Limper woman goes to Hong Kong wants advice
So, I am traveling to
Thanks for the help in advance!!
Mod Update
maccaj and I *sincerely* apologize for the lack of updates. But after seeing AAPD's election site, which has a good portion of what we wanted to provide, we've decided on a change of plans. We're going to type up a line by line translation of HAVA (Help America vote Act). Our community is systematically left out of the voting process for a myriad of reasons and the first step in reclaiming our rights is learning exactly what our rights are so we can fight for them.
We haven't began this yet as we've been dealing with various health issues, but we will start ASAP. If anyone here would like to help we'd appreciate it. If so, leave a comment or send us an email to let us know.
Followup to previous post: Barack Obama's Disability Rights Plan (full text)
Since Barack Obama's disability rights plan was only available in PDF format, I've converted it to text for those with older screenreaders or who have trouble accessing PDFs. I've posted it here because it seems the easiest and most accessible format, in terms of users not having to download anything. Please feel free to link to it. This is a public post. Since the full text is nine pages, I'm going to put it ( under this LJ cutCollapse )
Disability Rights Info vis-a-vis the US Presidential Candidates
This comes a bit late, I know, but I wanted to pass on some info to those in the US who have a primary election to vote in today or soon (and those who won't be voting in the primary but want to start considering their options for the general). I'd like to add that I've been trying to compile this information for quite a while, but it still, unfortunately, does not exist in any comprehensive format. I'm talking about disability rights - including but not limited to health care, equal opportunity employment, education, voting rights and the like.
Democrats:
Barack Obama is the only remaining candidate, Republican or Democrat, who has released a detailed plan regarding how he will address disability related issues. It's long, but worth reading.You can find it here (PDF format). Update: A text version of the PDF file is now located here.
Hillary Clinton has not released a comprehensive plan dealing with disability issues, but she has answered the questionnaire sent out by the AAPD and several other organizations. You can find the questions and her answers here (web page, HTML format). She also gave a speech at the Granite State Independent Living Forum in New Hampshire which can be found here. Update: There is a page on Hillary Clinton's site that discusses the ADA here.
Republicans:
I visited the web pages of every Republican currently in the running and dug around extensively - I was unable to find anything specifically addressing disability rights issues (which is why I've put off posting this for so long - I don't want to come off as partisan). No Republican candidate has answered the AAPD et al questionnaire. Here is what I *have* been able to find:
Ron Paul has a section on his site devoted to veterans' issues which can be found here.
Mike Huckabee has a health care page here.
Mitt Romney's health care page is here.
John McCain's health care page is here.
All of the above are standard web pages which should be screen reader accessible. Again, please let me know if you have problems with them and I will find some way to make this information accessible to you.
I'm not making this post to infer that any of us are or should be single-issue voters - I'm just disseminating the information I've found on this particular topic. If you have found additional information on the disability rights stances of the candidates, comment to this post and I will happily add it in.
And if you live in the US and you can't/don't get to the polls for the primaries, please vote in November!
(crossposted to
no_pity)
Democrats:
Barack Obama is the only remaining candidate, Republican or Democrat, who has released a detailed plan regarding how he will address disability related issues. It's long, but worth reading.You can find it here (PDF format). Update: A text version of the PDF file is now located here.
Hillary Clinton has not released a comprehensive plan dealing with disability issues, but she has answered the questionnaire sent out by the AAPD and several other organizations. You can find the questions and her answers here (web page, HTML format). She also gave a speech at the Granite State Independent Living Forum in New Hampshire which can be found here. Update: There is a page on Hillary Clinton's site that discusses the ADA here.
Republicans:
I visited the web pages of every Republican currently in the running and dug around extensively - I was unable to find anything specifically addressing disability rights issues (which is why I've put off posting this for so long - I don't want to come off as partisan). No Republican candidate has answered the AAPD et al questionnaire. Here is what I *have* been able to find:
Ron Paul has a section on his site devoted to veterans' issues which can be found here.
Mike Huckabee has a health care page here.
Mitt Romney's health care page is here.
John McCain's health care page is here.
All of the above are standard web pages which should be screen reader accessible. Again, please let me know if you have problems with them and I will find some way to make this information accessible to you.
I'm not making this post to infer that any of us are or should be single-issue voters - I'm just disseminating the information I've found on this particular topic. If you have found additional information on the disability rights stances of the candidates, comment to this post and I will happily add it in.
And if you live in the US and you can't/don't get to the polls for the primaries, please vote in November!
(crossposted to
no_pity)Finally, An Update...
We *sincerely* apologize for the huge gap in communication. Neither maccaj or I have felt well, and I'm still shook by the death of a close family friend in April. I hate making excuses, but heath issues get in the way sometimes (and major stress exacerbates that, too).
I have uploaded a new index page to our website that includes a link to our blog as well as other important sites. I have also added some Justice For All updates on the blog (as well as deleting the spam "comments").
Now we'd like your ideas to get outside support so we can get this off the ground. We have a letter to send and a few ideas of who to contact, but we'd like your input. So far we have:
Rep. Jack Murtha (D-PA)
Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI)
Former Senator Max Cleland (D-GA)
Disabled Veteran's of America
Those we contact must not be directly associated with a candidate.
maccaj or I have felt well, and I'm still shook by the death of a close family friend in April. I hate making excuses, but heath issues get in the way sometimes (and major stress exacerbates that, too).I have uploaded a new index page to our website that includes a link to our blog as well as other important sites. I have also added some Justice For All updates on the blog (as well as deleting the spam "comments").
Now we'd like your ideas to get outside support so we can get this off the ground. We have a letter to send and a few ideas of who to contact, but we'd like your input. So far we have:
Those we contact must not be directly associated with a candidate.
Your Opinions
We invite everybody over to our other blog, http://www.40million.org/blog/, to comment and help us get some discussion going. Tell your friends, post to your LJ, personal blog, etc, and if you post to various communities here, please make sure to follow the rules set by the moderator(s).
If you have suggestions for questions, let us know in the comments.
If you have suggestions for questions, let us know in the comments.
(no subject)
Another modly note...
We are getting closer to the first primary. If you had the chance, what question(s) would you ask candidates? What issues do you want them to address? When voting for a candidate, is the most important issue to you addresses by him or her? We'd like to keep it to 5-7 questions at most.
Also, is anyone a graphic designer or know of someone who would be willing to design a logo? If they'd do so pro bono, that'd be great.
We are getting closer to the first primary. If you had the chance, what question(s) would you ask candidates? What issues do you want them to address? When voting for a candidate, is the most important issue to you addresses by him or her? We'd like to keep it to 5-7 questions at most.
Also, is anyone a graphic designer or know of someone who would be willing to design a logo? If they'd do so pro bono, that'd be great.
Modly notes of interest
Hi all,
It's been quiet around here since we started, but we now have our own domain and blog at 40million.org, so Jenna and I would like things to pick up a little. There's nothing much up at the official page yet because our webmaster has been out of town, but we're hoping to change that in a hurry. Here is what we hope to accomplish with 40million.org:
target presidential hopefuls on all sides of the spectrum while they are still in the primaries (because that's when platforms are shaped and issues are talked about) and ask them how they would deal with various disability related issues.
go after "political notables" - i.e. people who are not running, but have influence upon those who are - to help us put pressure on the candidates.
serve as a further resource for the disability community by providing a central list of voting information and who to contact for rides to the polls.
We are open to expanding and clarifying this agenda. This can't be a community full of lurkers. We'll never get it done if it's two people leading a silent population - that's the whole problem we're trying to fix. We're not asking for huge time commitments, and we understand physical limitations and brain fog. But we need your voices. Please take 5 minutes and leave a comment answering the following questions:
1) What do you envision for 40million.org?
2) What issues would you like to see us take to the candidates?
3) What "political notables" would you like to see us go to, or which do you think would be interested in our cause?
4) What talents can you lend to 40million?
We are looking for graphic designers, people to help us write copy (text for the website), people who would be interested in "guest blogging", and, always, people who will spread the word. Good at organization? We need you. Want to understand more about the political process? We're happy to teach you. Have five minutes at the end of the day to glance through congressional records for disability legislation? Great. Can you write a letter? Fantastic. Are you willing to tell your friends and family what we're about? (This is the most important one!) Please, please, come up with something you would be willing to do to help us.
Also, let's keep this comm a place for 40million.org and disability politics. Of course there's going to be some overlap between issues, and we're not draconian mods, but we also don't want to get swamped with general (non-political) disability issue things that are better suited tono_pity, chronic_health, dot_gimp_snark, etc.
Further posts of this length will go behind a cut, but I felt the importance of this particular one warranted that everyone read it in full.
It's been quiet around here since we started, but we now have our own domain and blog at 40million.org, so Jenna and I would like things to pick up a little. There's nothing much up at the official page yet because our webmaster has been out of town, but we're hoping to change that in a hurry. Here is what we hope to accomplish with 40million.org:
We are open to expanding and clarifying this agenda. This can't be a community full of lurkers. We'll never get it done if it's two people leading a silent population - that's the whole problem we're trying to fix. We're not asking for huge time commitments, and we understand physical limitations and brain fog. But we need your voices. Please take 5 minutes and leave a comment answering the following questions:
1) What do you envision for 40million.org?
2) What issues would you like to see us take to the candidates?
3) What "political notables" would you like to see us go to, or which do you think would be interested in our cause?
4) What talents can you lend to 40million?
We are looking for graphic designers, people to help us write copy (text for the website), people who would be interested in "guest blogging", and, always, people who will spread the word. Good at organization? We need you. Want to understand more about the political process? We're happy to teach you. Have five minutes at the end of the day to glance through congressional records for disability legislation? Great. Can you write a letter? Fantastic. Are you willing to tell your friends and family what we're about? (This is the most important one!) Please, please, come up with something you would be willing to do to help us.
Also, let's keep this comm a place for 40million.org and disability politics. Of course there's going to be some overlap between issues, and we're not draconian mods, but we also don't want to get swamped with general (non-political) disability issue things that are better suited to
no_pity, chronic_health, dot_gimp_snark, etc. Further posts of this length will go behind a cut, but I felt the importance of this particular one warranted that everyone read it in full.
New Community Invitation
Cross posted everywhere
Hello everyone. My name is Andrea. I am a mother to a Deaf child, sister to someone who has Cerebral Palsy and is a FIERCE disability right activist, and I myself have ADHD. I am also a Student at Antioch University Seattle in a BA completion program with a class assignment that I would love for you to be a part of. My class is centered around how individuals can use their personal stories to create social change.
For my project, I would like to gather stories of experiences of medical care from people in the disabilities community. I plan on creating a booklet or zine of related art, photography, and primarily your stories to then pass on to the University of Washington's department of disability studies ( http://depts.washington.edu/chdd/ ). It is my hope that by offering your experiences, future medical care providers will have a better understanding of their impact when working with future patients.
Because of the often sensitive nature of these stories, anonymous contributions would be more than welcome. I have set up an account for those who would like to add their stories anonymously. Please see the community for more information. Please also let me know if you have any additional ideas for the direction of this project.
This community is part of a six week project. It is my hope that well after the project itself is completed, the community will continue to be a place of support and sharing
Image Description: Banner with text that reads "A story for change. What is your story?" With the image of the disabled parking logo in yellow on black pavement with the word "Change" writen underneath. Beside the symbol is an open book with the text over it that reads "A community project for positive medical care."
astoryforchange
For more information, visit our community page.
Andrea
Hello everyone. My name is Andrea. I am a mother to a Deaf child, sister to someone who has Cerebral Palsy and is a FIERCE disability right activist, and I myself have ADHD. I am also a Student at Antioch University Seattle in a BA completion program with a class assignment that I would love for you to be a part of. My class is centered around how individuals can use their personal stories to create social change.
For my project, I would like to gather stories of experiences of medical care from people in the disabilities community. I plan on creating a booklet or zine of related art, photography, and primarily your stories to then pass on to the University of Washington's department of disability studies ( http://depts.washington.edu/chdd/ ). It is my hope that by offering your experiences, future medical care providers will have a better understanding of their impact when working with future patients.
Because of the often sensitive nature of these stories, anonymous contributions would be more than welcome. I have set up an account for those who would like to add their stories anonymously. Please see the community for more information. Please also let me know if you have any additional ideas for the direction of this project.
This community is part of a six week project. It is my hope that well after the project itself is completed, the community will continue to be a place of support and sharing
Image Description: Banner with text that reads "A story for change. What is your story?" With the image of the disabled parking logo in yellow on black pavement with the word "Change" writen underneath. Beside the symbol is an open book with the text over it that reads "A community project for positive medical care."
astoryforchangeFor more information, visit our community page.
Andrea
Yahoo Group
We just created a Yahoo group to help get the word out. If you want to join, it's at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/40mi…. Anyone can join from anywhere in the world. If you can, help us spread the word. Our website is being worked on and will be up and running likely in a month or two (or less, depending).