November 5, 2009
Dear Friend,
Twenty years ago today, we dedicated the Civil Rights Memorial — the nation's first memorial to the martyrs of the civil rights movement - just a block from where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ignited the Montgomery bus boycott.
I hope you will take a moment to remember those who died in the battle for equality and to reflect on how far we've come as a nation and how much more we need to do.
In the two decades since the SPLC built the Memorial, it has become more than a tribute to the martyrs of the movement. It has become a tool for education, an instrument of justice, and a solemn reminder that the march for racial and social justice continues throughout the world.
Because of the Memorial, tens of thousands of schoolchildren have learned about the struggle for human rights — lessons of courage, commitment and sacrifice. The Memorial also sparked new interest in unsolved crimes of the era, and family members of slain heroes have seen their loved ones' killers brought to justice.
On the Memorial's timeline, where the names of the 40 martyrs are inscribed on a circular granite table, designer Maya Lin left a blank space between the first and last entries — signifying that the march for justice began well before the events listed there and it continues today.
Supporters of the Southern Poverty Law Center made the Memorial, and everything else we've accomplished in the past 20 years, possible. I want to thank you for your personal dedication to justice and tolerance. Together we'll work toward the day that — as Dr. King quoted — "justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream."
Morris Dees
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
"A Little Levity"
It’s difficult facing the truth about oneself. I ran into this problem last year, but I bravely took it on...
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2008
I'm A Bigot
I just realized that I’m a bigot. All my life I’ve had a hatred of the German language. Not all German people, but their language (and their TV soldiers). It has to go back to when I was a little boy. We used to sit in front of the television watching shows like “Gallant Men”, “Combat”, and “Hogan’s Heroes”, where the good guys were American soldiers in World War 2.
Inevitably there would be German Officers who would come on the screen speaking either in bad English or German. They would bark out orders to their troops or sometimes to the Americans themselves. This was upsetting to me. How dare they shout at an American soldier? Someone working to save Democracy?
Was I influenced by post war propaganda? You bet I was. Did I buy into the idea that German TV soldiers were evil? Uh huh. Did I let those deep seeded feelings turn me into a bigot? Apparently so.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2008
I'm A Bigot
I just realized that I’m a bigot. All my life I’ve had a hatred of the German language. Not all German people, but their language (and their TV soldiers). It has to go back to when I was a little boy. We used to sit in front of the television watching shows like “Gallant Men”, “Combat”, and “Hogan’s Heroes”, where the good guys were American soldiers in World War 2.
Inevitably there would be German Officers who would come on the screen speaking either in bad English or German. They would bark out orders to their troops or sometimes to the Americans themselves. This was upsetting to me. How dare they shout at an American soldier? Someone working to save Democracy?
Was I influenced by post war propaganda? You bet I was. Did I buy into the idea that German TV soldiers were evil? Uh huh. Did I let those deep seeded feelings turn me into a bigot? Apparently so.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
When Chickens Bark
Just over a month ago, I posted about Margaret Carter and her lack of communication. I wrote of her as an elitist who seems more concerned with accolades than doing the right thing. Well... as Malcolm X would say... “the chickens have come home to roost.” Before you read my post, have a look at what’s going on with her already. From KATU.com...
By Thom Jensen KATU News and KATU.com Staff
PORTLAND, Ore. – A taxpayer watchdog group said Monday that former state Sen. Margaret Carter used her position as co-chair on a Senate committee to get a job with a $100,000 pay raise.
Common Sense for Oregon’s Executive Director Ross Day said Carter violated the state’s Constitution by using her votes on the Senate Ways and Means Committee when she voted for HB 2009.
“This certainly is unconstitutional,” Day said. “What it (Constitution) says is that no legislator can fill an office of profit - which that is what this is - that was created during the term that the legislator served.” Day also added, “We will be filing a lawsuit later this week.”
The bill split the Department of Human Services and Day said it helped create Carter’s new position as a DHS deputy director, raising her annual pay from just over $21,000 to almost $122,000.
“You’ve got a legislator who not only did this, who lobbied for a hundred-thousand dollar a year increase, but then she turned around and was a key vote in raising taxes. I mean to me that just smells bad,” Day said.
According to a DHS spokesperson Carter could not be interviewed for this story because she was home sick.
A reporter visited Carter’s Portland home but could not reach her. After the attempt the same DHS spokesperson called the reporter and said she was at the doctor.
The spokesperson said DHS would not respond to questions about Carter’s position because allegations she violated the Constitution are “too bizarre.”
Common Sense for Oregon recently awarded Carter its “Golden Fleece Award” which the group said is given to a “person, politician or government agency responsible for the most notorious – and wasteful – example of spending … .”
The group also named DHS and the governor’s office in its Golden Fleece Award.
Day quoted an Oregonian article where the governor’s office and DHS admitted Carter lobbied them for her new job while she was still a state senator.
--------------------------------
From my blog...
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2009
When "Elites" Strike
Yesterday I happened to tune into the Multnomah County Commissioner’s weekly meeting. As I watched them honoring the saintliness and work of Margaret Carter, I got to thinking... “this is all about elitism”. Now why would I think or say such a thing?
Well, the first person I observed spouting out the accolades was a Minister (her Minister?) who spoke of her as “a treasure” who listens carefully to what her constituents have to say. I was reminded of an email I sent to her, congratulating her on her new $120,000 DHS job back on August 17th...
Dear Senator Carter,
As an activist on behalf of people with developmental disabilities in Oregon, I want to congratulate you on your new job as Deputy Director of DHS. It sounds like you are interested in ensuring people with developmental disabilities are well cared for in our communities, which is long overdue at DHS. May I suggest that one of your first orders of business be simplifying the ridiculous process these folks must now go through to get a window air conditioner for their home.
I'm sure you're aware that the more significant a developmental disability is, the more likely a person has serious medical issues that accompany it. Many of these issues are exacerbated by heat, making the person prone to serious complications, including death. For the last 1 1/2 months DAWG Oregon, the ARC of Multnomah County, United Way of the Columbia Willamette. and Standard TV and Appliances have partnered in an attempt to get air conditioning to people with developmental disabilities. So far we've been able to provide folks with 9 new air conditioners and 5 used ones.
Once again we face another heat wave in Multnomah County, and are seeking donated air conditioners for "Operation Cool Air". We don't believe people should have to wait and/or jump through numerous hoops in order to stave off the potential dangers of extreme heat, which is the current situation with DHS. I hope you'll be able to join us in our efforts. Again; congratulations!
Sincerely,
David McDonald
DAWG Oregon
As you may have guessed, I never heard back from her. Why? Because I’m not an “Elite”. Those folks were at her canonization. When Ted Wheeler contacts Margaret Carter with an idea or concern, he KNOWS he’ll hear back from her. When Lolenzo Poe calls or emails her, he KNOWS she’ll get back to him ASAP. These are just a sampling of the “Elites” in our state. What about those of us who have no aspirations to become an “Elite”? We can count on being ignored by those who are, or aspire to become “Elites”. I’m not too concerned though...2012 is only a few years away.
By Thom Jensen KATU News and KATU.com Staff
PORTLAND, Ore. – A taxpayer watchdog group said Monday that former state Sen. Margaret Carter used her position as co-chair on a Senate committee to get a job with a $100,000 pay raise.
Common Sense for Oregon’s Executive Director Ross Day said Carter violated the state’s Constitution by using her votes on the Senate Ways and Means Committee when she voted for HB 2009.
“This certainly is unconstitutional,” Day said. “What it (Constitution) says is that no legislator can fill an office of profit - which that is what this is - that was created during the term that the legislator served.” Day also added, “We will be filing a lawsuit later this week.”
The bill split the Department of Human Services and Day said it helped create Carter’s new position as a DHS deputy director, raising her annual pay from just over $21,000 to almost $122,000.
“You’ve got a legislator who not only did this, who lobbied for a hundred-thousand dollar a year increase, but then she turned around and was a key vote in raising taxes. I mean to me that just smells bad,” Day said.
According to a DHS spokesperson Carter could not be interviewed for this story because she was home sick.
A reporter visited Carter’s Portland home but could not reach her. After the attempt the same DHS spokesperson called the reporter and said she was at the doctor.
The spokesperson said DHS would not respond to questions about Carter’s position because allegations she violated the Constitution are “too bizarre.”
Common Sense for Oregon recently awarded Carter its “Golden Fleece Award” which the group said is given to a “person, politician or government agency responsible for the most notorious – and wasteful – example of spending … .”
The group also named DHS and the governor’s office in its Golden Fleece Award.
Day quoted an Oregonian article where the governor’s office and DHS admitted Carter lobbied them for her new job while she was still a state senator.
--------------------------------
From my blog...
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2009
When "Elites" Strike
Yesterday I happened to tune into the Multnomah County Commissioner’s weekly meeting. As I watched them honoring the saintliness and work of Margaret Carter, I got to thinking... “this is all about elitism”. Now why would I think or say such a thing?
Well, the first person I observed spouting out the accolades was a Minister (her Minister?) who spoke of her as “a treasure” who listens carefully to what her constituents have to say. I was reminded of an email I sent to her, congratulating her on her new $120,000 DHS job back on August 17th...
Dear Senator Carter,
As an activist on behalf of people with developmental disabilities in Oregon, I want to congratulate you on your new job as Deputy Director of DHS. It sounds like you are interested in ensuring people with developmental disabilities are well cared for in our communities, which is long overdue at DHS. May I suggest that one of your first orders of business be simplifying the ridiculous process these folks must now go through to get a window air conditioner for their home.
I'm sure you're aware that the more significant a developmental disability is, the more likely a person has serious medical issues that accompany it. Many of these issues are exacerbated by heat, making the person prone to serious complications, including death. For the last 1 1/2 months DAWG Oregon, the ARC of Multnomah County, United Way of the Columbia Willamette. and Standard TV and Appliances have partnered in an attempt to get air conditioning to people with developmental disabilities. So far we've been able to provide folks with 9 new air conditioners and 5 used ones.
Once again we face another heat wave in Multnomah County, and are seeking donated air conditioners for "Operation Cool Air". We don't believe people should have to wait and/or jump through numerous hoops in order to stave off the potential dangers of extreme heat, which is the current situation with DHS. I hope you'll be able to join us in our efforts. Again; congratulations!
Sincerely,
David McDonald
DAWG Oregon
As you may have guessed, I never heard back from her. Why? Because I’m not an “Elite”. Those folks were at her canonization. When Ted Wheeler contacts Margaret Carter with an idea or concern, he KNOWS he’ll hear back from her. When Lolenzo Poe calls or emails her, he KNOWS she’ll get back to him ASAP. These are just a sampling of the “Elites” in our state. What about those of us who have no aspirations to become an “Elite”? We can count on being ignored by those who are, or aspire to become “Elites”. I’m not too concerned though...2012 is only a few years away.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Heeeere's Joseph!
This is a post I put up about my nephew in August 2008. He has autism, and we have to fight tooth and nail on his behalf, so he can have a normal life. His picture's actually on this post on the blog. I don't know how to get it to here...
SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2008
Through the Grapevine
Goodwill puts out “a monthly publication for employees of Goodwill industries of Columbia Willamette” titled the Goodwill Grapevine. Back in June my nephew’s case manager there asked me if it was ok to do an article about him. I was a little bit hesitant because I didn’t want him portrayed in any kind of negative light. She assured me that wouldn’t be the case, and said she’d do a story for the August edition.
He came over for Sunday dinner today and brought a copy of the newsletter with him. There’s a picture of him on the cover which is very cool. However; the back page is where his “story” is told, and I think it sucks. I don’t know who wrote this piece of trash, but they ought to be hung by the toes.
It starts out by saying; “The myriad of workplace sounds confuse him”. They don’t know that. He may have been confused because the situation was new. It goes on to say “The fast and efficient movements of employees make him anxious”. How can they write that? He certainly has never told anyone that. As I read I’m picking up on a vibe that they’re trying to make his disability look much worse than it is. Next they go on to say he “suffers from autism, a severe brain disorder”. As far as I’m concerned, the only thing he suffers from are the fools who wrote this drivel. “Some autistic individuals even feel terrible pain when they hear certain sounds. And sometimes the disease forces individuals to withdraw into their own world to avoid dealing with the sounds of the real world”. That may be true for some people with autism, but it’s not Joseph’s m.o. by a long shot. And...somebody needs to tell the writer that autism is NOT A DISEASE.
The next paragraph starts out by saying “Yet, somehow Joseph found the courage to move beyond his disorder”. Is this hyped-up fluff, or what? Courage? He’s as autistic now as he was when he started at Goodwill. He likes being autistic. I like his autism. The writer of this article ought to go back to school to gain an understanding of what disability is and isn’t. That’s the biggest reason he's bustin’ out of Goodwill.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2008
Through the Grapevine
Goodwill puts out “a monthly publication for employees of Goodwill industries of Columbia Willamette” titled the Goodwill Grapevine. Back in June my nephew’s case manager there asked me if it was ok to do an article about him. I was a little bit hesitant because I didn’t want him portrayed in any kind of negative light. She assured me that wouldn’t be the case, and said she’d do a story for the August edition.
He came over for Sunday dinner today and brought a copy of the newsletter with him. There’s a picture of him on the cover which is very cool. However; the back page is where his “story” is told, and I think it sucks. I don’t know who wrote this piece of trash, but they ought to be hung by the toes.
It starts out by saying; “The myriad of workplace sounds confuse him”. They don’t know that. He may have been confused because the situation was new. It goes on to say “The fast and efficient movements of employees make him anxious”. How can they write that? He certainly has never told anyone that. As I read I’m picking up on a vibe that they’re trying to make his disability look much worse than it is. Next they go on to say he “suffers from autism, a severe brain disorder”. As far as I’m concerned, the only thing he suffers from are the fools who wrote this drivel. “Some autistic individuals even feel terrible pain when they hear certain sounds. And sometimes the disease forces individuals to withdraw into their own world to avoid dealing with the sounds of the real world”. That may be true for some people with autism, but it’s not Joseph’s m.o. by a long shot. And...somebody needs to tell the writer that autism is NOT A DISEASE.
The next paragraph starts out by saying “Yet, somehow Joseph found the courage to move beyond his disorder”. Is this hyped-up fluff, or what? Courage? He’s as autistic now as he was when he started at Goodwill. He likes being autistic. I like his autism. The writer of this article ought to go back to school to gain an understanding of what disability is and isn’t. That’s the biggest reason he's bustin’ out of Goodwill.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
What Do You think?
It may sound cold to some, but here’s what I believe.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2008
Commercializing Martin Luther King's Birthday
At Thanksgiving we gather the homeless and hungry for turkey dinners. We make sure they have a hot nutritious meal...on that one day of the year. I tend to believe it’s more for the community at large than those being fed. It relieves guilt we may have for not taking care of these folks year round.
I see the same sort of dynamic growing more each year around Martin Luther King’s birthday. Next Monday there will be breakfasts honoring civil rights champions all over the country. There will be celebrations and TV broadcasts. There will be quotes and speeches about how great Dr. King was. There will be volunteer opportunities to paint, restore, clean up, and care...on that one day of the year.
I’m not buying any of it. I’m quite certain that Dr. King would not buy it either. He was much more of an in-the-trenches warrior than a celebrity. He was a year round activist who was more concerned with results than pomp and circumstance.
So I choose to have a day of fasting and praying on Monday. Something very low key. I’ll set my sights on what I can do when Tuesday rolls around.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2008
Commercializing Martin Luther King's Birthday
At Thanksgiving we gather the homeless and hungry for turkey dinners. We make sure they have a hot nutritious meal...on that one day of the year. I tend to believe it’s more for the community at large than those being fed. It relieves guilt we may have for not taking care of these folks year round.
I see the same sort of dynamic growing more each year around Martin Luther King’s birthday. Next Monday there will be breakfasts honoring civil rights champions all over the country. There will be celebrations and TV broadcasts. There will be quotes and speeches about how great Dr. King was. There will be volunteer opportunities to paint, restore, clean up, and care...on that one day of the year.
I’m not buying any of it. I’m quite certain that Dr. King would not buy it either. He was much more of an in-the-trenches warrior than a celebrity. He was a year round activist who was more concerned with results than pomp and circumstance.
So I choose to have a day of fasting and praying on Monday. Something very low key. I’ll set my sights on what I can do when Tuesday rolls around.
They Call Me Egg Face
The other day I wrote about a legislative "coffee" happening in my part of town in a post titled "We Interupt This Project". I missread the dates, THINKING it had already happened earlier that day! Later I wrote an email to my State Senator exxpressing my disappointment that it had come and gone without my knowing about it.
Late yesterday he got back to me, telling me I was a month early on my critique of the outreach done. Oops! I WAS WRONG. Guess it's important to have the facts nailed down before complaining. My bad!
Late yesterday he got back to me, telling me I was a month early on my critique of the outreach done. Oops! I WAS WRONG. Guess it's important to have the facts nailed down before complaining. My bad!
Friday, October 23, 2009
On New Orleans
Honestly, I was unaware of the emotional impact this project would have on me when I began. Each time I browse through the posts, I find something that brings me to tears. A little over 2 years ago I wrote about New Orleans, and what has NOT happened since Hurricane Katrina swept through in 2005. It still breaks my heart...
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2007
Six Feet of Water in the City of Evangeline
I’ve been bouncing back and forth between sadness and anger this morning; the 2 year anniversary of Katrina devouring the Gulf Coast. New Orleans was my favorite city in the world. I’m sad and angry because that great city and her people (mostly low income black folks) continue to go largely unattended to by the US Government in the 2 years since. Was Kanye West inaccurate when he proclaimed; “President Bush doesn’t care about black people”? I’d have to say he hit the nail on the head when looking at what the Bush administration has done to put that city back together again.
Did you ever have a chance to visit New Orleans prior to its’ destruction? I went there twice when I was in my roaring twenties. Mardi gras remains as the greatest memory I have of partying in my entire life. But it isn’t just the revelry that has stayed with me since my visits way back when, it’s the all that the Big Easy was.
Po Boy sandwiches, Dixie Land Jazz, Mark Twain, the Muddy Mississip, the street cars, the Doobie Brothers, Buster Holmes’ (red beans and rice), Louis Armstrong, voodoo, coffee with chicory, the Times Picayune, the old Southern homes with their tall ceilings, the Neville Brothers, grits, the list goes on and on. Who’d have thought it could all be wiped out by a storm?
When Randy Newman penned the lyrics to “Louisiana 1927” sometime around 1990, I don’t think he was envisioning what would happen some 15 years down the road. What really gets me is that as far back as 1926 (the Mississippi overflowed its’ banks the year before the Big Flood) it was known that the city would eventually flood beyond repair... it was just a question of when. I’ve pasted those lyrics below, in honor of this sad date in US history.
“What has happened down here is the wind has changed
Clouds roll in from the north and it started to rain
Rained real hard and rained for a real long time
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline
The river rose all day
The river rose all night
Some people got lost in the flood
Some people got away alright
The river have busted through clear down to Plaquemines
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
President Coolidge came down in a railroad train
With a little fat man with a note-pad in his hand
The President say, "Little fat man isn't it a shame what the river has
done
To this poor crackers land."
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away"
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2007
Six Feet of Water in the City of Evangeline
I’ve been bouncing back and forth between sadness and anger this morning; the 2 year anniversary of Katrina devouring the Gulf Coast. New Orleans was my favorite city in the world. I’m sad and angry because that great city and her people (mostly low income black folks) continue to go largely unattended to by the US Government in the 2 years since. Was Kanye West inaccurate when he proclaimed; “President Bush doesn’t care about black people”? I’d have to say he hit the nail on the head when looking at what the Bush administration has done to put that city back together again.
Did you ever have a chance to visit New Orleans prior to its’ destruction? I went there twice when I was in my roaring twenties. Mardi gras remains as the greatest memory I have of partying in my entire life. But it isn’t just the revelry that has stayed with me since my visits way back when, it’s the all that the Big Easy was.
Po Boy sandwiches, Dixie Land Jazz, Mark Twain, the Muddy Mississip, the street cars, the Doobie Brothers, Buster Holmes’ (red beans and rice), Louis Armstrong, voodoo, coffee with chicory, the Times Picayune, the old Southern homes with their tall ceilings, the Neville Brothers, grits, the list goes on and on. Who’d have thought it could all be wiped out by a storm?
When Randy Newman penned the lyrics to “Louisiana 1927” sometime around 1990, I don’t think he was envisioning what would happen some 15 years down the road. What really gets me is that as far back as 1926 (the Mississippi overflowed its’ banks the year before the Big Flood) it was known that the city would eventually flood beyond repair... it was just a question of when. I’ve pasted those lyrics below, in honor of this sad date in US history.
“What has happened down here is the wind has changed
Clouds roll in from the north and it started to rain
Rained real hard and rained for a real long time
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline
The river rose all day
The river rose all night
Some people got lost in the flood
Some people got away alright
The river have busted through clear down to Plaquemines
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
President Coolidge came down in a railroad train
With a little fat man with a note-pad in his hand
The President say, "Little fat man isn't it a shame what the river has
done
To this poor crackers land."
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away"
Thursday, October 22, 2009
"What It All Comes Down To..."
On May Day 2007 the disability community declared it to also be known as “Disablism Day”. The term “disablism” refers to the differences in the lives of folks with disabilities and their non-disabled peers. It’s also a call to the non-disabled community to find it within themselves to stop treating people with disabilities “differently”. I remember feeling truly inspired as I wrote this next post.
TUESDAY, MAY 01, 2007
Disablism Day Reflections
Due to some pressing matters I haven’t been blogging much lately. I’ve been holding out and holding on... to hope. Hope that people will awaken to the fact that civil and human rights are continually violated in the US of A daily in the personhood of people with disabilities. Preaching to the choir? I hope not.
I was talking to a guy last week about why I am the way I am. There’s a part of me that places principles before relationships. I figure that I have a limited time here on Earth, and I want to affect as much positive change as I can before my life is over. It’s almost to a point of obsession. If that means people not liking me because I don’t whisper or play nice, so be it.
1.) It sucks that a smaller group of people control the government, the resources, the media, and the decisions in the name of the larger group. Why aren’t more people up in arms??
2.) YOU CAN defend a woman’s right to choose and abhor the euthanasia of innocent people.
3.) YOU CAN be a progressive person and believe that life is sacred and should be treated as such.
4.) BEST PRACTICE is ALWAYS BEST PRACTICE until BETTER PRACTICE becomes FACTUAL.
5.) Incremental change is for the fearful. Immediate change is for the brave.
6.) Bargaining and rationalizing is a foreign concept to TRUTH.
7.) I’d rather have someone speak to me incorrectly and treat me right, than to have someone speak to me correctly and screw me. (That seems to be the latest trend)
8.) The truth will make you sick BEFORE it sets you free.
TUESDAY, MAY 01, 2007
Disablism Day Reflections
Due to some pressing matters I haven’t been blogging much lately. I’ve been holding out and holding on... to hope. Hope that people will awaken to the fact that civil and human rights are continually violated in the US of A daily in the personhood of people with disabilities. Preaching to the choir? I hope not.
I was talking to a guy last week about why I am the way I am. There’s a part of me that places principles before relationships. I figure that I have a limited time here on Earth, and I want to affect as much positive change as I can before my life is over. It’s almost to a point of obsession. If that means people not liking me because I don’t whisper or play nice, so be it.
1.) It sucks that a smaller group of people control the government, the resources, the media, and the decisions in the name of the larger group. Why aren’t more people up in arms??
2.) YOU CAN defend a woman’s right to choose and abhor the euthanasia of innocent people.
3.) YOU CAN be a progressive person and believe that life is sacred and should be treated as such.
4.) BEST PRACTICE is ALWAYS BEST PRACTICE until BETTER PRACTICE becomes FACTUAL.
5.) Incremental change is for the fearful. Immediate change is for the brave.
6.) Bargaining and rationalizing is a foreign concept to TRUTH.
7.) I’d rather have someone speak to me incorrectly and treat me right, than to have someone speak to me correctly and screw me. (That seems to be the latest trend)
8.) The truth will make you sick BEFORE it sets you free.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
We Interupt This Project
I couldn't resist posting this blurb from the Portland Sentinal that came to me at 2:48 in a Google Alert. Notice what time Rep. Kotek posted it. Must have wanted a big turnout, huh?
Wed, 10/21/2009 - 2:09pm | by Rep.Kotek
FOUND IN: Community Content Kenton Overlook St Johns
COMMUNITY CONTENT
When:
11/21/2009 - 9:00am - 1:30pm
Please join Sen. Chip Shields and Rep. Tina Kotek to meet your new Senator, ask questions, learn about what happened in the 2009 Session, and share ideas for the 2010 Special Session.
You can find your representatives here:
9- 10:30 @ Patti's Home Plate, 8501 N. Lombard
10:45-12:00 @ Po' Shines, 8139 N. Denver
12:15-1:30 @ Krakow Cafe, 3990 N. Interstate
Hope to see you on November 21st!
Wed, 10/21/2009 - 2:09pm | by Rep.Kotek
FOUND IN: Community Content Kenton Overlook St Johns
COMMUNITY CONTENT
When:
11/21/2009 - 9:00am - 1:30pm
Please join Sen. Chip Shields and Rep. Tina Kotek to meet your new Senator, ask questions, learn about what happened in the 2009 Session, and share ideas for the 2010 Special Session.
You can find your representatives here:
9- 10:30 @ Patti's Home Plate, 8501 N. Lombard
10:45-12:00 @ Po' Shines, 8139 N. Denver
12:15-1:30 @ Krakow Cafe, 3990 N. Interstate
Hope to see you on November 21st!
A Novel Approach To Writing
Since I’ve written 445 posts on my blog, AND I’m kinda lazy by nature, I’ve decided to do a “greatest hits” thing for the rest of October. My plan is to take older posts from the blog and push them up to “current” status. Although this feels peculiarly like watching old episodes of Lawrence Welk, where they tell you what year it’s from, It’s a nice way to celebrate some of what I consider my best posts. Here’s a post from when my blog was pretty new...
TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2007
What's Up With Disability Awareness?
What’s up with disability “awareness” demonstrations anyway? I’m talking about those exercises designed for school kids to “experience” what it’s like to live with a disability. For example, kids are encouraged to put two-sided tape between their fingers to see how their fingers stick together and how hard it is to pick up objects or to write. Or they are made to put a rubber ball between their knees then try to walk or run to “experience” a physical disability. Then they are asked to read a page of words that are printed backwards or with the letters jumbled around to “simulate” dyslexia. Probably the most insulting, they take turns putting on funny-looking masks and “experience” what it’s like to be laughed at. And my all-time favorite, they stuff marshmallows into their mouths and try to say a sentence to “simulate” a speech impairment.
All of this is supposed to create better understanding and empathy for their schoolmates who have disabilities. These exercises are so short-sighted and insulting that I believe they do more harm than good. The obvious is that they are designed to highlight differences, not similarities. In highlighting these differences, they sum up the experience of disability as performance deficits in areas where people struggle, but give no opportunity to see people with disabilities as individuals who possess a broad range of unique talents and abilities beyond these areas. Besides, what about the myriad of assistive technologies, equipment and adaptations to the environment that people use to accomplish these tasks at performance levels at or above what people without disabilities can do? These demonstrations also give kids the impression that all people with disabilities can be lumped into one group that experiences these things in the same way. They focus on the disability as the problem, but do nothing to show the unnecessary environmental barriers and prejudice in society that people with disabilities encounter daily. They actually involve “real” people with disabilities who take others through these degrading and misleading exercises. And they are focused on the wrong audience.
What’s needed is a demonstration for ADULTS without disabilities where they are forced to sit through a meeting with a case manager they’ve never met before asking for details about the likely peculiar “behaviors” they exhibit. They would experience the indignity of this 3-hour meeting during which every idea they present for assistive devices, adaptations or personal support services is met with a “No, it's not on our funded priority list.” They would be joined by a “vocational specialist” who would respond to every idea they present for appropriate workplace supports with “I don’t think ‘CARF’ will allow that goal” or “none of the other 'participants' are doing that, so we don’t want the others to think we’re giving any ‘special’ favors.” They would be told that a performance goal that targets 90 or 100% is not allowed, since it’s outside the standard “guidelines” that expect that the majority of people with disabilities won’t perform at that level. After the meeting they would be asked to sit and wait for their ride to pick them up. It will be at least a 30-minute wait, and it will arrive 10 minutes late. They would board the van and experience being driven around for 2 hours on a circuitous route that picks up several other people before arriving at their destination, which would normally be a 15 minute drive. Their destination? A dinner with their family, which was planned for 5 PM, but of course they don’t arrive until well after 6.
Now that’s disability “awareness.”
TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2007
What's Up With Disability Awareness?
What’s up with disability “awareness” demonstrations anyway? I’m talking about those exercises designed for school kids to “experience” what it’s like to live with a disability. For example, kids are encouraged to put two-sided tape between their fingers to see how their fingers stick together and how hard it is to pick up objects or to write. Or they are made to put a rubber ball between their knees then try to walk or run to “experience” a physical disability. Then they are asked to read a page of words that are printed backwards or with the letters jumbled around to “simulate” dyslexia. Probably the most insulting, they take turns putting on funny-looking masks and “experience” what it’s like to be laughed at. And my all-time favorite, they stuff marshmallows into their mouths and try to say a sentence to “simulate” a speech impairment.
All of this is supposed to create better understanding and empathy for their schoolmates who have disabilities. These exercises are so short-sighted and insulting that I believe they do more harm than good. The obvious is that they are designed to highlight differences, not similarities. In highlighting these differences, they sum up the experience of disability as performance deficits in areas where people struggle, but give no opportunity to see people with disabilities as individuals who possess a broad range of unique talents and abilities beyond these areas. Besides, what about the myriad of assistive technologies, equipment and adaptations to the environment that people use to accomplish these tasks at performance levels at or above what people without disabilities can do? These demonstrations also give kids the impression that all people with disabilities can be lumped into one group that experiences these things in the same way. They focus on the disability as the problem, but do nothing to show the unnecessary environmental barriers and prejudice in society that people with disabilities encounter daily. They actually involve “real” people with disabilities who take others through these degrading and misleading exercises. And they are focused on the wrong audience.
What’s needed is a demonstration for ADULTS without disabilities where they are forced to sit through a meeting with a case manager they’ve never met before asking for details about the likely peculiar “behaviors” they exhibit. They would experience the indignity of this 3-hour meeting during which every idea they present for assistive devices, adaptations or personal support services is met with a “No, it's not on our funded priority list.” They would be joined by a “vocational specialist” who would respond to every idea they present for appropriate workplace supports with “I don’t think ‘CARF’ will allow that goal” or “none of the other 'participants' are doing that, so we don’t want the others to think we’re giving any ‘special’ favors.” They would be told that a performance goal that targets 90 or 100% is not allowed, since it’s outside the standard “guidelines” that expect that the majority of people with disabilities won’t perform at that level. After the meeting they would be asked to sit and wait for their ride to pick them up. It will be at least a 30-minute wait, and it will arrive 10 minutes late. They would board the van and experience being driven around for 2 hours on a circuitous route that picks up several other people before arriving at their destination, which would normally be a 15 minute drive. Their destination? A dinner with their family, which was planned for 5 PM, but of course they don’t arrive until well after 6.
Now that’s disability “awareness.”
Friday, October 16, 2009
How To Make People Lie
Want to have some fun during this Halloween season? I’ve come up with the perfect trick to pull on “important” people, that will surely make you smile. It goes like this.
You simply approach any government type(s), rich people, or famous person you know, and ask them if they’ve been vaccinated against the H1N1 virus. Because they’re most likely NOT on the list of high priority folks for the vaccine they will HAVE TO lie when they answer “no”.
Don’t ask about any other person than themselves. If you do that they’ll say that HIPPA rules prevent them from telling you, but they’ll be stuck as far as themselves.
You simply approach any government type(s), rich people, or famous person you know, and ask them if they’ve been vaccinated against the H1N1 virus. Because they’re most likely NOT on the list of high priority folks for the vaccine they will HAVE TO lie when they answer “no”.
Don’t ask about any other person than themselves. If you do that they’ll say that HIPPA rules prevent them from telling you, but they’ll be stuck as far as themselves.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Eugenics Afoot?
Yesterday I received a letter from the Oregon Department of Human Services around being vaccinated for the H1N1 virus. Because I’m a “Health Care Worker”, they feel it’s important that I get this vaccination, so I won’t pass the virus on to those I work with. They also expressed concern that if I were to get sick, my folks wouldn’t get the help they need. In other words... I’m “high priority”.
Shortly after reading the letter, I called my Dr. to set up a time to get vaccinated. As usual, I got her voicemail instead of a human. I left a clear message about the letter, and the need to get the vaccination ASAP. A few hours later I got a call from her assistant. She told me that they don’t have the adult vaccine yet, and that at this time they are only vaccinating people who are between 5 and 24 years old. She also told me to check back on Monday.
This whole situation is whacked! The letter also says that people over 65 are no longer a high priority group. The letter states; “It appears that many over the age of 65 have some immunity to this virus and are not in the first priority group”. “Some immunity”? What the hell is that?? I smell Eugenics. Senior citizens and people with disabilities seem to be taking a back seat to those who are already healthy for the most part. I also hear they want to do away with “aggressive treatment” for seniors who get sick, and stick them in Hospice to die. Hmmm... what’s next??
Shortly after reading the letter, I called my Dr. to set up a time to get vaccinated. As usual, I got her voicemail instead of a human. I left a clear message about the letter, and the need to get the vaccination ASAP. A few hours later I got a call from her assistant. She told me that they don’t have the adult vaccine yet, and that at this time they are only vaccinating people who are between 5 and 24 years old. She also told me to check back on Monday.
This whole situation is whacked! The letter also says that people over 65 are no longer a high priority group. The letter states; “It appears that many over the age of 65 have some immunity to this virus and are not in the first priority group”. “Some immunity”? What the hell is that?? I smell Eugenics. Senior citizens and people with disabilities seem to be taking a back seat to those who are already healthy for the most part. I also hear they want to do away with “aggressive treatment” for seniors who get sick, and stick them in Hospice to die. Hmmm... what’s next??
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Homelessness In Portland
In Portland, as in other US cities, homelessness is a serious problem. Here, we have a 10 year plan to eradicate homelessness. Half way through the 10 years we have some "results" on the effort. Here's an update...
Half Way Through Portland's 10 Year Plan To End Homelessness
BY ROB MANNING
Portland, OR October 12, 2009 9:59 a.m.
Oregon is struggling through a deep recession, which is blamed for forcing hundreds, perhaps thousands more people into homelessness.
In Portland, housing services are undergoing a major restructuring.
In OPB’s second story in our series, “No Place to Call Home,” we look at the chronically homeless.
As Rob Manning reports, Portland’s nationally-recognized Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness is expected to keep the same focus for the next five years, that it had over the first five years.
The joint Portland-Multnomah County Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness first saw the light of day in December 2004.
City commissioner Erik Sten rolled it out.
Erik Sten: “I think most people laugh when the government comes out with a plan that says ten years from now, we hope to end homelessness – but we’re doing it anyway because we believe it could happen. It could happen if we all do the work we want to do.”
The event drew the Bush Administration’s top homelessness official, Philip Mangano.
Phillip Mangano: “We already knew that chronic homeless people – the ten to twenty percent of the homeless population, consumed more than half of all the resources we spend on homelessness. But recent studies show that this is a disproportionately expensive population in mainstream healthcare.”
In the first two years of the plan, OPB tracked a handful of chronically homeless people who received shelter and services through the Ten Year Plan.
People can be stuck on the streets for a variety of reasons, often related to mental illness or drug problems.
Steve Powell was homeless because of a physical disability. Powell’s rheumatoid arthritis means he can’t use his hands to work.
He spent 15 years living outdoors. Much of that time, he was camping on a hill in Portland’s Forest Park. On a drizzly morning four years ago, Powell had just moved into an apartment, and was settling into his new life.
Steve Powell: “It’s nice to look out there and know I don’t have to get in it. Like up there in the hills in my tent, sometimes I’d be cuddled up in some blankets, just to stay warm and now, I can sit back and look at it, instead of cuddled up under something.”
Four years later, Powell still enjoys living indoors.
Steve Powell: “Yes, I’m still here, and unless something happens, I’ll stay here, you know.”
The 58 year-old Powell has two homeless friends, he refers to just as Mike and Mark, who come by occasionally. Powell says Mike wants to move inside.
Steve Powell: “As far as Mark, uh, I have no idea what he has in his head. I mean if I was him, I’d be getting off that hill because he’s getting visited by the rangers and the police, and he’s going to wind up in jail.”
Powell says he might’ve wound up dead, if he’d stayed outside. He’s heard that falling trees struck his favorite camping spot in a recent storm.
The Ten Year Plan has housed more than 2000 chronically homeless people like Steve Powell in the last four and a half years.
Powell might still be homeless if not for one of the priorities of the Ten Year Plan: permanent, subsidized shelter.
But building those places is expensive and complicated. To understand just how hard it is, let’s go back to where the Ten Year Plan was announced: the musty lobby of an old Ramada Inn in Portland’s Rose Quarter.
Again, former federal housing czar, Phil Mangano.
Phil Mangano: “And here – right here, in the building, the promise of the future isn’t it? Permanent housing for the homeless at Rose Quarter Housing.”
Ed Blackburn with the housing and treatment non-profit, Central City Concern, was optimistic in 2004, that the Ramada would soon become Rose Quarter Housing.
Ed Blackburn: “So we hope to start that renovation and have it ready, I think some time in late summer for occupancy. It may be a little sooner than that, or a little later than that.”
Fast-forward almost five years, and Rose Quarter Housing is still a construction zone, with hard hats required. Ed Blackburn says there are two big reasons the project has taken so much longer than expected.
One is best demonstrated on the top floor. It’s been completely gutted.
Ed Blackburn: “The leaks were coming through the roof, down into the walls, and because they had so many layers of vinyl wall paper on it, it wasn’t leaking out, you didn’t see it, until you started tearing the walls apart. And once you found that, we had to replace the walls, because they’d had too much water in them for too long.”
Those construction problems became even costlier, when problem number two surfaced last year. The financial meltdown that forced hundreds of Oregonians into homelessness, also tightened up the credit needed to finish housing projects.
Now, some of the rooms on a lower floor are finished. Ed Blackburn can stand on the new tile floor and admire a river view and the fall colors of Portland’s west hills. Blackburn says Central City’s five-year slog to turn this hotel into housing mirrors the struggles of the Ten Year Plan.
Ed Blackburn: “It’s not easy ending homelessness and this building wasn’t easy to keep financed. We found all things we weren’t expecting when we started tearing things apart. We worked real hard to keep things together, but it’s moving. And there are going to be setbacks but you keep moving. It’s kind of like a metaphor for the whole Ten Year Plan, this building.”
Ultimately, Blackburn agrees with city officials who don’t see much need to change the Ten Year Plan, halfway through. Portland’s new housing bureau director, Margaret Van Vliet, says the Ten Year Plan might need tweaking, but not a fundamental change.
Margaret Van Vliet: “Are we exclusively looking at the chronically homeless, or primarily looking at chronically homeless versus the newly homeless, because of the explosion in the number of newly homeless, to some extent, we’re still reacting.”
Blackburn says even though the economy has made matters worse, the Portland area is better off, thanks to a countywide focus that started when the Plan to End Homelessness was still just an idea.
Ed Blackburn: “You know that metaphor of water coming into the bathtub, and you’ve got a spoon, but it’s coming in faster than you can get it out, so the tub keeps filling up. Well, we got a big bucket about six years ago, and we started getting out the water faster than the homeless population was increasing. But now that spigot’s been turned on higher. So we’re going to have to work harder.”
Meantime, folks like Steve Powell, are grateful to have a bath tub to come home to – even as he thinks about his friends, who don’t.
Half Way Through Portland's 10 Year Plan To End Homelessness
BY ROB MANNING
Portland, OR October 12, 2009 9:59 a.m.
Oregon is struggling through a deep recession, which is blamed for forcing hundreds, perhaps thousands more people into homelessness.
In Portland, housing services are undergoing a major restructuring.
In OPB’s second story in our series, “No Place to Call Home,” we look at the chronically homeless.
As Rob Manning reports, Portland’s nationally-recognized Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness is expected to keep the same focus for the next five years, that it had over the first five years.
The joint Portland-Multnomah County Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness first saw the light of day in December 2004.
City commissioner Erik Sten rolled it out.
Erik Sten: “I think most people laugh when the government comes out with a plan that says ten years from now, we hope to end homelessness – but we’re doing it anyway because we believe it could happen. It could happen if we all do the work we want to do.”
The event drew the Bush Administration’s top homelessness official, Philip Mangano.
Phillip Mangano: “We already knew that chronic homeless people – the ten to twenty percent of the homeless population, consumed more than half of all the resources we spend on homelessness. But recent studies show that this is a disproportionately expensive population in mainstream healthcare.”
In the first two years of the plan, OPB tracked a handful of chronically homeless people who received shelter and services through the Ten Year Plan.
People can be stuck on the streets for a variety of reasons, often related to mental illness or drug problems.
Steve Powell was homeless because of a physical disability. Powell’s rheumatoid arthritis means he can’t use his hands to work.
He spent 15 years living outdoors. Much of that time, he was camping on a hill in Portland’s Forest Park. On a drizzly morning four years ago, Powell had just moved into an apartment, and was settling into his new life.
Steve Powell: “It’s nice to look out there and know I don’t have to get in it. Like up there in the hills in my tent, sometimes I’d be cuddled up in some blankets, just to stay warm and now, I can sit back and look at it, instead of cuddled up under something.”
Four years later, Powell still enjoys living indoors.
Steve Powell: “Yes, I’m still here, and unless something happens, I’ll stay here, you know.”
The 58 year-old Powell has two homeless friends, he refers to just as Mike and Mark, who come by occasionally. Powell says Mike wants to move inside.
Steve Powell: “As far as Mark, uh, I have no idea what he has in his head. I mean if I was him, I’d be getting off that hill because he’s getting visited by the rangers and the police, and he’s going to wind up in jail.”
Powell says he might’ve wound up dead, if he’d stayed outside. He’s heard that falling trees struck his favorite camping spot in a recent storm.
The Ten Year Plan has housed more than 2000 chronically homeless people like Steve Powell in the last four and a half years.
Powell might still be homeless if not for one of the priorities of the Ten Year Plan: permanent, subsidized shelter.
But building those places is expensive and complicated. To understand just how hard it is, let’s go back to where the Ten Year Plan was announced: the musty lobby of an old Ramada Inn in Portland’s Rose Quarter.
Again, former federal housing czar, Phil Mangano.
Phil Mangano: “And here – right here, in the building, the promise of the future isn’t it? Permanent housing for the homeless at Rose Quarter Housing.”
Ed Blackburn with the housing and treatment non-profit, Central City Concern, was optimistic in 2004, that the Ramada would soon become Rose Quarter Housing.
Ed Blackburn: “So we hope to start that renovation and have it ready, I think some time in late summer for occupancy. It may be a little sooner than that, or a little later than that.”
Fast-forward almost five years, and Rose Quarter Housing is still a construction zone, with hard hats required. Ed Blackburn says there are two big reasons the project has taken so much longer than expected.
One is best demonstrated on the top floor. It’s been completely gutted.
Ed Blackburn: “The leaks were coming through the roof, down into the walls, and because they had so many layers of vinyl wall paper on it, it wasn’t leaking out, you didn’t see it, until you started tearing the walls apart. And once you found that, we had to replace the walls, because they’d had too much water in them for too long.”
Those construction problems became even costlier, when problem number two surfaced last year. The financial meltdown that forced hundreds of Oregonians into homelessness, also tightened up the credit needed to finish housing projects.
Now, some of the rooms on a lower floor are finished. Ed Blackburn can stand on the new tile floor and admire a river view and the fall colors of Portland’s west hills. Blackburn says Central City’s five-year slog to turn this hotel into housing mirrors the struggles of the Ten Year Plan.
Ed Blackburn: “It’s not easy ending homelessness and this building wasn’t easy to keep financed. We found all things we weren’t expecting when we started tearing things apart. We worked real hard to keep things together, but it’s moving. And there are going to be setbacks but you keep moving. It’s kind of like a metaphor for the whole Ten Year Plan, this building.”
Ultimately, Blackburn agrees with city officials who don’t see much need to change the Ten Year Plan, halfway through. Portland’s new housing bureau director, Margaret Van Vliet, says the Ten Year Plan might need tweaking, but not a fundamental change.
Margaret Van Vliet: “Are we exclusively looking at the chronically homeless, or primarily looking at chronically homeless versus the newly homeless, because of the explosion in the number of newly homeless, to some extent, we’re still reacting.”
Blackburn says even though the economy has made matters worse, the Portland area is better off, thanks to a countywide focus that started when the Plan to End Homelessness was still just an idea.
Ed Blackburn: “You know that metaphor of water coming into the bathtub, and you’ve got a spoon, but it’s coming in faster than you can get it out, so the tub keeps filling up. Well, we got a big bucket about six years ago, and we started getting out the water faster than the homeless population was increasing. But now that spigot’s been turned on higher. So we’re going to have to work harder.”
Meantime, folks like Steve Powell, are grateful to have a bath tub to come home to – even as he thinks about his friends, who don’t.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Who's Dying From H1N1?
I was afraid this might be the case...
H1N1 Striking Children With Disabilities Hard, Officials Say
By Michelle Diament
October 9, 2009
The number of children who have died from the H1N1 virus is “increasing substantially,” health officials said Friday, and children with disabilities and underlying medical conditions appear to be hardest hit.
Already 76 children have died from H1N1, or swine flu, this year and the flu season is just beginning. Flu season traditionally lasts until May.
The number of deaths is especially striking given that fewer than 90 children died in each of the last three years from seasonal flu.
Most of the children who have died from the H1N1 flu strain had disabilities or underlying health conditions, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.
“The majority of children that we have information on had an underlying disease,” according to Anne Schuchat, head of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “Among children, muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy are quite prominent.”
These findings are consistent with a CDC report released in September, which indicated that two-thirds of children who died from H1N1 during the spring and summer had a chronic illness or developmental disability.
Officials say they are hopeful that the threat of the virus will begin to subside as the swine flu vaccine becomes more readily available, but they do expect more deaths in the coming weeks.
The first doses of the vaccine were administered this week, but only a nasal spray version was available. The nasal spray contains a weakened live version of the flu virus. An injection version of the vaccine, which does not include the live virus, is expected next week.
Individuals with developmental disabilities including cerebral palsy, intellectual disability and developmental delay are considered to be at high risk for H1N1, especially if they have respiratory issues as well. Those who are at high risk are first in line for the vaccine, CDC officials say, but are advised to wait for the injection version.
H1N1 Striking Children With Disabilities Hard, Officials Say
By Michelle Diament
October 9, 2009
The number of children who have died from the H1N1 virus is “increasing substantially,” health officials said Friday, and children with disabilities and underlying medical conditions appear to be hardest hit.
Already 76 children have died from H1N1, or swine flu, this year and the flu season is just beginning. Flu season traditionally lasts until May.
The number of deaths is especially striking given that fewer than 90 children died in each of the last three years from seasonal flu.
Most of the children who have died from the H1N1 flu strain had disabilities or underlying health conditions, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.
“The majority of children that we have information on had an underlying disease,” according to Anne Schuchat, head of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “Among children, muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy are quite prominent.”
These findings are consistent with a CDC report released in September, which indicated that two-thirds of children who died from H1N1 during the spring and summer had a chronic illness or developmental disability.
Officials say they are hopeful that the threat of the virus will begin to subside as the swine flu vaccine becomes more readily available, but they do expect more deaths in the coming weeks.
The first doses of the vaccine were administered this week, but only a nasal spray version was available. The nasal spray contains a weakened live version of the flu virus. An injection version of the vaccine, which does not include the live virus, is expected next week.
Individuals with developmental disabilities including cerebral palsy, intellectual disability and developmental delay are considered to be at high risk for H1N1, especially if they have respiratory issues as well. Those who are at high risk are first in line for the vaccine, CDC officials say, but are advised to wait for the injection version.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
What Do You Think?
There's a lot of arm-chair quarterbacking going on in Portland about what should be done with the Police Officers who allowed James Chasse to die from injuries while in their custody. My take, is that they should, in fact resign. Guess we'll see what happens. From the Oregonian newspaper...
Breaking News, Portland »
Agencies to call for resignation of Portland officers involved in Chasse's arrest
By Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian
October 07, 2009, 6:02PM
Representatives of the Mental Health Assocation of Portland, along with three other agencies, tomorrow are scheduled to call for the resignation of the three officers who had contact with James P. Chasse Jr. before his death in police custody.
Speakers from the Mental Health Association of Portland, along with members of Disability Rights Oregon, the Albina Ministerial Alliance, and Mental Health America of Oregon, are scheduled to speak out at 9 a.m. at the offices of Disability Rights Oregon.
"Our city administrators and leaders have demonstrated they lack the political will to enforce accountability on this issue," said Jason Renaud, a volunteer with the Mental Health Association of Portland. "We have more confidence that the officers will voluntarily resign than that the City will terminate their employment. And we hope they do."
The groups will be calling for the resignation of Portland Sgt. Kyle Nice, Officers Christopher Humphreys and Bret Burton.
A Multnomah County grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing by the officers in Chasse's death on Sept. 17, 2006, and Chief Rosie Sizer found only Sgt. Nice violated bureau policy that night, by not ensuring that Nice had Chasse taken to a hospital after he was stunned by a Taser.
Police said the officers thought Chasse was urinating in the street and stopped him, then chased him and knocked him down and struggled with him.
Chasse, 42, who had schizophrenia, died after he was taken into custody from broad-based blunt-force trauma to the chest. An autopsy showed he suffered 26 breaks to 16 ribs, some of which punctured his left lung; 46 separate abrasions or contusions on his body, including six to the head; and 19 strikes to the torso.
The city is preparing for a March trial in federal court resulting from a civil lawsuit Chasse's family filed. It accuses officers of excessive force and the police and paramedics of failing to provide adequate medical attention. Multnomah County this summer settled its part of the lawsuit for $925,000.
Sgt. Scott Westerman, president of the Portland Police Association, said he's disturbed Renaud continues to focus on these three officers, because he said any officers would have taken the same action that night, based on their training and police policies.
Breaking News, Portland »
Agencies to call for resignation of Portland officers involved in Chasse's arrest
By Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian
October 07, 2009, 6:02PM
Representatives of the Mental Health Assocation of Portland, along with three other agencies, tomorrow are scheduled to call for the resignation of the three officers who had contact with James P. Chasse Jr. before his death in police custody.
Speakers from the Mental Health Association of Portland, along with members of Disability Rights Oregon, the Albina Ministerial Alliance, and Mental Health America of Oregon, are scheduled to speak out at 9 a.m. at the offices of Disability Rights Oregon.
"Our city administrators and leaders have demonstrated they lack the political will to enforce accountability on this issue," said Jason Renaud, a volunteer with the Mental Health Association of Portland. "We have more confidence that the officers will voluntarily resign than that the City will terminate their employment. And we hope they do."
The groups will be calling for the resignation of Portland Sgt. Kyle Nice, Officers Christopher Humphreys and Bret Burton.
A Multnomah County grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing by the officers in Chasse's death on Sept. 17, 2006, and Chief Rosie Sizer found only Sgt. Nice violated bureau policy that night, by not ensuring that Nice had Chasse taken to a hospital after he was stunned by a Taser.
Police said the officers thought Chasse was urinating in the street and stopped him, then chased him and knocked him down and struggled with him.
Chasse, 42, who had schizophrenia, died after he was taken into custody from broad-based blunt-force trauma to the chest. An autopsy showed he suffered 26 breaks to 16 ribs, some of which punctured his left lung; 46 separate abrasions or contusions on his body, including six to the head; and 19 strikes to the torso.
The city is preparing for a March trial in federal court resulting from a civil lawsuit Chasse's family filed. It accuses officers of excessive force and the police and paramedics of failing to provide adequate medical attention. Multnomah County this summer settled its part of the lawsuit for $925,000.
Sgt. Scott Westerman, president of the Portland Police Association, said he's disturbed Renaud continues to focus on these three officers, because he said any officers would have taken the same action that night, based on their training and police policies.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
How And Where The Poor Survive In Portland
By Anna Griffen of the Oregonian
Section 8 acceptance percentages in the metro area
The percentage of landlords in communities in the four-county metro area who accept Section 8 tenants:
1. Northwest Portland: 41 percent
2. Hillsboro/north of U.S. 26: 30 percent
3. Aloha: 37 percent
4. Beaverton:35 percent
5. Downtown Portland: 16 percent
6. Southwest Portland: 18 percent
7. Tigard/Tualatin/Sherwood: 29 percent
8. Lake Oswego/West Linn: 33 percent
9. Wilsonville/Canby: 31 percent
10. Oregon City/Gladstone: 63 percent
11. Milwaukie: 53 percent
12. Clackamas: 42 percent
13. Inner and central Southeast Portland: 32 percent
14. Outer Southeast Portland: 40 percent
15. Troutdale/Fairview/Wood Village/Gresham: 44 percent
16. Outer Northeast Portland: 57 percent
17. Inner and central Northeast Portland: 45 percent
18. North Portland/St. Johns: 64 percent (where I live)
19. West Vancouver: 50 percent
20. East Vancouver: 46 percent
--Source: Metro Multifamily Housing Association
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portland law forbid landlords from discriminating on the basis of just about everything: You can't refuse to rent to someone because of their gender, sexual orientation, religion, race, political philosophy or age.
But every day, the classified ads and Craigslist postings are cluttered with examples of the one kind of renter discrimination that remains perfectly legal.
"3 bedrm, 2 bath, good schools. No smoking, no section 8."
"1 bedroom, 2 blocks from busstop, big backyard. No pets, no sct 8."
"Cute 2 bedroom, one bath. Great location. Sorry, no Section 8."
Section 8, for those of us lucky enough to know how we'll pay the bills next month, is a federal voucher program that offers poor people government assistance with most of their rent.
Benjamin Brink/The OregonianJill Riddle, at the Hollywood East apartments on Northeast Broadway, runs the Housing Authority of Portland’s rent assistance department and oversees Section 8 vouchers. “We’re trying to show landlords that this is a new Section 8,” she says. The Hollywood East complex is among the Housing Authority’s public housing options for seniors and people with disabilities.In Portland and east Multnomah County, many landlords -- especially the bigger rental companies -- will not accept Section 8 tenants. Apartments are especially hard to find the closer you get to the central city -- in other words, the place where many of the jobs are. Housing advocates want more landlords to accept the vouchers and are working to rehabilitate the program's shabby reputation.
"Landlords don't treat you like they treat other people," says Anna Avalos, a single mother of three teenagers who is looking for Section 8 housing in outer Southeast Portland. "Most of them do not give you the time of day, and the ones who do try to take advantage of you financially because they figure you don't have anywhere else to go."
Last week she was desperate enough to post an ad on Craigslist, essentially begging for help:
"i am a single mother of three...i have section 8 and not the best rental history but not the worst...i have always paid my rent on time...i have 2 weeks left to find a place or my voucher exspires..then we will be on the street..i already am staying with family and friends..i would be willing to work out any legal deals if needed."
For the folks at the Housing Authority of Portland, the quasi-public agency that coordinates affordable housing in the city, this is the nightmare scenario. They've been holding classes for property owners and managers, explaining the benefits of Section 8 and trying to answer questions and address complaints.
Resources
For more information about the Housing Authority of Portland and the Section 8 program, visit www.hapdx.org"We're trying to show landlords that this is a new Section 8," says Jill Riddle, who runs the Housing Authority's rent assistance department and oversees Section 8 vouchers for 8,000 people at any particular time.
The vouchers often represent a first step toward stability. They're intended to deter ghettos and help deconcentrate poverty, to give low-income families a chance to live in middle-class neighborhoods with better schools and more work possibilities. In Portland, demand for the vouchers is enormous; the waiting list just to be considered runs 12 to 24 months.
But many landlords don't want to be tied into the mandatory one-year lease or to have to go to court to evict tenants who violate the terms of their contract by making too much noise or sneaking in pets. Landlords want to set their own rent rather than being forced to charge the "fair market rate," a government-set standard based on the average rent in an area. They worry about hurting property values.
And Section 8 tenants, landlords say, tend to be more trouble than people who pay the rent out of their own pockets.
Greg Knakal"A lot of property owners feel their homes are going to get damaged if they rent them out using Section 8," says Greg Knakal, this year's president of the Metro Multifamily Housing Association, a coalition of landlords.
Landlords are even blunter off the record: They talk about Section 8 tenants leaving behind full and backed up toilets, carpets stained with who knows what, trash piled to the ceiling.
"It only takes one bad experience," says Knakal, whose Princeton Property Management rents approximately 8,000 units around Portland and on the coast.
"For a long time, there were no repercussions if you rented a property and trashed it. It seemed like people who got in trouble would just get a slap on the wrist, and then go and reapply for the vouchers. No price to pay. That doesn't really make you want to take part."
During last year's City Council campaign, then-candidate Nick Fish said he would push to change the law to force Oregon landlords to take Section 8 vouchers. New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C., all bar property owners from refusing, though landlords can still reject potential tenants for other reasons, such as criminal records.
Fish, who won and runs the Portland Housing Bureau, now says he wants to see whether efforts to fix the program's reputation and engage landlords work before trying to make the vouchers mandatory. (If nothing else, that's smart politics: Persuading the Oregon Legislature to force Section 8 on property owners would be extremely difficult given the fundraising power and lobbying prowess of real-estate developers.)
Instead of a full-frontal assault, Fish has organized a task force to study ways to make Section 8 work without provoking landlords.
Fredrick D. Joe/The OregonianCity Commissioner Nick Fish, who runs the Portland Housing Bureau, says he wants to see if efforts to fix the Section 8 program’s reputation work before trying to require that landlords accept the federal vouchers. Fish raised the issue when he was running for City Council. "This program is going to be most successful if landlords and government and nonprofits are all working together," he says. "We've got to do a better job showing landlords that this is a new Section 8 program, that the things they worry about have been addressed and the 'tenant from hell' doesn't exist anymore."
The Housing Authority of Portland has set up a special fund to pay for apartments that get damaged. It's hired new staff to work directly with landlords and speeded up the inspection process required before a Section 8 tenant moves in.
It's also working more closely with Section 8 tenants, both to hold miscreants accountable and help what it says are the vast majority who take care of their properties, stay employed and save money so they won't always need government help.
The economic crisis has helped sway landlords. A year and a half ago, when times were good, landlords generally looked at Section 8 renters as riskier bets than other tenants and figured they could charge whatever they wanted. The percentage of vouchers returned unused rose as high as 30 percent. (People using them usually have up to 120 days to find housing. The vouchers don't cover security deposits or utilities.)
"These days the voucher is more of a sure thing," Riddle says. "Even if the person who has it loses their job, you know they have a safety net. We are going to make sure the rent gets paid."
Still, changing the overarching image of Section 8 is going to take a long time. It's still hard to find landlords in more desirable, competitive areas who participate. A recent study by the Metro Multifamily Housing Association showed that 16 percent of downtown property owners accept Section 8 vouchers. That number increased steadily the farther from the central city you go, to 64 percent in North Portland and 57 percent in outer East Portland.
To a degree, geography doesn't matter to someone desperate for shelter. But the farther from work you live, the harder it can be to show up on time day after day, particularly if you're juggling child care needs or have a disability.
"When I first got here, I was shocked at the number of classified ads that explicitly said, 'No Section 8,' because, really, that's discriminatory. You're telling someone, 'You are poor, you have hit a financial speed bump, so I am not going to even consider you,'" says Riddle, who moved to Portland from a similar job in Salt Lake City two years ago. "If you look at the paper now, it's better. But we still have a lot of hard work to do."
Section 8 acceptance percentages in the metro area
The percentage of landlords in communities in the four-county metro area who accept Section 8 tenants:
1. Northwest Portland: 41 percent
2. Hillsboro/north of U.S. 26: 30 percent
3. Aloha: 37 percent
4. Beaverton:35 percent
5. Downtown Portland: 16 percent
6. Southwest Portland: 18 percent
7. Tigard/Tualatin/Sherwood: 29 percent
8. Lake Oswego/West Linn: 33 percent
9. Wilsonville/Canby: 31 percent
10. Oregon City/Gladstone: 63 percent
11. Milwaukie: 53 percent
12. Clackamas: 42 percent
13. Inner and central Southeast Portland: 32 percent
14. Outer Southeast Portland: 40 percent
15. Troutdale/Fairview/Wood Village/Gresham: 44 percent
16. Outer Northeast Portland: 57 percent
17. Inner and central Northeast Portland: 45 percent
18. North Portland/St. Johns: 64 percent (where I live)
19. West Vancouver: 50 percent
20. East Vancouver: 46 percent
--Source: Metro Multifamily Housing Association
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portland law forbid landlords from discriminating on the basis of just about everything: You can't refuse to rent to someone because of their gender, sexual orientation, religion, race, political philosophy or age.
But every day, the classified ads and Craigslist postings are cluttered with examples of the one kind of renter discrimination that remains perfectly legal.
"3 bedrm, 2 bath, good schools. No smoking, no section 8."
"1 bedroom, 2 blocks from busstop, big backyard. No pets, no sct 8."
"Cute 2 bedroom, one bath. Great location. Sorry, no Section 8."
Section 8, for those of us lucky enough to know how we'll pay the bills next month, is a federal voucher program that offers poor people government assistance with most of their rent.
Benjamin Brink/The OregonianJill Riddle, at the Hollywood East apartments on Northeast Broadway, runs the Housing Authority of Portland’s rent assistance department and oversees Section 8 vouchers. “We’re trying to show landlords that this is a new Section 8,” she says. The Hollywood East complex is among the Housing Authority’s public housing options for seniors and people with disabilities.In Portland and east Multnomah County, many landlords -- especially the bigger rental companies -- will not accept Section 8 tenants. Apartments are especially hard to find the closer you get to the central city -- in other words, the place where many of the jobs are. Housing advocates want more landlords to accept the vouchers and are working to rehabilitate the program's shabby reputation.
"Landlords don't treat you like they treat other people," says Anna Avalos, a single mother of three teenagers who is looking for Section 8 housing in outer Southeast Portland. "Most of them do not give you the time of day, and the ones who do try to take advantage of you financially because they figure you don't have anywhere else to go."
Last week she was desperate enough to post an ad on Craigslist, essentially begging for help:
"i am a single mother of three...i have section 8 and not the best rental history but not the worst...i have always paid my rent on time...i have 2 weeks left to find a place or my voucher exspires..then we will be on the street..i already am staying with family and friends..i would be willing to work out any legal deals if needed."
For the folks at the Housing Authority of Portland, the quasi-public agency that coordinates affordable housing in the city, this is the nightmare scenario. They've been holding classes for property owners and managers, explaining the benefits of Section 8 and trying to answer questions and address complaints.
Resources
For more information about the Housing Authority of Portland and the Section 8 program, visit www.hapdx.org"We're trying to show landlords that this is a new Section 8," says Jill Riddle, who runs the Housing Authority's rent assistance department and oversees Section 8 vouchers for 8,000 people at any particular time.
The vouchers often represent a first step toward stability. They're intended to deter ghettos and help deconcentrate poverty, to give low-income families a chance to live in middle-class neighborhoods with better schools and more work possibilities. In Portland, demand for the vouchers is enormous; the waiting list just to be considered runs 12 to 24 months.
But many landlords don't want to be tied into the mandatory one-year lease or to have to go to court to evict tenants who violate the terms of their contract by making too much noise or sneaking in pets. Landlords want to set their own rent rather than being forced to charge the "fair market rate," a government-set standard based on the average rent in an area. They worry about hurting property values.
And Section 8 tenants, landlords say, tend to be more trouble than people who pay the rent out of their own pockets.
Greg Knakal"A lot of property owners feel their homes are going to get damaged if they rent them out using Section 8," says Greg Knakal, this year's president of the Metro Multifamily Housing Association, a coalition of landlords.
Landlords are even blunter off the record: They talk about Section 8 tenants leaving behind full and backed up toilets, carpets stained with who knows what, trash piled to the ceiling.
"It only takes one bad experience," says Knakal, whose Princeton Property Management rents approximately 8,000 units around Portland and on the coast.
"For a long time, there were no repercussions if you rented a property and trashed it. It seemed like people who got in trouble would just get a slap on the wrist, and then go and reapply for the vouchers. No price to pay. That doesn't really make you want to take part."
During last year's City Council campaign, then-candidate Nick Fish said he would push to change the law to force Oregon landlords to take Section 8 vouchers. New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C., all bar property owners from refusing, though landlords can still reject potential tenants for other reasons, such as criminal records.
Fish, who won and runs the Portland Housing Bureau, now says he wants to see whether efforts to fix the program's reputation and engage landlords work before trying to make the vouchers mandatory. (If nothing else, that's smart politics: Persuading the Oregon Legislature to force Section 8 on property owners would be extremely difficult given the fundraising power and lobbying prowess of real-estate developers.)
Instead of a full-frontal assault, Fish has organized a task force to study ways to make Section 8 work without provoking landlords.
Fredrick D. Joe/The OregonianCity Commissioner Nick Fish, who runs the Portland Housing Bureau, says he wants to see if efforts to fix the Section 8 program’s reputation work before trying to require that landlords accept the federal vouchers. Fish raised the issue when he was running for City Council. "This program is going to be most successful if landlords and government and nonprofits are all working together," he says. "We've got to do a better job showing landlords that this is a new Section 8 program, that the things they worry about have been addressed and the 'tenant from hell' doesn't exist anymore."
The Housing Authority of Portland has set up a special fund to pay for apartments that get damaged. It's hired new staff to work directly with landlords and speeded up the inspection process required before a Section 8 tenant moves in.
It's also working more closely with Section 8 tenants, both to hold miscreants accountable and help what it says are the vast majority who take care of their properties, stay employed and save money so they won't always need government help.
The economic crisis has helped sway landlords. A year and a half ago, when times were good, landlords generally looked at Section 8 renters as riskier bets than other tenants and figured they could charge whatever they wanted. The percentage of vouchers returned unused rose as high as 30 percent. (People using them usually have up to 120 days to find housing. The vouchers don't cover security deposits or utilities.)
"These days the voucher is more of a sure thing," Riddle says. "Even if the person who has it loses their job, you know they have a safety net. We are going to make sure the rent gets paid."
Still, changing the overarching image of Section 8 is going to take a long time. It's still hard to find landlords in more desirable, competitive areas who participate. A recent study by the Metro Multifamily Housing Association showed that 16 percent of downtown property owners accept Section 8 vouchers. That number increased steadily the farther from the central city you go, to 64 percent in North Portland and 57 percent in outer East Portland.
To a degree, geography doesn't matter to someone desperate for shelter. But the farther from work you live, the harder it can be to show up on time day after day, particularly if you're juggling child care needs or have a disability.
"When I first got here, I was shocked at the number of classified ads that explicitly said, 'No Section 8,' because, really, that's discriminatory. You're telling someone, 'You are poor, you have hit a financial speed bump, so I am not going to even consider you,'" says Riddle, who moved to Portland from a similar job in Salt Lake City two years ago. "If you look at the paper now, it's better. But we still have a lot of hard work to do."
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Is This Really News?
As I've been saying for a long time; if you have a disability, watch your back. I found this report on WIBW.com out of Kansas...
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- People with disabilities are 50 percent more likely to be victims of violent crimes than are people without disabilities, according to a government study released Thursday.
The first national study of its kind found that a wide range of disabled people -- including blind, deaf, developmentally disabled, and others with physical and mental limitations -- were victims of assaults, rapes and robberies in 716,000 cases in 2007.
The study by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics said instances of violence against disabled people occurred overall 1.5 times the rate of those without disabilities, but the numbers varied by age group.
The most vulnerable groups were disabled people ages 12 to 19 and 35 to 49, for whom victimization occurred at nearly twice the rate of non-disabled persons.
Michael Rand, chief of victimization research for the Bureau of Justice Statistics, did not speculate on the reasons for the findings.
"It's hard to say," Rand said. "We didn't try to get at motivations." A co-author of the study, Rand said many of the crimes were committed by people who did not know their victims. Forty percent of the crimes against disabled male victims were committed by strangers, versus 45 percent against those without disabilities.
The difference for females was greater: 34 percent of disabled females were victimized by strangers versus 24 percent for women without disabilities.
The study found that people with cognitive disabilities -- such as mental retardation, developmental disabilities and cerebral palsy -- represented the largest group of victims.
Simple assaults accounted for about two-thirds of the crimes against disabled people in the study, which tallied 476,000 simple assaults, 114,000 aggravated assaults, 79,000 robberies, and 47,000 rapes or sexual assaults.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- People with disabilities are 50 percent more likely to be victims of violent crimes than are people without disabilities, according to a government study released Thursday.
The first national study of its kind found that a wide range of disabled people -- including blind, deaf, developmentally disabled, and others with physical and mental limitations -- were victims of assaults, rapes and robberies in 716,000 cases in 2007.
The study by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics said instances of violence against disabled people occurred overall 1.5 times the rate of those without disabilities, but the numbers varied by age group.
The most vulnerable groups were disabled people ages 12 to 19 and 35 to 49, for whom victimization occurred at nearly twice the rate of non-disabled persons.
Michael Rand, chief of victimization research for the Bureau of Justice Statistics, did not speculate on the reasons for the findings.
"It's hard to say," Rand said. "We didn't try to get at motivations." A co-author of the study, Rand said many of the crimes were committed by people who did not know their victims. Forty percent of the crimes against disabled male victims were committed by strangers, versus 45 percent against those without disabilities.
The difference for females was greater: 34 percent of disabled females were victimized by strangers versus 24 percent for women without disabilities.
The study found that people with cognitive disabilities -- such as mental retardation, developmental disabilities and cerebral palsy -- represented the largest group of victims.
Simple assaults accounted for about two-thirds of the crimes against disabled people in the study, which tallied 476,000 simple assaults, 114,000 aggravated assaults, 79,000 robberies, and 47,000 rapes or sexual assaults.
I Thought This Might Be Coming
A few days ago I posted the words to a Public Service Announcement put out by a group that calls themselves "Autism Speaks". I mentioned how this PSA had pissed off a lot of people. Below is a letter written to the donors, supporters, and sponsors of "Autism Speaks". Thought I'd post it here in case others want to sign on. DAWG has...
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network and other organizations representing the Cross-Disability Community are distributing this joint letter to the sponsors, donors and supporters of Autism Speaks following the organization's latest offensive and damaging Public Service Announcement, "I am Autism". If you are an organization that would like to sign on to the letter, please e-mail ASAN at info@autisticadvocacy.org before Close of Business Tuesday, October 6th, 2009. If you are an individual who would like to join ASAN's upcoming protests of Autism Speaks in Ohio, New England, New York City and elsewhere across the country please e-mail ASAN at info@autisticadvocacy.org Thank you for your support and please feel free to distribute for additional signatories.
To the Sponsors, Donors and Supporters of Autism Speaks:
We, the undersigned organizations representing self advocates, parents, professionals and allies in the Autism, Autistic and Disability Communities, are writing to you to express our concern about the recent actions of Autism Speaks. Our work is about helping empower and support people with disabilities of all kinds, including adults and youth on the autism spectrum, and we recognize that there are a wide variety of means towards accomplishing this goal. Yet, Autism Speaks’ recent choice to use fear, stigma, misinformation and prejudice against Autistic people as a fundraising tool does real damage to people with disabilities everywhere. The most recent example of this lack of ethics can be found in Autism Speaks’ new “I am Autism” campaign which states, “I am autism...I know where you live...I work faster than pediatric AIDS, cancer and diabetes combined. And if you're happily married, I will make sure that your marriage fails. Your money will fall into my hands and I will bankrupt you for my own self-gain...I will make it virtually impossible for your family to easily attend a temple, birthday party, or public park without a struggle, without embarrassment, without pain...I am autism. I have no interest in right or wrong. I derive great pleasure out of your loneliness."
Not only does this campaign rely on offensive stereotypes and inaccurate information (research indicates that parents of Autistic children are not more likely to divorce than parents of non-Autistic children), but it also does real damage to the cause of disability rights. By choosing to portray Autistic people as husks of real people, stolen out of our own bodies, Autism Speaks reinforces stereotypes and prejudice against people with disabilities that have existed for centuries and have been the source of pain, segregation and violence.
We are calling on you to end your support for Autism Speaks and to find new ways to show your support for Autistic people and others with disabilities. As the result of a pattern of unethical behavior and irresponsible governance, outlined below, we believe that Autism Speaks as an organization no longer deserves your time, energy, money and support.
Autism Speaks uses damaging and offensive fundraising tactics which rely on fear, stereotypes and devaluing the lives of people on the autism spectrum: Autism Speaks’ unethical fundraising tactics are not limited to the new “I am Autism” video. Its television Public Service Announcements compare having a child on the autism spectrum to having a child caught in a fatal car accident or struck by lightning. In fact, the idea of autism as a fate worse than death is a frequent theme in their fundraising and awareness efforts, going back to their “Autism Every Day” film in 2005. Indeed, throughout Autism Speaks’ fundraising is a consistent and unfortunate theme of fear, pity and prejudice, presenting Autistic adults and children not as full human beings but as burdens on society that must be eliminated as soon as possible.
Very little money donated to Autism Speaks goes toward helping Autistic people and families: According to their 2008 annual report, only 4% of Autism Speaks’ budget goes towards the “Family Service” grants that are the organization’s means of funding services. Given the huge sums of money Autism Speaks raises from local communities as compared to the miniscule sums it gives back, it is not an exaggeration to say that Autism Speaks is a tremendous drain on the ability of communities to fund autism service-provision and education initiatives Furthermore, while the bulk of Autism Speaks’ budget (65%) goes toward genetic and biomedical research, only a small minority of Autism Speaks’ research budget goes towards research oriented around improving services, supports, treatments and educational methodologies, with most funding going towards basic research oriented around causation and genetic research, including the prospect of prenatal testing. Although Autism Speaks has not prioritized services with a practical impact for families and individuals in its budget, its rates of executive pay are the highest in the autism world, with annual salaries as high as $600,000 a year.
Autism Speaks excludes the people it pretends to represent: Autism Speaks is one of an increasingly few number of major disability advocacy organizations that refuse to include any individual with the disability they purport to serve on their board of directors or at any point in their leadership and decision-making processes. In large part due to Autism Speaks’ public relations strategy of presenting Autistic people as silent burdens on society rather than human beings with thoughts, feelings and opinions, Autism Speaks’ governance policies are deeply unrepresentative and out of step with the mainstream of the disability non-profit community.
Contrary to the “I am Autism” video, which equates autism with AIDS and Cancer, autism is not a terminal disease. It is a disability, one that comes with significant challenges in a wide variety of realms. Yet the answer to those challenges is not to create a world in which people are afraid of people on the autism spectrum. The answer is not to create a world in which the word autism is met with terror, hatred and prejudice. It is to work to create a society that recognizes the civil rights of Autistic people and others with disabilities. It is to work to create a world in which people with disabilities can benefit from the supports, the services and the educational tools necessary to empower them to be full citizens in society.
We are Autism’s true voice – Autistic people and those with other disabilities ourselves, and our allies, family members, friends and supporters. Autism Speaks does not speak for us. We are not stolen – we are right here. Our lives may be difficult – but they are worth living. Autism Speaks Does Not Speak For Us and we will not work with an organization that relies on damaging and offensive stereotypes to advance an agenda out of step with those they purport to represent. We call upon you to recognize this and find better avenues for your admirable desire to support Autistic people and our families. We call upon you to end your support for Autism Speaks.
Regards,
National:
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE)
The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL)
ADAPT
TASH
Disability Rights and Education Defense Fund
The National Youth Leadership Network (NYLN)
Autism Network International (ANI)
Little People of America (LPA)
Not Dead Yet
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Autistic Spectrum Partnership In Research and Education (AASPIRE)
Mothers From Hell 2
International:
Autistic Self-Advocacy Network-Australia
Autism Rights Group Highland (in Scotland, United Kingdom)
The Autistic Community of Israel
Autreach IT in the United Kingdom
The Southwest Autistic Rights Movement (SWARM) in the United Kingdom
Local and Regional:
ADAPT-Montana
The Center for Disability Rights in Rochester, NY
The Regional Center for Independent Living in Rochester, NY
The Michigan Disability Rights Coalition
The Institute for Disability Access in Austin, Texas
The Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education
The Paraquad Center for Independent Living in St. Louis, Missouri
The Lonesome Doves in Pennsylvania
TASH-New England
Together Enhancing Autism Awareness in Mississippi (TEAAM)
Wesleyan Students for Disability Rights at Wesleyan University in Connecticut
Tangram in Indianapolis, Indiana
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network and other organizations representing the Cross-Disability Community are distributing this joint letter to the sponsors, donors and supporters of Autism Speaks following the organization's latest offensive and damaging Public Service Announcement, "I am Autism". If you are an organization that would like to sign on to the letter, please e-mail ASAN at info@autisticadvocacy.org before Close of Business Tuesday, October 6th, 2009. If you are an individual who would like to join ASAN's upcoming protests of Autism Speaks in Ohio, New England, New York City and elsewhere across the country please e-mail ASAN at info@autisticadvocacy.org Thank you for your support and please feel free to distribute for additional signatories.
To the Sponsors, Donors and Supporters of Autism Speaks:
We, the undersigned organizations representing self advocates, parents, professionals and allies in the Autism, Autistic and Disability Communities, are writing to you to express our concern about the recent actions of Autism Speaks. Our work is about helping empower and support people with disabilities of all kinds, including adults and youth on the autism spectrum, and we recognize that there are a wide variety of means towards accomplishing this goal. Yet, Autism Speaks’ recent choice to use fear, stigma, misinformation and prejudice against Autistic people as a fundraising tool does real damage to people with disabilities everywhere. The most recent example of this lack of ethics can be found in Autism Speaks’ new “I am Autism” campaign which states, “I am autism...I know where you live...I work faster than pediatric AIDS, cancer and diabetes combined. And if you're happily married, I will make sure that your marriage fails. Your money will fall into my hands and I will bankrupt you for my own self-gain...I will make it virtually impossible for your family to easily attend a temple, birthday party, or public park without a struggle, without embarrassment, without pain...I am autism. I have no interest in right or wrong. I derive great pleasure out of your loneliness."
Not only does this campaign rely on offensive stereotypes and inaccurate information (research indicates that parents of Autistic children are not more likely to divorce than parents of non-Autistic children), but it also does real damage to the cause of disability rights. By choosing to portray Autistic people as husks of real people, stolen out of our own bodies, Autism Speaks reinforces stereotypes and prejudice against people with disabilities that have existed for centuries and have been the source of pain, segregation and violence.
We are calling on you to end your support for Autism Speaks and to find new ways to show your support for Autistic people and others with disabilities. As the result of a pattern of unethical behavior and irresponsible governance, outlined below, we believe that Autism Speaks as an organization no longer deserves your time, energy, money and support.
Autism Speaks uses damaging and offensive fundraising tactics which rely on fear, stereotypes and devaluing the lives of people on the autism spectrum: Autism Speaks’ unethical fundraising tactics are not limited to the new “I am Autism” video. Its television Public Service Announcements compare having a child on the autism spectrum to having a child caught in a fatal car accident or struck by lightning. In fact, the idea of autism as a fate worse than death is a frequent theme in their fundraising and awareness efforts, going back to their “Autism Every Day” film in 2005. Indeed, throughout Autism Speaks’ fundraising is a consistent and unfortunate theme of fear, pity and prejudice, presenting Autistic adults and children not as full human beings but as burdens on society that must be eliminated as soon as possible.
Very little money donated to Autism Speaks goes toward helping Autistic people and families: According to their 2008 annual report, only 4% of Autism Speaks’ budget goes towards the “Family Service” grants that are the organization’s means of funding services. Given the huge sums of money Autism Speaks raises from local communities as compared to the miniscule sums it gives back, it is not an exaggeration to say that Autism Speaks is a tremendous drain on the ability of communities to fund autism service-provision and education initiatives Furthermore, while the bulk of Autism Speaks’ budget (65%) goes toward genetic and biomedical research, only a small minority of Autism Speaks’ research budget goes towards research oriented around improving services, supports, treatments and educational methodologies, with most funding going towards basic research oriented around causation and genetic research, including the prospect of prenatal testing. Although Autism Speaks has not prioritized services with a practical impact for families and individuals in its budget, its rates of executive pay are the highest in the autism world, with annual salaries as high as $600,000 a year.
Autism Speaks excludes the people it pretends to represent: Autism Speaks is one of an increasingly few number of major disability advocacy organizations that refuse to include any individual with the disability they purport to serve on their board of directors or at any point in their leadership and decision-making processes. In large part due to Autism Speaks’ public relations strategy of presenting Autistic people as silent burdens on society rather than human beings with thoughts, feelings and opinions, Autism Speaks’ governance policies are deeply unrepresentative and out of step with the mainstream of the disability non-profit community.
Contrary to the “I am Autism” video, which equates autism with AIDS and Cancer, autism is not a terminal disease. It is a disability, one that comes with significant challenges in a wide variety of realms. Yet the answer to those challenges is not to create a world in which people are afraid of people on the autism spectrum. The answer is not to create a world in which the word autism is met with terror, hatred and prejudice. It is to work to create a society that recognizes the civil rights of Autistic people and others with disabilities. It is to work to create a world in which people with disabilities can benefit from the supports, the services and the educational tools necessary to empower them to be full citizens in society.
We are Autism’s true voice – Autistic people and those with other disabilities ourselves, and our allies, family members, friends and supporters. Autism Speaks does not speak for us. We are not stolen – we are right here. Our lives may be difficult – but they are worth living. Autism Speaks Does Not Speak For Us and we will not work with an organization that relies on damaging and offensive stereotypes to advance an agenda out of step with those they purport to represent. We call upon you to recognize this and find better avenues for your admirable desire to support Autistic people and our families. We call upon you to end your support for Autism Speaks.
Regards,
National:
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE)
The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL)
ADAPT
TASH
Disability Rights and Education Defense Fund
The National Youth Leadership Network (NYLN)
Autism Network International (ANI)
Little People of America (LPA)
Not Dead Yet
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Autistic Spectrum Partnership In Research and Education (AASPIRE)
Mothers From Hell 2
International:
Autistic Self-Advocacy Network-Australia
Autism Rights Group Highland (in Scotland, United Kingdom)
The Autistic Community of Israel
Autreach IT in the United Kingdom
The Southwest Autistic Rights Movement (SWARM) in the United Kingdom
Local and Regional:
ADAPT-Montana
The Center for Disability Rights in Rochester, NY
The Regional Center for Independent Living in Rochester, NY
The Michigan Disability Rights Coalition
The Institute for Disability Access in Austin, Texas
The Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education
The Paraquad Center for Independent Living in St. Louis, Missouri
The Lonesome Doves in Pennsylvania
TASH-New England
Together Enhancing Autism Awareness in Mississippi (TEAAM)
Wesleyan Students for Disability Rights at Wesleyan University in Connecticut
Tangram in Indianapolis, Indiana
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
$95,000 Settlement and Slap On The Wrist Not Enough!
Mental health association volunteer issues plea to Portland council
By Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian
September 30, 2009, 10:24AM
A volunteer with the Mental Health Association of Portland this morning urged the city council to press the Portland police chief to release the full internal inquiry into James P. Chasse Jr.'s death.
"Our organization and thousands of people in Portland believe injustice has prevailed, that a fair hearing on what happened to James Chasse has not occurred," Jason Renaud told the council.
Renaud's remarks come about two weeks after the third anniversary of Chasse's death in police custody on Sept. 17, 2006.
Last week, Chief Rosie Sizer announced that she found that a sergeant was the only one who violated policy in connection with the police arrest of Chasse, by failing to send Chasse to a hospital after police used a Taser stun gun on him. The officers who struggled with Chasse as they tried to take him into custody acted according to bureau policy, the chief found.
Chasse, 42, who suffered from schizophrenia, was knocked to the ground by police who said he ran from them when they approached because they saw him possibly urinating in the street. Chasse suffered 26 breaks to 16 ribs, some of which punctured his left lung. He died from blunt force trauma to the chest. He also suffered 46 separate abrasions or contusions on his body, including six to the head and 19 strikes to the torso. If he had been taken to a hospital right away, he likely would have survived, the state medical examiner testified during a deposition. Instead, he was taken to jail after ambulance medics said his vital signs were normal. The jail refused to book him, and police transported him to a hospital. He died on the way.
"What's occurred is impunity," Renaud said this morning. "The message delivered is a brutal beating and death of a person with a mental illness, even one with caregivers, friends, family, a home, a clean record, is acceptable within the Portland Police Bureau....It should be unacceptable to you."
Renaud also called on the council to take the three officers involved off the street; reduce the use of Tasers on people with mental illness; restart the Chief's Forum, a bi-monthly meeting between the police chief and community representatives that Sizer discontinued; press the state legislature for increased funding for mental health services; and establish ongoing public meetings between police senior staff and people with mental illness.
Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman had a previously scheduled appointment, and was not present during Renaud's talk. Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who oversees the Office of Human Relations, said she'd work to improve police -community relations.
Mayor Sam Adams responded, telling Renaud, "We thank you for your thoughtful testimony."
Sgt. Scott Westerman, president of the Portland Police Association, said afterwards that he supports Renaud's push for more police interaction with mental health advocates, and the release of the internal affairs inquiry, when it's possible considering the ongoing federal lawsuit against the police by Chasse's family.
But Westerman said Renaud and others should stop focusing on the three officers who were involved in the Chasse case. "The simple fact is based on our training, and the fact that these officers were found to have acted according to bureau policy, any three officers would have likely had the same outcome.''
By Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian
September 30, 2009, 10:24AM
A volunteer with the Mental Health Association of Portland this morning urged the city council to press the Portland police chief to release the full internal inquiry into James P. Chasse Jr.'s death.
"Our organization and thousands of people in Portland believe injustice has prevailed, that a fair hearing on what happened to James Chasse has not occurred," Jason Renaud told the council.
Renaud's remarks come about two weeks after the third anniversary of Chasse's death in police custody on Sept. 17, 2006.
Last week, Chief Rosie Sizer announced that she found that a sergeant was the only one who violated policy in connection with the police arrest of Chasse, by failing to send Chasse to a hospital after police used a Taser stun gun on him. The officers who struggled with Chasse as they tried to take him into custody acted according to bureau policy, the chief found.
Chasse, 42, who suffered from schizophrenia, was knocked to the ground by police who said he ran from them when they approached because they saw him possibly urinating in the street. Chasse suffered 26 breaks to 16 ribs, some of which punctured his left lung. He died from blunt force trauma to the chest. He also suffered 46 separate abrasions or contusions on his body, including six to the head and 19 strikes to the torso. If he had been taken to a hospital right away, he likely would have survived, the state medical examiner testified during a deposition. Instead, he was taken to jail after ambulance medics said his vital signs were normal. The jail refused to book him, and police transported him to a hospital. He died on the way.
"What's occurred is impunity," Renaud said this morning. "The message delivered is a brutal beating and death of a person with a mental illness, even one with caregivers, friends, family, a home, a clean record, is acceptable within the Portland Police Bureau....It should be unacceptable to you."
Renaud also called on the council to take the three officers involved off the street; reduce the use of Tasers on people with mental illness; restart the Chief's Forum, a bi-monthly meeting between the police chief and community representatives that Sizer discontinued; press the state legislature for increased funding for mental health services; and establish ongoing public meetings between police senior staff and people with mental illness.
Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman had a previously scheduled appointment, and was not present during Renaud's talk. Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who oversees the Office of Human Relations, said she'd work to improve police -community relations.
Mayor Sam Adams responded, telling Renaud, "We thank you for your thoughtful testimony."
Sgt. Scott Westerman, president of the Portland Police Association, said afterwards that he supports Renaud's push for more police interaction with mental health advocates, and the release of the internal affairs inquiry, when it's possible considering the ongoing federal lawsuit against the police by Chasse's family.
But Westerman said Renaud and others should stop focusing on the three officers who were involved in the Chasse case. "The simple fact is based on our training, and the fact that these officers were found to have acted according to bureau policy, any three officers would have likely had the same outcome.''
"Autism Speaks" (For Themselves)
Have you seen the ad from "Autism Speaks" on tv? They seem to be working hard to hold back people with autism, along with their civil and human rights. There are many in the disability community (including me) who have taken issue with their message...
'Poetic' autism film divides campaigners
17:36 29 September 2009 by Celeste Biever
For similar stories, visit the Books and Art and The Human Brain Topic Guides
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17878-poetic-autism-film-divides-campaigners.html
"I have no interest in right or wrong… I will plot to rob you of your children and your dreams."
These words come from a short film called I Am Autism, which has sparked a spat between people with autism across the US and a charity that aims to represent them.
The film contains clips of children with autism and their parents backed by a voiceover that suggests autism has no morality and breaks apart families (read the transcript here). The charity Autism Speaks, based in New York, first screened the film on 22 September at its annual World Focus on Autism event.
I Am Autism was made by two fathers of children with autism: Billy Mann, a Grammy-nominated songwriter, music producer and Autism Speaks board member, and Alfonso Cuarón, an Academy award-nominated film director. The narration is a "personal poem" written by Mann, says Marc Sirkin, chief community officer at Autism Speaks.
'Embarrassing and offensive'
But some people with autism say the film projects a damaging image of them. They are protesting online with a spoof video on YouTube and a Facebook group. A few have also taken to the streets to protest.
"This makes people afraid of us. What will people think about me and other autistics if they have watched this damaging video?" says Elesia Ashkenazy, director of the Portland, Oregon, chapter of the Autistic Self Advocacy network (ASAN). She helped organise a protest against the video in Portland on 26 September.
Ari Ne'eman, president of ASAN, based in Washington DC, says the film is "embarrassing, offensive and inaccurate". "It has practical consequences," he says. For those with autism and looking for a job or a relationship, or trying to fit in at school, he says, "this adds to the fear and prejudice and stigma".
Ne'eman particularly objects to one segment of the video, in which the narrator, representing autism itself, says: "And if you're happily married, I will make sure that your marriage fails."
Ne'eman points to a 2008 survey that contradicts this notion, carried out by the disabilities charity Easter Seals, based in Chicago, Illinois. Looking at 917 parents who have children without any special needs and 1652 parents whose children have an autism spectrum disorder, the survey found that that 30 per cent of parents of people with autism spectrum disorders were divorced, compared with 29 per cent of parents whose children didn't have special needs.
Profit motive?
Sirkin admits that he knows of "no evidence that having a child with autism spectrum disorder in the family leads to higher rates of divorce" but says the film is "a personal statement based on the viewpoint of the two parents who created the film".
Ne'eman also accuses the charity of using "fear and pity-mongering" to raise funds. Sirkin responds that Autism Speaks did not pay for the film to be made, and that the film is not intended as a fundraiser, only to raise awareness.
The soundtrack to the spoof online video, I Am Autism Speaks, goes, "I work hard to make people believe your children are suffering worse than cancer or AIDS victims," and, "Your money will fall into my hands and I will bankrupt you," and "Your advocates don't have the money to fight me."
Right to speak
Meanwhile the Facebook group page set up in protest against the film calls it "a grotesque travesty of a film, filled with falsehoods, bigotry and hate… It does not represent our views on autism and autistic people. It vilifies autistic people, and we will not stand for it."
Sirkin says this is all par for the course. "We have received both positive and negative feedback. Some parents have found the video inspiring and have thanked us for showing it. Others have been offended by it. We believe that all perspectives are valid and need to be heard and respected. No one perspective can ever be the definitive voice of autism."
Morton Gernsbacher, an autism researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says the film could be destructive. "Any organisation that claims to support individuals with disabilities and those individuals' families should familiarise itself with the decades of research which has investigated the deleterious effects of fear-eliciting messaging," she says.
It's not the first time that Autism Speaks has provoked anger from people with autism. In 2008, the charity demanded that an autistic blogger take down a parody of its website because it infringed copyright. This sparked outrage from ASAN and many autistic bloggers.
I Am Autism: transcript of video
I am autism.
I'm visible in your children, but if I can help it, I am invisible to you until it's too late.
I know where you live, and guess what? I live there too. I hover around all of you.
I know no colour barrier, no religion, no morality, no currency. I speak your language fluently, and with every voice I take away, I acquire yet another language.
I work very quickly. I work faster than paediatric AIDS, cancer and diabetes combined.
And if you are happily married, I will make sure that your marriage fails. Your money will fall into my hands, and I will bankrupt you for my own self-gain.
I don't sleep, so I make sure you don't either. I will make it virtually impossible for your family to easily attend a temple, a birthday party, a public park, without a struggle, without embarrassment, without pain.
You have no cure for me. Your scientists don't have the resources, and I relish their desperation.
Your neighbours are happier to pretend that I don't exist, of course, until it's their child. I am autism.
I have no interest in right or wrong. I derive great pleasure out of your loneliness. I will fight to take away your hope. I will plot to rob you of your children and your dreams.
I will make sure that every day you wake up, you will cry, wondering, "Who will take care of my child after I die?" And the truth is, I am still winning, and you are scared, and you should be.
I am autism.
You ignored me.
'Poetic' autism film divides campaigners
17:36 29 September 2009 by Celeste Biever
For similar stories, visit the Books and Art and The Human Brain Topic Guides
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17878-poetic-autism-film-divides-campaigners.html
"I have no interest in right or wrong… I will plot to rob you of your children and your dreams."
These words come from a short film called I Am Autism, which has sparked a spat between people with autism across the US and a charity that aims to represent them.
The film contains clips of children with autism and their parents backed by a voiceover that suggests autism has no morality and breaks apart families (read the transcript here). The charity Autism Speaks, based in New York, first screened the film on 22 September at its annual World Focus on Autism event.
I Am Autism was made by two fathers of children with autism: Billy Mann, a Grammy-nominated songwriter, music producer and Autism Speaks board member, and Alfonso Cuarón, an Academy award-nominated film director. The narration is a "personal poem" written by Mann, says Marc Sirkin, chief community officer at Autism Speaks.
'Embarrassing and offensive'
But some people with autism say the film projects a damaging image of them. They are protesting online with a spoof video on YouTube and a Facebook group. A few have also taken to the streets to protest.
"This makes people afraid of us. What will people think about me and other autistics if they have watched this damaging video?" says Elesia Ashkenazy, director of the Portland, Oregon, chapter of the Autistic Self Advocacy network (ASAN). She helped organise a protest against the video in Portland on 26 September.
Ari Ne'eman, president of ASAN, based in Washington DC, says the film is "embarrassing, offensive and inaccurate". "It has practical consequences," he says. For those with autism and looking for a job or a relationship, or trying to fit in at school, he says, "this adds to the fear and prejudice and stigma".
Ne'eman particularly objects to one segment of the video, in which the narrator, representing autism itself, says: "And if you're happily married, I will make sure that your marriage fails."
Ne'eman points to a 2008 survey that contradicts this notion, carried out by the disabilities charity Easter Seals, based in Chicago, Illinois. Looking at 917 parents who have children without any special needs and 1652 parents whose children have an autism spectrum disorder, the survey found that that 30 per cent of parents of people with autism spectrum disorders were divorced, compared with 29 per cent of parents whose children didn't have special needs.
Profit motive?
Sirkin admits that he knows of "no evidence that having a child with autism spectrum disorder in the family leads to higher rates of divorce" but says the film is "a personal statement based on the viewpoint of the two parents who created the film".
Ne'eman also accuses the charity of using "fear and pity-mongering" to raise funds. Sirkin responds that Autism Speaks did not pay for the film to be made, and that the film is not intended as a fundraiser, only to raise awareness.
The soundtrack to the spoof online video, I Am Autism Speaks, goes, "I work hard to make people believe your children are suffering worse than cancer or AIDS victims," and, "Your money will fall into my hands and I will bankrupt you," and "Your advocates don't have the money to fight me."
Right to speak
Meanwhile the Facebook group page set up in protest against the film calls it "a grotesque travesty of a film, filled with falsehoods, bigotry and hate… It does not represent our views on autism and autistic people. It vilifies autistic people, and we will not stand for it."
Sirkin says this is all par for the course. "We have received both positive and negative feedback. Some parents have found the video inspiring and have thanked us for showing it. Others have been offended by it. We believe that all perspectives are valid and need to be heard and respected. No one perspective can ever be the definitive voice of autism."
Morton Gernsbacher, an autism researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says the film could be destructive. "Any organisation that claims to support individuals with disabilities and those individuals' families should familiarise itself with the decades of research which has investigated the deleterious effects of fear-eliciting messaging," she says.
It's not the first time that Autism Speaks has provoked anger from people with autism. In 2008, the charity demanded that an autistic blogger take down a parody of its website because it infringed copyright. This sparked outrage from ASAN and many autistic bloggers.
I Am Autism: transcript of video
I am autism.
I'm visible in your children, but if I can help it, I am invisible to you until it's too late.
I know where you live, and guess what? I live there too. I hover around all of you.
I know no colour barrier, no religion, no morality, no currency. I speak your language fluently, and with every voice I take away, I acquire yet another language.
I work very quickly. I work faster than paediatric AIDS, cancer and diabetes combined.
And if you are happily married, I will make sure that your marriage fails. Your money will fall into my hands, and I will bankrupt you for my own self-gain.
I don't sleep, so I make sure you don't either. I will make it virtually impossible for your family to easily attend a temple, a birthday party, a public park, without a struggle, without embarrassment, without pain.
You have no cure for me. Your scientists don't have the resources, and I relish their desperation.
Your neighbours are happier to pretend that I don't exist, of course, until it's their child. I am autism.
I have no interest in right or wrong. I derive great pleasure out of your loneliness. I will fight to take away your hope. I will plot to rob you of your children and your dreams.
I will make sure that every day you wake up, you will cry, wondering, "Who will take care of my child after I die?" And the truth is, I am still winning, and you are scared, and you should be.
I am autism.
You ignored me.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Let's Go Freak Out The Lions
Yesterday I went to the Oregon Zoo with a person who has a developmental disability. I was appalled at what I saw where the lions are caged. Parents were actually sending their small children up to a window where a female lion was laying down. They were coaxing these small (between 1 and 5 year olds) to get the lion to react to them, which she naturally did. They'd pull out their camera phones to photograph their children being "attacked" by this lioness through the window. It made me sick! All I thought of was how many of these kids would be having nightmares last night. It also made me realize how sick our society has become to do such a thing.
Then today, there is a news report about a small child being mauled by a big cat in the Oklahoma zoo. This kid wandered off from their parents, and got too close to the cage. I'm not going to the zoo any more.
Then today, there is a news report about a small child being mauled by a big cat in the Oklahoma zoo. This kid wandered off from their parents, and got too close to the cage. I'm not going to the zoo any more.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Oregon Health Plan Implodes
Ok... so... how did this happen? As Ricky Ricardo would say; "DHS...you have some 'splaining to do..."
MMIS Provider Alert - Friday, 9/25/09
Approximately 50,000-75,000 individuals were disenrolled from OHP managed care plans and put into fee-for-service ("open card") status. This occurred late last night or early this morning. Disenrollment occurred in all plans, all plan types, and in all areas of the state. DHS is working on reversing this today.
If at all possible, please continue to provide services to these individuals, even though they will not show as enrolled when you verify enrollment status through AVR or the Provider Web Portal.
DHS will provide more information as soon as it becomes available.
Rather than writing a new post, I'll just add this update here. I guess they only imploded for a little over 1 hour... Notice, now they've written in the time... alrighty...
MMIS Provider Resolution - 12:00 p.m.
DHS has corrected the disenrollment error reported earlier today. This only affected clients with a disenrollment date of 9/24/09. Any clients incorrectly disenrolled should now display as enrolled in their appropriate plan(s) on AVR and Provider Web Portal.
MMIS Provider Alert - Friday, 9/25/09
Approximately 50,000-75,000 individuals were disenrolled from OHP managed care plans and put into fee-for-service ("open card") status. This occurred late last night or early this morning. Disenrollment occurred in all plans, all plan types, and in all areas of the state. DHS is working on reversing this today.
If at all possible, please continue to provide services to these individuals, even though they will not show as enrolled when you verify enrollment status through AVR or the Provider Web Portal.
DHS will provide more information as soon as it becomes available.
Rather than writing a new post, I'll just add this update here. I guess they only imploded for a little over 1 hour... Notice, now they've written in the time... alrighty...
MMIS Provider Resolution - 12:00 p.m.
DHS has corrected the disenrollment error reported earlier today. This only affected clients with a disenrollment date of 9/24/09. Any clients incorrectly disenrolled should now display as enrolled in their appropriate plan(s) on AVR and Provider Web Portal.
Heavy Load... No Flash In The Pan!
I first wrote about the band, Heavy Load, back in June and July of '08. I first came across them in a documentary I saw about them. I admit that I wasn't sure (based on the film) how long they would stick together, but they've demonstrated that they are here to stay. It's very cool that a band which has 3 people with developmental disabilities in it is making so much (literally) noise.
This morning I received an update on what the band is up to from Paul Richards, one of its' founders and musicians. It's great to see what they're doing!...
Hi all
A quick news update:
1) Dates
2) Stay Up Late news
3) Wild Things compilation release
Hope you all had a good summer. We had a great one playing all over the place and it was great to meet so many of you, from Glastonbury to Raines School in Bethnal Green and so many other places. We’re now gearing up for some autumn dates which are:
- 8th Oct – London
Stay Up Late and see disability from a different angle festival, Westbourne Studios, Ladbroke Grove, London – film screening and gig www.stayuplate.org
- 25th October – Berlin, Germany
No Limits Festival – screening and gig www.no-limits-festival.de
- 15th November – Brentwood, Essex
Brentwood Theatre, film screening, q&a and gig www.phoenixfm.com
- 18th November – Eden Project, Cornwall
Workshop and gig – contact info@brandontrust.org for more details
Stay Up Late news
We’ve had loads of you telling us about Stay Up Late events which you’ve been running all over the UK, which is fantastic. And don’t forget to send us photos, stories and examples of how you’re making a difference. We’ve also heard that they’re happening in Chicago, USA.
In June we were thrilled to be invited to launch Stay Up Late Wales in Cardiff at the Undod Festival (a fantastic evening) and now we’re off to Berlin in October to hold a Stay Up Late night at the end of the No Limits Festival.
In London there’s even an entire arts festival called ‘Stay Up Late and see disability from a different angle’ (see above for date we’re playing)
Other news
The Wild Things 2 compilation is now completed and we’re set to release it on 1st October. (We’ll also have some sort of launch party in the autumn – more news on that to follow).
We think the album sounds and looks fantastic. It features musicians with learning disabilities from all over the world; Argentina, Switzerland, Australia, USA, Denmark, Finland, Germany as well as the UK, and the artwork is by The Rockets, a group of artists with learning disabilities from Brighton. We think it’s a truly unique collaboration and all proceeds will go towards furthering the work of the Stay Up Late campaign.
We’ll send out more info on that in next couple of weeks.
Thanks again for all your support
Best wishes
Paul and the rest of Heavy Load
This morning I received an update on what the band is up to from Paul Richards, one of its' founders and musicians. It's great to see what they're doing!...
Hi all
A quick news update:
1) Dates
2) Stay Up Late news
3) Wild Things compilation release
Hope you all had a good summer. We had a great one playing all over the place and it was great to meet so many of you, from Glastonbury to Raines School in Bethnal Green and so many other places. We’re now gearing up for some autumn dates which are:
- 8th Oct – London
Stay Up Late and see disability from a different angle festival, Westbourne Studios, Ladbroke Grove, London – film screening and gig www.stayuplate.org
- 25th October – Berlin, Germany
No Limits Festival – screening and gig www.no-limits-festival.de
- 15th November – Brentwood, Essex
Brentwood Theatre, film screening, q&a and gig www.phoenixfm.com
- 18th November – Eden Project, Cornwall
Workshop and gig – contact info@brandontrust.org for more details
Stay Up Late news
We’ve had loads of you telling us about Stay Up Late events which you’ve been running all over the UK, which is fantastic. And don’t forget to send us photos, stories and examples of how you’re making a difference. We’ve also heard that they’re happening in Chicago, USA.
In June we were thrilled to be invited to launch Stay Up Late Wales in Cardiff at the Undod Festival (a fantastic evening) and now we’re off to Berlin in October to hold a Stay Up Late night at the end of the No Limits Festival.
In London there’s even an entire arts festival called ‘Stay Up Late and see disability from a different angle’ (see above for date we’re playing)
Other news
The Wild Things 2 compilation is now completed and we’re set to release it on 1st October. (We’ll also have some sort of launch party in the autumn – more news on that to follow).
We think the album sounds and looks fantastic. It features musicians with learning disabilities from all over the world; Argentina, Switzerland, Australia, USA, Denmark, Finland, Germany as well as the UK, and the artwork is by The Rockets, a group of artists with learning disabilities from Brighton. We think it’s a truly unique collaboration and all proceeds will go towards furthering the work of the Stay Up Late campaign.
We’ll send out more info on that in next couple of weeks.
Thanks again for all your support
Best wishes
Paul and the rest of Heavy Load
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Great News On Healthcare For People With Disabilities
Just In: Health Care Includes Community Choice!
From the ADAPT Community Choice Listserv (9/22/09):
The Community First Choice (CFC) Option has been included in the Chairman's Mark. This means that the CFC Option amendment offered by Senator Schumer is incorporated into the Senate Finance Committee bill and won't need to be debated or approved by the Committee.
Yes! You read that correctly! Yeah! Yippee!
Of course the language needs to be in the final version approved by the Committee and full Senate, but this is a HUGE step forward.
(Can you hear Dawn Russell in Denver screaming with joy?)
As we get more details, we will keep you informed, but it will be important to thank Senator Baucus (MT) and David Schwartz (from the Senate Finance staff) who made this happen. We also appreciate the efforts of Senator Schumer (NY) for submitting the CFC Option amendment and Senator Harkin, our Senate champion who has tirelessly fought to eliminate the institutional bias.
We have more work to do, but this a great step forward!
The cost of the CFC Option is estimated to be 1 billion dollar for 5 years. There is a sunset provision. This means that after the five years, Congress will need to go back and approve keeping the CFC Option in place. This should not be of any great concern one way or another at this point.
Another great feature of the Chairman's Mark language is that the MFP program would be modified to move the basic eligibility for MFP of needing to be in an institution for six months down to only needing to be in for 90 days.
Please contact your Senators and let them know that you support this language and that it is critical they keep it in the final version they approve. You can call using this toll-free number: 866-324-0787. A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the Senate office you request.
Keep up the good work!
On behalf of the ADAPT Community,
Mike Oxford
Bruce Darling
From the ADAPT Community Choice Listserv (9/22/09):
The Community First Choice (CFC) Option has been included in the Chairman's Mark. This means that the CFC Option amendment offered by Senator Schumer is incorporated into the Senate Finance Committee bill and won't need to be debated or approved by the Committee.
Yes! You read that correctly! Yeah! Yippee!
Of course the language needs to be in the final version approved by the Committee and full Senate, but this is a HUGE step forward.
(Can you hear Dawn Russell in Denver screaming with joy?)
As we get more details, we will keep you informed, but it will be important to thank Senator Baucus (MT) and David Schwartz (from the Senate Finance staff) who made this happen. We also appreciate the efforts of Senator Schumer (NY) for submitting the CFC Option amendment and Senator Harkin, our Senate champion who has tirelessly fought to eliminate the institutional bias.
We have more work to do, but this a great step forward!
The cost of the CFC Option is estimated to be 1 billion dollar for 5 years. There is a sunset provision. This means that after the five years, Congress will need to go back and approve keeping the CFC Option in place. This should not be of any great concern one way or another at this point.
Another great feature of the Chairman's Mark language is that the MFP program would be modified to move the basic eligibility for MFP of needing to be in an institution for six months down to only needing to be in for 90 days.
Please contact your Senators and let them know that you support this language and that it is critical they keep it in the final version they approve. You can call using this toll-free number: 866-324-0787. A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the Senate office you request.
Keep up the good work!
On behalf of the ADAPT Community,
Mike Oxford
Bruce Darling
Last Post Of Summer
This just became the hottest summer on record in the Portland area. What I mean by that, is that we just surpassed the number of days where the temperature was 90* or hotter from 23 days to 24 (today). I hope the fall is kinder to low income, developmentally disabled Portlanders, who must count on a mad man to get them some needed AC.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Doctors ‘Mad as Hell’ About Health Care
In keeping with the whole healthcare issue, here's an article I found in the Indiana Daily Student that connects with Oregon and disability...
By Sarah Bloom | IDS
A group of eight West Coast doctors spoke out at a rally Saturday to tell Bloomington residents why they are “Mad as Hell” and to show support for a single-payer health care system.
The Mad as Hell doctors have held similar rallies in 15 other cities across the country. They plan to stop in nine more on their way to Washington, where they hope to meet with Congress and the president.
They parked their RV, “Winnie,” at Bloomington’s Farmer’s Market and began speaking after the market closed at noon.
The speakers advocated a single-payer system, which they defined as “a system of payment that redirects all current health care monies, both public and private, into a single public fund that covers everyone.”
The doctors sought to dispel the notion that a single-payer system is a radical solution. They denied the labels opponents use to describe the position, such as “socialized medicine” and “government takeover”.
“The fiscally responsible thing for us to do is for us to have a single-payer system because it’s the only way we’re ever going to afford the moral imperative of universal access without breaking the bank,” said Dr. Paul Hochfeld, an emergency room physician from Oregon.
Dr. Marc Sapir, a primary care physician from the Bay Area, who practiced medicine for 38 years, said he was “mad as hell” because of the inefficiency in America’s health care spending.
“After 38 years of practice, I hear that we’re 37th in the care that we provide to our patients and to our population,” Sapir said. “And behind that we’re spending twice as much as the next most expensive system in the world, and besides that we’re spending more tax dollars than any country in the world that has a totally tax-funded system of care.”
The doctors mentioned a new Harvard study published in the American Journal of Public Health, which found that 45,000 people die each year in America from lack of health care.
This number is higher than the previous estimate of 18,000.
Oregon family physician Eugene Uphoff said he was “mad as hell” because the amount of money insurance companies are spending to defeat health care reform is enough to cover those 45,000 people three times over.
Finally, the doctors invited participants to share why they were “mad as hell.”
Bloomington resident Deb Owens said she was “mad as hell” because she was denied coverage due to her recently developed high blood pressure. Owens tried to purchase private health insurance but was denied.
Owens now pays about $89 a month — about $3 per pill – for blood pressure medication.
“It’s crippling, especially in this economy,” Owens said.
“I’m mad as hell because I have an 18-year-old daughter who has a disability, who has the option in life of always being poor so that she can qualify for Medicaid,” said Cindy Calley, a Carmel, Ind. resident.
When asked why she drove from Carmel to attend the rally, Calley said, “Because this is the most important domestic issue in the country. Why didn’t everybody?”
By Sarah Bloom | IDS
A group of eight West Coast doctors spoke out at a rally Saturday to tell Bloomington residents why they are “Mad as Hell” and to show support for a single-payer health care system.
The Mad as Hell doctors have held similar rallies in 15 other cities across the country. They plan to stop in nine more on their way to Washington, where they hope to meet with Congress and the president.
They parked their RV, “Winnie,” at Bloomington’s Farmer’s Market and began speaking after the market closed at noon.
The speakers advocated a single-payer system, which they defined as “a system of payment that redirects all current health care monies, both public and private, into a single public fund that covers everyone.”
The doctors sought to dispel the notion that a single-payer system is a radical solution. They denied the labels opponents use to describe the position, such as “socialized medicine” and “government takeover”.
“The fiscally responsible thing for us to do is for us to have a single-payer system because it’s the only way we’re ever going to afford the moral imperative of universal access without breaking the bank,” said Dr. Paul Hochfeld, an emergency room physician from Oregon.
Dr. Marc Sapir, a primary care physician from the Bay Area, who practiced medicine for 38 years, said he was “mad as hell” because of the inefficiency in America’s health care spending.
“After 38 years of practice, I hear that we’re 37th in the care that we provide to our patients and to our population,” Sapir said. “And behind that we’re spending twice as much as the next most expensive system in the world, and besides that we’re spending more tax dollars than any country in the world that has a totally tax-funded system of care.”
The doctors mentioned a new Harvard study published in the American Journal of Public Health, which found that 45,000 people die each year in America from lack of health care.
This number is higher than the previous estimate of 18,000.
Oregon family physician Eugene Uphoff said he was “mad as hell” because the amount of money insurance companies are spending to defeat health care reform is enough to cover those 45,000 people three times over.
Finally, the doctors invited participants to share why they were “mad as hell.”
Bloomington resident Deb Owens said she was “mad as hell” because she was denied coverage due to her recently developed high blood pressure. Owens tried to purchase private health insurance but was denied.
Owens now pays about $89 a month — about $3 per pill – for blood pressure medication.
“It’s crippling, especially in this economy,” Owens said.
“I’m mad as hell because I have an 18-year-old daughter who has a disability, who has the option in life of always being poor so that she can qualify for Medicaid,” said Cindy Calley, a Carmel, Ind. resident.
When asked why she drove from Carmel to attend the rally, Calley said, “Because this is the most important domestic issue in the country. Why didn’t everybody?”
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Healthcare for people with Disabilities
Here's a poignant view/writing about the issue from someone who knows what she's talking about...
We who need health care reform are real people, really suffering
by Marianne Hoynes
A couple of weeks ago, I in my wheelchair went to a NJ town hall meeting to learn more about the new health care bill. I thought this would be a good time to share with my congressman what it is like to be sick in America today.
I am on disability. I have been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Sjogren's Syndrome, two auto immune diseases, where my body sees my healthy connective and mucous tissue, mistakes them as unhealthy, and attacks them, causing irreversible damage. I spend half my day in a wheelchair because of degenerative disk disease.
The stress of living with chronic illness, waking up every morning in severe pain day after day, can drain me of hope. The financial stress added to that is almost unbearable. My disease is all but invisible, so I have to get expensive imaging tests to track its progress. Some medications are a thousand dollars plus a month.
Knowing every day, that I am the reason my family is being driven from middle class into poverty because of the cost of my health care , is a huge burden to bear.
We who need health care reform are real people, really suffering.
To my dismay, I entered a room filled with a screaming, angry mob, whose purpose was to shout down anyone who wanted to speak. My sense of right was stronger than my fear of sharing something personal and painful about my life in front of these bullies. They were not going to stop me from saying what I had to say.
I started with the terrible story of Kitty Genovese, murdered in the streets of NY in front of 38 witnesses, calling out for help, as they turned their backs on her. This was later defined as the "bystander effect"; a social phenomenon where individuals will not offer someone help during an emergency while others are present. The greater the number of bystanders, the less likely they are to offer assistance. New Yorkers earned a bad reputation of being cold and uncaring.
This seemed a fitting analogy to the tens of millions of Americans who are being driven into poverty and homelessness because of catastrophic illness, while the world watches. What happens to the least of us in our society defines who we are as a nation. We were so ashamed to hear that story of Kitty Genovese. We as a society need to have more shame over how we treat the sick, physically and mentally challenged in this country. This could happen to any of you.
When I got sick, the health care and pharmaceutical industries strapped me on like a feed bag, and began sucking me dry of everything I worked hard for in my life. There is no regulation, no one to protect me from this extortion, no one to help me until I and my family become destitute and have to take charity, welfare, food stamps.
Reasonable health care is a basic human right in every developed nation in the world. Americans are the only ones who do not see it that way.
This country needs to see health care as a basic human right, not a privilege. And make no mistake, the world is watching. We, once a revered Superpower, are now becoming known as a nation who profits from its most vulnerable population, and treats its sick as a financial commodity, feeding from us until we are destitute. We need to allow our sick and disabled to live with some dignity, afford needed medication and treatment, much as we did once for our elderly. Anything less is inhumane.
We who need health care reform are real people, really suffering
by Marianne Hoynes
A couple of weeks ago, I in my wheelchair went to a NJ town hall meeting to learn more about the new health care bill. I thought this would be a good time to share with my congressman what it is like to be sick in America today.
I am on disability. I have been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Sjogren's Syndrome, two auto immune diseases, where my body sees my healthy connective and mucous tissue, mistakes them as unhealthy, and attacks them, causing irreversible damage. I spend half my day in a wheelchair because of degenerative disk disease.
The stress of living with chronic illness, waking up every morning in severe pain day after day, can drain me of hope. The financial stress added to that is almost unbearable. My disease is all but invisible, so I have to get expensive imaging tests to track its progress. Some medications are a thousand dollars plus a month.
Knowing every day, that I am the reason my family is being driven from middle class into poverty because of the cost of my health care , is a huge burden to bear.
We who need health care reform are real people, really suffering.
To my dismay, I entered a room filled with a screaming, angry mob, whose purpose was to shout down anyone who wanted to speak. My sense of right was stronger than my fear of sharing something personal and painful about my life in front of these bullies. They were not going to stop me from saying what I had to say.
I started with the terrible story of Kitty Genovese, murdered in the streets of NY in front of 38 witnesses, calling out for help, as they turned their backs on her. This was later defined as the "bystander effect"; a social phenomenon where individuals will not offer someone help during an emergency while others are present. The greater the number of bystanders, the less likely they are to offer assistance. New Yorkers earned a bad reputation of being cold and uncaring.
This seemed a fitting analogy to the tens of millions of Americans who are being driven into poverty and homelessness because of catastrophic illness, while the world watches. What happens to the least of us in our society defines who we are as a nation. We were so ashamed to hear that story of Kitty Genovese. We as a society need to have more shame over how we treat the sick, physically and mentally challenged in this country. This could happen to any of you.
When I got sick, the health care and pharmaceutical industries strapped me on like a feed bag, and began sucking me dry of everything I worked hard for in my life. There is no regulation, no one to protect me from this extortion, no one to help me until I and my family become destitute and have to take charity, welfare, food stamps.
Reasonable health care is a basic human right in every developed nation in the world. Americans are the only ones who do not see it that way.
This country needs to see health care as a basic human right, not a privilege. And make no mistake, the world is watching. We, once a revered Superpower, are now becoming known as a nation who profits from its most vulnerable population, and treats its sick as a financial commodity, feeding from us until we are destitute. We need to allow our sick and disabled to live with some dignity, afford needed medication and treatment, much as we did once for our elderly. Anything less is inhumane.
How To Keep Poor People Poor
Man oh man... I wish with all my heart that the bureaucrats in this world could see how they would fare if they were making $8.40 per hour. The quotes in this article from KTVZ.com show me that Brad Avakian has no idea. I think the truth in what he says about employers "breathing a little easier" is more to the point...
Oregon Minimum Wage Won't Change In 2010
Consumer prices have dropped; steady figure first since '02
From KTVZ.COM news sources
PORTLAND- Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian announced Wednesday that the state's minimum wage will remain $8.40 next year.
Due to a decline of 1.48% in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from August 2008 to August 2009, the minimum wage will hold steady for the first time since Oregon voters enacted Ballot Measure 25 in 2002.
"Under the circumstances, a steady minimum wage is good for Oregon's businesses and working people," said Commissioner Avakian. "While the economy still struggles, workers will be able to continue taking care of their families while maintaining their purchasing power and contributing to the recovery."
"At the same time, employers who are in difficult financial situations can breathe a little easier because their labor costs will remain constant."
Oregon minimum wage law, codified in ORS 653.025, requires an annual adjustment based on inflation as measured by the CPI. The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) is charged with adjusting the minimum wage for inflation every September, rounded to the nearest five cents.
The law specifically ties Oregon's minimum wage to increases in the CPI, leaving no option for a reduced wage when the CPI declines.
Oregon is one of 10 states, with Washington, Vermont, Ohio, Nevada, Montana, Missouri, Florida, Colorado, and Arizona, that annually adjusts the minimum wage based on inflation and the CPI.
A combination of factors, including local economic trends, the structure of state laws and the floor of the federal minimum wage, suggest that few, if any, decreased minimum wage rates will take effect next year.
The CPI, which is published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, is a measure of the average change in prices over time for a fixed "market basket" of goods and services, such as food, shelter, medical care, transportation fares and other goods and services people purchase for day-to-day living.
The Bureau of Labor and Industries works to protect the rights of workers and citizens to equal, nondiscriminatory treatment and encourages and enforces compliance with state laws relating to wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment.
In addition, the Bureau's Technical Assistance for Employers Unit exists to train employers to understand and comply with civil rights and other labor and employment laws. Updated minimum wage posters will be available from the bureau in December and can be downloaded from the agency's website, http://www.boli.state.or.us/
Oregon Minimum Wage Won't Change In 2010
Consumer prices have dropped; steady figure first since '02
From KTVZ.COM news sources
PORTLAND- Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian announced Wednesday that the state's minimum wage will remain $8.40 next year.
Due to a decline of 1.48% in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from August 2008 to August 2009, the minimum wage will hold steady for the first time since Oregon voters enacted Ballot Measure 25 in 2002.
"Under the circumstances, a steady minimum wage is good for Oregon's businesses and working people," said Commissioner Avakian. "While the economy still struggles, workers will be able to continue taking care of their families while maintaining their purchasing power and contributing to the recovery."
"At the same time, employers who are in difficult financial situations can breathe a little easier because their labor costs will remain constant."
Oregon minimum wage law, codified in ORS 653.025, requires an annual adjustment based on inflation as measured by the CPI. The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) is charged with adjusting the minimum wage for inflation every September, rounded to the nearest five cents.
The law specifically ties Oregon's minimum wage to increases in the CPI, leaving no option for a reduced wage when the CPI declines.
Oregon is one of 10 states, with Washington, Vermont, Ohio, Nevada, Montana, Missouri, Florida, Colorado, and Arizona, that annually adjusts the minimum wage based on inflation and the CPI.
A combination of factors, including local economic trends, the structure of state laws and the floor of the federal minimum wage, suggest that few, if any, decreased minimum wage rates will take effect next year.
The CPI, which is published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, is a measure of the average change in prices over time for a fixed "market basket" of goods and services, such as food, shelter, medical care, transportation fares and other goods and services people purchase for day-to-day living.
The Bureau of Labor and Industries works to protect the rights of workers and citizens to equal, nondiscriminatory treatment and encourages and enforces compliance with state laws relating to wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment.
In addition, the Bureau's Technical Assistance for Employers Unit exists to train employers to understand and comply with civil rights and other labor and employment laws. Updated minimum wage posters will be available from the bureau in December and can be downloaded from the agency's website, http://www.boli.state.or.us/
A Crack In My Armor
I’ve been a bit bummed out lately, and haven’t been able to figure out why. That happens to me from time to time. It usually takes some soul searching coupled with time to get to the bottom of the reasons that I feel like giving up in my activism. But if I take the time to reflect, it will come to me.
This morning I’ve come to the realization that what’s troubling me is that my feelings are hurt! I spent a LOT of time and energy recently attempting to help people with developmental disabilities in my community, by getting air conditioning into their homes. To a large degree I was successful, but it seems that whenever I do ANYTHING along these lines, the developmental disability advocates simply ignore my best efforts. Maybe that’s why I don’t like them.
Ok... “Operation Cool Air” never happened. 14 people with developmental disabilities and their cohabitants are NOT better off than before I did this. Although the news that this was a fact (throughout Portland) has reached the advocates, they’ve failed to acknowledge that they could have gotten on board to also demonstrate that in their paid capacity, they want to make a positive difference. It’s more important to them to continue distancing themselves from me than it is to at least say; “Good job”, or “Thank you”.
I’ve found the crack in my armor. Devoting and volunteering my time and life to the cause of trying to improve conditions for developmentally disabled people without the acknowledgement from my peers bothers me. When I think that the E.D. of the ARC has never contacted me to express her gratitude for what I’ve done (for the people she’s paid to do the same things for), it tells me a whole lot. I’m just not welcomed in their world. I AM welcomed in the world of those I’ve helped... just not in the world of their advocates. Now I can get back to work.
This morning I’ve come to the realization that what’s troubling me is that my feelings are hurt! I spent a LOT of time and energy recently attempting to help people with developmental disabilities in my community, by getting air conditioning into their homes. To a large degree I was successful, but it seems that whenever I do ANYTHING along these lines, the developmental disability advocates simply ignore my best efforts. Maybe that’s why I don’t like them.
Ok... “Operation Cool Air” never happened. 14 people with developmental disabilities and their cohabitants are NOT better off than before I did this. Although the news that this was a fact (throughout Portland) has reached the advocates, they’ve failed to acknowledge that they could have gotten on board to also demonstrate that in their paid capacity, they want to make a positive difference. It’s more important to them to continue distancing themselves from me than it is to at least say; “Good job”, or “Thank you”.
I’ve found the crack in my armor. Devoting and volunteering my time and life to the cause of trying to improve conditions for developmentally disabled people without the acknowledgement from my peers bothers me. When I think that the E.D. of the ARC has never contacted me to express her gratitude for what I’ve done (for the people she’s paid to do the same things for), it tells me a whole lot. I’m just not welcomed in their world. I AM welcomed in the world of those I’ve helped... just not in the world of their advocates. Now I can get back to work.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
26 Years Is A LONG Time!
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A Florida man was released from custody on Sept. 10 after spending 26 years in prison for a rape and murder his lawyer says he didn't commit.
Anthony Caravella (pictured right in photo) was ordered released after a private laboratory test revealed someone else's DNA at the crime scene.
Although it was once considered a rare and remarkable event, a growing number of defendants are being ordered freed from prison as DNA tests continue to uncover evidence of false confessions, shoddy police work, and questionable prosecution tactics.
Mr. Caravella's release on Sept. 10 is conditional, pending further investigation. If the release order becomes permanent he will be the 243rd person freed by DNA evidence nationwide, the 11th in Florida, and the fourth in Broward County.
Seth Miller, executive director of the Innocence Project of Florida, says despite the proven success of such efforts it is becoming increasingly difficult for defense lawyers to pursue DNA testing.
"Across the state of Florida the state is opposing DNA testing more often on the front end, rather than taking a wait and see approach," Mr. Miller says.
"Nobody likes to admit they are wrong," he says.
Prosecutors in the Caravella case have cooperated with defense lawyers in an apparent effort to uncover the truth.
Mr. Caravella was 15 years old in 1983 when detectives questioned him in connection with the murder of Ada Jankowski in nearby Miramar, Fla. Caravella has an IQ of 67 and is considered mentally retarded.
His lawyer, Chief Assistant Public Defender Diane Cuddihy, said in a court motion that Caravella was threatened, beaten, pushed, and slapped by police. He gave police four taped statements and one oral statement. He eventually confessed to the rape and murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
Ms. Cuddihy said the confession was based on improper coercive interrogations that produced unreliable and false admissions by her client. She said detectives asked leading questions. She said even with leading questions, Caravella was unable to give verifying details of the murder and rape that matched crime scene evidence known to the detectives.
The public defender hired a private laboratory to re-test DNA evidence gathered in the case. The results showed someone other than Caravella raped Ms. Jankowski during the murder-rape. In addition, Cuddihy accused police and prosecutors of withholding a key piece of evidence from defense lawyers during Caravella's trial.
The lawyer said the state failed to turn over to defense lawyers an audio tape of a phone conversation between a police detective in the Jankowski case and a man who said he had killed Jankowski with Caravella.
"The audio tape, although delivered and received by the state attorney, was never disclosed to the defendant or his counsel," Cuddihy says in a court filing.
"The newly discovered DNA evidence proves that the defendant did not commit the sexual battery and murder," she writes. "The hidden audio-tape further undermines the reliability of the verdict."
Miller notes that false confessions contributed to a wrongful conviction in about 25 percent of cases where DNA evidence resulted in a defendant's release.
Frequently such confessions result from a combination of coercive interrogation tactics used against a person with mental retardation, he says.
Anthony Caravella (pictured right in photo) was ordered released after a private laboratory test revealed someone else's DNA at the crime scene.
Although it was once considered a rare and remarkable event, a growing number of defendants are being ordered freed from prison as DNA tests continue to uncover evidence of false confessions, shoddy police work, and questionable prosecution tactics.
Mr. Caravella's release on Sept. 10 is conditional, pending further investigation. If the release order becomes permanent he will be the 243rd person freed by DNA evidence nationwide, the 11th in Florida, and the fourth in Broward County.
Seth Miller, executive director of the Innocence Project of Florida, says despite the proven success of such efforts it is becoming increasingly difficult for defense lawyers to pursue DNA testing.
"Across the state of Florida the state is opposing DNA testing more often on the front end, rather than taking a wait and see approach," Mr. Miller says.
"Nobody likes to admit they are wrong," he says.
Prosecutors in the Caravella case have cooperated with defense lawyers in an apparent effort to uncover the truth.
Mr. Caravella was 15 years old in 1983 when detectives questioned him in connection with the murder of Ada Jankowski in nearby Miramar, Fla. Caravella has an IQ of 67 and is considered mentally retarded.
His lawyer, Chief Assistant Public Defender Diane Cuddihy, said in a court motion that Caravella was threatened, beaten, pushed, and slapped by police. He gave police four taped statements and one oral statement. He eventually confessed to the rape and murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
Ms. Cuddihy said the confession was based on improper coercive interrogations that produced unreliable and false admissions by her client. She said detectives asked leading questions. She said even with leading questions, Caravella was unable to give verifying details of the murder and rape that matched crime scene evidence known to the detectives.
The public defender hired a private laboratory to re-test DNA evidence gathered in the case. The results showed someone other than Caravella raped Ms. Jankowski during the murder-rape. In addition, Cuddihy accused police and prosecutors of withholding a key piece of evidence from defense lawyers during Caravella's trial.
The lawyer said the state failed to turn over to defense lawyers an audio tape of a phone conversation between a police detective in the Jankowski case and a man who said he had killed Jankowski with Caravella.
"The audio tape, although delivered and received by the state attorney, was never disclosed to the defendant or his counsel," Cuddihy says in a court filing.
"The newly discovered DNA evidence proves that the defendant did not commit the sexual battery and murder," she writes. "The hidden audio-tape further undermines the reliability of the verdict."
Miller notes that false confessions contributed to a wrongful conviction in about 25 percent of cases where DNA evidence resulted in a defendant's release.
Frequently such confessions result from a combination of coercive interrogation tactics used against a person with mental retardation, he says.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Eight
Eight years later, I see the anguish in pictures and I cry.
Opinions expressed over who’s to blame seem unimportant now.
Eight years ago my life was changed.
I was changed; you were changed; the whole world was changed
I don’t even have to try to remember today.
I felt it coming on for weeks.
Like an unscheduled trip to the grave yard.
I knew this was coming.
That’s the only reason this day was a wash-out.
I’m supposed to have this experience today.
Whatever you were doing eight years ago,
You were a part of it.
Opinions expressed over who’s to blame seem unimportant now.
Eight years ago my life was changed.
I was changed; you were changed; the whole world was changed
I don’t even have to try to remember today.
I felt it coming on for weeks.
Like an unscheduled trip to the grave yard.
I knew this was coming.
That’s the only reason this day was a wash-out.
I’m supposed to have this experience today.
Whatever you were doing eight years ago,
You were a part of it.
When "Elites" Strike
Yesterday I happened to tune into the Multnomah County Commissioner’s weekly meeting. As I watched them honoring the saintliness and work of Margaret Carter, I got to thinking... “this is all about elitism”. Now why would I think or say such a thing?
Well, the first person I observed spouting out the accolades was a Minister (her Minister?) who spoke of her as “a treasure” who listens carefully to what her constituents have to say. I was reminded of an email I sent to her, congratulating her on her new $120,000 DHS job back on August 17th...
Dear Senator Carter,
As an activist on behalf of people with developmental disabilities in Oregon, I want to congratulate you on your new job as Deputy Director of DHS. It sounds like you are interested in ensuring people with developmental disabilities are well cared for in our communities, which is long overdue at DHS. May I suggest that one of your first orders of business be simplifying the ridiculous process these folks must now go through to get a window air conditioner for their home.
I'm sure you're aware that the more significant a developmental disability is, the more likely a person has serious medical issues that accompany it. Many of these issues are exacerbated by heat, making the person prone to serious complications, including death. For the last 1 1/2 months DAWG Oregon, the ARC of Multnomah County, United Way of the Columbia Willamette. and Standard TV and Appliances have partnered in an attempt to get air conditioning to people with developmental disabilities. So far we've been able to provide folks with 9 new air conditioners and 5 used ones.
Once again we face another heat wave in Multnomah County, and are seeking donated air conditioners for "Operation Cool Air". We don't believe people should have to wait and/or jump through numerous hoops in order to stave off the potential dangers of extreme heat, which is the current situation with DHS. I hope you'll be able to join us in our efforts. Again; congratulations!
Sincerely,
David McDonald
DAWG Oregon
As you may have guessed, I never heard back from her. Why? Because I’m not an “Elite”. Those folks were at her canonization. When Ted Wheeler contacts Margaret Carter with an idea or concern, he KNOWS he’ll hear back from her. When Lolenzo Poe calls or emails her, he KNOWS she’ll get back to him ASAP. These are just a sampling of the “Elites” in our state. What about those of us who have no aspirations to become an “Elite”? We can count on being ignored by those who are, or aspire to become “Elites”. I’m not too concerned though...2012 is only a few years away.
Well, the first person I observed spouting out the accolades was a Minister (her Minister?) who spoke of her as “a treasure” who listens carefully to what her constituents have to say. I was reminded of an email I sent to her, congratulating her on her new $120,000 DHS job back on August 17th...
Dear Senator Carter,
As an activist on behalf of people with developmental disabilities in Oregon, I want to congratulate you on your new job as Deputy Director of DHS. It sounds like you are interested in ensuring people with developmental disabilities are well cared for in our communities, which is long overdue at DHS. May I suggest that one of your first orders of business be simplifying the ridiculous process these folks must now go through to get a window air conditioner for their home.
I'm sure you're aware that the more significant a developmental disability is, the more likely a person has serious medical issues that accompany it. Many of these issues are exacerbated by heat, making the person prone to serious complications, including death. For the last 1 1/2 months DAWG Oregon, the ARC of Multnomah County, United Way of the Columbia Willamette. and Standard TV and Appliances have partnered in an attempt to get air conditioning to people with developmental disabilities. So far we've been able to provide folks with 9 new air conditioners and 5 used ones.
Once again we face another heat wave in Multnomah County, and are seeking donated air conditioners for "Operation Cool Air". We don't believe people should have to wait and/or jump through numerous hoops in order to stave off the potential dangers of extreme heat, which is the current situation with DHS. I hope you'll be able to join us in our efforts. Again; congratulations!
Sincerely,
David McDonald
DAWG Oregon
As you may have guessed, I never heard back from her. Why? Because I’m not an “Elite”. Those folks were at her canonization. When Ted Wheeler contacts Margaret Carter with an idea or concern, he KNOWS he’ll hear back from her. When Lolenzo Poe calls or emails her, he KNOWS she’ll get back to him ASAP. These are just a sampling of the “Elites” in our state. What about those of us who have no aspirations to become an “Elite”? We can count on being ignored by those who are, or aspire to become “Elites”. I’m not too concerned though...2012 is only a few years away.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Partners In Policy Making
I recently received an invite to apply for Partners In Policy Making from the oregon DD Coalition. As I thought about what this actually means, and how I, or anyone else would benefit from participating, I decided to instead, write down some of my thoughts around this whole thing.
Much of what the state-funded advocates focus on is workshops for people with developmental disabilities and their families about how to navigate within the system that often is responsible for the very barriers that people seek to change. Activities center on things like “how a bill becomes a law,” registering people to vote, presentations for legislators who “require more information” on the issues and the wish lists, luncheons with governors and celebrities, and exercises in non-binding legislation, such as “respectful language” bills based on the premise that educational campaigns and psychology will convert the majority to the cause.
Through these activities, people are schooled very carefully on acceptable and unacceptable communication styles and on the rules of order for “civil discourse.” They are cautioned to follow the wise direction of the governor’s appointed experts in patience and restraint, and the paid “legislative liaisons” who always know when the timing isn’t right in each session to push harder and ask for more. We know of a case during a local ballot measure to raise taxes to support human services when more than one respected “advocate” advised that the people lay low for fear of too much attention to the issues that might bring people to the polls to vote against supporting the measure. Extraordinary effort is made to distribute information that makes people fearful that if we “ask for too much” in order to expand access to more of our brothers, then some will be forced to give up some of what they count on in exchange.
A small group of people with developmental disabilities is often called upon to belong to numerous boards and commissions advocating this kind of restraint and legislative nuancing. The state-funded advocates call upon the same individuals over and over and do not make much effort to reach out to a broader community. Some may mistake this to mean that those who are repeatedly called are the only ones who are capable of participating. But, I take it to mean that this is the best way to keep some people so busy with these activities that they don’t have time or energy to engage in direct action that may, in fact, have more impact. I know of one woman who belonged to so many of these boards and committees that she openly told me that she was personally worn out from it and didn’t have time to attend to other aspects of her own life, let alone get involved in direct action on behalf of the broader community of people with developmental disabilities.
What people need to keep in mind is that those who have been historically excluded and victimized have never made progress through “patient” and “reasonable” measures, but through direct action and sustained struggle. They didn’t close the institutions, in Oregon or anywhere else, because of the people’s restraint and diplomacy. We didn’t achieve the Olmstead decision by voting or by being reasonable, but through litigation. Women didn’t get the vote through voting. Blacks didn’t defeat Jim Crowe through voting. And we didn’t create US democracy through gentile discourse or politely placating the ambassadors of the prevailing power personified in the King of England. How long will we listen to the counsel of patience? As demonstrated in all human and civil rights movements throughout history, this is not a situation in which we have been impatient. The neglect has gone on for centuries. We have a responsibility in the face of an obstinacy that threatens our very survival to show resolve and the belief in our own worth to end the negotiations and diplomacy. This is a situation that calls for direct action with a commitment to the difficult and sustained struggle that will ultimately free us.
Much of what the state-funded advocates focus on is workshops for people with developmental disabilities and their families about how to navigate within the system that often is responsible for the very barriers that people seek to change. Activities center on things like “how a bill becomes a law,” registering people to vote, presentations for legislators who “require more information” on the issues and the wish lists, luncheons with governors and celebrities, and exercises in non-binding legislation, such as “respectful language” bills based on the premise that educational campaigns and psychology will convert the majority to the cause.
Through these activities, people are schooled very carefully on acceptable and unacceptable communication styles and on the rules of order for “civil discourse.” They are cautioned to follow the wise direction of the governor’s appointed experts in patience and restraint, and the paid “legislative liaisons” who always know when the timing isn’t right in each session to push harder and ask for more. We know of a case during a local ballot measure to raise taxes to support human services when more than one respected “advocate” advised that the people lay low for fear of too much attention to the issues that might bring people to the polls to vote against supporting the measure. Extraordinary effort is made to distribute information that makes people fearful that if we “ask for too much” in order to expand access to more of our brothers, then some will be forced to give up some of what they count on in exchange.
A small group of people with developmental disabilities is often called upon to belong to numerous boards and commissions advocating this kind of restraint and legislative nuancing. The state-funded advocates call upon the same individuals over and over and do not make much effort to reach out to a broader community. Some may mistake this to mean that those who are repeatedly called are the only ones who are capable of participating. But, I take it to mean that this is the best way to keep some people so busy with these activities that they don’t have time or energy to engage in direct action that may, in fact, have more impact. I know of one woman who belonged to so many of these boards and committees that she openly told me that she was personally worn out from it and didn’t have time to attend to other aspects of her own life, let alone get involved in direct action on behalf of the broader community of people with developmental disabilities.
What people need to keep in mind is that those who have been historically excluded and victimized have never made progress through “patient” and “reasonable” measures, but through direct action and sustained struggle. They didn’t close the institutions, in Oregon or anywhere else, because of the people’s restraint and diplomacy. We didn’t achieve the Olmstead decision by voting or by being reasonable, but through litigation. Women didn’t get the vote through voting. Blacks didn’t defeat Jim Crowe through voting. And we didn’t create US democracy through gentile discourse or politely placating the ambassadors of the prevailing power personified in the King of England. How long will we listen to the counsel of patience? As demonstrated in all human and civil rights movements throughout history, this is not a situation in which we have been impatient. The neglect has gone on for centuries. We have a responsibility in the face of an obstinacy that threatens our very survival to show resolve and the belief in our own worth to end the negotiations and diplomacy. This is a situation that calls for direct action with a commitment to the difficult and sustained struggle that will ultimately free us.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Operation Cool Air Resumes
We have time to conquer nations
Time for oil excavation
Hatred, violence and terrorism
When will there be a time for love?
At this moment in time
We have a choice to make
Father God is watching while
We cause mother earth so much pain
It’s such a shame
Not enough money for
The young, the old and the poor
But for war there is always more
When will there be a time for love?
We make time for paying taxes
For paying bills and buying status
But we will pay the consequences
If we don’t make the time for love
Now’s the time to pay attention
Yes now is the time for love.
--Stevie Wonder, A time 2 love
Time for oil excavation
Hatred, violence and terrorism
When will there be a time for love?
At this moment in time
We have a choice to make
Father God is watching while
We cause mother earth so much pain
It’s such a shame
Not enough money for
The young, the old and the poor
But for war there is always more
When will there be a time for love?
We make time for paying taxes
For paying bills and buying status
But we will pay the consequences
If we don’t make the time for love
Now’s the time to pay attention
Yes now is the time for love.
--Stevie Wonder, A time 2 love
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Eunice Kennedy Shriver 1921 - 2009
Today marks the passing of one of the developmental disability's longstanding advocates. Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who was responsible for founding Special Olympics, along with championing the cause for justice and equality died at the age of 88.
Of course, I could simply go along with all that is being said about her today. That would be easy. Instead, I want to write about her no nonsense approach to civil rights on behalf of people with developmental disabilities. That's the kind of spirit that gets my juices flowing.
Eunice believed that 75-85% of people with developmental disabilities could be productive citizens with the proper supports, which was a bold proclamation to make back in the 60's. She also believed that another 10% could make smaller contributions. That works out to 85-95% of this overlooked population making their own difference in the world.
She was once quoted as saying; "I think that really the only way you change people's attitudes or behavior is to work with them. Not write papers or serve on committees. Who's going to work with the child to change him -- with the juvenile delinquent and the developmentally disabled? Who's going to teach them to swim? To catch a ball? You have to work with the person. It's quite simple, actually." Sounds about right to me.
Some early concerns about Special Olympics involved the sensitivity of the athletes. People were worried that they wouldn't be able to take losing. Eunice simply said
that she had "heard a lot of that" and that it was "a lot of baloney. "What proof have they got that as a group of people they can't take losing?" she said. "Who? Where does it come from, that idea? Somebody cries because they lose? I can tell you 50 people who cry -- I go and watch my own kids cry when they lose."
She was a real pistol.
Of course, I could simply go along with all that is being said about her today. That would be easy. Instead, I want to write about her no nonsense approach to civil rights on behalf of people with developmental disabilities. That's the kind of spirit that gets my juices flowing.
Eunice believed that 75-85% of people with developmental disabilities could be productive citizens with the proper supports, which was a bold proclamation to make back in the 60's. She also believed that another 10% could make smaller contributions. That works out to 85-95% of this overlooked population making their own difference in the world.
She was once quoted as saying; "I think that really the only way you change people's attitudes or behavior is to work with them. Not write papers or serve on committees. Who's going to work with the child to change him -- with the juvenile delinquent and the developmentally disabled? Who's going to teach them to swim? To catch a ball? You have to work with the person. It's quite simple, actually." Sounds about right to me.
Some early concerns about Special Olympics involved the sensitivity of the athletes. People were worried that they wouldn't be able to take losing. Eunice simply said
that she had "heard a lot of that" and that it was "a lot of baloney. "What proof have they got that as a group of people they can't take losing?" she said. "Who? Where does it come from, that idea? Somebody cries because they lose? I can tell you 50 people who cry -- I go and watch my own kids cry when they lose."
She was a real pistol.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
What Happened During Jury Duty?
On August 5Th, I spent most of the day at the Multnomah County Courthouse, having been summoned for Jury Duty. What happened there that day can best be described as bizarre. Without giving you information (names,etc.) that could land me in some sort of Contempt situation, let me explain what I'm talking about.
After we all (there was about 200 of us) had settled in, a Judge came into the Jury Room to explain what we should expect. The Judge seemed to go out of their way in making sure we all knew their name. I found that to be a bit strange.
It wasn't long before the clerk began reading out jurists names, and telling these panels which courtroom they should report to. Later in the morning a particularly large group (30 or so) was told to report to the Judge who had briefed us earlier. It couldn't have been more than 15 minutes later that the all returned to the Jury Room. This was surprising to me, as I couldn't figure out how these 30 people could have been interviewed so quickly.
At around 11:30 another large (30) group was called to report to the same Judge's courtroom. I was in that group. Before we got to the courtroom, we were met by the Judge's assistant in the hallway who sheepishly led us in to the room. We were assigned numbers and seats and the Judge came in. First we were told of the charges brought against the Defendant. Next, we were introduced to the defense and prosecuting attorneys. We were told that the Defendant was not in the room, and that should have no effect on our work (huh?)
Next we were asked if any of us felt like we could not be objective in hearing this case. I was surprised when one jurist raised his hand to say that someone from the earlier pool had told him something the Defendant had said aloud to their pool. Of course this was a problem. The Judge asked if anyone else had heard what the earlier jurist had said. Another 5 or 6 hands shot up!
Long story short... our pool was excused same as the first pool. But something doesn't smell right.
1) Why didn't the Judge tell the first pool to keep their mouths shut about what they'd heard from the Defendant?
2) The Judge told us in their 25+ years as an attorney and Judge, this was the first time this had happened in their courtroom. They certainly gave no indication that it was upsetting to them.
3) I'm wondering if the Defendant was a person of color. In the 200 jurists, I could identify 1 African American woman, 2 Hispanic Americans, and 3 or 4 Asian Americans. That would make for around 3-3.5% minorities. If I was a person of color, I would want that percentage MUCH higher. If I was their defense attorney, I'd want that number MUCH higher as well.
4) I wonder if this may have been some kind of test/theatrics.
All I know is that of 200 people who showed up for Jury Duty on August 5th, about 20-30 actually did something. And they wonder why people try to get out of Jury Duty.
After we all (there was about 200 of us) had settled in, a Judge came into the Jury Room to explain what we should expect. The Judge seemed to go out of their way in making sure we all knew their name. I found that to be a bit strange.
It wasn't long before the clerk began reading out jurists names, and telling these panels which courtroom they should report to. Later in the morning a particularly large group (30 or so) was told to report to the Judge who had briefed us earlier. It couldn't have been more than 15 minutes later that the all returned to the Jury Room. This was surprising to me, as I couldn't figure out how these 30 people could have been interviewed so quickly.
At around 11:30 another large (30) group was called to report to the same Judge's courtroom. I was in that group. Before we got to the courtroom, we were met by the Judge's assistant in the hallway who sheepishly led us in to the room. We were assigned numbers and seats and the Judge came in. First we were told of the charges brought against the Defendant. Next, we were introduced to the defense and prosecuting attorneys. We were told that the Defendant was not in the room, and that should have no effect on our work (huh?)
Next we were asked if any of us felt like we could not be objective in hearing this case. I was surprised when one jurist raised his hand to say that someone from the earlier pool had told him something the Defendant had said aloud to their pool. Of course this was a problem. The Judge asked if anyone else had heard what the earlier jurist had said. Another 5 or 6 hands shot up!
Long story short... our pool was excused same as the first pool. But something doesn't smell right.
1) Why didn't the Judge tell the first pool to keep their mouths shut about what they'd heard from the Defendant?
2) The Judge told us in their 25+ years as an attorney and Judge, this was the first time this had happened in their courtroom. They certainly gave no indication that it was upsetting to them.
3) I'm wondering if the Defendant was a person of color. In the 200 jurists, I could identify 1 African American woman, 2 Hispanic Americans, and 3 or 4 Asian Americans. That would make for around 3-3.5% minorities. If I was a person of color, I would want that percentage MUCH higher. If I was their defense attorney, I'd want that number MUCH higher as well.
4) I wonder if this may have been some kind of test/theatrics.
All I know is that of 200 people who showed up for Jury Duty on August 5th, about 20-30 actually did something. And they wonder why people try to get out of Jury Duty.
Friday, August 07, 2009
Is 20th Good Enough For You?
2009 State Medicaid Rankings
Vermont provides the highest quality Medicaid services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, while Mississippi provides the worst, according to United Cerebral Palsy’s report “The Case for Inclusion 2009.”
Find out where your state stands in the ranking of the 50 states and the District of Columbia:
1. Vermont
2. Arizona
3. Alaska
4. New Hampshire
5. Massachusetts
6. Michigan
7. California
8. Hawaii
9. Colorado
10. Connecticut
11. New Mexico
12. Delaware
13. Minnesota
14. New York
15. Idaho
16. Pennsylvania
17. South Carolina
18. Florida
19. Rhode Island
20. Oregon
21. New Jersey
22. Wisconsin
23. West Virginia
24. Kansas
25. Washington
26. South Dakota
27. Montana
28. Wyoming
29. Missouri
30. Oklahoma
31. Georgia
32. Maryland
33. Alabama
34. Nevada
35. Maine
36. North Carolina
37. Utah
38. Kentucky
39. Iowa
40. North Dakota
41. Virginia
42. Indiana
43. Tennessee
44. Nebraska
45. Ohio
46. Louisiana
47. Illinois
48. District of Columbia
49. Texas
50. Arkansas
51. Mississippi
Vermont provides the highest quality Medicaid services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, while Mississippi provides the worst, according to United Cerebral Palsy’s report “The Case for Inclusion 2009.”
Find out where your state stands in the ranking of the 50 states and the District of Columbia:
1. Vermont
2. Arizona
3. Alaska
4. New Hampshire
5. Massachusetts
6. Michigan
7. California
8. Hawaii
9. Colorado
10. Connecticut
11. New Mexico
12. Delaware
13. Minnesota
14. New York
15. Idaho
16. Pennsylvania
17. South Carolina
18. Florida
19. Rhode Island
20. Oregon
21. New Jersey
22. Wisconsin
23. West Virginia
24. Kansas
25. Washington
26. South Dakota
27. Montana
28. Wyoming
29. Missouri
30. Oklahoma
31. Georgia
32. Maryland
33. Alabama
34. Nevada
35. Maine
36. North Carolina
37. Utah
38. Kentucky
39. Iowa
40. North Dakota
41. Virginia
42. Indiana
43. Tennessee
44. Nebraska
45. Ohio
46. Louisiana
47. Illinois
48. District of Columbia
49. Texas
50. Arkansas
51. Mississippi
Thursday, August 06, 2009
I Almost Forgot
Oh Yeah... as mentioned umpteen times before, THIS BLOG WILL NOT PRINT ANONYMOUS COMMENTS. If you wish to see your comment published, please stick a name on it.
End of Operation Cool Air??
Today Bill and I will complete the installation of the air conditioners donated to Operation Cool Air. How do I feel about this? Honestly, my back is glad it's coming to a (temporary) close. My mind and spirit are truly grateful that we were able to alliviate the suffering of around 30-35 people through the generosity of those who donated 14 new and used air conditioners to the cause.
On the other hand, I'm feeling like we let a whole lot of other people down. There's still 2 months ahead of us where their is a real possibility for more extended, dangerous heat. What about those folks? I kid you not when I say things like PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES RUN A HIGH RISK FOR INJURY WHEN OVERHEATED. During the last heat wave seizures and uncontrolled asthma in at least 3 of these individuals was staved off by our efforts. Who knows what else we were able to prevent.
When and if the heat returns, I won't be able to sit back and feel ok about what we accomplished. I will be in your ears, in your minds, and hopefully... in your hearts.
On the other hand, I'm feeling like we let a whole lot of other people down. There's still 2 months ahead of us where their is a real possibility for more extended, dangerous heat. What about those folks? I kid you not when I say things like PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES RUN A HIGH RISK FOR INJURY WHEN OVERHEATED. During the last heat wave seizures and uncontrolled asthma in at least 3 of these individuals was staved off by our efforts. Who knows what else we were able to prevent.
When and if the heat returns, I won't be able to sit back and feel ok about what we accomplished. I will be in your ears, in your minds, and hopefully... in your hearts.
Taxes and The People
I don't want to spend too much time on this issue, but in fairness, I believe both sides of this important story should be told. First, we have the small businesses "ovewhelmingly" opposing the tax hikes proposed by the Oregon Legislature. I don't know why these small businesses would do so. I'm a small business, and I don't oppose them.
Then you have Oregonians in general, being in favor of the tax hikes. That's where I fit in. I believe it's time that businesses of all sizes pay their fair share of taxes in Oregon.
Then you have Oregonians in general, being in favor of the tax hikes. That's where I fit in. I believe it's time that businesses of all sizes pay their fair share of taxes in Oregon.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Did You Expect Something Different?
As I mentioned in the Statesman Journal a few months back, closing the school for the Blind was a bad idea from the beginning. The money saved by the sale will be gone in no time, while these blind students will be left with the same education in public schools that brought them to the OSB in the first place.
As a reader of this article who goes by the handle of Blazerfan74 says in response to it... "I agree completely. As a special education teacher, I can attest to the fact that I, and pretty much all of my colleagues, would be ill-equipped to provide the services a student like this would require. This move by the state is a huge mistake. I hope this student nails the state in due process."
Now, a student/family is challenging this decision. I too hope they kick the state's hiney. From the AP...
----------------------------------
Student challenges closure of blind school
by The Associated Press
Friday July 31, 2009,
SALEM -- A student has filed a legal complaint with the state Department of Education that says the Oregon School for the Blind must remain open to comply with federal special education laws.
The student, who lives in the North Clackamas School District, says in the complaint she will not receive an adequate education after the Salem boarding school closes in September.
It is the first such complaint since state lawmakers voted in June to close the school that has been operating since the 19th century.
Supporters of the closure said students will get a better education for less money in their home districts. The student, however, contends in her complaint that the new individual education plan she has been offered by the North Clackamas school district is unacceptable because it offers fewer hours and fewer types of specialized instruction.
The complaint requests that the student continue at the Oregon School for the Blind until a resolution in reached. The school, on eight acres near Salem Hospital, could be sold after it closes Sept. 1.
Federal education law entitles students to continue to receive the same educational services as they had under a previous individual education plan until a dispute over a new plan can be settled.
Jake Weigler, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Education, said nothing about the complaint would require keeping the state school open. "The (education plan) outlines the services that are to be provided, but not necessarily the location," Weigler said.
He said the state will try to mediate a solution acceptable to the family and the school district before ordering a formal hearing. Possible solutions include having the school district provide more services, having some services provided by another source or placing the student in a residential school for the blind in another state.
The student, who is visually impaired and mentally disabled, has attended the Salem school for nearly two years. She was receiving transition services, which helps students prepare for life after school.
Weigler said 28 students are transitioning away this summer as the school closes. He said 20 have reached agreements on how they will be educated.
-- The Associated Press
As a reader of this article who goes by the handle of Blazerfan74 says in response to it... "I agree completely. As a special education teacher, I can attest to the fact that I, and pretty much all of my colleagues, would be ill-equipped to provide the services a student like this would require. This move by the state is a huge mistake. I hope this student nails the state in due process."
Now, a student/family is challenging this decision. I too hope they kick the state's hiney. From the AP...
----------------------------------
Student challenges closure of blind school
by The Associated Press
Friday July 31, 2009,
SALEM -- A student has filed a legal complaint with the state Department of Education that says the Oregon School for the Blind must remain open to comply with federal special education laws.
The student, who lives in the North Clackamas School District, says in the complaint she will not receive an adequate education after the Salem boarding school closes in September.
It is the first such complaint since state lawmakers voted in June to close the school that has been operating since the 19th century.
Supporters of the closure said students will get a better education for less money in their home districts. The student, however, contends in her complaint that the new individual education plan she has been offered by the North Clackamas school district is unacceptable because it offers fewer hours and fewer types of specialized instruction.
The complaint requests that the student continue at the Oregon School for the Blind until a resolution in reached. The school, on eight acres near Salem Hospital, could be sold after it closes Sept. 1.
Federal education law entitles students to continue to receive the same educational services as they had under a previous individual education plan until a dispute over a new plan can be settled.
Jake Weigler, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Education, said nothing about the complaint would require keeping the state school open. "The (education plan) outlines the services that are to be provided, but not necessarily the location," Weigler said.
He said the state will try to mediate a solution acceptable to the family and the school district before ordering a formal hearing. Possible solutions include having the school district provide more services, having some services provided by another source or placing the student in a residential school for the blind in another state.
The student, who is visually impaired and mentally disabled, has attended the Salem school for nearly two years. She was receiving transition services, which helps students prepare for life after school.
Weigler said 28 students are transitioning away this summer as the school closes. He said 20 have reached agreements on how they will be educated.
-- The Associated Press
Operation Cool Air 3
Yesterday was eventful, to say the least. 6 more new air conditioners were donated to Operation Cool Air! Here's how that one worked.
Standard TV and Appliance donated the air conditioners to United Way, who in turn donated said air conditioners to Operation Cool Air. Thank you United Way! And thank you Standard TV and Appliance!
Tommorrow, along with my partner in cool (Bill West from the ARC), we'll set up 3 air conditioners. On Tuesday we'll install the other 3. Sometime during the week, we'll also install 3 used donated air conditioners that are back at Bill's shop. That will make 14 total so far. I'm very excited!
Making folks with developmental disabilities comfortable in their own homes is a real treat. My goal is still to get an air conditioner to every person with developmental disabilities who needs one, but doesn't have the resources to purchase one themselves.
Cool like dat!
Standard TV and Appliance donated the air conditioners to United Way, who in turn donated said air conditioners to Operation Cool Air. Thank you United Way! And thank you Standard TV and Appliance!
Tommorrow, along with my partner in cool (Bill West from the ARC), we'll set up 3 air conditioners. On Tuesday we'll install the other 3. Sometime during the week, we'll also install 3 used donated air conditioners that are back at Bill's shop. That will make 14 total so far. I'm very excited!
Making folks with developmental disabilities comfortable in their own homes is a real treat. My goal is still to get an air conditioner to every person with developmental disabilities who needs one, but doesn't have the resources to purchase one themselves.
Cool like dat!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Operation Cool Air 2
Just got home after installing 3 more air conditioners for folks with developmental disabilities in Portland. I feel GOOD. These were new air conditioners donated to the project from United Way, partnering with Standard TV and Appliances. It's only July 31, so I'm thinking these will be invaluable during the month of August.
It's not tooo late to get involved silent readers. Simply email me with the info. for your new (yeah, you heard me; NEW) or used air conditioner to make a very important difference in someone's life. If it was your family member, you'd want them to be cool during the heat, right?
It's not tooo late to get involved silent readers. Simply email me with the info. for your new (yeah, you heard me; NEW) or used air conditioner to make a very important difference in someone's life. If it was your family member, you'd want them to be cool during the heat, right?
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