DAWG Oregon

10,115

2012-01-17T09:03:00.000-08:00

Wow! I just saw that I've had 10,115 visits to my blog! That's a lot, even with repeat offenders. I won't go into the fact of how few comments there are in relationship... instead I'll bask in the knowledge that so many people read/have read my posts!

"A Whole Nother Level"

2012-01-15T10:50:00.000-08:00

Let me be perfectly clear... "nother" is not a word in the English language! "Mother", is in fact a word. As is the word "another". But those who use the word "nother" are simply talking trash.

Recently, I've heard a few people describing someone's basketball game or workout as "going to a whole nother level". This really bothers me! Why can't they just say the word "higher", as in "His game has gone to a higher level". Or they could say "to the next level".

This may all seem trivial to the reader(s) of my blog. They may feel as though there are bigger fish to fry in the world right now... I don't care! I had something that has been troubling me lately, and felt a need to get it off my chest before nother day goes by!

"It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times"

2011-12-31T13:13:00.000-08:00

I lost it in the toilet paper aisle at the grocery store this morning. I was minding my own business, looking for a 6 pack of double rolls, and singing along quietly to Annie Lennox' "Why?", which was being played on the store's sound system. I'd just passed a black woman who looked to be about the same age as me, and who was also singing along with the song. Though she appeared to be somewhat dissheveled and probably poor, she held her head up as she sang.

As the song came to an end, I was struck by the closing lines...
"These are the contents of my head
And these are the years that we have spent
And this is what they represent
And this is how I feel
Do you know how I feel ?
'cause i don't think you know how I feel
I don't think you know what I feel
I don't think you know what I feel
You don't know what I feel"
And I began to sob. The words I spoke through my tears were directed at America. I said "Look at what you've done to me America!"
I thought about the direction my country is trying to take with the Occupy Movement. People finally standing up and shouting "Enough is enough!" I thought about the other direction, of Corporate greed, a corrupt Supreme Court, and a government intent on causing suffering for the majority of its' people.

This has been a VERY powerful year for myself, and many others. I don't expect anything less from 2012. It's truly been, and will continue to be, exactly what Charles Dickens and Annie Lennox wrote about.

Hear About Disability

2011-12-06T15:14:00.001-08:00

I had the experience of deafness in one of my ears yesterday. Through this, I was able to see the connection to disability that many people have to deal with on a regular basis. I feel the need to write about it, and some thoughts I have.

It started when I finished up my shower. I'd done my customary of allowing some water to go into my ears to rinse out any reaining shampoo or conditioner. Though I go through this same process every day, this time was different. My left ear remained clogged up. No big deal... figured I'd just q-tip my ears when I was done.

That didn't work out too well. As soon as I began on the left ear, it seemed to close up completely! I continued for another minute on it, then gave up, hoping it was temporary. No such luck! After an hour I stood up, and felt disoriented. My balance was messed up!

I went to speak with my wife about the situation. Although she has a mid-range kinda voice, I had to ask her to speak up as I only had 1/2 my hearing. She went to the computer and came up with some ideas. She found "swimmers' ear" which made sense as the whole thing began in the shower.

First she told me to put a little alcohol in my ear. Didn't do anything except burn slightly. Next we tried a heating pad, laying down on my side and putting my ear on it. No good. I was feeling frustrated and cranky, having to ask her to repeat 50% of what she was saying. Next I hopped up and down on my left foot, shaking my head up and down sideways. Nope. Eventually I drove to the pharmacy and bought some drops for swimmers' ear. By the time I got home I was in a REALLY bad mood, having stood in a long, slow, line to buy the drops.

Shortly after getting back home, I found myself picking a fight with Suzanne, like it was her fault! I followed the directions to treating my ear with the medicine, and after an hour... nothing! I decided that since I wasn't experiencing pain, I'd take a break, and get back on the case in the morning.

Today I woke up still unable to hear. Honestly, I was kind of panicky. First I went to my Facebook page, asking for any help people might have. Some of the suggestions were things I'd already tried, so we decided to treat the problem as if it was an ear wax issue. Suzanne dripped some warm olive oil in my ear. It began to tickle my inner ear as it got past/through (?) the ear wax After a while we rinsed the ear with water, which scared me, but it worked!

When I was finally able to hear again, I began thinking of the deaf people I've known over the years, with my nephew Joseph leading my thinking. He's deaf in one ear as well as autistic. And like many of the other folks I've known he tends to get FRUSTRATED, and CRANKY sometimes. In fact, he has a problem in answering questions with a "yeah" whether or not he understands or HEARS what people ask him. Hmmm... once again I've been blessed with a n extremely VALUABLE lesson. Life is good!

Question

2011-11-09T15:45:00.000-08:00

Isn't being anti war but pro veteran sort of like being anti abortion and dating an abortinist?

Ben Stiller V. The World

2011-11-08T18:39:00.000-08:00

I've decided to give Ben Stiller a chance as a serious actor, as I've disliked his cheesey attempts at making fun of people with disabilities. The film I'm talking about is titled "Greenburg" with him in the title role of a guy with... bad luck?

Hard to say as he totally sucks as a serious actor who can do more than make fun of other people. He looks pretty odd in a film that has not done much to look anything beyond weak and silly. Does he have a partner? Or is Ben a "confirmed" bachelor?

Well, anyway, I wouldn't reccomend Greenburg (I guess no one else has either) to anyone who thinks Ben Stiller is any thing beyond a clown. But he tries occasionally...

"Can You Hear Me Now?"

2011-11-08T08:55:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching a movie called "Full Signal". It tells the story of how cell phones are more than likely causing health problems all around the world, and it got me thinking. The idea of "safe" radiation is akin to the idea of "clean" coal energy. Both are lies.

As autism continues to grow at an alarming rate, could it be radiation that's causing this phenomena? The frequency has now grown to 1 in 100 children. And they are saying that the incidence of brain cancer in kids under 18 is at its' highest level EVER. Coincidences? Maybe, but I have my doubts.

Telecomunications is REALLY BIG business! T-Mobile, Quest, Comcast, the list goes on and on. These Telecoms are constantly competing for your money. You can find them everywhere, from Nascar to Washington DC. In effect, they are some of the fastest growing corporations in the world today. Do you think they care about you or your family's well being?? You may want to think twice.

I'm not saying I don't believe cell phones have saved many lives, and there is not a need for them in emergency situations. What I am saying is that there needs to be IMMEDIATE research done to find out exactly how harmful they (and their accompanying towers) are to human beings. If we wait another 10 or 15 years without doing so, we'll find out any way, but is it truly wise to take that approach?

My Wife's Accomplishments (so far)

2011-10-21T17:43:00.000-07:00

I'm so proud of Suzanne. She has accomplished SO MUCH in making the world a better place! Some of the reasons I love her like I do...

1.) When my autistic nephew came to live with us, she not only took upon herself the role of her mother, but she KICKED ASS in making sure he was WELL TAKEN care of. Both by us, and his current situation.

2.) She took it upon HERSELF to advocate for ALL kids in Special Education being taken advantage of in Portland Public Schools, and caused some positive change to occur.

3.) She also advocated and became VERY active in making education meaningful for ALL students in PPS.

4.) She took it upon herself to prove that people who it was decided were unable to read, were IN FACT ABLE to be taught to go from 2nd to 6th grade level in a matter of 1 year.

5.)She has been a leader in speaking out about injustice around racial, economical,and all around EQUITY in the city of Portland for the past 10 years.

6.)She has been a forceful voice in the attempt to end war in the US, and bring peace to the world.

7.) She aint done yet, and I'm the luckiest man in the WORLD!!!

2011-10-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about what does and doesn't make sense in the US and beyond recently. for posterity's sake, I'm gonna write some thoughts here.

When one of your complaints is that you believe your government is unfair, why would you join with them in attempting to make life fair?

If you think that using the words "nigger", "faggot", and "kike" are bad examples of speech, why would you use the word "retard", thinking that's ok?

How could you possibly think that using resources for any reason before ending hunger and homelessness makes sense?

How can you call yourself (and believe) that you are a Christian and suggest that Capitol Punishment is justifiable?

How can Corporations be treated as individual persons without making sure they have personal responsibilities as well?

How can someone be so hypocritical as to believe cronyism sucks when their whole life has been nothing beyond cronyism?

Why is it ok to bleed 99% of Americans and prop up the wealthiest 1%?

How do these people sleep at night???

A Plea For My Life

2011-09-30T15:48:00.000-07:00

Dear President Obama,

Now that you've decided you can order the death of an American Citizen without any kind of trial or due process, I'm writng to you in case you decide to take a hit out on me. I'd rather die from something more exciting.

I know that you and I have seen things differently since a year after you took on the Pesidency. I think we should feed the poor and house the homeless, while you have fed the wallets of billionaires, and had my country at war in Afghanistan for the past 10 years. I get that. I just want you to know I'm not a terrorist.

I, also had nothing to do with the suspected crimes that my fellow citizen was killed for. I have no plans to do so in the future either. All I want to do is live out my years without the fear that I could be your NEXT target.

Regards,
David McDonald

Motivation to Work

2011-09-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

I've been listening to a federal hearing on people with disabilities and employment. I LOVE this sort of thing! A panel of "experts" discussing best practice and "thinking outside the box". I don't consider myself to be an expert on this topic, but as usual I have my own opinion(s). I'm also not hesitant to express them.

A blind doctor just stated that there's a presumption that people with disabilities are looked upon as "broken". Now THAT'S something I've believed for a while. Seems like people who don't spend much time around people with disabilities presume quite a bit. They either pity people with disabilities or look down on them. They are JUST PEOPLE! They don't need (or often want) to be looked at as "special", they need to be treated the same way non-disabled people are treated. It's pretty simple.

When my nephew moved in with Suzanne and I in 2000, he seemed abnormally "spoiled". I think that everyone who had been involved with him, up to his 16 years, had feared his autism. I knew that I was going to have to be firm with him if I hoped to assist him moving from childhood to adulthood, as I had promised my sister before she died. That meant I was going to have "expectations" that he'd be able to learn. Initially, it was a serious struggle for both of us. He was very resistant to change, and we bumped heads on several occasions. I spent a lot of time seeking ways to motivate him.

I found that the concept of being considered a "grown up" was something that appealed to him, so I began praising him when he chose to do something I considered grown up. It was a successful, if not easy, strategy. He began fishing for "grown up"s from me quite regularly. I had to tell him certain things he was doing were things everyone does, and didn't warrant praise. He started figuring out what I was trying to get through to him! He began shaving, putting on deodorant, brushing his teeth, and showering with the cuing of an alarm clock. Can you believe that??

When we were finished helping him become a man, it was time for him to do what all young adults do... move out! He was almost 21 years old, had spent the last year and a half at Sylvan Learning Center (if you want more info. about that, key word "Due Process" on this page), learning to read, write, and refine his math skills. We began a search for the right living situation for him, finding it in a Foster Care home with 4 other guys his own age.

Now came the whole employment piece. Joseph had never had a real job. Would he be able to understand the whole concept of working? He had proved to me that he was capable of doing MORE THAN what I thought he could, so the answer had to be "yes". He started out working at Goodwill. It wasn't a perfect setting, but they have a long history of working with people who are "differently abled". In order to find a solid motivator I wanted to give the idea of working some serious value. I settled on TRAVEL as the motivator. I told him if he worked hard and followed the rules, he'd be able to take trips. After he'd gotten a few paychecks, I set him up to go to a baseball game in Seattle. He loved it!

Using his new motivator, within a year he became a valued employee at Goodwill. Though he was being paid piece rate (which is really a rip-off), he was till doing better than minimum wage. Since he started at Goodwill he's been to Nashville, Vegas, Memphis, Mexico, Arizona, California twice, Alaska by rail, Hawaii, Greece, Missouri, and is signed up for Portugal next spring. Whenever I speak with anyone from the travel company (Trips, Inc. out of Eugene, Or.), they tell me he's their favorite traveler. Now he makes around $380 every 2 weeks, working 20 hours a week, and is one of the best workers in the system. Not bad for a guy with autism.

On The 9/11 Anniversary

2011-09-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

Rather than seeing myself as a citizen of the United States, I see myself a citizen of the Planet Earth. That may not make sense to some, but I could have been born anywhere. The fact that I've made it to 55 in America, instead of starving in Africa as a child, or catching an incurable disease at 20 in India, bears my thinking out.

That's why the whole renewed fervor around patriotism, as we near the 10th year since 9/11/01 is hard for me to wrap my head around. When one considers that every 9.62 days, there is an equivalent amount of casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan as September 11th. I mean Americans aren't "better" or "more important" than other people in the world. I find that I want to distance myself from the people who want to make this upcoming anniversary something larger than life.

Guess I've always been this way; believing that a candle light vigil should be going on every 9.62 days for all the people who have died in recent wars. Wars started by the very same people selling us the notion that we should care more about ourselves than "them".

Little Poem For The Day

2011-08-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

When politicians tell me what I want to hear,
I can't bring myself to clap any more.
When I watch a Documentary proving corruption,
I can't bring myself to clap at the end.
When did this resignation take over?

When I hear of apparent good news in the news,
Now my first thought is about liars and cover ups.
Negative truth... I'm a Realist
Skies ARE falling, whether or not you believe it.
I now crave jade.

What Kills Me

2011-08-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

After all the years of writing this blog
What kills me is
The people who read this blog as if
They don't read it.

Are you proud of yourself
For being a voyeur of truth?
Do you wish you had the nuts
To say what I say?
Are you simply afraid?

You have gotten your 15 minutes
Of vommit.

You have given
your 15 minutes of fear
How DOES THAT FEEL?

I will never "go away"...sorry
You willALWAYS see me in all your lies
And then...
You will always be unable to deny it
Within yourself
So sayeth Magenta

Beyond The Obvious

2011-07-29T12:19:00.000-07:00

I was recently asked to write about how a person with a disability might be able to get their needs met living in a rural community that doesn't have much for resources. I was instructed to think in terms of giving advice to an individual on what they could do; with a focus on autism. The idea is to use what I and others submit as a training tool. Here's what I wrote, with a few changes for clarification sake...

Beyond The Obvious

For all your own good reasons, you've chosen to live in rural America, away from the city, where getting your needs met wouldn't be nearly as difficult as what you're looking at. There's no reason to panic if you or someone who knows you is able to see "beyond the obvious". Always remember it's not you or your disability that makes life tricky, it's a world that has long neglected the idea of including EVERYONE as an equal opportunity participant in the community. Throughout history people with disabilities have been looked upon as second class citizens. Though things have slowly improved, I believe we still have a long way to go.

Of course, you'll want to be tied into some real advocacy in your new environment. There are agencies and individuals who are well paid to be there for you, but this can be very challenging. Many people who claim to be disability advocates, really are not. They may simply see you as part of their job. Look for passion! Look for people who understand the disability racket, and have experience in taking on the status quo. Just because someone holds some sort of title, doesn't mean they have YOUR best interests at heart! You don't want to learn this lesson the hard way, so always make sure you know the person(s), and their intentions going in. ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS. If you do this thoroughly, and take this task seriously, you'll be much better off in the long run.

What's really important is fully understanding how important it is to educate people on how your disability can be their reward. Many people have an inner need to feel like they're making a positive effect in the world. These are the same people who find reward in doing things that help their neighbors. This is not about pity, it's about ALLOWING people to be as great as they can be. Refusing people the opportunity to be helpful, is no different than people refusing you the opportunity to participate. Live and let live.

It's equally important that you realize many people are fearful of stepping away from the comfort of familiarity. When people have someone they can talk to who experienced the same situation that they did, it makes them that much more comfortable. It's wise to have more than 1 person assisting you. Not doing so causes folks to wonder if they did/said the right thing. If they lose enough of their self confidence, they will likely retreat, and you will lose whatever support you were getting from them. If they have someone to talk to they are more likely to feel reassured, and are less likely to retreat. This is a good reason to believe there's "strength in numbers". There's nothing like a "team" effort.

I'd like to tell you about a short documentary I watched recently. The title is "Picking up Butch", and it deals with a man in his 60's who has cerebral palsy. He lives in the relatively small town of Middlebury Vermont; population, 8000. Because he is physically compromised, he uses a wheel chair. His arms and hands also contribute to his personal challenges. He grew up in Middlebury, where he became a big fan of the University's football and basketball programs, as well as the college and students themselves. Getting to the games was a major difficulty for him as a child. Now, at 63 and living in a nursing home it would be even more difficult for him, except for one thing. Butch has earned the love and respect of the entire student body!

Where he lives is what he calls a "boring" place.Most of the other residents are in their 70's and 80's. What's most important to Butch is getting to the games, and hanging out with the younger students. As the title of the film suggests, each home game day, students come to the nursing home, pick him up, and take him to the games themselves. It's a tradition that has held for 50 years. Somehow the information about Butch, his physical needs, his mild fear of being in a van, and his love for what happens at the school have been passed down from class to class over the years. He is totally a crowd favorite, almost like he's on the team himself. Everybody knows Butch! It's all about the relationships he's established in the past 50 years with people who want to do good things. It's not only about sports either. He's gotten his equivalency diploma with the assistance and tutoring of a non athlete. Butch is not any kind of mascot, he is accepted as having a seat with everyone else.

I guess the story of Butch and how he and his disability have enriched the lives of so many others is not only inspiring, but shows me that with some "beyond the obvious" thinking you can thrive, living in a rural area. Some strategies that come to mind involve getting out in the community where people begin to recognize you. Smaller communities make it easier for people to become familiar with you, and as I said earlier, familiarity brings about comfort.

Look for a college! There's usually some kind of formal adult education happening in every part of the country. Check out the fire department! It's always a good idea to let them know when you move into a new community, especially if you have physical challenges. Who knows? Maybe you'll find a new friend there. If you're comfortable, visit a church! A cafe! Wherever you can feel relaxed and be yourself. If you can, introduce yourself to people. If that's something you're unable to do, have someone with you who can, and is comfortable in doing so. My thinking is that if you are out in the sticks, you're going to need to rattle some branches in order to be noticed. Share (with those who seem interested) what sort of support you need. You don't need to ask them to provide the support, but it's fine to discuss your needs with others, if you're comfortable doing it.

Generally speaking, people who live in the country (as opposed to city) are a more open and friendly people. Once they feel comfortable with you, they'd likely give you the shirt off their back. You're also likely to be near something not usually found in the city. Farms where they have horses. Not all people like horses, but many do. Developing a personal relationship with a horse and their owner could give you many hours of satisfaction, while being therapeutic at the same time. Rural areas also are less stressful. The sounds and smells, are much more relaxing than the sounds and smells of the city. If you are a bit of a high strung individual, just being in nature can often help you feel relaxed. Your biggest issue will be in figuring out how to get around. There's often lots of miles in between places you may want to go.

Transportation in rural places can often be sparse. Developing relationships can be very helpful in this area. At the risk of sounding redundant, I'll say it again. It's all about the relationships when you live in a rural area. You really do need to depend on community! So does everyone else who lives near you. It's a different lifestyle and you, along with the people who support you, need to keep that in the forefront of your mind. Reaching out to another human is good for you AND them. It's a win/win situation.

If you can tell people your story, they'll likely take an interest in you and probably want to spend more time getting to know you on a deeper level. That is why I feel so strongly about making YOURSELF a valued part of the community. Overcoming injustice and/or intolerance can be a full time job. If you don't do it, who will?

Another option is starting something up yourself, and inviting others to participate. If you need help in accomplishing this, ask for it! Look for peers with and without disabilities, and become friends with them. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised to discover they have similar needs or wants as you. It's about being "out there", participating in your own life. You may also discover that there is grant money available to get something going. You'll never know unless you ask.

At this point I feel it's important to let you know a very important fact... You Are Not Alone!! If you're choosing to live alone, it's critical that you don't isolate at home. Many people choose to live in rural areas for several reasons. Whatever yours may be, always remember that isolating yourself leads to loneliness, self doubt, and ultimately depression. It may be difficult doing some of the strategies I'm suggesting here, but in the long run, you'll find success if you just keep on trying. I'm aware that all I'm writing may be a bit overwhelming to you, but it's going to take some work to make things come together.

Here's another key thought for you... Disability Rights are, in fact, Civil Rights. The Americans with Disabilities Act is something you'll want to hang on to, living rurally. In fact, if you're someone who likes to read, you may want to study the ADA and the Olmstead Decision. These documents can be both useful and important in your life. There may come a time where you'll need to have some legal assistance as you work to create the life you want. I say this because you need to protect your rights. Before you resort to the ADA for solutions, it's a good idea to see if you can work things out through a civil conversation with whoever may be holding you back. They may be unaware that they're stepping on your right(s), and sometimes a chat can take care of things. If that doesn't work, you may want to seek legal advice. You might want to avoid being characterized as a malcontent or lawsuit happy by trying to deal with problems outside the courtroom if possible.

Speaking of reading, the library can be a good free resource for you. You'll find a wealth of information while making yourself visible to tother folks in your community. Libraries can serve for both serious studying and recreation. They are generally quiet places, so you'll find a peaceful environment when you go there. In addition to the traditional books, libraries often lend out DVD's, have internet access, computer games, and magazines. You'll also probably come into contact with a community bulletin board, which will give you ideas of other things you can do where you live. A good library can be like a good friend!

If you're able to work, you just might make some friends while bringing some cash into your life. Find out what sort of job assistance you are eligible for. Often times you can find a "job developer" to help you find a job, and the state might pay for this service. If you have trouble doing the work at first a "job coach" may be just what you need. They teach you the job and help you work on becoming independent in the workplace. Living in the country, job opportunities will probably be somewhat limited, so be sure to set your sights realistically. You can often grow into liking a job that you dislike initially.

So now you have my ideas about what you can do to thrive in a rural area. There may even be more, but this should be a good starting point. Just remember to always use your imagination and to try to think (and see) "beyond the obvious". Become acquainted with the people around you. You'll do just fine!

Why We Went Into Iraq

2011-07-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

Little Timmy tugs on his mother's apron as she makes the bed. He looks up at her and asks; "Mommy, why are our soldiers fighting in Iraq?" Mommy thinks for a few seconds and responds. "Well Timmy,as Donald Rumsfeld once put it..."

"There are things that we know. And there are known unknowns. That is to say there are things we now know that we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns that we do not know we do not know. Simply because you do not have evidence something exists, doesn't mean that you have evidence that it doesn't exist." "And that's why our soldiers are fighting in Iraq son."

Little Hitlers

2011-07-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

It seems to me that there is a lot of effort that goes into making Adolf Hitler look crazier than he may have, in fact, been. Almost 70 years after he's gone, some writers on occasion come up with articles similar to the one that follows what I'm writing here.

No doubt about it, Hitler was an evil man. He had it in for Jews, blacks, people with disabilities, gay people, and anyone else he felt superior to. He was the poster boy for intolerance and bigotry at its' finest. But, is he alone?

If Hitler's mind took him to the extremes you hear and read about, does that make our much smaller, subtle, and usually secretive beliefs about other people more palatable? Is that why people want to continually portray Hitler as this larger than life madman, that we cannot identify with? Is it possible that there is a multitude of "little Hitlers" among us, and we just don't want to see it?

Most of the people I know, both able bodied and disabled, refuse to admit there is something wrong in the way people with disabilities are looked at. It's eerily similar for black people, and if that were UNTRUE, you'd see equality in housing opportunities, employment opportunities, and treatment by the police/court system.

Truth is, if we can focus on people (like Hitler) who blatantly show disdain for those they feel superior to, it gives the rest of us a pass to continue looking down our own noses at people WE feel superior to.

From yesterdays' New York Times...

Hitler’s Talking Dogs

By MAUREEN DOWD

Published: July 12, 2011

WASHINGTON

Times Topic: Adolf Hitler

At this late date, when we believe we know absolutely everything about Adolf Hitler, could it be that he was even crazier than we thought?

From Caligula to Nero to Qaddafi, dictators are often not just cruel and evil, but lunatics. It’s very rare to find a rational dictator. Absolute power deranges them and gives them delusions and fantasies. So we shouldn’t be surprised by news reports suggesting the Führer was batty beyond even Mel Brooks’s satire.

First, an MI5 document was declassified in London in April, revealing megalomaniacal schemes for Nazis to rise again if they lost the war by scattering sleeper agents around the world; and by killing Allied officers with poison infused in sausages, chocolate, Nescafé coffee, cigarettes, schnapps and Bayer aspirin.

German agents said they were instructed to first offer Allied targets a cigarette treated by Nazi scientists to give the smoker a headache, then finish the job with a poison aspirin that would kill within 10 minutes.

Secret weapons included a pellet that would emit a fatal vapor when heated by cigarette ash; poison for books, desks and door handles; a tablet of exploding powder that would activate when placed next to a wet glass; and a belt buckle with a silver swastika that concealed a .32 pistol that could fire two shots.

“The Werewolf organization, a network of Nazi saboteurs who would fight to create a Fourth Reich in the event Hitler’s empire crumbled, were to leave tins of instant coffee powder and other foods laced with toxins where they could be found by British and American soldiers,” The Daily Mail of London wrote, describing the declassified dossier.

Four German spies captured after they parachuted into France in 1945, including one woman, spilled some of the assassination plots. Female agents were given purse mirrors with microbes hidden inside them, so they might infect top Allied occupiers with deadly bacteria.

British military officials at the time considered the agents’ stories “somewhat fantastic,” but were worried enough to prohibit “the eating of German food or the smoking of German cigarettes” by advancing Allied troops.

A new book, “Amazing Dogs,” by Dr. Jan Bondeson, a senior lecturer at Cardiff University School of Medicine in Wales, reveals that Hitler supported a German school that tried to teach large, muscular mastiffs to “talk” to humans. This story set off a panting spate of “Heel Hitler,” “Furred Reich,” “Wooffan SS” and “Arf Wiedersehen” headlines in British tabloids and plenty of claims that Hitler was “barking mad.”

“There were some very strange experiments going on in wartime Germany, with regard to dog-human communication,” Bondeson writes, wondering: “Were the Nazis trying to develop a breed of super-intelligent canine storm troopers, capable of communicating with their human masters of the Herrenvolk?”

He discovered a 1943 Nazi magazine piece about the headmistress of the canine school, a Frau Schmitt, claiming that some of the dogs spoke a few words. “At a Nazi study course, a talking dog was once asked ‘Who is Adolf Hitler?’ and replied ‘Mein Führer!” Bondeson writes of these claims, noting that “the Nazis, who had such conspicuous disregard for human rights, felt more strongly about the animals.”

Nazi propaganda dwelled on Hitler as a dog lover. He owned two German shepherds named Bella and Blondi. He tested a cyanide capsule on Blondi and killed her just before he committed suicide.

The Nazis took their dogs seriously. As The Guardian reported in January, the Nazi government was so furious about a dog in Finland that had been trained to imitate Hitler with a Nazi salute that the foreign office in Berlin started “an obsessive campaign” to destroy its owner.

Bondeson writes that in Germany in the early 20th century, some people had a strong belief in the potential of super-intelligent animals. He said that along with Thomas Mann and Hermann Hesse, an Airedale terrier named Rolf was considered one of the leading German intellectuals of the time. Rolf’s owner said she taught him his own alphabet with a system of taps of his paw on a board and, Bondeson notes drolly, “he successfully dabbled in mathematics, ethics, religion and philosophy.”

The latest wacky Hitler story comes from the British author Graeme Donald. He says that, while researching a military book, he stumbled across a story that Hitler and Heinrich Himmler were so worried about German soldiers’ getting sexual diseases from French hookers that they cooked up a plan for soldiers to carry small blow-up blond, blue-eyed dolls called “gynoids” in their backpacks to use as sex “comforters.”

Donald said Himmler ordered 50 dolls but the soldiers were too embarrassed to carry them. “In the end the idea fizzled out,” Donald told The Sun, “and the place where they were made and all the dolls were destroyed in the bombing of Dresden.”

On The Whole "Friend" Thing

2011-06-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

They say; "To have a friend, you've got to be a friend." This speaks to giving of yourself rather than expecting another to give to you first. I get that. For much of my life, I've tried to get beyond my own hang-ups and insecurities, in order to cultivate real relationships. It feels somewhat risky in the moment, but for the most part, I've found this to be true. It often works out.

However; I'm not hesitant to say this may not always be the case. There are people in this world who behave as though they want to be your friend, but then something unknown happens to bring the whole "friends" thing to a hault. It's a shame, but sometimes that's what happens. Some folks just don't have the courage to tell you if you inadvertantly insulted, angered, or put them off for any number of reasons. They just don't have it within themselves to do so.

What to do... What to do...? I think developing a well balanced view of "self" is probably the answer. Valuing yourself as much (possibly more?) as you do others. Not placing yourself above them, or feeling superior, but realizing that if you're everyone's friend, there's a good chance you're selling yourself short (or even "out"!). Thus sayeth the crazed philosopher

At Least NOW They're Awake

2011-05-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

Around 3 years ago I was involved with the Coaltion Against hate Crimes here in Portland, Oregon. I was there on behalf of people with disabilities, as I recognized a need which wasn't being addressed by the broader disability community. I also knew that people with disabilities are one of the most vulnerable populations for being subjected to hate crimes. However; after attending 6 or 7 of the meetings, I noticed there was very little concern coming from two of the most senior members of this group. they seemed to feel that what I'd been describing as a serious problem, was not much more than nuisance behavior. Irritating, but nothing to really worry about. This attitude really pissed me off, and after giving these two a piece of my mind, I stopped attending their meetings.

I have continued to recieve meeting minutes and agendas in email since then. Finally, what I knew was true, has come to the forefront of the groups' concerns. Of course they had to hear it elsewhere, but who cares? What follows is some info. they included in April's meeting miutes.

The Invisible Hate Crime

Hate crimes against people with disabilities are widespread and often involve extraordinary levels of sadism. The first step in combating these shameful incidents is an acknowledgment that they exist.

By Jack Levin

Few Americans are aware of the special vulnerability of people with emotional, intellectual and physical disabilities to extraordinary violence.

In February 2010, Jennifer Daugherty, a 30-year-old, mentally challenged woman from Greensburg, Pa., was brutally murdered by six people pretending to be her good friends. Holding her hostage for days, the perpetrators allegedly tortured Daugherty, shaving her head, binding her with Christmas decorations, beating her with a towel rack and vacuum cleaner, feeding her detergent, urine and various medications and then forcing her to write a suicide note, before stabbing her to death.

The sadistic attack on Daugherty was anything but unique. Still, few Americans are aware of the special vulnerability of people with emotional, intellectual and physical disabilities to extraordinary violence. Thinking of crimes inspired by hate or bias, most people conjure an image of a burning cross on the lawn of a black family, or swastikas scrawled on the walls of a synagogue. They may recall the name of James Byrd, the black American in Jasper, Texas, who was dragged for miles to his death behind a pickup truck by three white supremacists, or they might think of Matthew Shepard, the gay college student who was viciously beaten and then tied to a fence, left to die in the desert outside of Laramie, Wyo.

But the same Americans may have legal and emotional “tunnel vision,” not seeing a hate crime in the brutal murder of Jennifer Daugherty, even though she was apparently singled out only because of her intellectual deficit.Thirty-two states have hate crime statutes to protect people who have disabilities, but 18 states still do not. At the end of October 2009, President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, bringing a uniform approach to the protection of hate crime victims that was not possible when matters were left to the states. The Shepard/Byrd legislation expanded federal hate crimes law to include offenses motivated by a victim’s disability, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity. In addition, the new law eliminated a requirement that hate crime victims be engaged in a federally protected activity — for example, the right to live in the residence of your choice — to qualify for protection.

Still, attacks on people with disabilities are often overlooked because many people are not aware of the extreme vulnerability to maltreatment that accompanies such disorders as cerebral palsy, autism, multiple sclerosis, learning disabilities and mental illness — even though, according to anonymous victim accounts from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the 54 million Americans with disabilities experience serious violence at a rate nearly twice that of the general population. Their risk of being a victim of sexual assault is at least four times higher than that of people without disabilities. In 2008 alone, Americans with disabilities were victims of about 47,000 rapes, 79,000 robberies, 114,000 aggravated assaults and 476,000 simple assaults. Adding to the trauma of victimization, people with disabilities are much less likely than able-bodied victims to seek medical treatment for their injuries, often choosing, instead, to suffer in silence.

Over the years, police departments around the country have increased their sensitivity to hate crimes based on race, religion or sexual orientation, but they still may not recognize bias against disabilities as a motivation for an assault. For the year 2009, just 97 or about 1 percent of the 7,789 hate crimes recognized by the police in FBI data reportedly targeted people with disabilities. (Of that total, 72 reports were designated as anti-mental disability crimes, and 25 were anti-physical disability crimes). This appears to represent a tremendous underestimate. When it surveyed nationally representative individuals anonymously about their experiences with crimes — even offenses not reported to the police — the Department of Justice determined that more than 11 percent of all hate crimes targeted people with disabilities. In other words, by asking victims rather than the police, the Justice Department found the number of disablist attacks numbered in the thousands.

And that’s not to mention another problem: Hate offenses are underreported, generally.
The FBI hate crime count is based on a voluntary reporting system that many local police jurisdictions refuse to support. In 2009, for example, only nine hate crimes were reported for the entire state of Alabama, which would reflect just one such crime per 523,190 citizens, according to Census Bureau population estimates. By contrast, other states have typically reported a much higher rate of hate crimes — for example, Massachusetts reported 322 in 2009, a rate of one for every 20,476 citizens, and New Jersey had 549 reported hate crimes, reflecting a 1-in-16,000 rate. It is hard to imagine such a huge divergence in rates arising out of anything but different reporting standards — and, perhaps, different levels of enthusiasm for reporting hate crimes at all.

Hate crimes are also underreported because motivation is a central element, and motives are often difficult to prove. The perpetrators might not have used a slur or written hate graffiti on a wall or sidewalk; they might never have confided their intent to the police or an acquaintance.

In July 2006, for example, Steven Hoskin, a 39-year-old man with severe learning difficulties who lived in a small English village, was violently tortured for hours in July 2006 by five people — three young adults and two teenagers — before he was forced to take dozens of painkillers and then pushed from a viaduct to his death. Pretending to be Hoskin’s friends for several months before the fatal incident occurred, the five young perpetrators bullied their victim into submission on a number of occasions. The victim became convinced that he was being included as a member of a “gang” and was willing to endure pain and suffering to remain in good standing with his “good friends.” The torture and murder of Steven Hoskin had no economic motive. The crime would have been impossible if Hoskin had had normal intellect. But proving that the attack was motivated by the victim’s disability is not easy to do.

For many reasons, victims are themselves underreporters of hate offenses. Based on a history of animosity, black and Latino victims may see law enforcement as an “army of occupation”; immigrants may identify the police with a tyrannical regime in their home country or be concerned about being deported; gays and lesbians may perceive, rightly or not, that police officers are generally homophobic.

But violence against people with disabilities differs in important ways from other hate crimes, making attacks even less likely to be reported or acknowledged. Unlike racially and religiously motivated offenses, attacks against people with disabilities tend to be committed not by strangers but, more often, by family members, neighbors, employees and friends who may also be caregivers.

In January 1999, eight men and women tortured a 23-year-old man with learning disabilities who worked as a cook at a fast-food restaurant in Tinton Falls, N.J. Apparently imitating the horror movie Scream, which they had recently viewed, the group persuaded the victim to attend a “party” and, when he arrived, tormented him for almost three hours. They stripped their victim to his underwear, slapped and kicked him and taped him to a chair that they dragged around the room. One perpetrator attempted to shave the victim’s eyebrows and head with a razor; another completed the job with electric hair clippers. Members of the group then whipped him with rope knotted with a series of plastic beads, so his naked back, face and chest were covered by a network of cuts and bruises.

Cutting their victim out of the chair, they forced him to wear a bra and a woman’s suit and dragged him into a van, driving him into the woods. Upon reaching a desolate area, they repeatedly punched him and slammed him to the ground. Finally, the victim was able to escape. He staggered to a nearby property, where he convinced a security guard to summon the police, who drove him to a local hospital where he was treated and released.

The victim wanted desperately to be accepted by his tormentors. Two weeks earlier, he had attended a party with the same perpetrators, who abused him and held him hostage for the evening. But he didn’t file charges at the time and instead was willing to attend a second party with the same group a couple of weeks later. Even after charges of kidnapping and aggravated charges were brought against his tormentors, the victim didn’t seem to appreciate the brutality of the attack, telling reporters that he “just wanted to make friends with these people.”

Victims with disabilities are often extremely reluctant to report attacks out of fear that their tormentors will retaliate. They may have psychiatric or intellectual deficits that seriously interfere with their capacity to recognize false friendships or to report crime. Or they may assume a position of dependence in a relationship with caretakers who conceal their sadistic urges in the high credibility of their institutional roles. In October 2008, for example, five staff members in a Louisiana psychiatric facility were arrested for allegedly battering their patients with hand weights and inserting bleach into their open wounds. The victimized patients had complained bitterly but were perceived to be out of touch with reality and undeserving of being taken seriously.

Ignoring such hate offenses is particularly unfortunate because the level of sadism and brutality is frequently greater than in their racial and religious counterparts, and their perpetrators often engage in the sort of overkill not usually found in attacks based on other kinds of bias.

Slurs used by offenders represent the most widely employed evidence for establishing the commission of a hate attack. Racial and religious epithets are widely recognized, even by those individuals who themselves would never use them and are repulsed by those who do. The nasty labels placed on people with disabilities are just as hurtful as their racial and religious counterparts but are not recognized to the same extent. People with disabilities have been referred to as invalids (i.e., not valid persons), handicapped (capable only of begging, cap in hand) or disabled (incompetent). Other hurtful labels include crippled, deformed, feeble-minded, idiot, moron, imbecile, insane, lunatic and maniac. Often, people who wouldn’t dream of using the N-word feel free to refer to an intellectually challenged individual as a “retard.”

As a cultural phenomenon, racist preferences apparently find inspiration early in life, as children begin to develop the biases that they have learned from dinner table conversations, family members, friends and television programs. In an early study by social psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark, preschool children were asked to choose either a black or a white doll to play with. The majority of both white and black children preferred to play with the white doll, indicating the early impact of racial subordination and segregation on the psyche of countless minority youngsters. Testimony about the Clark and Clark study was given in the landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which mandated the desegregation of America’s schools.

Negative perceptions of disability are also, it seems, formed very early in life. Most children aged 3 to 6 are already aware of physical disabilities and have already attributed negative characteristics to those who are not physically able-bodied. Writing in the journal Mental Retardation, researcher Laura Nabors notes that when able-bodied preschool children were shown pictures of persons with and without disabilities, the preschoolers showed a marked preference for able-bodied playmates and an aversion to their physically challenged counterparts. Children are more likely to learn about psychiatric and intellectual deficits later, when their cognitive abilities have developed enough to think of people who are developmentally different in unflattering terms.

Over time, what began as an aversion may easily be transformed into outright prejudice and hate. From the viewpoint of a perpetrator, the members of an out-group — defined by their physical or developmental differences — may represent a threat to his or her economic well-being, to cultural or religious values, to neighborhood composition, to educational opportunities and even to physical survival. What we might view as a hate crime is therefore often regarded by a perpetrator as self-defense. Hate attacks, therefore, usually occur after some precipitating event — a gay rights rally, the first Latino in a college dormitory, a developmentally delayed student mainstreamed into a regular classroom — that is seen as calling for a “last resort” response.

As with members of racial and religious groups, individuals with disabilities have often been the victims of such “defensive” hate crimes. A couple in suburban Chicago, both of whom were dependent on wheelchairs, planned to install a ramp at the entrance of their single-family residence — until neighbors threw rocks through their windows and sent threatening letters saying, “Your kind won’t last here.” The couple gave up and moved away. They might have stayed in their home had they received support and encouragement from neighbors and the police; they did not.

Many hate crimes are committed by groups of young people — teenagers or young adults — who, bored and idle, are looking for a little excitement at someone else’s expense. Such thrill hate attacks bring few practical gains to their perpetrators. Instead, they get an intangible benefit: bragging rights with friends who think that hate and violence are pretty cool. Thrill crimes are usually directed by a sadistic leader who has tremendous influence over a group of friends who may not be hate-filled but are all too eager to be accepted.

In May 2010, a 19-year-old high school student with a developmental disability was brutally attacked on a busy Boston street, in broad daylight, by a group of nine young people, ages 15 to 21. The bloodied victim, who later described himself to police as “slow and challenged,” screamed and pleaded for help, then curled up on the ground, as the perpetrators repeatedly kicked, beat and choked him. The victim later told police that “the kids up the street had jumped him.” He had known his assailants from the Dorchester Youth Collaborative — an agency for high-risk teenagers — and they did not like him. But the youthful perpetrators used their shared animosity as a bonding exercise. The more they shared in bashing their victim, the more cohesive their friendships became.

Some of the most dangerous hate crimes have a retaliatory motive, encouraging “tit for tat” in an exchange of violence. When the motive is retaliatory, an original attack by the members of one group is met by a retaliatory attack, often on a random basis, by the members of the victim’s group. In other words, the victim becomes the villain.

On Jan. 19, 2007, John Odgren stabbed to death his 15-year-old schoolmate — a random victim — in a restroom at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in Massachusetts. The 16-year-old killer had been diagnosed, early on, with major depression, Asperger’s Syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Because of his disabilities, Odgren had a long history of having been bullied and having sought to retaliate violently. In third grade, he threatened to shoot some girls who had harassed him. In fourth grade, he jabbed a pencil into another student’s chest. He was bullied repeatedly as he bounced from school to school and finally got even with his mainstreamed peers by killing an innocent victim. For taking the life of his schoolmate, Odgren was tried, convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole eligibility.

It is important to acknowledge that some organized hate groups overtly display their hostility to disabled people in a manner that encourages nonmembers to become violent. In early November 2002, for example, the white supremacist group Stormfront allocated a section of its Web discussion forum to eugenics. Among the comments presented online was the following: “We must put into place social and economic systems that encourage the best genes to dominate in numbers as well as power.”

But only a very small minority of hate crimes — perhaps 5 percent — directly involve organized hate groups. Disability hate crimes are no different in this respect.

Victims of disablist violence learn to respond in any of a number of ways to the maltreatment they are forced to endure in their day-to-day lives. In the face of widespread bias, some people with disabilities come to accept the nasty stereotypes being communicated widely about them and suffer a profound loss of self-esteem. They may see themselves as inferior, incompetent, totally disabled. Rather than regard their disability as only one of many characteristics they possess, they may instead come to define themselves totally by their most serious disadvantage and give up the struggle for self-improvement, sinking deeply into depression, drug abuse or alcoholism.

Other people with disabilities refuse to accept the nasty stereotypes that invade their lives, instead seeking to avoid the nastiest implications of their maltreatment by segregating themselves in terms of friendship, employment and dating. Rather than give up, they attempt to insulate themselves from the insulting behavior of the able-bodied.

Still others seek collectively to change the maltreatment they have suffered because of their disabilities. Since the 1970s, members of the disability rights movement have instituted boycotts, blocked traffic and engaged in a variety of protests, marches and sit-ins. Closely mirroring the civil rights and women’s movements of the 1960s, organized efforts have aided in the passage of disability-rights laws and the blockage of policies that would have been hurtful to people with disabilities. In the last couple of years, hundreds of people in wheelchairs have demonstrated on the streets of Atlanta, Chicago, Washington D.C., and Nashville. In August 2008, the Special Olympics and 21 other disability groups called for a nationwide boycott of the Ben Stiller-directed film Tropic Thunder because of what the organizations considered a “negative portrayal” of the developmentally disabled.

Such collective efforts are important as models for what the victims of hate violence might be able to achieve in the future. For now, however, such demonstrations are typically designed to reduce employment discrimination or to discourage cuts in government budgets. The hate crime response has not yet occurred.

We don’t have to change the law on hate crimes against people with disabilities — that has already happened — but we must change the thinking of ordinary people who consider only race, religion or sexual orientation as grounds for bigotry. Many people with disabilities are harmed more by the way others treat them than by their intellectual, psychiatric or physical disadvantages. This unfortunate fact has been widely ignored by otherwise decent Americans, who, when they think of hate crimes, tend to focus on people wearing sheets, armbands, steel-toe boots or Nazi tattoos. It is easy to forget that hate begins in the silence of ordinary people.

Think More, Waste Less

2011-05-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

I used to be a Democrat. Really! I was one of those people who spoke out about the failings of the GOP; I even voted for Barack Obama. Nowdays, it looks to me like there really are no differences between the 2 parties that run our country. So, for the past few years I've begun to do things differently. To hell with political parties! I now look at what individuals do, and get behind whoever seems to be serving the interests of the people. Here's an example of what I'm saying. You go Republican rep. Mike McLane!!

SALEM— Rep. Mike McLane (R-Powell Butte) today said funding for a state advertising program should be eliminated in favor of a program that provides transportation services to seniors and the disabled. He says it’s wrong to fund the “Drive Less, Save More” ad campaign at the same time the Legislature is considering devastating cuts to human services programs.

“Five years of instructing Oregonians to ‘drive less and save more’ is enough, especially as high gas prices are already forcing citizens to make this decision,” Rep. McLane said. “The Legislature should cut this wasteful spending and redirect those savings to help our most vulnerable citizens.”

As a member of the Joint Ways and Means Transportation and Economic Development Subcommittee, Rep. McLane has worked to eliminate “flexible” federal dollars for the $2 million advertising program, and redirect those savings to the Seniors and Disabled Transportation program. He says the funding shift should be an easy decision for legislators working to balance the state budget.

“During these difficult times the Legislature should ‘spend less and save more,’ and prioritize our limited resources to help Oregonians in need,” Rep. McLane said. “We shouldn’t spend these limited resources on programs that only serve special interests and urban transit agencies. It’s time to cut wasteful spending, and use tax dollars on programs and services that our citizens truly depend on.”

My Alter Ego's At It Again...

2011-04-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

Dear Fellow Conservative,

Legal Correspondent Liberals love to whine about — well, they love to whine. But, they've been whining an extra lot lately about Tea Party accusations that President Obama is some sort of closet socialist.

Personally, I don't think there's anything "closeted" about it. Obama may reject the term "socialist," but he clearly embraces the philosophy and the policies it entails. And if you doubt that accusation even slightly, or just aren't sure about the facts that back it up — that's why you need Human Events, America's conservative newsweekly.

Did you know that Human Events, America's conservative newsweekly, is the place I call my editorial "home"?

It's true. For more than a decade, in fact, I've not only been a regular contributor to Human Events, I've also been a key voice in their weekly editorial meetings.

Which means that, more than any other publication today, Human Events reflects my brand of conservatism.

I think you know what that is. No excuses. No compromises. No prisoners. Lots of spunk — and punch. And laughs.

That's why I don't just write for Human Events — I devour it every week, from cover to cover.

And so will you, I'm convinced — if you'll just give it a try, by taking advantage of this specially-discounted Charter Subscriber offer, which includes a FREE hardcover copy of, The Politically Incorrect Guide™ to Socialism.

Meantime, I'll be waiting for you... at "home."

Your friend,

Ann Coulter

P.S. You know who else loved Human Events? My hero Ronald Reagan — the greatest president since George Washington. In fact, he called it his "favorite newspaper." Find out why — by giving it a try, at zero risk.

Do You At Least Believe the State's AG?

2011-04-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

For years (literally) I've been complaining about the secrecy in Oregon's state government. I've even been written off as a conspiracy theorist by some of our Legislators and disability advocates when I've brought it up. Well, as the late, great, Malcolm X would say; "The chickens have come home to roost". Our Attorney General, John Kroger, emailed out the following today. An "F" in transparency??

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

April 27, 2011

Dear David,

Government transparency -- the ability of citizens and media organizations to request and obtain government records in a timely, cost-effective manner -- is vital to a healthy democracy. Unfortunately, our government in Oregon is not as transparent as it should be. A recent nationwide study of government openness gave Oregon a grade of F.

To fix this problem I have proposed Senate Bill 41, a major piece of legislation designed to make Oregon government more open to its citizens. For the first time in our history, Senate Bill 41 would require government to provide records to the public at fair cost and according to strict deadlines. This will prevent state and local government from delaying their response to requests, or charging inflated expenses, when asked to produce records.

However, government lobbyists are trying to prevent passage of this important bill into law. Though the bill currently has bipartisan support, opposition may block the bill. That is why we need your help.

If you agree that we need to make Oregon government more transparent there are two things you can do:

Attend a meeting - The Oregon State Legislature has been holding public meetings across the state to listen to and gather feedback from their constituents. If you can attend any of the upcoming events and express your support for Senate Bill 41 please let us know by responding to this email. We will provide you with information about the bill and answer any questions you may have about our legislation.

Write to these legislative leaders - If you are unable to be present at one of the meetings, you can still be heard. Please send your thoughts to the following Oregon legislators, who serve on the Senate Rules Committee, and urge them to support Senate Bill 41.

Senator Diane Rosenbaum

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1700

Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-223, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: sen.dianerosenbaum@state.or.us

Senator Ted Ferrioli

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1950

Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-323, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: sen.tedferrioli@state.or.us

Senator Jason Atkinson

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1702

Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-415, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: sen.jasonatkinson@state.or.us

Senator Lee Beyer

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1706

Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-419, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: sen.leebeyer@state.or.us

Senator Ginny Burdick

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1718

Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-213, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: sen.ginnyburdick@state.or.us

We have a tremendous opportunity to make Oregon government more open and transparent. I hope you will help us win this battle.

Sincerely,

JOHN R. KROGER
Attorney General

What an Absolute Waste Of Time!!

2011-04-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

It seems to me that the State of Oregon must lose the notes taken around abuse and neglect EACH YEAR. That is the only possible reason for putting a group like this together ONCE AGAIN. What is described below has been done over and over and over again. They try to make it sound like "This time we're serious!", But I believe it's simply a waste of tax payers dollars combined with the insatiable thirst some people have in seeing their names mentioned on DHS letterhead. Have at it gang! I'm sure you "mean it this time".

Date: April 25, 2011 General questions: Gene Evans, 503-947-5286
DHS Launches Adult Protective Services Safety Team to Improve Safety for Vulnerable Adults in Long Term Care Facilities

Department of Human Services Acting Director Erinn Kelley-Siel has announced the members of a work team charged with making recommendations for improving Oregon's adult protective services system, starting with the safety and protection of vulnerable adults in licensed long-term care settings.

“The safety and protection of our most vulnerable populations is among our most critical functions,” Kelley-Siel said. “Oregonians appropriately expect that their loved ones in licensed long-term care facilities and who are being cared for by foster and in-home providers will be safe.”
The Adult Protective Services Safety Team includes members representing seniors, the caregivers that serve them, law enforcement and prosecutors, the long-term care industry and front-line adult protective service workers.

Kelley-Siel has charged the team with the following major tasks:

a) Review and analyze the most serious incidents of elder abuse/neglect in long-term care settings and in the community between 2009/2010, including a review of the types of abuse and factors that cases involving abuse may have in common. The goal is to identify issues or factors contributing to abuse or neglect and any changes in policy that might be warranted;

b) Map the current adult protective services system, review existing policies and procedures, and identify gaps and opportunities to strengthen the work of adult protective services in Oregon;

c) Develop recommendations on how the adult protective services system can better assist law enforcement in prosecuting abusers; and

d) Review the laws and policies defining elder abuse and make any necessary recommendations to strengthen them.

The team holds their first meeting on Monday, April 25, in Salem, and the team will provide recommendations back to Kelley-Siel by July 1, 2011.
The Adult Protective Services Safety Team members include:

Sergeant Margaret Bahnson, Portland Police Bureau, Vulnerable Adult Unit;

Jerry Cohen, Executive Director, American Association of Retired Persons;
Vic Gilliam, state representative;

Ruth Gulyas, Executive Director, Oregon Alliance of Senior & Health Services;

Regine Goerke, Department of Human Services Adult Protective Services;

Val Hoyle, state representative;

Mary Jaeger, Director, Long-term Care Ombudsman;

Bob Joondeph, Disability Rights Oregon;

Holly Mercer, Board of Nursing;

Lucy Morgan, Governors Commission on Sr. Services;

Meghan Moyer, Oregon Public Employees Union/ Service Employee International Union;

Bill Olson, advocate;

Dr. Laurie E. Powers, Portland State University, advocate;

Lauren Rhoades, Oregon Health Care Association;

Rodney Schroeder, Interim Deputy Director, Northwest Senior and Disability Services;

Sherry Stock, Oregon Disabilities Commission Chair, Brain Injury Association of Oregon;

Matt Smith, Detective, Forest Grove Police Department;

John Thompson, Manager, Northwest Seniors & Disability Services;

Kathryn Weit, Acting Executive Director Oregon Developmental Disabilities Council; and

John D. Wentworth, Assistant District Attorney, Clackamas County

Love Is Hands

2011-04-25T15:42:00.000-07:00

I don't think love's in what I say
(I talk too much I know)
It's what I'm doing every day
(And not some kind of show)
'Cause love is hands, reachin' out
And bein' on the line
Love is hands, what it's about
is what we leave behind

And you can't keep whatchoo got
Without givin' it away
So open up your heart
And give your love away... give it away.

The Bible doesn't talk too much
Of Jesus standing still
He healed and saved folks with his touch

Accessible to Who??

2011-04-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

It's hard to think about the idea of accessibility without other words being included. Words like "justice", "equality", "civil rights", and "inclusion". That's because barriers set up by people with pre-conceived notions of "who should have what" often make accessibility much more of a challenge than it should be. I believe that what's accessible to some, should be accessible to all.

Several years back, I was working with a group of people who have profound developmental disabilities. Many of these people also use wheelchairs to get around. There was a park a mile from where we hung out, with a beautiful water fountain; surrounded by thousands of rose bushes. On warm, spring afternoons, there is no lovelier place in Portland. This park was created many years ago, before any thought was given as to WHO should get to enjoy it.

In order to get down to the fountain, you negotiated 30 steps, and there was no wheelchair ramp, which i found troublesome. One afternoon I began making phone calls to see if the City would consider building a ramp. When I brought up the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the idea of accessibility for ALL citizens, I was told they weren't required to, because the park was an historic landmark. After haggling, I asked the city employee if they personally believed that an excuse was more important than allowing ALL citizens the same RIGHTS. There was a brief silence on their end, until they finally said (quietly); "I'll see if there's something we can do".

Shortly after, a new job that I'd wanted for a long time opened up, and I moved on. As time passed by, I lost contact with the people from those days. A few years later, on the first warm and sunny day of spring, my wife exclaimed "Let's do something outside on this beautiful day!" I suggested we take a long walk to the park where the fountain and roses would surely be a treat. As we walked toward the fountain, I noticed there were now 2 wheelchair ramps beside the steps! I was beyond myself with a feeling of accomplishment. I also realized that we don't always see the fruits of our labors. The most important thing we can do is speak up about the many barriers that get in the way of REAL accessibility.

Autism Speaks (Again...)

2011-04-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

Once again the Autism Speaks folks are fund raising to find a "cure" for autism. They seem to think autism is the scourge of the 21st century. I wonder if they ever speak to people (there's a hell of a lot of us out here) who don't ascribe to their false claims about divorce, poverty, and destroyed lives; a direct result of autism? Seems to me they're mainly a bunch of lazy Hollywood types, unwilling to do the work it takes to support someone with autism! Maybe I'll do a fund raiser where the money I take in can go to getting them free training on how to do so. What do you think? What follows is how many others think.

"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.

Musical Chairs for Dropping the Ball? Really?

2011-04-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

I really hadn't planned on blogging about this story. It's a significant story, related to the abuse of elderly people in Oregon. However; when I tried to comment on it on the Oregonian website, a message popped up saying "This appears to be a duplicate comment" (hmm....), so I was left with no choice but to write here.

Back in November, 2007, the Oregonian ran a story about abuse in group homes and foster care homes in our state. I blogged about the story then. I made my concerns about that situation very clear, and became involved in a lot of work in an attempt to "stem the tide" of abuse in Oregon. Of course, I did it in my usual way of being forthright and transparent which pissed some folks off, but I believe as MLK said; "If you can't stand for something, you'll fall for anything".

One of the projects I became involved in was in Salem, the state capitol. I was invited by a State Legislator to participate in a workgroup, where we would design and craft legislation to deal with the issue. For months, I spent time driving to and from the capitol, sitting in meetings, and brain storming with others to come up with some comprehensive legislation that could become law. Finally, in 2009 the laws were passed, and I was comfortable knowing we'd accomplished our goal.

Last Sunday, in an article in the Oregonian, I found out that my comfort was mis-guided, and things weren't as peachy as I'd thought. The article follows...

State Rep. Sara Gelser said Oregon would do a better job protecting the elderly in long-term care facilities if Department of Human Resources complied with existing law. A state representative who sponsored legislation to protect the elderly and developmentally disabled from rape and other crimes says the Oregon Department of Human Services hasn’t been following that 2-year-old law.

Two stories in The Sunday Oregonian detailing failures in Oregon’s ability to safeguard elderly and mentally impaired adults in its 2,400 long-term care facilities sparked outrage and lively discussion among lawmakers, but Rep. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, said the most obvious solution is to get DHS to comply with existing law.

For one, DHS’ Seniors and People with Disabilities Division hasn’t been notifying long-term care facilities if applicants to job openings have a substantiated history of sexually, physically or financially abusing vulnerable adults in past jobs. But Gelser said HB 2442 — the law she pushed through in 2009 requires DHS to do so — with the exception of nursing homes.

Last week, in anticipation of The Oregonian’s investigation, DHS’ new acting director Erinn Kelley-Siel sent an email to all staff and lawmakers announcing the agency would begin notifying employers April 15 of the most serious sexual or physical offenders. It’s unclear whether Kelley-Siel and her staff were aware that the agency was already required to do so.

Kelley-Siel could not be reached for comment for this story, and a DHS spokesman said it could be weeks before she may have time to talk to the newspaper.

Gelser also said she noticed early last year that DHS wasn’t enforcing provision that requires long-term care facilities to tell residents and their guardians when DHS substantiates that a fellow resident has been abused. The law requires care facilities to give written notice. (Again, nursing homes, which care for as many as 12,000 vulnerable adults, are exempt. )

Administrators from the Seniors and People with Disabilities Division of DHS apparently were still unaware of the law because they told The Oregonian last week there was no such requirement.

“What we should be doing instead of racing to adopt new legislation is holding the department accountable for implementing legislation that we passed in 2009,” Gelser said, while also acknowledging that DHS staffing is “thin.”

The Oregonian’s review revealed a public safety net riddled with large holes. The newspaper reported that DHS investigators determined that the vast majority — or about 80 percent — of more than 350 reports of possible sexual abuse since 2005 in long-term care facilities couldn’t be substantiated. Often, the elderly or mentally impaired victims were found to be unreliable witnesses because they had dementia or were heavily medicated. But they exhibited signs of abuse that included sudden bouts of crying, victims declaring “it hurts” and bleeding from their genitals.

DHS investigators substantiated 73 of the 350-plus reports, but police said neither DHS or the long-term care facilities called them to investigate in at least 28 cases. The newspaper found evidence of 14 arrests and eight convictions.

DHS’ acting director, Kelley-Siel, said she plans to form a work group to better understand what’s happening.

After meeting with Kelley-Siel earlier this week, Rep. Carolyn Tomei — D-Milwaukie, who is co-chair of the House Human Services Committee — said she would schedule a hearing in May or June to look at the scope and severity of the problem.

“I obviously had no idea that it was going on,” Tomei said. “I’m horrified, but it had to be written. It will spur us on to do more.”

Tomei said she hopes the springtime hearing also will address other solutions. Suggestions include requiring national criminal background checks of all applicants to care facilities, eliminating exceptions in existing law for nursing homes and finding ways to ensure better reporting, investigation and ultimately prosecution of suspected abuse.

A national criminal check could cost about $30 per person. Idaho runs a national query, and the screening caught nearly 100 applicants with disqualifying pasts last year. Illinois has expanded its background checks in a different direction. In addition to checking criminal histories of employees, it checks for the criminal histories of residents — who along with caregivers and intruders, prey on the most vulnerable residents.

Sen. Chris Edwards, D-Eugene, has introduced a bill that could help uncover sexual abuse and aid prosecutions. Senate Bill 557 would require all hospitals to employ a certified sexual assault nurse examiner by the end of 2013 — or send possible sex abuse victims to hospitals that do.

That was a problem encountered by family members of 59-year-old Ruth DeLong Black. Their quest to bring the man they thought was responsible for raping Black to justice was featured in The Sunday Oregonian. The story recounted the failure of a doctor at Santiam Memorial Hospital — which employs no sexual assault nurse examiners — to conduct a complete rape exam, including internal swabs. A complete rape exam could have helped prove a case of rape — or helped clear the defendant’s name.

Aimee Green

So, back to my thoughts... I had 3 questions that I wrote in the comment I told you about earlier. They are...
1.) Who is responsible for alerting DHS workers that there are new laws they are supposed to follow? I believe that would be the Director of DHS (Bruce Goldberg) and the Assistant Director who heads up Seniors and people with Disabilities (James Toews). Interestingly enough, both of these guys were reassigned to new jobs at DHS around 1 month ago. Hmm...
2.) Who is responsible in the legislature for making sure laws are known, understood, and followed? It has to be SOMEONE'S job!
3.) When it became clear that DHS wasn't following the law that was 2 years old, exactly whos' head(s) rolled? Please don't tell me a reassignment without a true reason why, fits that bill.

March

2011-03-30T14:12:00.000-07:00

Well, March came in like a lion and went out like a lion. Where the hell is the lamb???

On Developmental Disability Awareness Month

2011-03-08T15:54:00.000-08:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, here we go again! As many states (including Oregon) slash needed services, may I proclaim that March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month!! A time to reflect on this oft' overlooked class of the citizenry! A time to praise the accomplishments in our country on behalf of these struggling people! And a time to celebrate those accomplishments!

At some point this month there will undoubtedly be a day commemorating people with developmental disabilities in all 50 state capitols. This will need to occur BEFORE the announcements are made of how the states plan to take away the pittance of "services" these heros receive. In a massive conspiracy designed to absolutely not require the wealthy to hand over some of their wealth, the idea is to "LET THEM EAT CAKE!!" Here in Oregon, the plan is to do the following, according to the DD Coalition...

Proposed DD Budget Cuts 2011-13
The following reductions in the DD Program are proposed in the Governor’s Budget:

This budget proposal cuts almost $100 million in total funds out of services to people with Developmental Disabilities.

 These reductions will impact the health, safety, and quality of life for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.
 Services for people with developmental disabilities have moved from an expensive model of service (Institutions) to more cost effective service models (Support Services and Comprehensive Services) designed to provide the least amount of support necessary for an individual to live successfully in the community.
 Reductions in current services will result in some individuals going into crisis and requiring more expensive services.

Reduction in 24 / 7 Comprehensive Service Rates ($43 TF)
Will impact the quality of care for over 6,500 adults and children. Continued rate reductions and lack of COLA mean that more programs will be unwilling to serve an increasingly complex population of individuals with developmental disabilities.

Eliminate Alternative to Employment Program ($17.1 TF)
Over 2,400 individuals will lose access to day services. This reduction will require increased staffing for residential programs and individuals will lose important services.

Eliminate Family Support ($3.7 GF)
Eliminates support to approximately 1,200 families caring for a child with disabilities. Program provides respite and other disability related supports that assist the child to remain at home.

Cut Fairview Trust by 50% ($7 other fund)
Elimination of funding source that improves health and safety of individuals living at home, keeps individuals out of the 24 /7 comprehensive system, and assists family caregiving by providing home modifications and technology. Violates the promise made at the time of the closure of the state institution to support Oregonians with developmental disabiltiies living in the community.

Eliminate access to Support Services for individuals who are not Medicaid eligible ($6 GF | $15 TF)
Individuals who are not Medicaid eligible currently receive only the General Fund portion of their Support Services funding. This reduction would eliminate access to a Personal Agent who assists them to navigate systems and purchase supports. For many, the loss of both the support service dollars and access to a personal agent will put them into crisis that will result in more expensive services.

Reduce Support Services to individuals 18-21 ($4.7 TF)
Reduction in access to Support Services at a point that youth are transitioning from education may result in more youth and their families going into crisis and requiring more expensive services or a cost shift to education.

10% Reduction in case management and personal agents ($9.8 TF)
Increased caseload and inability to respond quickly to needs of individuals and families. Reduces ability to monitor health and safety. Creates delays in critical eligiblity and other Medicaid processes.

10% Reduction in administration of DD Programs and Support Brokerages ($2.6 TF)
Decreased staff at a time of increased administrative workload and more complex population.

Eliminate the Quality Assurance positions in the County DD Programs and Brokerages ($2.9 TF)
Risk of not meeting the Medicaid requirements for the Home and Community Based Waivers.

Reduce Crisis Diversion ($.7 TF)
Reduces the ability to stabilize a crisis situation quickly and reduce the need for more expensive services.

Reduce In-Home Supports to Children ($.5 GF)
Provides In-Home Support to families who are in crisis and on the verge of seeking more expensive out of home placement for their children. All budget savings will be lost if even a small number of families must give up their children.

Do you wonder why I'm such a frustrated person? Not only do i have a family member (Joseph) with a developmental disability, but I've spent 1/2 of my life trying to ensure their experiences as human beings is equal in quality to the rest of us!

If Health Care Is A HUMAN RIGHT

2011-02-09T09:48:00.000-08:00

If Health Care Is A HUMAN RIGHT

If Health Care is a human right
For ALL humans NOT to have it is in fact, a crime
If Health Care is a human right
Those who withhold it should be dragged into court
Prosecuted to the full extent of the law
If Health Care is a human right
OUR government is guilty of murder and crimes against
HUMANITY
Hate Crimes against those less fortunate
If Health Care is a human right
There are no excuses
If Health Care is a human right
It MUST be so... should we ask?
I’m tired of hearing the stories
Of reading about those neglected unto death
Of the pain I bare in My Heart for My fellow man
Who has seen My Tears
Waiting and waiting and waiting for their needs
To be met

JOIN ME!
Do not shrink away on this
It is far too important
The MOST important issue
Of these times

"Aint I A Woman?"

2011-01-31T08:02:00.000-08:00

I want to end January, 2011 with the words of Sojourner Truth.In the mid 1800's she was one of the bravest women in history...

by Sojourner Truth

Delivered 1851 at the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio

Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that 'twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what's all this here talking about?

That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?

Then they talk about this thing in the head; what's this they call it? [member of audience whispers, "intellect"] That's it, honey. What's that got to do with women's rights or negroes' rights? If my cup won't hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full?

Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him. If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.

Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain't got nothing more to say.

My New Calling

2011-01-27T10:04:00.000-08:00

I believe there are no accidents in life. A great example came my way this morning. A thread I started on the honesty/dishonesty of President Obama upon listening to his SOTU the other night morphed into something quite different on Facebook. At first I was kinda frustrated about it.

Next thing I know, I got a link from a friend regarding healthcare. It took me to her personal website where I watched her getting shouted down at a town hall in New Jersey where she lives. She is a major voice in the healthcare reform effort in the U.S. As I watched this video I found myself getting that old sense of passion that has been absent in my life for the past few months. Maybe because I don't know as much about what's going on, as I do around disability issues, I've stayed out of the fray on this.

As I was responding to her message that contained the link, I realized that there is a direct relationship between disability and healthcare. I wrote about the many times I've attended Dr. appointments, hospital visits, and low income clinic fiascos. I wrote about what happened to my friend who died prematurely as a result of being denied treatment for colon cancer. It all began to make sense to me.

Now I have something to jump into with both feet! I have a lot to learn about how the healthcare reform effort is working (or not), but I'm a willing student. EVERYONE HAS A HUMAN RIGHT to affordable healthcare, that won't cause them to make choices around seeing a Dr., purcahsing the medications they need, buying food, or paying their bills. It's really a no brainer, but sometimes it takes a while for my brain to work properly.

A Trust You Can't Count On

2010-11-17T16:33:00.000-08:00

I wrote the following piece and emailed it to 191 people in Oregon and beyond this afternoon. Already getting plent of reponses.

Subject: Fairview Community Trust

David McDonald
2225 N. Emerson St.
Portand, Or. 97217

I'm sending this to as many people as possible who would and or should
understand what I'm about to say. Some of you will probably get this more than
once, and some won’t see it at all. However; I believe it’s important enough,
that I’m willing to face any negativity it may bring my way. With that being
said, please, read on.

It's well beyond time, that a discussion about the future of people with
developmental disabilities in our country, and in the State of Oregon occur. I
won't go into a history lesson about this class of people, but I will say that
they have been discriminated against with little or no consequence for a long,
long, time. Once again, it’s looking like more discrimination is heading their
way. I believe it's also time that we put the myth that they are well provided
for to bed... once and for all.

I decided to write this after receiving an email alert from the Oregon DD
Coalition, which says the State of Oregon is suspending grants from the Fairview
Community Trust. If this is the case, the longer term idea must be that people
with developmental disabilities will either revert back to the days prior to
institutionalization, or will have to figure out some way to remain in the
community without the assistance they need. It's already in the works in other
states, where they're discussing opting out of Medicaid altogether. The Oregon
Legislature should be aware that this is already happening (over a dozen states
according to some accounts), including Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Washington
and Wyoming. The Department of Human Services should also be aware of this
frightening trend. Shame on both bodies! Are we as a people THAT intent on
fattening the wallets of the uber-wealthy? I have to wonder "what's next?" Are
we headed back to a time of bleeding people to cure them, or debating whether
the Earth is round or not? Perhaps those who think this is a solution to
budgetary shortfalls should remove their roofs for the winter.

Both our national and state governments seem more than willing to sacrifice the
needs of millions to appease a handful of elites. Why? Where is the will of the
people in all this? Who, exactly, believes it's ok (in ANY sense) to deny people
the right to have a home that works well for them? If it's true that "The grants
have been used by hundreds of families and individuals to build ramps, improve
access to bathrooms, and other modifications that have enabled people to live
safely in the community. The agency is taking the money now and will attempt to
eliminate the trust in the next Legislative Session." (as the coalition
claims... and I believe them), it is our RESPONSIBILITY to make sure that
doesn't happen on our collective watch. It's time to stop allowing the
"bullying" of our most Vulnerable citizens, and make laws requiring the most
Invulnerable to pay their FAIR share in Oregon and elsewhere.

In closing, let me say that as a human being living in the State of Oregon,
within the United States of America that I'm not (and neither should any of you
reading this) asking, begging, or pleading that you do the right thing here. I'm
INSISTING on it!

David

Paying to Donate

2010-11-02T14:26:00.000-07:00

I recently became aware of a need in my community, and decided to jump in and help. We have a charitable organization called the Oregon Community warehouse that gives furniture and housewares etc. to low income people in Portland. I've worked with them before, and was pleased with their responsiveness and willingness to help others. As a case manager I was able to get chairs, tables, beds, and everything you'd need to set up a kitchen.

Today I read somewhere that they are looking for matresses and box springs, probably to give to a homeless family who were coming in from the cold for the winter. I just so happen to have a full-sized matress and boxspring which are in good condition that I no longer need. Rather than trying to sell them (could probably get $30-$40 for the pair) I gave the warehouse a call; leaving a voicemail. 10 minutes later my phone rang, and a woman said she was returning my call. We agreed they'd come by and pick it up on Saturday. Then came the clincher.

She told me it would cost me $20 for them to pick it up.I'm donating something to them and they want me to pay them for doing so! I said; "You're telling me I have to pay you to donate to you? That doesn't make much sense." To which she replied; "That's how we do things now. If we have to pick something up, we charge $20." I told her to forget it. If it's not enough to donate something trying to be a good citizen, I don't think I can work with this new way of doing business. I mean isn't that double jeopordy or something?

Euthanasia Story

2010-10-07T06:20:00.000-07:00

This is a true story that must be told. There are people who have gone to great lengths to suppress the information herein. What I hope to do is compel those reading it to join with me in demanding accountability from the responsible parties. An investigation independent of Oregon’s Protection and Advocacy agency is needed to decide exactly who the responsible parties are.

In early April 2006 I found out that a close friend of mine had stage 3 colon cancer. She had a profound developmental disability and was non-verbal. In order for critical health care decisions to be made on her behalf, she needed representatives who knew and cared about her to gather and interpret medical information and weigh all her options. An Advocacy Team was assembled including myself, two other staff members from her day program (who knew her well), and her Individual Service Plan (ISP) team. This consisted of a management staff representative of the day program provider (who saw her a few times a year), the owner of her foster home (who supervised her direct caregiver) and a county case manager (who was assigned my friend a few months earlier, and didn’t know her). A close friend of the day program representative was brought on board to act as health care representative (who didn’t know my friend prior to her diagnosis). We all met and decided that the case manager would look into what was covered under her health plan, the health care representative would get the medical record and a 2nd opinion. She committed to providing these documents to the team as soon as she got them. I said that I would look into treatment options. Without any of this being accomplished, other than the information I shared about diet and exercise being critical, she was placed in hospice about two weeks later.

Following that initial meeting where I and another Advocacy Team member voiced our opinion that treatment should likely occur, our participation in decision making was apparently no longer desired. Decisions were made without our input and we felt we were being regarded as tokens. Instead, I joined her ISP team as her friend and advocate with no objection from any other ISP team member, and acknowledgement that it was appropriate for me to fill this role. From the beginning I insisted that in order to responsibly represent my friend in making decisions about her health care, we needed to see the medical record, the 2nd opinion, and make sure we all knew what her options were. The rest of the ISP team was more interested in allowing her to die without any medical “interference.” In fact, in early June, without access to any medical record, I was asked by the day program representative to sign a form that would indicate that I agreed to refusing treatment – I declined.

I complained of medical neglect for months while my friend received no treatment. While I was researching diet and exercise, part of the team enrolled her in hospice and cancelled her home health aide; the case manager claimed she had no idea how that happened. While I was complaining of a service plan that didn’t address supports for her condition, the case manager scheduled a meeting to discuss a burial plan. While I complained of a team making decisions without having the medical record to look at, the Health Care Representative took a 10 day vacation to Greece, and the case manager took no action to get the medical record while she was gone. I had already contacted the Protection and Advocacy agency, but received no assistance from them in getting the medical record, even though I had alleged medical neglect. They could and should have gotten the medical record themselves by that time.

A consultation meeting with hospice that involved the entire ISP team only occurred after she had been enrolled in hospice for 2 weeks. This is supposed to happen before making the decision to elect hospice care. This “consultation” consisted of meeting with a hospice social worker and nurse who used what seemed to me like fear tactics to sell their services, including talking about going to a hospital as the indignity of being “loaded” and “hauled off” to an unfeeling and strange place that makes you “wait for hours” for care.

It was obvious that the ISP team would do anything to get me out of the picture and have my friend quietly fade away. My advocacy was characterized by the case manager’s supervisor as “disruptive” and “ancillary” to what the ISP team was doing (damn right), and he began trying to have me removed from my friend’s team. This is in violation of the Oregon Administrative Rule that says that the team can’t be changed when critical health care decisions are being made. He even went to the extent of trying to deceive the Protection and Advocacy agency and keep them out of the loop by changing their email address so they wouldn’t get the cc of his letter calling to remove me. I filed a grievance with the county developmental disabilities program manager. She declined to communicate with me except through the county’s lawyer. I began to receive letters on official county lawyer letterhead. I asked for my friend’s grievance to be heard by a grievance committee, which is provided for in the state’s administrative rules. I was told that only the program manager and her lawyer would talk to me and the meeting would take place in the county lawyer’s office.

At the end of July my friend was taken off hospice but still received no treatment. The reason given for this move was that she wasn’t eligible for hospice because she wasn’t homebound. The fact is, she had been attending her day program 5 days a week and taking the public lift to get there since a week after hospice had begun.

Finally, in early August, the medical record was made available by the Healthcare Rep. This was 4 months after her diagnosis and refusal of treatment by the other ISP team members. No 2nd opinion was included. What the Health Care Representative had been calling a 2nd opinion was an oncology consultation from a second doctor during the same hospital visit. I believe that no 2nd opinion was ever done. The doctor said that chemotherapy is the usual course of treatment and there were concerns about her communication and side effects. I discovered that the case manager and the day program representative had a meeting at the hospital with a social worker and decided then that she was incapable of chemotherapy. At the initial meeting back in early April, this was presented as a fact given to them by the doctors. I found that a hospice consultation was given, along with an in inaccurate reference to her being bed-bound and an opinion about her quality of life and disposition. There was no prognosis of 6 months as they had claimed. I also discovered that she had symptoms involving her intake and weight loss fifteen months earlier. In March an endoscopy had been recommended but wasn’t done.

A nurse from the Department of Human Services was assigned to the case and conversations about guardianship started. I complained to the Protection and Advocacy agency that the team was pursuing an inappropriate guardianship (I feared this was in order to put a “do not resuscitate” order in place). I never heard from the Protection and Advocacy agency what happened around the guardianship. I do know that when my wife went to the ARC to get information about pursuing guardianship ourselves, the ARC called the county developmental disabilities office and told them she had been there.

I had also called protective services to report possible medical neglect, but was told they wouldn’t investigate as long as the Protection and Advocacy agency was already involved. I now feel that the one regrettable mistake I made through this whole thing was in contacting the Protection and Advocacy agency, believing that she needed a lawyer. They never gave a clear answer as to whether or not they would even represent her. In the face of reams of evidence forwarded their way, the P&A did nothing that I am aware of. A well-documented trail of deceit, betrayal, delay and cover up of information continued until I finally left the ISP team, disgusted, in September.

She continued in her day program until late November, when it was announced that the cancer had spread and she was back in hospice. At 10:00 A.M. PST on December 14, 2006 my friend gave in to “pain killers” prescribed while she was on hospice care. I believe my friend was euthanized. I believe this was because she was unable to say “yes” or “no”. She was someone with a huge spirit and a small body. She was someone with a quiet demeanor and a profound developmental disability. In life she was easy to overlook, but the way she died will not be.

On January 10, I submitted a grievance with the P&A regarding their handling of my friend’s case. After not hearing from the executive director in 15 working days, I sent the grievance on to the board’s grievance committee. After not hearing from them after 30 days, I can only assume that my friend’s death and her life don’t merit their attention.

If you are wondering whether I can back up my claims here, the answer is YES. I have documentation that supports this true story and will share it selectively. What I am looking for in sending this out is feedback, advice, and legal assistance to ensure my friend’s death was not in vain. I also need help in getting as much exposure to this story as possible. My email is dawgoregon@aol.com, and I look forward to hearing from folks.

Burning Qurans

2010-09-08T16:29:00.000-07:00

Ok... Terry Jones has a right to burn the Holy Book of Islamic people to "celebrate" 9/11. And Americans also have the right to kick his ass for endangering them and their loved ones by picking a fight with extremists.

Still Relevant Today?

2010-08-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

I wrote about the fate of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina on this blog 3years ago. At the time I was thinking that the people of New Orleans (and the rest of the Gulf Coast) were all but abandoned by the U.S. Government in their greatest time of need. Is it any different today? 5 years down the road??

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” in 1974, I don’t think he was envisioning what would happen some 30 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"

My Most Recent Brush With The Rich And Famous

2010-05-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

David McDonald: The only way out of this hole we've been thrown into is non-violent revolution. You ready to take the lead on this Forest?? 8 hours ago

Forest Whitaker: Don't you know it's gonna be alright. 16 minutes ago

David McDonald: When a lower middle class man receives $700+ in medical bills WITH insurance, something's definitely not alright... 14 minutes ago

David McDonald: Forgot to tell you my wife owes $800 for a colonoscopy, and we're chipping away at her 401k now. We did mine in last year. 9 minutes ago

Forest Whitaker :I love your restaurants. 3 minutes ago

David McDonald: Obviously

My Friend Marvin

2010-04-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I attended a Memorial Service for people who had died while living on the streets of Portland. As expected, it was a fairly solemn event, but the turnout was good (100+) and there was a nice feeling of community in the room. You see; when I first moved to Portland 27 years ago, I was homeless for 3 weeks or so, and recall it as some of the worst times of my life... almost.

What made the whole situation bearable for me was one of the first people I met when I arrived. His name was Marvin. Marvin was a man who was a few years older than me, and was a product of the streets for the previous 10 years. He knew his way around. It seemed like every other street person knew him by name. His nickname was Marvelous Marvin, but I don't recall having called him that. His last name was Rohman, and when I remember him, I see Marvin Rohman.

Marvin's survival skills were something he shared with me without hesitation. He taught me where to find cheap/free temporary places to crash out of the weather (I arrived in January). He taught me how to dumpster dive to find tradable or useful objects. He turned me on to various stores where you could buy individual cigarettes. He showed me where to go to get a free meal. He really took me under his wing. Beside being a friendly guy, Marvin also liked me because I played guitar and wrote songs. He could play a little himself, and would pick my brain on what he could do to improve his guitar playing.

Marvin had mental health issues, and was a chronic alcoholic. He occasionally would talk to me about his past, which was not a very happy one. He believed that he was working for Jesus sometimes too. He had a violent side to him that I never witnessed, but could believe. and though we were the same height, he was much more muscular than I was. After being around him for a few weeks, I felt like he could be potentially dangerous, so when an opportunity to get off the streets without him came up, I jumped on it.

For the next 6 months I lived downtown, but with a roof over my head and a job, I'd finally left the homeless ranks. Not Marvin. I'd run into him almost every week, and we would play guitar and talk. He had no desire to leave the streets, and in a short time I sort of became his counselor. I tried to help him become a part of society, but he wasn't interested. He liked his lack of responsibility, and being a totally free spirit.

When I moved out of the downtown area we lost touch. I was being productive, and he wanted no part of such a lifestyle. I did manage to see him one or two times over the next few years. He called me from jail once asking me to bring him a copy of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. I did that for him, hoping this might assist him in straightening out. No such luck. As soon as he got out of jail he went looking for booze.

After I'd been here for 2 years I met my future wife. Eventually she gave birth to my daughter. Shortly after my daughter was born, I ran into Marvin one more time. I wanted him to see my baby girl, so I invited him over for dinner one night. he showed up with a small gift for both her and my wife. When he saw my daughter, he broke out in an ear to ear grin. I handed her to him (he was sober at the time) and he was delighted to hold this tiny child. I still have a picture of that special moment. He didn't stay for dinner; had some weak excuse as to why. And we hugged goodbye.

A few years later, I picked up a copy of the day's Oregonian newspaper, and was shocked to read that a "transient" man had been discovered murdered under one of the several bridges in Portland. It was Marvin. It seems that he had been camping there for a while, and was attacked by 4 other homeless men who wanted to take his bicycle. Marvin drunkenly refused to give up his bike and was stabbed to death. 4 against 1 are not very good odds.

I was so upset over the murder that I cried all morning long, but as the afternoon rolled around, I found my sadness turning into something quite different. It became important to me that Marvin not be looked at as a "transient". I called a writer at the Oregonian, and made arrangements to meet with her to tell her who Marvin REALLY was. When I met with this writer, I spent an hour or more explaining to her what a great human being he was in spite of his problems. She took copious notes on what I told her, and the next day there was a front page article about Marvin Rohman. She'd managed to get ahold of his mother who lived in the suburbs, and obtained some photographs to use in her story along with the one of him lovingly holding my daughter from our last visit. the picture she painted was not that of a "transient" but of a good man who never got his demons under control.

I'm convinced this is the same story of most homeless people who die on the streets. People who through no fault of their own, become entangled in a lifestyle that no one in America should ever have to experience.

Been a While...

2010-03-03T16:46:00.000-08:00

When you have a blog, it always is in the back of your head to write in/on it. Having said that (love those hokey cliches), I feel a need to write about some recent happenings in the world of "taking-advantage-over-those-you-can".

Many readers know that I deal with helping folks who have developmental disabilities as both a career and a passion. Fewer know that I've been fighting with the Telecoms in the Portland area on their behalf. I believe these huge corporations take advantage of not only the people I work with, but low income people in general. this pisses me off. Here's why...

LITERACY issues are something they prey on. PRIDE is something they prey on. And LACK OF UNDERSTANDING around how they work is something they prey on. THEY ARE PREDATORS!!

Recently, I told one of these Telecoms I was going to file a complaint with the Oregon Department of Justice regarding their shady business practices. Their response was pretty much; "bring it on!", to which I obliged them. They didn't seem to think that the DOJ would care about such a simple case... but they did!

John Kroger is our Attorney General, and he's made it clear that he wants to know about possible consumer fraud situations, and by all indications, he MEANS IT!

Anyway, we filed a complaint with his office a few weeks back. Turns out, in a letter mailed to my friend, the Telecom now wants to remove $200 from my friend's bill "in an effort to amicably resolve this matter", as they put it. The problem for them is, my friend is seeking justice. My friend isn't interested in "settling" with T-Mobile. She reckons they've been ripping her off for over a year, and I agree.

It certainly didn't help their case when they wrote that the opposite had happened around us trying to prove to them that their service didn't work...hever had. So know we will write them back, (while cc'ing the DOJ) with a major rebuttal, and push back as hard as we can.

DAWG Oregon: On New Orleans

2010-02-16T08:29:00.000-08:00

DAWG Oregon: On New Orleans

I Am Not One Of The

2010-01-09T10:58:00.000-08:00

I am not one of the physically challenged-
I'm a sock in the eye with gnarled fist
I'm a French kiss with cleft tongue
I'm orthopedic shoes sewn on a last of your fears
I am not one of the differently abled-
I'm an epitaph for a million imperfect babies left untreated
I'm an ikon carved from bones in a mass grave at Tiergarten, Germany
I'm withered legs hidden with a blanket
I am not one of the able disabled-
I'm a black panther with green eyes and scars like a picket fence
I'm pink lace panties teasing a stub of milk white thigh
I'm the Evil Eye
I'm the first cell divided
I'm mud that talks
I'm Eve I'm Kali
I'm The Mountain That Never Moves
I've been forever I'll be here forever
I'm the Gimp
I'm the Cripple
I'm the Crazy Lady
I'm The Woman With Juice

copyright 1987 by Cheryl Marie Wade

The Plight Of A Farmer

2009-11-29T12:52:00.000-08:00

Rich people don’t usually write me letters, so you can imagine my surprise when I received a letter from Carol Leuthold yesterday. It was from a mass mailing that must have included my name and address. She wrote that she wants me to join her in voting NO on a tax increase of the rich in Oregon (yeah...right). Though I can’t get back to her today, being Sunday and all, I’ll respond to her tomorrow. What follows is our exchange of letters...
---------------------------------------------------------
Carol Marie Leuthold
Leuthold Dairy Farm

November 16, 2009

David Thomas McDonald
2225 N Emerson St
Portland, OR 97217-3810

Dear David,

Five generations of our family have worked at our Tillamook dairy. It's our life and our business. Milk prices are plunging and it's harder than ever to keep our business afloat. We're worried that the new, permanent tax increases legislators passed in June will hurt our farm and the families it supports. Please join me in voting NO on Measures 66 and 67, which permanently raise business and personal income taxes in the middle of the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Economists estimate these tax increases will cost 70,000 Oregonians their jobs. With entire families out of work, we can't afford taxes that will cost more jobs. I can't vote to send more pink slips to Oregonians.

Legislators say their plan only taxes the rich. They're wrong. We'll all end up paying more for groceries, gas, and other services, and that will impact all Oregonians, especially the poor. Facing higher taxes, small businesses like ours would be forced to lay off workers, reduce wages and benefits, or close their doors.

Worse yet, the higher taxes would be retroactive to January 1, 2009. No money to cover this increase has been withheld from Oregonians' paychecks in all of 2009. Retroactive tax bills will hurt businesses, too.

Despite the bleak economy, Measure 67 would tax businesses up to $100,000 a year, even if they didn't make a profit. This tax increase will make Oregon's corporate minimum (the tax on the sales of businesses that don't make profits) 20 times higher than New York - the nation's highest. The personal income tax increase also adds to business taxes - 66% of Oregonians who will be impacted by the Measure 66 tax increase are small business owners that report their business income on their personal tax returns.

State government has not tightened its belt like the rest of us. We should not send more money to Salem until the state can get its spending under control. It bothers me that the $733 million in new taxes will help fund the $258 million budgeted for state employee salary increases. Instead of pinching pennies like the rest of us, legislators increased overall state spending by $4.7 billion - 9% higher than the previous budget, and raised taxes and fees by almost $2 billion.

Public employee unions say the sky will fall if the new taxes do not pass. I'm here to tell you that the sky is already falling on Oregon small businesses like mine. Even President Obama said in an NBC interview this August, "The last thing we want to do is raise taxes during the middle of a recession."

Help me send legislators a message that voters already have rejected job-killing income tax increases twice before. No means no! Please vote NO on Measures 66 and 67.

Sincerely,

Carol Marie Leuthold
Leuthold Dairy Farm - Tillamook

I worked with Oregonians Against Job-Killing Taxes to share my thoughts with you in this letter.
------------------------------------------------------
November 28, 2009

Carol Marie Leuthold
2425 McCormick Loop Road
Tillamook, OR 97141

Dear Carol,

I just received your letter asking me to vote NO on Measures 66 and 67. The letter was dated 11/16/09, but it came in yesterday’s mail. This means you must have mailed it sometime after November 24th. This is very interesting to me, as on the 24th an article regarding the “myth” of job loss in our state if these Measures pass was printed in Salem-News.com, which you certainly should have read. If you didn’t read this article, I suggest that you do so now.

Your own website leads me to believe that you are in fact a well healed Oregonian who has concerns other than saving jobs. Concerns regarding how you might spend all the money you make. From your website...

“It’s been said that Tillamook is the Switzerland of the United States. Nestled at the feet of the Coast Range and known for its delicious dairy products, the comparison doesn’t make for much of a mental stretch.

If there’s one woman, however, who’s qualified to weigh in on similarities between the two locales, it’s Carol Marie Leuthold.

In addition to being a Tillamook County Creamery Association member farmer, as well as Tillamook County Farm Bureau President, Leuthold and her husband, Dan, have a serious case of the travel bug.

The couple has roamed around the world, including stops in Brazil, Italy, Germany and Alaska. They touch down in Switzerland, Dan’s familial homeland, every four years or so. This past year, the couple rendezvoused there after taking the first separate vacations in their 45-year marriage.

Dan went on safari in South Africa while Carol Marie flew to the South of France and Italy to take cooking classes.”

You should know that we common folks have concerns other than fattening your purse. Concerns such as education for our children, healthcare and housing for our elderly and disabled, and police protection for all Oregonians.

Perhaps you’d be better served by writing a letter to Santa Clause, asking him to keep you rich for another year, and let those of us who actually care about our neighbors move our state forward. May you get exactly what you deserve this Christmas.

Sincerely,

David McDonald
DAWG (Disability Activists Work Group) Oregon

Oh Man...

2009-11-18T13:08:00.000-08:00

Can you blame people for not trusting a broken system? I know this guy is innocent until proven guilty, but there's already a rumor flying that he admitted to abusing these kids. And the big question is WHY CAN'T STATE AGENCIES INTERFACE WITH EACH OTHER?? One agency denies his application because of obvious concerns, while another approves him. What the hell is THAT about?

Springfield foster parent charged with sex abuse
By Kimberly A.C. Wilson, The Oregonian
November 17, 2009, 7:48PM

Lane County Sheriff's Office

Joshua Thomas FriarA 26-year-old Springfield man is in jail, accused of abusing young boys, including foster children under his care.

Police expect that other victims may come forward now that Joshua Thomas Friar is in custody. Until recently, he was a direct-care service provider at a Lane County treatment facility for severely abused and traumatized children, and a volunteer Big Brother.

Held in jail in lieu of nearly $2 million bail, Friar is charged with four counts of second-degree sodomy and one count each of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct and witness tampering.

Arrested Saturday, he resigned, while in jail, from a job he held for three years at Jasper Mountain, 10 miles east of Springfield.

Oregon State Police detectives began their investigation Nov. 10 after one of Friar's former foster children reportedly told an Oregon Department of Human Services caseworker that he was sexually abused while in Friar's care.

Officers served a search warrant and seized evidence at two Springfield residences where Friar lived during the past three years. Caseworkers removed three youths, 7 to 16 years old, who were living with Friar. However, there is no evidence that they were victims of the charged crimes, according to Lt. Gregg Hastings, an OSP spokesman.

Police hope former foster children who lived with Friar at 636 S. 41st Place or 1883 17th St. in Springfield will come forward.

"Our hope is that with the release of the addresses, foster children who have stayed with Mr. Friar in the past at those locations will contact OSP," Hastings said.

Police believe that Friar identified vulnerable juvenile males at Jasper Mountain, then later requested they be placed in his home as foster children. Two have come forward so far, Hastings said, and investigators believe more young boys may have been victimized.

Friar, who previously volunteered with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, applied in October 2008 to become a foster parent through Jasper Mountain. The center sometimes places young residents in the care of employees trained to foster, supervise and treat emotionally disturbed children, said Dave Ziegler, the center's executive director.

But the application was denied.

"He came to us and said, 'I would like to become a foster parent for Jasper Mountain,'" Zeigler said. "We gave him a trial with one child, and it did not go as we would want it to."

The reservations were not about concerns for the safety of children in Friar's care, Ziegler said.

"There was zero indication of any concern in the area of safety. There were issues with teaching, his choices, his maturity, his impulsivity."

At some point after his application was declined, Friar applied to be a foster parent through DHS. That application was approved.

Officials with DHS would not answer questions about when Friar was certified as a foster parent, what kind of background screening was conducted or how many children the state placed in his home.

"Because of the ongoing police investigation, I am not able to provide additional information," agency spokesman Gene Evans said Tuesday evening.

Anyone with information to help in the investigation is asked to call OSP's Northern Command Center dispatch at 800-452-7888.

Let's Hear It For The Southern Poverty Law Center!!

2009-11-05T15:11:00.000-08:00

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

"A Little Levity"

2009-10-29T07:52:00.000-07:00

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.

Heeeere's Joseph!

2009-10-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

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.

What Do You think?

2009-10-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

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.

They Call Me Egg Face

2009-10-24T05:08:00.000-07:00

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!

On New Orleans

2009-10-23T04:16:00.000-07:00

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"

"What It All Comes Down To..."

2009-10-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

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.

A Novel Approach To Writing

2009-10-21T13:19:00.000-07:00

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.”

How To Make People Lie

2009-10-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

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.

Eugenics Afoot?

2009-10-15T08:52:00.000-07:00

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??

Homelessness In Portland

2009-10-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

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.

Who's Dying From H1N1?

2009-10-10T15:09:00.000-07:00

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.

What Do You Think?

2009-10-08T03:41:00.000-07:00

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.

How And Where The Poor Survive In Portland

2009-10-03T04:05:00.000-07:00

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."

Is This Really News?

2009-10-01T15:31:00.000-07:00

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.

I Thought This Might Be Coming

2009-10-01T10:47:00.000-07:00

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

$95,000 Settlement and Slap On The Wrist Not Enough!

2009-09-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

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.''

"Autism Speaks" (For Themselves)

2009-09-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

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.

Let's Go Freak Out The Lions

2009-09-29T16:53:00.000-07:00

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.

Oregon Health Plan Implodes

2009-09-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

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.

Heavy Load... No Flash In The Pan!

2009-09-25T07:47:00.000-07:00

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

Great News On Healthcare For People With Disabilities

2009-09-22T14:23:00.000-07:00

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

Last Post Of Summer

2009-09-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

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.

Doctors ‘Mad as Hell’ About Health Care

2009-09-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

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?”

Healthcare for people with Disabilities

2009-09-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

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.

How To Keep Poor People Poor

2009-09-16T11:12:00.000-07:00

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/

26 Years Is A LONG Time!

2009-09-12T05:30:00.001-07:00

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.

26 Years Is A LONG Time!

2009-09-12T05:30:00.000-07:00

Eight

2009-09-11T13:39:00.000-07:00

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.

When "Elites" Strike

2009-09-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

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.

Partners In Policy Making

2009-09-10T15:17:00.000-07:00

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.

Operation Cool Air Resumes

2009-08-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

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

Eunice Kennedy Shriver 1921 - 2009

2009-08-11T14:33:00.000-07:00

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.

What Happened During Jury Duty?

2009-08-08T15:34:00.000-07:00

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.

Is 20th Good Enough For You?

2009-08-07T03:01:00.001-07:00

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

Is 20th Good Enough For You?

2009-08-07T03:01:00.000-07:00

I Almost Forgot

2009-08-06T08:35:00.000-07:00

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??

2009-08-06T03:51:00.000-07:00

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.

Taxes and The People

2009-08-06T03:12:00.000-07:00

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.

Did You Expect Something Different?

2009-08-02T16:34:00.000-07:00

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

Operation Cool Air 3

2009-08-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

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!

Operation Cool Air 2

2009-07-31T15:31:00.001-07:00

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?

Operation Cool Air 2

2009-07-31T15:31:00.000-07:00

Just got home after installing 3 more air conditioners for folks with developmental disabilities in Portland. I feel GOOD.

Operation Cool Air

2009-07-28T15:14:00.000-07:00

Because of the fact that folks don’t seem to believe that people with developmental disabilities suffer as much from hot weather as they do from cold weather, I’ve begun a project called Operation Cool Air. My plan is to get air conditioning to as many people with developmental disabilities who suffer from this heat wave we’re having as possible.

Many of these folks have medical conditions that make survival in this heat questionable at best. They are people living independently in the Portland Metro area, who because of poverty cannot afford air conditioning. This morning I was able to provide 4 or 5 of these people with 2 air conditioners I was able to get a hold of.

If you have access to a working, used (or new) air conditioner, I’m requesting that you bring it to the United Way building tomorrow,July 29th or Wednesday July 30th (morning if possible). And we’ll be sure to get them to people who desperately need them. There’s still a lot of summer left, and your tax deductible donation would be most welcomed. The address is 619 SW 11th Ave., downtown. THANKS! There are at least 5 more air conditioners needed at this point

This is a collaboration between the ARC of Multnomah, United Way of the Columbia Willamette, and DAWG Oregon.

Salaries Anyone? Part 3

2009-07-26T12:29:00.000-07:00

Bob Tiernan was in LAKE OSWEGO (home of the rich in the Portland area) yeterday gathering signatures from his rich peers in an attempt to overturn the tax hikes on the rich. As a lawyer/business consultant, he must be worth a bundle. The big question is when are these rich people going to 'fess up to not wanting any of their riches taken away from them?

Salaries Anyone? Part 2

2009-07-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

Ahhh... another Opinion piece in the Oregonian today about how the wealthy will leave the state if taxes go up for them. This time it was written by Robert Millen, chairman of Jensen Investment Management in Lake Oswego. He’s also a Portfolio Manager who reportedly “helps” invest between 2.5 and 3 BILLION dollars for his company.

According to their website, he “joined the firm in 2000. He received his BBA degree in finance from the University of Iowa and graduated from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking, Rutgers University. Bob has over 30 years experience in banking, investment management and financial services, including serving as Vice President of Principal Financial Group (1997-2000) and Group Vice President of Wellmark, Inc. (1990-1997). He was President of First Interstate Bank NA in Des Moines, Iowa and has held senior management positions at Norwest Bank NA also in Des Moines.”

I’m going to take a stab in the dark here, and guess that MAYBE he’s one of those rich people who don’t want their taxes to go up. Of course I could be wrong. It could be a volunteer gig.

Sorry Joseph...

2009-07-22T12:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had to cancel my nephew's scheduled visit to our home this coming Sunday. He comes over monthly from the foster home he lives in for dinner and sports on TV. The reason I had to do this is because of the inconsistency of LIFT coupled with the expected heat.

A few years back they had a recorded message on their voicemail stating that the temperature in their buses is only 10 degrees cooler than the actual temperature outside. That means if it's 95 degrees (as expected) the bus would be 85 degrees. That's just too hot in regard to his safety. I don't want to risk his health.

Then... when you factor in the possibility that he could be in the bus for an hour and 40 minutes like the last time he came over, it's just not worth it. It's not fair, and it stinks of discrimination, but people with developmental disabilities are discriminated against daily in Oregon.

Salaries Anyone??

2009-07-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed how the wealthy folks in Oregon have begun their unified grumbling about the proposed tax hikes (on them)? Yesterday’s Oregonian newspaper is a prime example of how the plan is to try to influence the working class to believe that those who voted for the tax hikes for the wealthy in the Legislature don’t care about unemployment in our state. In fact, the Senate Republicans Office sent out a press release of the letter today.

It was written as a Guest Opinion by Jon Chandler who happens to be the chief executive officer of the Oregon Home Builders Association. I believe the acronym for his job is “CEO”. I wonder what his salary is? Could this be a rich man pretending to be a working class stiff? That’s my guess. He apparently doesn’t believe the wealthy should have to pay their fair share of the tax burden.

Then you have the Oregon Catalyst, which again is a conservative republican website which also cares about the middle class. Why just the other day a similar article was written by Larry Huss, a regular contributor. Did I mention he’s also the Vice President of US West and a lawyer? Wonder what he makes each year?

Bottom line is that these cry babies who want to maintain as much money from their weighty salaries need to quit their complaining on behalf of the “common man”, who they really don’t seem to care about.

LIFT Lies

2009-07-19T10:50:00.000-07:00

I have been dealing with Tri Met LIFT service up close and personally for the past 20something years. LIFT is the transportation service used by people with disabilities, who for one reason or another are unable to use the bus/MAX systems in Portland.They receive payments from both federal and state government to provide rides as needed. In fact, there is an oversight committee that meets monthly which is comprised of people with disabilities, whose job is to ensure that this service as well as fixed route (buses and MAX) adhere to ADA requirements, making transportation "user friendly" for people with disabilities in Portland and its' suburbs.

For the past few years I've been receiving the agendas and minutes for these committee meetings as I like to see for myself what is being discussed. I've also been aware for years that Tri Met skews the reality of LIFT performance, probably to make sure the dollars keep coming in. I mean, if the funders of LIFT knew how badly they truly perform, they may choose to not continue to pay for bad service. On July 10th I received the minutes from their meeting back in June. As I read along, I was taken back by what one of the committee members said. A member "commented the LIFT performance report statistics on complaints being down 40 percent is good, and he noticed a reduction in LIFT ridership."

Flash back to a LIFT ride my autistic nephew experienced a litle bit more than a month ago. I wrote the following to the membership of the committee that same day..."I'm unsure as to whether or not this is the appropriate place to send this email, but I believe it's important that all the people on this list see it. Of course complaints are down 40%, when the office for LIFT doesn't follow up or return calls to complaintants. I called them over a month ago to complain that my nephew, who uses LIFT, drove around for an hour and 40 minutes with his driver before being dropped off at my house. I left the message on their voicemail with a request that they call me about it. I Still haven't heard back from them regarding my complaint."

A few additional points merit a mentioning here.

1.)6 years ago I met with Bob Nelson (a Tri Met administrator) along with 3 LIFT riders who told him their PERSONAL stories of how badly LIFT was performing. He shrugged it off without taking any action.

2.) I have complained repeatedly over the years, and unless I FOLLOWED UP on my complaint, I never have heard back from them.

3.) When I asked the driver who brought my nephew to my house if he thought lugging someone around for an hour and 40 minutes is an ok thing to do, he said "no", to which I replied "It's time to change the system". His response was "Good luck with that".

Let Em' Try

2009-07-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

Now the beginning of the fight about taxes in Oregon has begun. The wealthy are now speaking out about what they feel is unfair regarding the tax burden they're being asked to bare. Some are vaguely hinting they may leave Oregon for greener ($$$) pastures.

GOOD!! Let em' go. I personally could give a rat's ass about what the wealthy people in Oregon care about how much they're being taxed. All you need to do is look around you to see the divide between the rich and poor. I actually hope they DO MOVE so that the attentive can get to work on taking care of our most vulnerable without worrying about their sorry asses.

To all the Legislators who called for the raising of taxes on the wealthy I say "Thank You". And to all the Legislators who voted against the tax increases I say "Why don't you jump on board with those who are threatening to leave, and get the hell out of my state".

I Don't Have To Return Your Calls

2009-07-13T04:41:00.000-07:00

Because I consider you to be pesky
I don't have to return your calls.
Because you want the truth
I don't have to return your calls.
Because I am fearful
I don't have to return your calls.
Because people sometimes don't return my calls
I don't have to return your calls.
Because this is modern day America
I don't have to return your calls.
Because I am so full of myself
I don't have to return your calls.
Because I don't want to answer that
I don't have to return your calls.
Because I am not REALLY professional
I don't have to return your calls.
Because I can lie with an excuse
I don't have to return your calls.
Because you are probably right
I don't have to return your calls.

Terrorists On The Home Front

2009-07-10T10:32:00.000-07:00

I received the following email from the Southern Poverty Law Center today. I’ve never been a big fan of the mindset which must accompany one to serve in the military, and this only lends credence to my conviction...

July 10, 2009

Dear Friend,

We have uncovered new evidence that racial extremists are infiltrating the U.S. military and have asked Congress today to launch an immediate investigation to ensure that our armed forces are not inadvertently training future domestic terrorists.

In recent months, our investigators have found dozens of personal profiles of individuals listing "military" as their occupation on a neo-Nazi, Facebook-type website. One person, apparently serving in Afghanistan, lists The Turner Diaries as his favorite book. That's the book by neo-Nazi leader William Pierce that served as the blueprint for the Oklahoma City bombing by Gulf War veteran Timothy McVeigh.

We've been warning the Pentagon about the danger of extremists in the military for more than two decades. In 2008, the FBI issued a report indicating that the problem may have worsened. Unfortunately, the Pentagon has not taken forceful action.

Indeed, the Pentagon appears to consider homosexuals more of a threat to the good order of the military than neo-Nazis who reject our Constitution's most cherished principles. While the military has discharged more than 12,500 service members because of their alleged homosexuality since 1994, it has refused to adopt a true "zero tolerance" policy when it comes to extremists in the military.

The overwhelming majority of our courageous men and women in uniform reject extremism and are dedicated to our nation's highest ideals. We owe it to them — and to the American public — to ensure that the ranks are as free of extremists as possible.

Please stand with us on this crucial issue and contact your congresspersons. We recommend sending a personal letter or calling the offices of your U.S. Senator or Representative.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

J. Richard Cohen
President, Southern Poverty Law Center

My 400th Post!

2009-07-10T10:19:00.000-07:00

I was inspired this morning by a quote from Susan B. Anthony, who once said; “Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world’s estimation.”

This quote came from Oregon Senator Vicki Walker who has accepted a job working with the criminal justice system in Oregon. My guess is that she recognizes that she probably had as many, if not more enemies than friends in the Legislature. It’s the same belief I have of what’s wrong in our state, country, and world today. Too many ass kissers trying to do the best they can for themselves, while leaving those who struggle to fend for themselves. I like Vicki Walker (for now at least).

20 Days Of Absence

2009-07-10T08:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like owning this blog is like owning a two edged sword. I get to express my opinions, and point out what sorts of things I've both seen and experienced in the world of developmental disabilities. It's generally not real pretty, and I become overwhelmed with the negativity of what I write.

I'm also aware that I probably have more enemies than friends as a result of having a blog that is offensive to some folks who read it. On some deep level I want to be liked, and it causes me to step away from the blog. Then something will happen which causes me to "go back to work."

The other day I was speaking to a person about my blog, saying I wasn't sure why I bother to write about what I see and experience. I told her I get tired of the lack of comments on my posts, and that I feel like no one really cares about what I've seen and experienced. This person caught me off guard when she said; "You do it because they (people with developmental disabilities)need you to." As simple as that thought may be, it was like hearing it for the very first time. This came from the mouth of a mother of an adult child who has a developmental disability.

So, I'm back to it. If that disappoints someone, who cares? I'm thinking I've only got one chance to make the world a user friendly place for people with developmental disabilities, so I need to do this for them.

Suspicions

2009-06-20T05:18:00.000-07:00

I'm suspicious.

The way this whole Gregory Rold death was handled, how could one NOT be suspicious. The amount of attention paid to this case by the media in Oregon was significantly less than several other cases where no one died. And... they STILL can't even agree on his age!

Yesterday, the Marion County Grand Jury found that the Police (4) didn't cause his death, but that he basically died of a bad heart with obesity as a contributing factor. If you have to fight off 4 police officers who are tasering and beating you with batons, I suppose that would cause stress to a weakened system. My question is why they felt the need to go so hard on a man suspected of merely TRESPASSING??

They also have dropped the conversation of disability when writing about Gregory. That would make him a part of 2 protected classes...being black, and having either a developmental disability or mental illness. It would also require the officers involved to have ALREADY been trained on best practice for dealing with such people. Were they?

I hope this whole thing isn't over. I hope community members start asking questions beyond the obvious. I hope that more is revealed in a civil suit. My suspicions tell me otherwise.

Yeah... Right...

2009-06-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

So... now it seems like Bob Joondeph (from Disability Rights Oregon) is attempting to distance himself from his vaulted testimony given to the Oregon Legislature around closing the School For the Blind. The DRO blog states that he wonders... " Are we, as Michael suggests, hurting children in pursuit of a ideal that cannot be realized? I can't adopt that viewpoint without conceding the futility of achieving a truly inclusive society. Defending both OSB students and our movement toward integration are not incompatible goals."

My question is... "And how exactly did you "defend" the OSB students?" All I saw from Bob was testimony about the reasons to close the school, with virtually nothing about the students or their families wishes. If he was really caring about "achieving a truly inclusive society" as he claims, he would have made sure that a developmentally disabled woman with stage 3 cancer recieved the treatment she required; same as a non-disabled person. Did he? No! He sat back and watched while Multnomah County's best and brightest simply allowed her to expire. But that's Bob for you.