response. I will never give any nation or international institution a veto over our national security. And I will build a stronger American military. We will add 40,000 active duty troops - not in Iraq, but to strengthen American forces that are now overstretched, overextended, and under pressure. We will double our special forces to conduct anti-terrorist operations. We will provide our troops with the newest weapons and technology to save their lives - and win the battle. And we will end the backdoor draft of National Guard and reservists. To all who serve in our armed forces today, I say, help is on the way. As President, I will fight a smarter, more effective war on terror. We will deploy every tool in our arsenal: our economic as well as our military might; our principles as well as our firepower. In these dangerous days there is a right way and a wrong way to be strong. Strength is more than tough words. After decades of experience in national security, I know the reach of our power and I know the power of our ideals. We need to make America once again a beacon in the world. We need to be looked up to and not just feared. We need to lead a global effort against nuclear proliferation - to keep the most dangerous weapons in the world out of the most dangerous hands in the world. We need a strong military and we need to lead strong alliances. And then, with confidence and determination, we will be able to tell the terrorists: You will lose and we will win. The future doesn't belong to fear; it belongs to freedom. And the front lines of this battle are not just far away - they're right here on our shores, at our airports, and potentially in any town or city. Today, our national security begins with homeland security. The 9-11 Commission has given us a path to follow, endorsed by Democrats, Republicans, and the 9-11 families. As President, I will not evade or equivocate; I will immediately implement the recommendations of that commission. We shouldn't be letting ninety-five percent of container ships come into our ports without ever being physically inspected. We shouldn't be leaving our nuclear and chemical plants without enough protection. And we shouldn't be opening firehouses in Baghdad and closing them down in the United States of America. And tonight, we have an important message for those who question the patriotism of Americans who offer a better direction for our country. Before wrapping themselves in the flag and shutting their eyes and ears to the truth, they should remember what America is really all about. They should remember the great idea of freedom for which so many have given their lives. Our purpose now is to reclaim democracy itself. We are here to affirm that when Americans stand up and speak their minds and say America can do better, that is not a challenge to patriotism; it is the heart and soul of patriotism. You see that flag up there. We call her Old Glory. The stars and stripes forever. I fought under that flag, as did so many of you here and all across our country. That flag flew from the gun turret right behind my head. It was shot through and through and tattered, but it never ceased to wave in the wind. It draped the caskets of men I served with and friends I grew up with. For us, that flag is the most powerful symbol of who we are and what we believe in. Our strength. Our diversity. Our love of country. All that makes America both great and good. That flag doesn't belong to any president. It doesn't belong to any ideology and it doesn't belong to any political party. It belongs to all the American people. My fellow citizens, elections are about choices. And choices are about values. In the end, it's not just policies and programs that matter; the president who sits at that desk must be guided by principle. For four years, we've heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. Values are not just words. They're what we live by. They're about the causes we champion and the people we fight for. And it is time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families. You don't value families by kicking kids out of after school programs and taking cops off our streets, so that Enron can get another tax break. We believe in the family value of caring for our children and protecting the neighborhoods where they walk and play. And that is the choice in this election. You don't value families by denying real prescription drug coverage to seniors, so big drug companies can get another windfall. We believe in the family value expressed in one of the oldest Commandments: "Honor thy father and thy mother." As President, I will not privatize Social Security. I will not cut benefits. And together, we will make sure that senior citizens never have to cut their pills in half because they can't afford life-saving medicine. And that is the choice in this election. You don't value families if you force them to take up a collection to buy body armor for a son or daughter in the service, if you deny veterans health care, or if you tell middle class families to wait for a tax cut, so that the wealthiest among us can get even more. We believe in the value of doing what's right for everyone in the American family. And that is the choice in this election. We believe that what matters most is not narrow appeals masquerading as values, but the shared values that show the true face of America. Not narrow appeals that divide us, but shared values that unite us. Family and faith. Hard work and responsibility. Opportunity for all - so that every child, every parent, every worker has an equal shot at living up to their God-given potential. What does it mean in America today when Dave McCune, a steel worker I met in Canton, Ohio, saw his job sent overseas and the equipment in his factory literally unbolted, crated up, and shipped thousands of miles away along with that job? What does it mean when workers I've met had to train their foreign replacements? America can do better. So tonight we say: help is on the way. What does it mean when Mary Ann Knowles, a woman with breast cancer I met in New Hampshire, had to keep working day after day right through her chemotherapy, no matter how sick she felt, because she was terrified of losing her family's health insurance. America can do better. And help is on the way. What does it mean when Deborah Kromins from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania works and saves all her life only to find out that her pension has disappeared into thin air - and the executive who looted it has bailed out on a golden parachute? America can do better. And help is on the way. What does it mean when twenty five percent of the children in Harlem have asthma because of air pollution? America can do better. And help is on the way. What does it mean when people are huddled in blankets in the cold, sleeping in Lafayette Park on the doorstep of the White House itself - and the number of families living in poverty has risen by three million in the last four years? America can do better. And help is on the way. And so we come here tonight to ask: Where is the conscience of our country? I'll tell you where it is: it's in rural and small town America; it's in urban neighborhoods and suburban main streets; it's alive in the people I've met in every part of this land. It's bursting in the hearts of Americans who are determined to give our country back its values and its truth. We value jobs that pay you more not less than you earned before. We value jobs where, when you put in a week's work, you can actually pay your bills, provide for your children, and lift up the quality of your life. We value an America where the middle class is not being squeezed, but doing better. So here is our economic plan to build a stronger America: First, new incentives to revitalize manufacturing. Second, investment in technology and innovation that will create the good-paying jobs of the future. Third, close the tax loopholes that reward companies for shipping our jobs overseas. Instead, we will reward companies that create and keep good paying jobs where they belong - in the good old U.S.A. We value an America that exports products, not jobs - and we believe American workers should never have to subsidize the loss of their own job. Next, we will trade and compete in the world. But our plan calls for a fair playing field - because if you give the American worker a fair playing field, there's nobody in the world the American worker can't compete against. And we're going to return to fiscal responsibility because it is the foundation of our economic strength. Our plan will cut the deficit in half in four years by ending tax giveaways that are nothing more than corporate welfare - and will make government live by the rule that every family has to follow: pay as you go. And let me tell you what we won't do: we won't raise taxes on the middle class. You've heard a lot of false charges about this in recent months. So let me say straight out what I will do as President: I will cut middle class taxes. I will reduce the tax burden on small business. And I will roll back the tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals who make over $200,000 a year, so we can invest in job creation, health care and education. Our education plan for a stronger America sets high standards and demands accountability from parents, teachers, and schools. It provides for smaller class sizes and treats teachers like the professionals they are. And it gives a tax credit to families for each and every year of college. When I was a prosecutor, I met young kids who were in trouble, abandoned by adults. And as President, I am determined that we stop being a nation content to spend $50,000 a year to keep a young person in prison for the rest of their life - when we could invest $10,000 to give them Head Start, Early Start, Smart Start, the best possible start in life. And we value health care that's affordable and accessible for all Americans. Since 2000, four million people have lost their health insurance. Millions more are struggling to afford it. You know what's happening. Your premiums, your co-payments, your deductibles have all gone through the roof. Our health care plan for a stronger America cracks down on the waste, greed, and abuse in our health care system and will save families up to $1,000 a year on their premiums. You'll get to pick your own doctor - and patients and doctors, not insurance company bureaucrats, will make medical decisions. Under our plan, Medicare will negotiate lower drug prices for seniors. And all Americans will be able to buy less expensive prescription drugs from countries like Canada. The story of people struggling for health care is the story of so many Americans. But you know what, it's not the story of senators and members of Congress. Because we give ourselves great health care and you get the bill. Well, I'm here to say, your family's health care is just as important as any politician's in Washington, D.C. And when I'm President, America will stop being the only advanced nation in the world which fails to understand that health care is not a privilege for the wealthy, the connected, and the elected - it is a right for all Americans. We value an America that controls its own destiny because it's finally and forever independent of Mideast oil. What does it mean for our economy and our national security when we only have three percent of the world's oil reserves, yet we rely on foreign countries for fifty-three percent of what we consume? I want an America that relies on its own ingenuity and innovation - not the Saudi royal family. And our energy plan for a stronger America will invest in new technologies and alternative fuels and the cars of the future -- so that no young American in uniform will ever be held hostage to our dependence on oil from the Middle East. I've told you about our plans for the economy, for education, for health care, for energy independence. I want you to know more about them. So now I'm going to say something that Franklin Roosevelt could never have said in his acceptance speech: go to johnkerry.com. I want to address these next words directly to President George W. Bush: In the weeks ahead, let's be optimists, not just opponents. Let's build unity in the American family, not angry division. Let's honor this nation's diversity; let's respect one another; and let's never misuse for political purposes the most precious document in American history, the Constitution of the United States. My friends, the high road may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And that's why Republicans and Democrats must make this election a contest of big ideas, not small-minded attacks. This is our time to reject the kind of politics calculated to divide race from race, group from group, region from region. Maybe some just see us divided into red states and blue states, but I see us as one America - red, white, and blue. And when I am President, the government I lead will enlist people of talent, Republicans as well as Democrats, to find the common ground - so that no one who has something to contribute will be left on the sidelines. And let me say it plainly: in that cause, and in this campaign, we welcome people of faith. America is not us and them. I think of what Ron Reagan said of his father a few weeks ago, and I want to say this to you tonight: I don't wear my own faith on my sleeve. But faith has given me values and hope to live by, from Vietnam to this day, from Sunday to Sunday. I don't want to claim that God is on our side. As Abraham Lincoln told us, I want to pray humbly that we are on God's side. And whatever our faith, one belief should bind us all: The measure of our character is our willingness to give of ourselves for others and for our country. These aren't Democratic values. These aren't Republican values. They're American values. We believe in them. They're who we are. And if we honor them, if we believe in ourselves, we can build an America that's stronger at home and respected in the world. So much promise stretches before us. Americans have always reached for the impossible, looked to the next horizon, and asked: What if? Two young bicycle mechanics from Dayton asked what if this airplane could take off at Kitty Hawk? It did that and changed the world forever. A young president asked what if we could go to the moon in ten years? And now we're exploring the solar system and the stars themselves. A young generation of entrepreneurs asked, what if we could take all the information in a library and put it on a little chip the size of a fingernail? We did and that too changed the world forever. And now it's our time to ask: What if? What if we find a breakthrough to cure Parkinson's, diabetes, Alzheimer's and AIDs? What if we have a president who believes in science, so we can unleash the wonders of discovery like stem cell research to treat illness and save millions of lives? What if we do what adults should do - and make sure all our children are safe in the afternoons after school? And what if we have a leadership that's as good as the American dream - so that bigotry and hatred never again steal the hope and future of any American? I learned a lot about these values on that gunboat patrolling the Mekong Delta with young Americans who came from places as different as Iowa and Oregon, Arkansas, Florida and California. No one cared where we went to school. No one cared about our race or our backgrounds. We were literally all in the same boat. We looked out, one for the other - and we still do. That is the kind of America I will lead as President - an America where we are all in the same boat. Never has there been a more urgent moment for Americans to step up and define ourselves. I will work my heart out. But, my fellow citizens, the outcome is in your hands more than mine. It is time to reach for the next dream. It is time to look to the next horizon. For America, the hope is there. The sun is rising. Our best days are still to come. Goodnight, God bless you, and God bless America."" # # # ===================== JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org JFA ARCHIVES. All JFA postings from 1995 to present are available at: http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html NOTE: Some Internet Providers (including AOL, Earthlink and Juno) may see JFA postings as spam because of the large volume of JFA mail recipients and fail to deliver the posting. If this happens, the JFA system may automatically unsubscribe some email addresses. Should you stop receiving JFA Alerts, please subscribe to JFA again as per the instructions at http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAsubscribing.html You may also need to contact your service provider to find out how to prevent JFA postings from being recognized as spam. PLEASE EMPTY YOUR EMAIL INBOX REGULARLY. JFA automatically deletes subscribers that are over their message quota. If you stop using an account please unsubscribe that old account. With hundreds of inbound emails and thousands of outbound emails daily, JFA can not respond to every message. We thank you for your understanding and continued outstanding advocacy! JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of the American Association of People with Disabilities http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html ===================================================================== Justice-For-All FREE Subscriptions To subscribe or unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@JFANOW.ORG with one or the other in the body of your message: subscribe justice unsubscribe justice | ||
| Pheeki Registered user Username: Pheeki Post Number: 378 Registered: 1-2003 |
denise, what is your point? Are you advocating one of these men? | ||
| Dane Registered user Username: Dane Post Number: 15 Registered: 4-2004 |
Please forgive me in advance if I offend, but I'm confused as to the purpose of this posting. Is this a commercial for this AAPD group? If so, then is the forum an appropriate place for it? Maybe it is. I'm not trying to be critical, just trying to understand. Dane | ||
| Cindy Registered user Username: Cindy Post Number: 623 Registered: 7-2000 |
I've also wondered...It is a lot to read thru isn't it? Perhaps?... it would be more appropriate if just a brief mention is posted on the topics at hand, and then we could be directed to the proper websites to read thru the full political statements and press releases? grace always, cindy | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 36 Registered: 10-2000 |
Pheeki, Dane and Cindy, Pheeki, the posts regarding the politicians are NON-PARTISAN. Meaning there is no "advocating" of any of the men. It says that on each and every single 'political' post and if I've missed a political post where it doesn't have that on there where the incumbents stand then it should have been there too. I did that so nobody and I mean nobody could accuse nor insinuate that I'm pro him or pro the other. The "point" is this is a Christian BB and as Christians we are very aware that this country was founded on "Christian" principles. So, do not the down-trodden, the outcasts, the crippled, the lame, the poor, the elderly and the disabled count on a Christian BB? Whether that be Baptist, SDA, Lutheran, and all the other "Christian" websites? Are our topics or issues not to be posted? Just kept in the dark someplace? Is this one of those elephant in the livingroom topics? These posts were not to cause anyone a problem but to bring to attention some of the issues of the disabled. I know Jesus is very interested. And Politics dictates what happens to the disabled, the poor, the elderly and so forth. They go hand in hand. If no Christian is interested, please re-read Matthew 25 and other Scriptures that deal with just these sort of issues. Jesus Christ of Nazareth even touched us and healed many. Please, let's not argue whether or not this topic should be posted because as Christian Americans we absolutely have reason to think and pray about these matters. Not only pray but voting season is once again upon us and it is important to talk about or at the very least think about that just as much as it is important to Salute or Pay Tribute to our Soldiers (some other thread named something to that affect on this board with no complaints). I too was in the Military. Dane, it is not just the AAPD group but many groups that I could post but simply chose one. If you want more, I'll post those also. And yes, this BB is appropriate, as this is a Christian BB. Not only so but we are Americans who will vote for Bush or Kerry or perhaps some independant and is it not good to know where our leaders or potential leader stands as to these issues? Or do we talk about Ellen White and the SDAs all day? There is life that is full of many issues and we were given this life. There are many choices and issues at stake in this life unless you live in a cave. How are some to make choices or to even know the issues if this is not brought to the attention of the people, for the people? And please don't say television. T.V. media gives us half the truth in case we haven't learned that from this last fiasco. This is the age of the internet for many many people or none of us on this board would be here. Instead, we would be talking to others with our viewpoints or hiding out by ourselves, in the dark, as it seems the Politics and Disabled Thread is supposed to do. This isn't like these issues won't affect someone in any of your families. It will. Somebody is going to get old and/or disabled and you good people are not interested in what these leaders will or will not do about Health Care? Education for your children? A roof over your heads? Jobs? The Mentally Handicapped you do, don't or will know? In Home Providers, et-cetera? In the book of Matthew Jesus Christ addresses the Pharisees and Herodians regarding money and Jesus says to give to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is God's. Well, we happen to be living just like then with both systems at work in our lives. Even Jesus wouldn't offend the tax collectors and had one of His disciples go and get a coin out of the mouth of a fish as to not offend in another Scripture. In other words, he also paid attention to politics or that would not be in the Bible. If He were not educated in politics and didn't care for the down trodden, the poor, the sick, the disabled, the lepers et-cetera, the Scriptures would have been completely different I'm sure. Cindy, the only thing I could possibly suggest to you is not read these 'long' posts. That's simple enough and causes you no alarm. As for myself, all these issues are very important and as a Christian who belongs to the body of Christ and also as an American who has Constitutional Rights, and am protected by the ADA, plus my own interests as to where the Christian community stands on these issues, this is my way of bringing or hoping to bring some form of discussion or even a comment from somebody. But so far all I'm seeing is complaining when none of you have to read this thread. Why I read a thread or two on here like "The allegiance I Owe" and in it is this quote from the SDA Church: "Allegiance to my church means that when I disagree with the church, I have the freedom to make my point of view known. It means that when I make my point of view known, I will do it in a way that reflects my fundamental allegiance to my church and will not bring harm to my church or to the members of the church. It means that if the church at large does not agree with my point of view, I do not maintain my point of view to bring discredit to the church. It means that I may have to put my point of view aside for the time being, or maybe forever. If in my conscience I cannot do that, and if my church does not agree with my point of view, I do not have the ethical right to disseminate my point of view, causing disharmony and dissension. To cause disharmony and dissension while insisting on my point of view after the church, through its legitimate representative process, has decided differently is an act that calls into serious question my allegiance to the church". Now I surely did not see anyone agreeing with that quote and neither do I. Let's just switch the word church in that quote to the FAF BB. So, as my conscience dictates I'm posting "some" of the issues that I am seeing unspoken on just about every other Christian BB I look upon. Now, as nobody seemed to agree with that quote of the SDA Church about 'our conscience' and 'keeping silent,' then why complain about talking politics when we live it, breath, are dictated by the leaders with it and it has done some good to all of us and some very grave and deadly things to some of the disabled. I should know and so did some of my now dead friends due to politics and the health care system. Add to that the apathy of the many people this doesn't affect. See, unless you are home bound, such as myself with the exception of Doctors Appointments and have Inhome Attendant services but no social life nor a family, you take no interest. But I can assure each and everyone on this board that the day it hits them or their loved ones, interest will abound. That's why I'm posting. To give those out there that do not post but do read, a place to begin their search when that time comes that they cannot get their medicines or help in any manner. It also gives everybody who reads a chance to see what the politicians stance on these issues are. Oh sure, there are many right now who have no problem with their health care needs and they might even be disabled. But I know some, including my very own family, who are dead now because they could not get their needs met. Each state has their own laws. It is for the dead friends and my own dead family members plus the many families still struggling, either to live or to know they are not alone that I post these on the disability issues and also for those that vote. Why, is this less important than say, "Happy 4th of July," or "Why does my Church......?" Lives are at stake. Mine happens to be one of them and I know as sure as I'm typing this that there are others. Any other objections? I should hope not. Remember if you all can, the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man told by Jesus Christ Himself, our God. Sincerely, Denise Gilmore | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 50 Registered: 10-2000 |
"DOJ Finds CA Contributes to Institutionalization" A Press Release from the U.S. Department of Justice: TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2004 WWW.USDOJ.GOV (202) 514-2008; TDD (202) 514-1888 JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FINDS STATE OF CALIFORNIA CONTRIBUTES TO UNNECESSARY INSTITUTIONALIZATION AT LAGUNA HONDA NURSING HOME WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced the results of its investigation into the State of California's role in the unnecessary institutionalization of residents at Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center ("Laguna Honda"), in San Francisco, California. The Department found evidence that the state is contributing to the unnecessary segregation of individuals with disabilities residing at the 1,200-bed nursing home. The Department's findings were transmitted in a letter from R. Alexander Acosta, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "The Supreme Court has made clear that unnecessary isolation of individuals with disabilities in institutions, including nursing homes, is discrimination that diminishes individuals' ability to lead full and independent lives," said R. Alexander Acosta, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "The law requires, and we will ensure, that people with disabilities, like all Americans, have equal access and opportunity to participate in community life." The announcement is part of the Department's long-standing investigation into whether residents of Laguna Honda are being served in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs, as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (" ADA"). The Department initiated its investigation of the California following findings in May 1998 and April 2003 that San Francisco, which owns and operates Laguna Honda, unnecessarily isolates residents in violation of the ADA. The Department found evidence that California has failed to ensure that residents eligible for community placement have meaningful access to community alternatives. Instead, the state routinely authorizes placements without requiring adequate assessments evaluating the appropriateness of home- and community-based care. As a result, individuals are not informed of community options available in California and remain at Laguna Honda long after they become eligible for community programs and services. This investigation is part of the Department's efforts to enforce the Supreme Court's 1999 decision, Olmstead v. L.C, in which the Court held that, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, states must provide services to residents with disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate. The Department's focus in this area targets unnecessary institutionalization of individuals with disabilities. Protecting the rights of institutionalized persons is a priority of the Department of Justice. Since 2001, the Civil Rights Division has opened 44 investigations impacting 51 facilities into the terms and conditions of confinement at nursing homes, mental health facilities, residences for persons with developmental disabilities, juvenile justice facilities, and jails. These figures represent a 100% increase over the 20 such investigations initiated over the preceding three years. More information about the Special Litigation Section of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/split/index.html | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 51 Registered: 10-2000 |
"Be Part of Civil Rights Documentary Tour" From AARP and LCCR: The AARP and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights want to make sure that detailed, compelling narratives survive the civil right movement's aging participants. So they plan to create a permanent, comprehensive archive of the civil rights struggle of the 1960s, while they still can. Between now and Oct. 16, volunteers will ride a bus across the country (tour dates are listed below), interviewing participants in the movement and compiling the country's largest collection of firsthand accounts, which will be catalogued online at www.voicesofcivilrights.org and held in the Library of Congress. The Bus Tour departed from Washington, D.C. on August 3rd. Join it as it travels to some of the cities along the route of the 1961 Freedom Rides to Jackson, Mississippi, and proceed to historic sites around the country as they gather your personal stories about the Civil Rights Movement and the continuing quest for equality (including disability rights) in America today. On board are a team of award-winning journalists, photographers, and videographers. They will document the people and special events that are part of the tour. The History Channel is filming the Voices of Civil Rights Bus Tour. Take a look at some of the footage on the Video page http://www.voicesofcivilrights.org/bustour/bus.asp?page=video.html. Their work will culminate with a one-hour documentary about this 70- day odyssey, scheduled to air in February 2005 Tour Dates AUGUST: 3 Washington, DC; 4 Richmond, VA; 5 Raleigh, NC/Durham, NC; 6 Greensboro, NC; 7 Charlotte, NC; 8 Summerton, SC; 8-9 Columbia, SC; 9 Orangeburg, SC; 12 Tallahassee, FL; 14 Birmingham, AL; 15 Montgomery, AL; 16 Selma, AL; 19-22 Jackson, MS; 20 Philadelphia, MS; 23 Hattiesburg, MS; 24 New Orleans, LA; 25 Baton Rouge, LA; 26 Houston, TX; 27 San Antonio, TX; 29 Hobbs, NM; 31 Espaqola, NM; SEPTEMBER: 4-6 Oakland, CA; 8 Modesto, CA 10-12 Los Angeles, CA 18 Memphis, TN; 24 Atlanta, GA; 25-26 Little Rock, AR; 28 Columbus, OH; 30 Detroit, MI OCTOBER: 2 Indianapolis, IN; 5 Chicago, IL; 6 St. Louis, MO; 8 Topeka, KS; 11 Las Vegas, NV | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 61 Registered: 10-2000 |
George Bush Acceptance Speech The following remarks are provided by the Bush-Cheney campaign. AAPD is non-partisan and is sharing Bushs acceptance speech (and previously Kerrys acceptance speech) for educational purposes. Jonathan Young JFA Moderator, AAPD =============================== Thursday, September 02, 2004 In Acceptance Speech, President Bush Shares His Plan for a Safer World & More Hopeful America Republican National Convention New York, New York (Remarks as prepared for delivery.) Mr. Chairman, delegates, fellow citizens: I am honored by your support, and I accept your nomination for President of the United States. When I said those words four years ago, none of us could have envisioned what these years would bring. In the heart of this great city, we saw tragedy arrive on a quiet morning. We saw the bravery of rescuers grow with danger. We learned of passengers on a doomed plane who died with a courage that frightened their killers. We have seen a shaken economy rise to its feet. And we have seen Americans in uniform storming mountain strongholds, and charging through sandstorms, and liberating millions, with acts of valor that would make the men of Normandy proud. Since 2001, Americans have been given hills to climb, and found the strength to climb them. Now, because we have made the hard journey, we can see the valley below. Now, because we have faced challenges with resolve, we have historic goals within our reach, and greatness in our future. We will build a safer world and a more hopeful America -- and nothing will hold us back. In the work we have done, and the work we will do, I am fortunate to have a superb Vice President. I have counted on Dick Cheney's calm and steady judgment in difficult days, and I am honored to have him at my side. I am grateful to share my walk in life with Laura Bush. Americans have come to see the goodness and kindness and strength I first saw 26 years ago, and we love our First Lady. I am a fortunate father of two spirited, intelligent, and lovely young women. I am blessed with a sister and brothers who are also my closest friends. And I will always be the proud and grateful son of George and Barbara Bush. My father served eight years at the side of another great American -- Ronald Reagan. His spirit of optimism and goodwill and decency are in this hall, and in our hearts, and will always define our party. Two months from today, voters will make a choice based on the records we have built, the convictions we hold, and the vision that guides us forward. A presidential election is a contest for the future. Tonight I will tell you where I stand, what I believe, and where I will lead this country in the next four years. I believe every child can learn, and every school must teach -- so we passed the most important federal education reform in history. Because we acted, children are making sustained progress in reading and math, America's schools are getting better, and nothing will hold us back. I believe we have a moral responsibility to honor America's seniors -- so I brought Republicans and Democrats together to strengthen Medicare. Now seniors are getting immediate help buying medicine. Soon every senior will be able to get prescription drug coverage, and nothing will hold us back. I believe in the energy and innovative spirit of America's workers, entrepreneurs, farmers, and ranchers -- so we unleashed that energy with the largest tax relief in a generation. Because we acted, our economy is growing again, and creating jobs, and nothing will hold us back. I believe the most solemn duty of the American president is to protect the American people. If America shows uncertainty and weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch. I am running for President with a clear and positive plan to build a safer world, and a more hopeful America. I am running with a compassionate conservative philosophy: that government should help people improve their lives, not try to run their lives. I believe this Nation wants steady, consistent, principled leadership -- and that is why, with your help, we will win this election. The story of America is the story of expanding liberty: an ever-widening circle, constantly growing to reach further and include more. Our Nation's founding commitment is still our deepest commitment: In our world, and here at home, we will extend the frontiers of freedom. The times in which we live and work are changing dramatically. The workers of our parents' generation typically had one job, one skill, one career ? often with one company that provided health care and a pension. And most of those workers were men. Today, workers change jobs, even careers, many times during their lives, and in one of the most dramatic shifts our society has seen, two-thirds of all Moms also work outside the home. This changed world can be a time of great opportunity for all Americans to earn a better living, support your family, and have a rewarding career. And government must take your side. Many of our most fundamental systems -- the tax code, health coverage, pension plans, worker training -- were created for the world of yesterday, not tomorrow. We will transform these systems so that all citizens are equipped, prepared -- and thus truly free -- to make your own choices and pursue your own dreams. My plan begins with providing the security and opportunity of a growing economy. We now compete in a global market that provides new buyers for our goods, but new competition for our workers. To create more jobs in America, America must be the best place in the world to do business. To create jobs, my plan will encourage investment and expansion by restraining federal spending, reducing regulation, and making tax relief permanent. To create jobs, we will make our country less dependent on foreign sources of energy. To create jobs, we will expand trade and level the playing field to sell American goods and services across the globe. And we must protect small business owners and workers from the explosion of frivolous lawsuits that threaten jobs across America. Another drag on our economy is the current tax code, which is a complicated mess -- filled with special interest loopholes, saddling our people with more than six billion hours of paperwork and headache every year. The American people deserve -- and our economic future demands -- a simpler, fairer, pro-growth system. In a new term, I will lead a bipartisan effort to reform and simplify the federal tax code. Another priority in a new term will be to help workers take advantage of the expanding economy to find better, higher- paying jobs. In this time of change, many workers want to go back to school to learn different or higher-level skills. So we will double the number of people served by our principal job training program and increase funding for community colleges. I know that with the right skills, American workers can compete with anyone, anywhere in the world. In this time of change, opportunity in some communities is more distant than in others. To stand with workers in poor communities -- and those that have lost manufacturing, textile, and other jobs -- we will create American opportunity zones. In these areas, we'll provide tax relief and other incentives to attract new business, and improve housing and job training to bring hope and work throughout all of America. As I've traveled the country, I've met many workers and small business owners who have told me they are worried they cannot afford health care. More than half of the uninsured are small business employees and their families. In a new term, we must allow small firms to join together to purchase insurance at the discounts available to big companies. We will offer a tax credit to encourage small businesses and their employees to set up health savings accounts, and provide direct help for low-income Americans to purchase them. These accounts give workers the security of insurance against major illness, the opportunity to save tax-free for routine health expenses, and the freedom of knowing you can take your account with you whenever you change jobs. And we will provide low-income Americans with better access to health care: In a new term, I will ensure every poor county in America has a community or rural health center. As I have traveled our country, I have met too many good doctors, especially OB-GYNS, who are being forced out of practice because of the high cost of lawsuits. To make health care more affordable and accessible, we must pass medical liability reform now. And in all we do to improve health care in America, we will make sure that health decisions are made by doctors and patients, not by bureaucrats in Washington, DC. In this time of change, government must take the side of working families. In a new term, we will change outdated labor laws to offer comp-time and flex-time. Our laws should never stand in the way of a more family-friendly workplace. Another priority for a new term is to build an ownership society, because ownership brings security, and dignity, and independence. Thanks to our policies, homeownership in America is at an all-time high. Tonight we set a new goal: seven million more affordable homes in the next 10 years so more American families will be able to open the door and say welcome to my home. In an ownership society, more people will own their health plans, and have the confidence of owning a piece of their retirement. We will always keep the promise of Social Security for our older workers. With the huge Baby Boom generation approaching retirement, many of our children and grandchildren understandably worry whether Social Security will be there when they need it. We must strengthen Social Security by allowing younger workers to save some of their taxes in a personal account -- a nest egg you can call your own, and government can never take away. In all these proposals, we seek to provide not just a government program, but a path -- a path to greater opportunity, more freedom, and more control over your own life. This path begins with our youngest Americans. To build a more hopeful America, we must help our children reach as far as their vision and character can take them. Tonight, I remind every parent and every teacher, I say to every child: No matter what your circumstance, no matter where you live -- your school will be the path to the promise of America. We are transforming our schools by raising standards and focusing on results. We are insisting on accountability, empowering parents and teachers, and making sure that local people are in charge of their schools. By testing every child, we are identifying those who need help ? and we're providing a record level of funding to get them that help. In northeast Georgia, Gainesville Elementary School is mostly Hispanic and 90 percent poor ? and this year 90 percent of its students passed state tests in reading and math. The principal expresses the philosophy of his school this way: "We don't focus on what we can't do at this school; we focus on what we can do -- We do whatever it takes to get kids across the finish line." This principal is challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations, and that is the spirit of our education reform, and the commitment of our country: No dejaremos a ningzn niqo atras. We will leave no child behind. We are making progress -- and there is more to do. In this time of change, most new jobs are filled by people with at least two years of college, yet only about one in four students gets there. In our high schools, we will fund early intervention programs to help students at risk. We will place a new focus on math and science. As we make progress, we will require a rigorous exam before graduation. By raising performance in our high schools, and expanding Pell grants for low and middle income families, we will help more Americans start their career with a college diploma. America's children must also have a healthy start in life. In a new term, we will lead an aggressive effort to enroll millions of poor children who are eligible but not signed up for the government's health insurance programs. We will not allow a lack of attention, or information, to stand between these children and the health care they need. Anyone who wants more details on my agenda can find them online. The web address is not very imaginative, but it's easy to remember: GeorgeWBush.com. These changing times can be exciting times of expanded opportunity. And here, you face a choice. My opponent's policies are dramatically different from ours. Senator Kerry opposed Medicare reform and health savings accounts. After supporting my education reforms, he now wants to dilute them. He opposes legal and medical liability reform. He opposed reducing the marriage penalty, opposed doubling the child credit, and opposed lowering income taxes for all who pay them. To be fair, there are some things my opponent is for -- he's proposed more than two trillion dollars in new federal spending so far, and that's a lot, even for a senator from Massachusetts. To pay for that spending, he is running on a platform of increasing taxes -- and that's the kind of promise a politician usually keeps. His policies of tax and spend -- of expanding government rather than expanding opportunity -- are the policies of the past. We are on the path to the future -- and we are not turning back. In this world of change, some things do not change: the values we try to live by, the institutions that give our lives meaning and purpose. Our society rests on a foundation of responsibility and character and family commitment. Because family and work are sources of stability and dignity, I support welfare reform that strengthens family and requires work. Because a caring society will value its weakest members, we must make a place for the unborn child. Because religious charities provide a safety net of mercy and compassion, our government must never discriminate against them. Because the union of a man and woman deserves an honored place in our society, I support the protection of marriage against activist judges. And I will continue to appoint federal judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the strict interpretation of the law. My opponent recently announced that he is the candidate of "conservative values," which must have come as a surprise to a lot of his supporters. Now, there are some problems with this claim. If you say the heart and soul of America is found in Hollywood, I'm afraid you are not the candidate of conservative values. If you voted against the bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act, which President Clinton signed, you are not the candidate of conservative values. If you gave a speech, as my opponent did, calling the Reagan presidency eight years of "moral darkness," then you may be a lot of things, but the candidate of conservative values is not one of them. This election will also determine how America responds to the continuing danger of terrorism -- and you know where I stand. Three days after September 11th, I stood where Americans died, in the ruins of the Twin Towers. Workers in hard hats were shouting to me, "Whatever it takes." A fellow grabbed me by the arm and he said, "Do not let me down." Since that day, I wake up every morning thinking about how to better protect our country. I will never relent in defending America -- whatever it takes. So we have fought the terrorists across the earth -- not for pride, not for power, but because the lives of our citizens are at stake. Our strategy is clear. We have tripled funding for homeland security and trained half a million first responders, because we are determined to protect our homeland. We are transforming our military and reforming and strengthening our intelligence services. We are staying on the offensive -- striking terrorists abroad -- so we do not have to face them here at home. And we are working to advance liberty in the broader Middle East, because freedom will bring a future of hope, and the peace we all want. And we will prevail. Our strategy is succeeding. Four years ago, Afghanistan was the home base of al-Qaida, Pakistan was a transit point for terrorist groups, Saudi Arabia was fertile ground for terrorist fundraising, Libya was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons, Iraq was a gathering threat, and al-Qaida was largely unchallenged as it planned attacks. Today, the government of a free Afghanistan is fighting terror, Pakistan is capturing terrorist leaders, Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests, Libya is dismantling its weapons programs, the army of a free Iraq is fighting for freedom, and more than three-quarters of al-Qaida's key members and associates have been detained or killed. We have led, many have joined, and America and the world are safer. This progress involved careful diplomacy, clear moral purpose, and some tough decisions. And the toughest came on Iraq. We knew Saddam Hussein's record of aggression and support for terror. We knew his long history of pursuing, even using, weapons of mass destruction. And we know that September 11th requires our country to think differently: We must, and we will, confront threats to America before it is too late. In Saddam Hussein, we saw a threat. Members of both political parties, including my opponent and his running mate, saw the threat, and voted to authorize the use of force. We went to the United Nations Security Council, which passed a unanimous resolution demanding the dictator disarm, or face serious consequences. Leaders in the Middle East urged him to comply. After more than a decade of diplomacy, we gave Saddam Hussein another chance, a final chance, to meet his responsibilities to the civilized world. He again refused, and I faced the kind of decision that comes only to the Oval Office -- a decision no president would ask for, but must be prepared to make. Do I forget the lessons of September 11th and take the word of a madman, or do I take action to defend our country? Faced with that choice, I will defend America every time. Because we acted to defend our country, the murderous regimes of Saddam Hussein and the Taliban are history, more than 50 million people have been liberated, and democracy is coming to the broader Middle East. In Afghanistan, terrorists have done everything they can to intimidate people -- yet more than 10 million citizens have registered to vote in the October presidential election ? a resounding endorsement of democracy. Despite ongoing acts of violence, Iraq now has a strong Prime Minister, a national council, and national elections are scheduled for January. Our Nation is standing with the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, because when America gives its word, America must keep its word. As importantly, we are serving a vital and historic cause that will make our country safer. Free societies in the Middle East will be hopeful societies, which no longer feed resentments and breed violence for export. Free governments in the Middle East will fight terrorists instead of harboring them, and that helps us keep the peace. So our mission in Afghanistan and Iraq is clear: We will help new leaders to train their armies, and move toward elections, and get on the path of stability and democracy as quickly as possible. And then our troops will return home with the honor they have earned. Our troops know the historic importance of our work. One Army Specialist wrote home: "We are transforming a once sick society into a hopeful place ... The various terrorist enemies we are facing in Iraq," he continued, "are really aiming at you back in the United States. This is a test of will for our country. We soldiers of yours are doing great and scoring victories in confronting the evil terrorists." That young man is right -- our men and women in uniform are doing a superb job for America. Tonight I want to speak to all of them -- and to their families: You are involved in a struggle of historic proportion. Because of your service and sacrifice, we are defeating the terrorists where they live and plan, and making America safer. Because of you, women in Afghanistan are no longer shot in a sports stadium. Because of you, the people of Iraq no longer fear being executed and left in mass graves. Because of you, the world is more just and will be more peaceful. We owe you our thanks, and we owe you something more. We will give you all the resources, all the tools, and all the support you need for victory. Again, my opponent and I have different approaches. I proposed, and the Congress overwhelmingly passed, 87 billion dollars in funding needed by our troops doing battle in Afghanistan and Iraq. My opponent and his running mate voted against this money for bullets, and fuel, and vehicles, and body armor. When asked to explain his vote, the Senator said, "I actually did vote for the 87 billion dollars before I voted against it." Then he said he was "proud" of that vote. Then, when pressed, he said it was a "complicated" matter. There is nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat. Our allies also know the historic importance of our work. About 40 nations stand beside us in Afghanistan, and some 30 in Iraq. And I deeply appreciate the courage and wise counsel of leaders like Prime Minister Howard, and President Kwasniewski, and Prime Minister Berlusconi -- and, of course, Prime Minister Tony Blair. Again, my opponent takes a different approach. In the midst of war, he has called America's allies, quote, a "coalition of the coerced and the bribed." That would be nations like Great Britain, Poland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Denmark, El Salvador, Australia, and others -- allies that deserve the respect of all Americans, not the scorn of a politician. I respect every soldier, from every country, who serves beside us in the hard work of history. America is grateful, and America will not forget. The people we have freed won't forget either. Not long ago, seven Iraqi men came to see me in the Oval Office. They had "X"s branded into their foreheads, and their right hands had been cut off, by Saddam Hussein's secret police, the sadistic punishment for imaginary crimes. During our emotional visit one of the Iraqi men used his new prosthetic hand to slowly write out, in Arabic, a prayer for God to bless America. I am proud that our country remains the hope of the oppressed, and the greatest force for good on this earth. Others understand the historic importance of our work. The terrorists know. They know that a vibrant, successful democracy at the heart of the Middle East will discredit their radical ideology of hate. They know that men and women with hope, and purpose, and dignity do not strap bombs on their bodies and kill the innocent. The terrorists are fighting freedom with all their cunning and cruelty because freedom is their greatest fear -- and they should be afraid, because freedom is on the march. I believe in the transformational power of liberty: The wisest use of American strength is to advance freedom. As the citizens of Afghanistan and Iraq seize the moment, their example will send a message of hope throughout a vital region. Palestinians will hear the message that democracy and reform are within their reach, and so is peace with our good friend Israel. Young women across the Middle East will hear the message that their day of equality and justice is coming. Young men will hear the message that national progress and dignity are found in liberty, not tyranny and terror. Reformers, and political prisoners, and exiles will hear the message that their dream of freedom cannot be denied forever. And as freedom advances -- heart by heart, and nation by nation -- America will be more secure and the world more peaceful. America has done this kind of work before -- and there have always been doubters. In 1946, 18 months after the fall of Berlin to allied forces, a journalist wrote in the New York Times, "Germany is ... a land in an acute stage of economic, political and moral crisis. [European] capitals are frightened. In every [military] headquarters, one meets alarmed officials doing their utmost to deal with the consequences of the occupation policy that they admit has failed." End quote. Maybe that same person's still around, writing editorials. Fortunately, we had a resolute president named Truman, who with the American people persevered, knowing that a new democracy at the center of Europe would lead to stability and peace. And because that generation of Americans held firm in the cause of liberty, we live in a better and safer world today. The progress we and our friends and allies seek in the broader Middle East will not come easily, or all at once. Yet Americans, of all people, should never be surprised by the power of liberty to transform lives and nations. That power brought settlers on perilous journeys, inspired colonies to rebellion, ended the sin of slavery, and set our Nation against the tyrannies of the 20th century. We were honored to aid the rise of democracy in Germany and Japan and Nicaragua and Central Europe and the Baltics -- and that noble story goes on. I believe that America is called to lead the cause of freedom in a new century. I believe that millions in the Middle East plead in silence for their liberty. I believe that given the chance, they will embrace the most honorable form of government ever devised by man. I believe all these things because freedom is not America's gift to the world, it is the Almighty God's gift to every man and woman in this world. This moment in the life of our country will be remembered. Generations will know if we kept our faith and kept our word. Generations will know if we seized this moment, and used it to build a future of safety and peace. The freedom of many, and the future security of our Nation, now depend on us. And tonight, my fellow Americans, I ask you to stand with me. In the last four years, you and I have come to know each other. Even when we don't agree, at least you know what I believe and where I stand. You may have noticed I have a few flaws, too. People sometimes have to correct my English -- I knew I had a problem when Arnold Schwarzenegger started doing it. Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called "walking." Now and then I come across as a little too blunt -- and for that we can all thank the white-haired lady sitting right up there. One thing I have learned about the presidency is that whatever shortcomings you have, people are going to notice them -- and whatever strengths you have, you're going to need them. These four years have brought moments I could not foresee and will not forget. I have tried to comfort Americans who lost the most on September 11th -- people who showed me a picture or told me a story, so I would know how much was taken from them. I have learned first-hand that ordering Americans into battle is the hardest decision, even when it is right. I have returned the salute of wounded soldiers, some with a very tough road ahead, who say they were just doing their job. I've held the children of the fallen, who are told their dad or mom is a hero, but would rather just have their dad or mom. And I have met with parents and wives and husbands who have received a folded flag, and said a final goodbye to a soldier they loved. I am awed that so many have used those meetings to say that I am in their prayers ? to offer encouragement to me. Where does strength like that come from? How can people so burdened with sorrow also feel such pride? It is because they know their loved one was last seen doing good. Because they know that liberty was precious to the one they lost. And in those military families, I have seen the character of a great nation: decent, and idealistic, and strong. The world saw that spirit three miles from here, when the people of this city faced peril together, and lifted a flag over the ruins, and defied the enemy with their courage. My fellow Americans, for as long as our country stands, people will look to the resurrection of New York City and they will say: Here buildings fell, and here a nation rose. We see America's character in our military, which finds a way or makes one. We see it in our veterans, who are supporting military families in their days of worry. We see it in our young people, who have found heroes once again. We see that character in workers and entrepreneurs, who are renewing our economy with their effort and optimism. And all of this has confirmed one belief beyond doubt: Having come this far, our tested and confident Nation can achieve anything. To everything we know there is a season -- a time for sadness, a time for struggle, a time for rebuilding. And now we have reached a time for hope. This young century will be liberty's century. By promoting liberty abroad, we will build a safer world. By encouraging liberty at home, we will build a more hopeful America. Like generations before us, we have a calling from beyond the stars to stand for freedom. This is the everlasting dream of America -- and tonight, in this place, that dream is renewed. Now we go forward -- grateful for our freedom, faithful to our cause, and confident in the future of the greatest nation on earth. God bless you, and may God continue to bless America. # # # ===================== JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org JFA ARCHIVES. All JFA postings from 1995 to present are available at: http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html NOTE: Some Internet Providers (including AOL, Earthlink and Juno) may see JFA postings as spam because of the large volume of JFA mail recipients and fail to deliver the posting. If this happens, the JFA system may automatically unsubscribe some email addresses. Should you stop receiving JFA Alerts, please subscribe to JFA again as per the instructions at http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAsubscribing.html You may also need to contact your service provider to find out how to prevent JFA postings from being recognized as spam. PLEASE EMPTY YOUR EMAIL INBOX REGULARLY. JFA automatically deletes subscribers that are over their message quota. If you stop using an account please unsubscribe that old account. With hundreds of inbound emails and thousands of outbound emails daily, JFA can not respond to every message. We thank you for your understanding and continued outstanding advocacy! JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of the American Association of People with Disabilities http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html ===================================================================== Justice-For-All FREE Subscriptions To subscribe or unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@JFANOW.ORG with one or the other in the body of your message: subscribe justice unsubscribe justice | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 63 Registered: 10-2000 |
High Stakes for Disabled on November 2 [In the following Wall Street Journal column, Al Hunt discusses recent trends regarding people with disabilities and whats at stake in the upcoming election.] Halting Progress for the Disabled August 19, 2004; Page A13 by Albert R. Hunt The Wall Street Journal Even trite cliches occasionally are on the mark; today, for 53 million disabled Americans the glass of life is both half-full and half-empty. A survey this summer by Harris Interactive of Americans with disabilities is disquieting: Only a little over one- third reported being employed, a much higher percentage than non-disabled say they face inadequate health care or transportation or are less likely to eat out or attend religious services, and a majority express dissatisfaction with their lives. The political progress of the '90s seems to have slowed and some large corporations, such as Wal- Mart, have abysmal records. Yet accessibility to transportation, education and even employment has improved around the country. Advocates for the disabled say slow progress is being made with small businesses and some large corporations, such as Microsoft, which has worked assiduously to make its software accessible, and Verizon, get high marks. This dichotomy springs from the promise of the landmark 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It doesn't surprise Andy Imparato, head of the American Association of People with Disabilities. "It's useful to think of the ADA in two phases," he notes. "One is bricks and mortar; transportation, buildings and telecommunications all are substantially more accessible. These are very tangible ways in which the ADA has enabled more disabled people to participate in society. But the rest is attitudinal; we still have a long way to go with how people think. We need much more dialogue, public education and positive experiences." This underscores the stakes in this year's presidential race. The ADA was pushed and signed into law by George Herbert Walker Bush in 1990 -- overriding the objections of his chief of staff; he is a hero to many with disabilities. His son inexplicably has shown little interest in the issue and through executive actions and judicial appointments threatens to roll back much of his father's top domestic legacy. That would be tragic. The ADA has made America a much better place. Just look around and notice how differently those with disabilities are treated compared to a decade ago. (I have two sons, one of whom is disabled; the other was a CNN intern at last month's Democratic convention; two of his fellow interns were deaf.) Politically, the picture is mixed. In Congress, support for the disabled crosses party lines. There is no more important champion than Ted Kennedy, and there are Republican supporters like John McCain, not surprisingly, but also staunch conservatives such as Congressman Pete Sessions in the House and Orrin Hatch in the Senate. Yet the GOP-run House leadership recently blocked a bill to provide more health-care services for lower income families with disabled children because it wasn't financed with offsetting budget cuts, an issue it ignored when a big tax cut for special interests sailed through. Some of the most notable champions are on the local level, including America's most notable Democratic and Republican mayors -- Chicago's Richard Daley and New York's Michael Bloomberg. Mayor Daley has vowed to make Chicago "the most accessible city in the nation." His Disabilities office is cabinet rank and no politician has worked more effectively with a sometimes skeptical business community than Rich Daley. There are 149 Chicago schools that are accessible today up from almost none when Mayor Daley took office. In New York, advocates say, Michael Bloomberg was that city's first mayor to really reach out to those with disabilities. He has increased the number of accessible taxicabs, made numerous buildings and sidewalks more accessible and pushed career exploration and job-shadowing programs. But there are other state and local officials as bad as Messrs. Daley and Bloomberg are good. At the top of that list is the newly elected governor of Mississippi, Haley Barbour. Facing a budget squeeze, the former Republican Party chair, and tobacco lobbyist, rejected measures like increasing the state's small cigarette tax and instead is slashing Medicaid benefits for poorer Mississippians. For thousands of disabled, this means a reduction in prescription drug benefits and access to necessary medical care and a loss of transportation services to those who need it. These cuts will be devastating for people like Traci Alsup, a 36-year-old Jackson, Miss., quadriplegic. She's scheduled to lose her prescription drug coverage, amounting to about $800 a month or just about what she gets from disability payments; she'd face additional expenses from any hospitalization and for her wheelchair. This would necessitate giving up her inexpensive apartment and having to move back to a nursing home: "I am full of anxiety and I'm depressed. This isn't right." In the presidential race, John Kerry hasn't said much -- there was no mention in his Boston acceptance speech -- and George W. Bush has been a disaster. Cutbacks in health care and housing proposed by the White House disproportionately affect those with disabilities. Five years ago the government set a goal to dramatically increase the number of disabled federal employees; there are less today than when this president first took office. Tragically, he has choked off promising research with embryonic stem cells that eventually could profoundly affect many disabilities. Mr. Bush rarely uses the presidential bully pulpit for public dialogue or education. "This White House considers us a nuisance, too high maintenance," says one leading disabilities advocate. Bush judicial nominees, like Jeffrey Sutton and William Pryor, are openly hostile to the Americans with Disabilities Act, following the lead of Antonin Scalia; the Supreme Court justice, from the bench, refers to people with disabilities as "handicaps," and belittles the notion they have basic rights. The High Court has eroded some of the ADA and on 5-to-4 votes narrowly upheld other parts. Many legal analysts believe that with any vacancies filled by Scalia wannabes the court may well gut the act. If you're blind, deaf or in a wheelchair, the stakes on Nov. 2 are enormous. # # # ===================== JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org JFA ARCHIVES. All JFA postings from 1995 to present are available at: http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 65 Registered: 10-2000 |
An ACTION ALERT from the National Council on Independent Living: National Call-In Day September 14, 2004 For Money Follows the Person/ Family Opportunity Act Congress has returned! They will be in session for only one month. There is much business to be conducted. If disability advocates want to be on their agenda, we must make a concerted, forceful push to get there. Therefore, disability organizations, including NCIL, ADAPT, AAPD, PVA, The ARC, United Cerebral Palsy and NAPAS, as well as other organizations like AARP and Family Voices have joined together to encourage advocates and friends from all over the country to take part in a national call-in day on Tuesday, September 14th. Our goal is passage of federal legislation supporting Money Follows the Person and the Family Opportunity Act. BACKGROUND The Senate passed the Family Opportunity Act (S 622) earlier this year. A separate Money Follows the Person bill (S 1394) has been introduced, but not passed by the Senate. In the House of Representatives, the Family Opportunity Act (H 1811) was amended in late June to include Money Follows the Person. It was on the suspension calendar and about to be voted upon when concerns about offsets in Medicaid to fund the legislation led to disagreements about how to proceed. H 1811 was pulled from the suspension calendar and has not been acted upon since. TALKING POINTS 1. Family Opportunity Act The bipartisan Family Opportunity Act would allow families with children who have severe disabilities to buy into the Medicaid program so that they have access to important health care services and supports which they cannot get through private insurance plans. The following are reasons Congress should support this legislation. * Passage of this bill would help these families stay employed, keep their children at home, and ensure that their children get the services they need. * It requires parents to pay premiums for this coverage on a sliding scale, based upon their incomes. * This program would be a state option and not mandatory. * It requires parents to take employer-sponsored family coverage, if available, but it allows them to buy into Medicaid to supplement the employer benefit package. 2. Money Follows the Person Money Follows the Person is a demonstration project that would require the federal government to reimburse the state for 100% of the first-year costs of home and community based services for individuals on Medicaid who move to the community from nursing homes or other institutions. In year two, the state match returns to the original rate. The reasons for passing this bill include: * Allowing individuals real choice in where they live; * Assisting states in Olmstead implementation which would help eliminate the institutional bias in Medicaid funding; * Reducing costs since home and community based services are far less expensive than institutional care * Honoring the promise made by President Bush in 2003 to provide $1.75 billion for a Money Follows the Individual Rebalancing Demonstration Project * Being consistent with family values and doing the right thing. CALL TO ACTION!! 1) Call the White House and urge the President to deliver on his promise for Money Follows the Person legislation. The White House Comment Line is (202)-456-1111 (TTY Accessible) 2) Call your Representative in the House and urge passage of legislation to include both the Family Opportunity Act and Money Follows the Person. NOTE: If you do not know your Representatives Phone Number, see below. 3) Call Your Senators and urge passage of Money Follows the Person Legislation (S 1394) since they previously passed the Family Opportunity Act. NOTE: If you do not know your Senators Phone Numbers See Below 4) How to find your Representative or Senators phone numbers Go to www.congress.org Find the box under the heading Write Elected Officials, type in your zip code and press the enter key. Then, when the names of your elected officials come on the screen, click your mouse on the word Info under the name of the elected official you want to contact. The telephone number will be listed on the page that comes up next. This is a real opportunity for the disability community to live up to the NCIL motto of Not Just Responding To Change, But Leading It! Lets make the most of it. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS: Contact Gwen Gillenwater, NCIL Director of Advocacy and Public Policy or Daniel Davis, NCIL Policy Analyst by phone at (703)-525-3406 or by e-mail at gwen@ncil.org or daniel@ncil.org. # # # ===================== JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org JFA ARCHIVES. All JFA postings from 1995 to present are available at: http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html NOTE: Some Internet Providers (including AOL, Earthlink and Juno) may see JFA postings as spam because of the large volume of JFA mail recipients and fail to deliver the posting. If this happens, the JFA system may automatically unsubscribe some email addresses. Should you stop receiving JFA Alerts, please subscribe to JFA again as per the instructions at http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAsubscribing.html You may also need to contact your service provider to find out how to prevent JFA postings from being recognized as spam. PLEASE EMPTY YOUR EMAIL INBOX REGULARLY. JFA automatically deletes subscribers that are over their message quota. If you stop using an account please unsubscribe that old account. With hundreds of inbound emails and thousands of outbound emails daily, JFA can not respond to every message. We thank you for your understanding and continued outstanding advocacy! JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of the American Association of People with Disabilities http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 67 Registered: 10-2000 |
An AAPD Press Release: AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES (AAPD) LENDS SUPPORT TO LANDMARK CAPTIONING QUALITY PETITION Eight Years after the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Gaps Remain in Analog and Digital Captioning WASHINGTON, D.C., September 8, 2004 - The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is lending its support to Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc. (TDI) in its joint filing with other national organizations serving Deaf and hard of hearing Americans to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on television captioning quality issues. The FCC needs to make it fully clear that provision of inferior quality of captioning is discriminatory and exclusionary, says Andrew J. Imparato, AAPD President and CEO. The FCC must emphasize clearly that full access to television for all viewers is a top priority. AAPD joins a cadre of organizations serving Americans who are Deaf or hard of hearing, including the Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA), Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network (DHHCAN), National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and Self-Help for the Hard of Hearing People (SHHH). These organizations have united with TDI, which filed a Petition for Rulemaking on July 23, 2004, asking that the FCC address long-standing quality issues in closed captioning of all broadcast, cable and satellite television programming for viewers who are Deaf, hard of hearing or late-deafened. On the heels of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990 was enacted fourteen years ago. This Act has inserted decoders into virtually every home in the country with TV sets 13" or larger. In addition, Section 713 of the Telecommunication Act of 1996 currently requires that 75% of all new programming be captioned, which will increase to 100% of all new analog and digital television programming in 2006. Closed captioning is critical to Deaf and hard of hearing individuals, both for personal safety and education, and with respect to quality of life. Individuals who rely on closed captioning in order to have access to video programming continue to experience numerous problems with the captioning quality, which has resulted in a lack of access to video programming that is contrary to the mandates of the Telecommunications Act. The FCC's adoption of the captioning rules was the first step towards increasing the availability of captioned programming. However, it has become clear that additional enforcement mechanisms are required in order to ensure full implementation of the rules and to increase accountability for noncompliance with the rules. In addition, measures are needed to ensure that the occurrence of technical problems is minimized and to ensure that technical problems that do occur are remedied efficiently and expeditiously. The FCC also must adopt quality of service standards in order to ensure that video programming is fully accessible to all viewers who rely on captioning. "When the FCC implemented the original captioning regulations, the purpose was to get captions on the TV screen. We now ask that the FCC expand on its commitment to monitor and enforce acceptable quality TV captioning", says Claude Stout, TDI Executive Director. Stout adds, "We also ask that the FCC ensure timely communication and resolution on captioning issues occur by quickly working in concert with consumers, captioning providers, and program producers and distributors." Adds Nancy Bloch, National Association of the Deaf CEO, Captioning must be treated with the same respect as sound. A viewer who can hear would never accept spoken words that are regularly unintelligible or missing and sound that suddenly stops. Nor would their attempts to call and inform the station of a problem be treated as having no sense of urgency." As part of the advocacy organizations' ongoing efforts to promote more consumer involvement with the FCC and other government agencies, AAPD encourages all television viewers who use closed captioning to share their own personal experiences with the FCC, and to file comments in support of this Petition with the FCC and ask them to improve captioning quality for all. In all comments related to the Petition, please be sure to include this docket number: RM-11065 and mention the Captioning Petition filed on July 23, 2004. You may either email your comments to fccinfo@fcc.gov or fax them to 1- 866-418-0232. When citing problems with quality of a specific program, be sure to include the following information: program, date(s) and times, channel (use names not numbers.), and your city and state. Please send a copy of your comments to TDI at info@tdi-online.org or FAX 301- 589-3797. About AAPD American Association of People with Disabilities is the largest national nonprofit cross- disability member organization in the United States, dedicated to ensuring economic self-sufficiency and political empowerment for the more than 56 million Americans with disabilities. It was founded in 1995 to help unite the diverse community of people with disabilities, including their family, friends and supporters, and to be a national voice for change in implementing the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). AAPD works in coalition with other disability organizations for the full implementation and enforcement of disability nondiscrimination laws. For additional information and to learn about AAPD member benefits, visit the AAPD website: www.aapd-dc.org. About TDI Also known as Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc., TDI is a non-profit advocacy organization that promotes equal access to telecommunications and media for individuals who are deaf, late deafened, hard-of-hearing or deaf-blind. Since 1968, TDI has successfully advocated for federal legislation such as the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Television Decoder Circuitry Act, both of 1990, as well as other legislation and policies mandating greater access to wireless technology, captioning as well as other telecommunication and media technologies. Since its inception, TDI has been promoting access to 9-1-1 centers and other public safety answering points, and is now working to ensure full access to information during natural or manmade disasters and other types of emergencies. TDI publishes annually, a National Directory & Resource Guide, commonly known as The Blue Book, a popular resource book for people with hearing loss, as well as The GA-SK quarterly news magazine. For more information about TDI, go to www.tdi-online.org. # # # ===================== JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 73 Registered: 10-2000 |
Election System Problems for People with Disabilities A Letter-to-the-Editor from the Washington Post: More Election System Flaws Tuesday, September 21, 2004; Page A20 The list of concerns reported in the Sept. 5 front-page story "Problems Abound in Election System" [text reproduced below] should have included the extensive disenfranchisement of voters with disabilities. More than 40 million eligible voters with disabilities live in the United States. Many can't take part in the political process because ballots, voting machines and polling places are not designed or equipped to accommodate them. While the Help America Vote Act requires states to provide at least one accessible voting machine at each polling place, the Bush administration has requested only 10 percent of authorized funding for the act in its budget proposal for fiscal 2005. We must insist on full funding for that law. Because so many voting problems unfortunately persist, we must continue to demand reform and full access to the polls for all eligible voters. STEPHEN BENNETT President and Chief Executive United Cerebral Palsy Washington ======================== Problems Abound in Election System; Outmoded Machinery Is Still Widespread by Jo Becker and Dan Keating, Washington Post Staff Writers September 5, 2004 The Washington Post When Americans go to the polls in November to elect a president, they will confront a voting system beset by many of the same problems that produced the bitterly disputed outcome four years ago and led to a 36-day legal standoff ultimately decided by the Supreme Court. Several of the most hotly contested states -- including Ohio and Missouri -- make widespread use of the paper punch-card ballots that caused so much trouble in Florida in 2000. Concerns about security and recounts have delayed greater use of electronic voting machines in many states. And a hodgepodge of state laws means varying legal requirements for how -- or even if -- recounts will be conducted this time around. The delays and changes in election laws have prompted both parties and presidential campaigns to gear up early with legal teams in preparation for Election Day and have left local election officials fearful of a repeat of Florida's experience. Voicing a concern of many election officials and analysts, Bureau of Elections director Denise Lamb in New Mexico -- where the 2000 race was decided by just 366 votes -- said, "God help us if the election is close." It was not supposed to be this way now. The lessons of the 2000 election that deadlocked in Florida were as clear as the calls for reform: The nation's system for casting and counting ballots was antiquated, unreliable, often capricious and unable to produce a clear-cut winner in an election with razor-close margins. In response, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act to assist states in upgrading aging voting equipment, creating more accurate voter rolls and preventing eligible voters from being turned away at the polls. But election officials and experts say many of the most important reforms will not be in place for the Nov. 2 election in the most closely contested states. Bureaucratic delays, coupled with concerns about the accuracy and security of high-tech electronic voting machines, mean that an estimated 32 million voters in 19 states will still use the punch-card ballots that left Florida officials struggling to divine voter intent from hanging chads and pregnant dimples. Because Congress set only minimum standards in the voting law, new at-the-poll identification requirements vary widely from state to state. Adding to the confusion, rules differ from state to state on how and when to count "provisional ballots" that must now be given to voters whose names do not appear on the rolls. The sensitivity to election irregularities after the 2000 experience means that legal challenges to this year's balloting are all but certain, analysts said. Officials in both parties already have filed lawsuits in several states to challenge election rules. Barry Richard, a Tallahassee lawyer who represented George W. Bush during the 2000 recount, said he thinks it is unlikely this year's election could again come down to a single deadlocked state. And, he said, this time there would be legal precedents set by the 2000 election to guide the process. Still, Richard said, he has agreed to represent President Bush "should the need arise." Norman J. Ornstein, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said he believes litigation is likely. "We've taken a high level of unease, distrust and skepticism about the sanctity of the voting system from 2000 and we've poured gasoline on the fire," he said. "If the election is close, there's going to be ample reason for the losers to point at a variety of issues." A top priority of the Help America Vote Act was the replacement of decades-old election machinery with less error-prone equipment that would help voters catch mistakes and provide for accurate recounts. Many states changed equipment: The percentage of registered voters using electronic voting machines has more than doubled in the past four years while the percentage using punch cards has been cut in half. But most of the promised federal equipment replacement money was not distributed until June, and the law gives states until 2006 to put new equipment in place. So equipment that was widely discredited in the 2000 election is still prevalent where accuracy could prove most important: in some of the states considered toss-ups between Bush and challenger John F. Kerry. For example, 72 percent of Ohio's registered voters -- more than 5 million people -- must use punch cards to vote. And while more people in Ohio will use punch cards ballots than any other state, eight other states projected to be close in the presidential election will also make use of the outdated technology. In Missouri, for instance, two- thirds will use punch-card ballots. In Louisiana and Pennsylvania, almost half of voters will use even older technology: machines with mechanical levers. The outdated metal boxes, which the federal government is paying states to replace by 2006, are error-prone, easy to tamper with and break down frequently, experts said. Lever machines also will be widely used in such contested states as West Virginia, Arkansas and Virginia. To some extent, states are keeping old technology because of fear that high-tech electronic voting machines billed as the panacea could make matters worse. Fifty million voters will use the machines, which resemble automatic banking terminals. But in Ohio, election officials delayed deployment after a consultant found serious security flaws in the technology offered by four of the nation's top vendors. The study found that anyone with a security card and access to voting terminals made by Diebold Inc. could take control of the machines by typing a universal password of 1111. Security consultants hired by Maryland officials reported earlier this year that they were able to hack into that state's electronic voting systems to corrupt vote counts and delete election results. Maryland is sticking with the system, with officials saying they have tightened security procedures. Advocates of the electronic machines say security concerns must be weighed against statistics showing that the machines prevent voter mistakes that led to many ballots being canceled. Critics, however, point to places such as Raleigh, N.C., where 294 votes were lost in 2002 because of computer glitches. The critics' biggest concern is that the machines offer no independent record for a recount, meaning that it is impossible to detect whether there has been tampering. Those concerns led Nevada to debut a system last month that provides a backup paper record for each electronic vote. Recounts are not a problem reserved to electronic voting machines. Most states have no provision to automatically recount any type of ballots in a close election, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some still allow partial recounts, while others insist they be done statewide. Some states have enacted detailed laws governing how and when to count some contested ballots, but at least one hotly contested state, Pennsylvania, does not have a uniform system. A statewide recount there would require a candidate to petition in 67 county courts. Because the state has no set rule, each court would set its own. The result could be the very type of county-to-county discrepancies that led the U.S. Supreme Court to shut down the Florida recount. Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D) has said he hopes to change the law in time for November's election. Republican legislative leaders are skeptical, but Rendell spokesman Abe Amoros said change is needed: "We're trying to prevent chaos." A Caltech-MIT study found that of the estimated 4 million to 6 million votes lost nationwide in the 2000 election, about half can be traced to registration problems that disenfranchised qualified voters. Kay J. Maxwell, president of the League of Women Voters, said registration problems could prove to be the "sleeper issue" of 2004. "There's been so much discussion about voting machines," she said, "but this could turn out to be equally if not more important." In Pennsylvania and Minnesota, county officials also are concerned that new statewide registration systems designed to prevent fraud could lead to disenfranchisement. Glitches in Pennsylvania's system have made processing new registrations and absentee ballot applications so laborious that officials fear they will not be capable of accommodating a large influx of absentee requests just before the election. "I don't even want to think about what to do if that happens," said Deena Dean, the elections supervisor in GOP- leaning Bucks County, north of Philadelphia. Minnesota's new computerized system was rejecting eligible voters because of inconsequential differences between the information applicants put on the forms and existing state records. Officials believe that problem has been addressed, but some worry other glitches could arise when it is too late to fix: Election Day, when two-thirds of the state's voters register. "Unfortunately, we're going to have to test this system in combat," said Joe Mansky, election manager of Ramsey County, which includes St. Paul. Another registration problem that emerged during the 2000 Florida recount was that state's use of a flawed list to purge dead people and felons from the voter rolls that wound up disenfranchising thousands of eligible voters. The state was set to repeat the mistake until news organizations revealed that the 2004 list was similarly flawed. Florida scrapped the statewide list, leaving it up to each county to decide whether and how to purge ineligible voters. Meanwhile, related questions have arisen in another state. Prison advocates have filed suit in Ohio, charging that election officials are giving misleading information to felons about their voting rights. Perhaps the most partisan disputes to emerge this year have centered on new voter identification. In general, Republicans support ID requirements to prevent fraud, while Democrats say such requirements disproportionately disenfranchise poor and minority voters who may not have a driver's license, a utility bill in their name or other acceptable documents. Striking a compromise, the Help America Vote Act mandated that any first-time voter who registers by mail must either include a copy of an acceptable ID or show it at the polls. States, however, were free to go further, and as a result the nation now has a confusing hodgepodge of identification laws. The Republican-controlled states of Florida and Missouri are among 17 that require all residents to produce identification when they vote. By contrast, New Mexico's democratic secretary of state decided to require only the bare minimum, prompting a Republican lawsuit. At issue is the Republicans' contention that thousands of new voters who registered during drives conducted by third parties are, in effect, registering by mail and therefore should be subjected to identity checks at the polls. State election officials contend that expanding the identification requirements now would produce Election Day chaos, as well as disenfranchise Native American voters who may not have the type of ID required. That already happened during South Dakota's June primary, when poll workers confused about new identification requirements failed to tell Native Americans they were allowed to sign an affidavit in lieu of showing an ID. That in a number of swing states only some voters will be required to produce identification is likely to lead to charges of discrimination -- founded or not -- and a flurry of Election Day court filings, said Doug Chapin, director of Electionline.org, which tracks changes in balloting equipment and methods. "In the current environment," he said, "any little thing that generates a spark will produce a fire." One of the most popular post-Florida reforms contained in the Help America Vote Act was a mandate that all states give voters a provisional ballot when they arrive at a polling place and their names are not on the rolls. Voters who feel they are the victim of a registration error can cast a ballot, and election officials can research their eligibility after Election Day. But the reform is creating a host of new problems that have already led to lost ballots, contested elections and legal battles. "Provisional ballots will be the hanging chads of 2004," predicted Ralph G. Neas, director of the nonprofit People for the American Way Foundation, a liberal organization that has been working for voting law change. Some states, including seven that are contested, refuse to count a vote for president, even if the voter is eligible, if the ballot is cast in the wrong precinct or congressional district. That has already caused problems: Of the 5,914 provisional ballots cast in a recent Chicago race, only 416 were counted. Most were disqualified because election officials allowed voters to cast the ballots in the wrong ward or did not ensure that forms were properly filled out. Experiences such as that led Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell (R) to reverse course last month and allow provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct to be counted. "It's ridiculous to penalize a voter for an election official error," Blackwell spokesman Carlo Loparo said. Not everyone agrees. Labor unions and the Democratic Party have filed lawsuits in Florida and Missouri challenging the validity of similar provisions. Meanwhile, some election officials worry that provisional ballots will not be counted at all. Verifying voter eligibility and hand-counting provisional ballots is time consuming -- time that election officials will not have in some states. Florida officials, for instance, set a two-day deadline for verifying those ballots, which local election officials have objected to, saying it is not enough. If the margin of victory in this year's presidential contest is smaller than the number of provisional ballots cast, Leon County election supervisor Ion Sancho said that could lead to the same scenario that caused the 2000 debacle: counties pleading for more time to count, and the secretary of state saying no. "If you had a thousand of these cast, there's no way we could do the research and comply with the deadline," he said. "I can definitely foresee a circumstance where litigation could occur." # # # ===================== JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 74 Registered: 10-2000 |
ACTION ALERT!! Support Hate Crimes Legislation Michael Lieberman of the Anti-Defamation League, mlieberman@adl.org, writes: Colleagues, It now appears more likely that the House will vote later this week on a Motion to Instruct conferees to retain the Senate-passed hate crimes provisions. Please continue your outreach, calls, and letters to the Hill. The LCCR's Action Alert is pasted below for your use in crafting your own message. Remember that the LCCR has offered to blast FAX letters for those organizations who do not have that capability. Our refined target list is below. Please let me know if you get positive or negative feedback back from your outreach to these Members. My e-mail is mlieberman@adl.org. Thanks for your continued hard work on this important measure. Michael Lieberman Washington Counsel Director, Civil Rights Policy Planning Center Anti-Defamation League (202) 261-4607 (202) 296-2371 FAX mlieberman@adl.org ======================================== Target List for the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act (S. 966/ H.R. 4204) (LLEEA) A. THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS ARE NOT COSPONSORS OF THE LLEEA, BUT VOTED FOR A SIMILAR MOTION TO INSTRUCT IN SEPTEMBER, 2000. ALPHABETICAL BY STATE, THEN MEMBER Dooley (CA) Gallegly (CA) Castle (DE) Diaz-Balart, L. (FL) Shaw (FL) Biggert (IL) Costello (IL) LaHood (IL) Shimkus (IL) Weller (IL) Hill (IN) McCrery (LA) Kilpatrick (MI) Upton(MI) Etheridge (NC) Pomeroy (ND) Bass (NH) Frelinghuysen (NJ) Saxton (NJ) Smith (NJ) Gibbons (NV) Porter (NV) Boehlert (NY) Houghton (NY) Kelly (NY) Quinn(NY) Gillmor (OH) LaTourette (OH) Regula (OH) Hooley (OR) English (PA) Greenwood (PA) Holden (PA) Kanjorski (PA) Murtha (PA) Clyburn (SC) Gordon (TN) Edwards (TX) Green (TX) Hinojosa (TX) Ortiz (TX) Reyes (TX) Turner, Jim (TX) Boucher (VA) Scott (VA) Forbes, R. (VA) Obey (WI) Rahall (WV) B. THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS ARE CURRENTLY UNDECIDED ON THE MOTION TO INSTRUCT ALPHABETICAL BY STATE, THEN MEMBER Franks (AZ) Renzi (AZ) Cardoza (CA) Nunes (CA) Beauprez (CO) Brown-Waite (FL) Diaz-Balart, M. (FL) Harris (FL) Gingrey (GA) Marshall (GA) Rehberg (MT) Miller, B. (NC) Bradley (NH) Garrett (NJ) Pearce (NM) Ryan (OH) Carson (OK) Cole (OK) Gerlach (PA) Murphy (PA) Barrett (SC) Blackburn (TN) Davis, L. (TN) Burgess (TX) Carter (TX) Bishop, R. (UT) Ryan (WI) ===================================== URGENT ALERT House Could Consider Hate Crimes Amendment Thursday, September 23 Urge Congress to Enact the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act In June, the Senate approved the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act (S. 966/ H.R. 4204) (LLEEA) as an amendment to the Department of Defense (DOD) authorization bill. As early as Thursday, when the House conference committee for the Department of Defense authorization bill (S. 2559/ H.R. 4613) is appointed, supporters of LLEEA will offer a "motion to instruct" the conference committee to include the hate crimes language in the final DOD authorization bill. BACKGROUND: LLEEA strengthens the current federal hate crimes statute by covering all violent crimes based on race, color, religion, or national origin. Furthermore, LEEA would permit federal involvement in the prosecution of bias- motivated crimes based on the victim's gender, sexual orientation, or disability. This expansion is critical in order to protect members of these groups from this most egregious form of discrimination. While states should continue to play the primary role in the prosecution of hate crime violence, the federal government must be able to address cases that local authorities are either unable or unwilling to investigate and prosecute. ACTION: Urge members of Congress to support the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act (S. 966/ H.R. 4204) as an amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill. | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 75 Registered: 10-2000 |
Dear FAF Members and readers, Truly I pray you get involved with some of these issues. Adding to the above "Action Alert," I am a victim of a hate crime that has caused extensive damage to my body and most especially to my brain. This assault happened to me on May 28, 2004. The brain damage is permanent and the ill effects from this damage will most likely increase. There are many things I cannot do now and they are multiplying, that once upon a time I could do. There is no cure. Currently there are 3 felony charges and 1 misdemeanor charge on the man who did this to me. However, to my dismay he is allowed to reside in this same apartment building as myself nonetheless. Infact, his living room wall is also my living room wall. This is how close he is to me. Nor was he arrested that fateful day this happened. And he has not been evicted nor even served notice. He not only violated the lease Laws of this building but the Laws of the land and the ADA Laws as well. Most importantly, I know God Almighty does not look upon that lightly. His rage was frightening and my being in a power wheelchair already, it was not possible to defend myself. He also weighs 3 times my weight and the blows to my head were of such a force that they literally turned me and my power wheelchair over twice. Once hitting a door frame and once hitting a hallway wall thankfully as they turned out to be my saving grace that prevented the 200 pound wheelchair from toppling over on top of me. Today I still praise God for this life I have left. The only reason for my life today is God's Wonderous Protection. And while I realize that "man is appointed to die once," there is an underlying desire to have justice see me this side of death. The perpetrator still bangs on my wall, plays his music loud, claps his hands together and now sleeps next to his living room wall, knowing full well that my hospital bed is next to that wall. I hear him snoring so there is no rest for this anxiety within. I sleep every 4 to 5 days out of pure exhaustion. And while it is true that I am a Christian woman who is born again, this does not mean that I've become super woman who has no feelings of fear, anxiety, depression and the like. I'm still a human being with many different emotions that leave me with silent tears to God Almighty. The shortest verse in the Bible is "Jesus Wept." Jesus Christ was 100 percent human as He was 100 percent God. "Jesus Wept" knowing full well that Lazarus would walk out of that tomb. Jesus Christ, our God, Wept. My request is that you pray for justice to see me and also pray that this perpetrator also join us one Great Day to shout Hallelu-Yahs to our King of Kings. The only other added request is that perhaps you pray this does not happen to yourselves, your children, your mother, your father, your grandmother and the rest of whom you may know and love and those of us you don't. Getting involved in these issues not only protects the disabled but it prevents others from becoming disabled as well. Or it is because of the many of us who do get involved that your grandmother has hearing aids or that there is closed captioning still for those you know or love who cannot hear well anymore. Many of these issues above will affect somebody you know or love. And while most of you may not know me, there are some on this board who do. These postings are not just for me. Nor are they "just" for the "already" disabled. One day, one or more of these very issues in these posts could be for *you*--I pray this isn't the case but if so, remember to never give up and never ever forget that God is with you! Hallelu-YAH! Love to you all, through Christ, our God. denise. P.S. I thank you all for being here and I'm looking forward to meeting each and every one of you one Great Day. P.P.S.S. And please keep in mind that pity is the last thing I'd want....yuk! (I'm with you Thomas! We are written epistles of God. Thank you for your testimony of faith a few months back--I wept reading it for I could absolutely understand where you are at in your walk. Let us together, along with many others, bless God and be His witnesses of His Great Mercy!) Lord, I pray some hearts will take interest and read these issues posted above and the ones that will come next. | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 76 Registered: 10-2000 |
ADAPT Gets Kerrys Ear at Town Hall Meeting Stephanie Thomas - stephanieadapt@earthlink.net of ADAPT writes: Here [below] is a report from Denver ADAPT. This is something MiCASSA Supporters can do anywhere in the nation. Both Candidates need visits of this kind! Right on to the Denver folks. Let's follow their lead! ======================== Friday September 17, 2004: ADAPT magic happened again at the Town Hall Meeting in Aurora, Co with presidential candidate John Kerry. The local ADAPT group had spent the week trying to get tickets to attend the rally for Mr. Kerry on Friday and had been unsuccessful. On Friday at 2PM a decision was made and eight of us loaded up in a van to attempt to get into the meeting without tickets. The magic started immediately. The parking lots were full so we asked one of the police officers if we could unload the van before parking. "You have two minutes to unload," he said, "and don't go past the cones." As we pulled into the parking lot another officer said, "You need to pull around right in front." "But we were told not to go past the cones." "And I'm telling you to go past the cones and unload." Past the cones we went. As we got to the doors we asked several people to find a specific individual, as she was to have the tickets for us. Of course, she couldn't be located, but a group of us sitting to the side were offered tickets by a man and coincidentally he had exactly eight tickets. Inside we went. We were able to pass security without too much hassle, and were directed to the side of the gym with a good view of the podium where Mr. Kerry would be speaking. The group in the wheelchairs moved up the aisle, where they were stopped by one of the union women sitting on the aisle who explained they could move no closer. As soon as she had lost interest in them and moved her foot Dawn Russell took them to the very front of the row. In his speech Mr. Kerry was very up front about the problems he saw with the present administration and the changes he was prepared to initiate. The main focus of his speech was health care and his healthcare plan for the nation, and we were clear we had come to the right place at the right time. After his speech Mr. Kerry took and responded to questions from the audience. He handed the microphone to a woman sitting next to Dawn and her question was about what would happen to her Medicaid with all of the budget cuts that were going on. As Mr. Kerry stepped back to begin his answer "quiet" Dawn Russell said, "I have an answer to the Medicaid problems, Senator Kerry." And the Senator kneeled down and held the microphone for her. ADAPT magic at work. "Senator Kerry, there are over 1 million people in nursing homes across the United States. It would cost one-third less to support them in the community. Colorado is one of the best in the country at community supports, but across the country people are having to leave their home states to come to places like Colorado to live in our own homes in the community and receive services," said Dawn. Senator Kerry responded, "This is Dawn Russell from ADAPT, and she is right. No one should be forced to live in a nursing home." Mr. Kerry went on to remark on ADAPTs 14 year battle to pass legislation that would assist individuals including the elderly and the coming "Baby Boomers" to continue to live in their own homes. He stated that children should not have to work extra to take care of or pay for their parents. Services in the home "with attendant care" will not only save money, but increase jobs and pay a living wage for attendants. People should have the choice of where they live and should all be able to live independently and with dignity. ADAPT magic, Senator Kerry. Thank You # # # ===================== JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org Justice-For-All FREE Subscriptions To subscribe or unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@JFANOW.ORG with one or the other in the body of your message: subscribe justice unsubscribe justice | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 78 Registered: 10-2000 |
"Florida Supreme Court Overturns 'Terri's Law'" From the New York Times: September 23, 2004 Florida Court Rejects Law Keeping Comatose Woman Alive By MARIA NEWMAN The New York Times Fourteen years after Theresa Schiavo slipped into a vegetative state, Florida's highest court said today that Gov. Jeb Bush violated the constitutional tenet of separation of powers when he signed a law to keep Ms. Schiavo alive against her husband's wishes. The high court said that a law passed by the Legislature in October 2003, referred to as "Terri's Law," granted the governor unconstitutional power to overturn several court decisions that granted Michael Schiavo the authority to make a final decision on his wife's fate. Mr. Schiavo has wanted to remove feeding tubes that have kept his wife alive since she went into a vegetative state in 1990 when her heart stopped beating at the age of 26. Mrs. Schiavo left no written instructions, but her husband said she had told him in conversations that she would not want to be kept alive artificially. Most courts have sided with him, and last October, he had her feeding tube removed briefly before the governor ordered it reinstated. The governor acted in response to a clamor from right-to- life advocates and requests by Mrs. Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, who have argued that their daughter would have wanted to be kept alive. They have maintained that there is still hope that a medical cure can be found to reverse her condition. It was not clear immediately after today's much-awaited ruling when or whether Mr. Schiavo would act to remove the feeding tube from his wife, nor whether the governor or Mrs. Schiavo's family would appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, as they have said recently they would. In its 29-page ruling, the Florida Supreme Court made note of the heart-wrenching issues at the core of a case that has pitted family members against one another over the life of a loved one who cannot speak for herself. They also gave a nod to the vast attention the case has drawn from advocates of right-to-life causes, civil libertarians and others. But, the justices said, their role was merely to decide on the issue of whether the governor and the Legislature acted correctly when they passed Terri's Law, a narrowly defined piece of legislation carefully crafted to allow Mr. Bush to intervene in the Schiavo case, after several courts had ruled on the matter. "Our hearts can fully comprehend the grief so fully demonstrated by Theresa's family members on this record," the justices wrote. "But our hearts are not the law. What is in the Constitution always must prevail over emotion." In the end, the justices went on, "this case is not about the aspirations that loving parents have for their children." "This case is about maintaining the integrity of a constitutional system of government with three independent and co-equal branches, none of which can either encroach upon the powers of another branch or improperly delegate its own responsibilities," they wrote. Mrs. Schiavo, who is now 40, lives in a nursing home in Clearwater. Her heart stopped beating temporarily one night in 1990, possibly due to an eating disorder, wiping out much of her brain function. Doctors have said she is in a persistent vegetative state, meaning her eyes are open and might widen, stare or follow objects, but her brain is incapable of emotion, memory or thought. While she breathes on her own, she depends on a gastric tube for sustenance. After a dizzying series of court rulings and orders over several years, a judge last October ordered that her feeding tube be removed. But days later, Mr. Bush stepped in, saying his only interest was in protecting the sanctity of life. He said that being governor gave him the right and responsibility to intervene. But today, the state's highest court said he had no power to go against the courts. "If the Legislature with the assent of the governor can do what was attempted here, the judicial branch would be subordinated to the final directive of the other branches," the court wrote. "Vested rights could be stripped away based on popular clamor." http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/23/national/23CND- SCHI.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1095970113- mIJ8NItOhZ4DeNaPL+uO5w [Note: the above link is broken into two lines.] | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 79 Registered: 10-2000 |
"Disability Groups Angered by Schiavo Ruling" A Press Release from Not Dead Yet: SEPTEMBER 23, 2004 CONTACTS: Diane Coleman, J.D. & Stephen Drake, M.S. (708) 209-1500 ext. 11 & 29; (c) (708) 420-0539 DISABILITY GROUPS REACT TO SCHIAVO RULING WITH ANGER On Thursday, disability activists across the country expressed their deep concern over the decision by the Florida Supreme Court, which declared legislation popularly referred to as "Terri's Law" unconstitutional. In a unanimous decision, the court struck down the law that replaced Terri Schiavo's feeding tube after her husband obtained a court order to remove it last fall. The removal of the tube would cause her to die slowly of dehydration over a week to ten days. "The court in this case has obviously put the constitutional principle of separation of powers over the individual's right to due process. The court is more interested in protecting its turf than the people that occupy that turf," said Diane Coleman, president of Not Dead Yet, a national disability rights group. In addition to Not Dead Yet, 16 national disability groups, including The Arc of the United States and TASH supported the legislation to keep Terri Schiavo alive. Both groups represent the interests of people with significant intellectual disabilities similar to Terri's. National disability groups have filed amicus briefs in three separate appellate proceedings concerning the fate of Terri Schiavo. Most Floridians have been misled about the issues surrounding the starvation of Terri Schiavo. The dispute between her spouse and parents about whether Terri would have wanted her food and water discontinued has the potential to impact millions of lives. For the most part, the press has reported that the battle has been taken up by those calling themselves "pro-choice" on the spouse's side and those calling themselves "pro-life" on the parents' side. What has been ignored are organizations representing the millions of people in guardianship like Terri Schiavo and whose legal rights will be dramatically affected by this case. Just as Terri Schiavo's life is being devalued and marginalized, even to the point of imposing a painful death through dehydration that she did not ask for, the voices of the disability community she belongs to have also been marginalized in the press. We in the disability community are tired of being pushed aside when it's the lives of people in our own community that are on the line. The threatened execution of Terri Schiavo is a denial of her basic human rights by a society that feels that people like her aren't worth the time and money it takes to care for them. The widely-used term "vegetable" is just another way of saying "useless eater," the term the Third Reich used for those people with disabilities it exterminated. This is a case in which the forms of court proceedings have been elevated over justice. The early finding that Terri would have chosen starvation was contradicted by too much evidence to meet "clear and convincing" standards. "This is like a death penalty case in which the evidence shows that the convicted defendant was innocent, but no technical legal error was made," Coleman said. "In such a case, the Governor could issue a pardon, but for Terri, the Court slammed the door in her face." Not Dead Yet 7521 Madison St. Forest Park, IL 60130 708-209-1500 http://www.notdeadyet.org ===================== JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org |
