Thursday, June 26, 2008
New web site and blog moving
Disability411 have a new, revamped website at the same location (http://disability411.jinkle.com). The new site has blogging capabilities, so I will be discontinuing this blog, and posting there. Please come visit me there!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Clarification
So I forwarded an email yesterday about the ADA Restoration Act, and I was rushed and forgot to add a personal note that said to contact your Representatives whichever way you feel about it. For every person I know who is for it, I seem to know someone against it. If you know me at all, you know I'm a firm believer in researching political issues and making up your own mind. I don't care how you vote, as long as you vote. So if you're against it, you should still be aware the voting is today (which was my intention with the email) and I encourage you to participate in your political process by making your voice heard, regardless of which side of the fence you fall on.
My apologies to anyone who felt I was making up their minds for them!
My apologies to anyone who felt I was making up their minds for them!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
URGENT!!!
From The Association on Higher Education and Disability
---------------------------------------------------------
The AHEAD Board of Directors announced its support of the ADA Restoration Act in February, 2008 with a direct mailing to the membership. As negotiations on language continued to move forward, this support was reiterated and reaffirmed by the Board in June 2008. The amended bill is headed to the Floor in the House for a vote tomorrow (Wednesday, June 25, 2008). Therefore, we are asking our members to urge House Members to VOTE YES on the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 (formerly called the Americans with Disabilities Restoration Act-ADARA).
BACKGROUND:
Over the last few years, the courts have decided a number of cases that have narrowed the interpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The current ADA Amendments would reset the definition of disability by eliminating the strict analysis of "substantial limitation" used by the Court in Toyota v. Williams and the consideration of mitigating measures (medications, prosthetics, compensatory strategies, etc.). Clearly this would expand the number of students meeting the definition of disability and being protected from discrimination.
The Amendments will not increase the need for removing architectural barriers, providing interpreters or converting print to accessible formats so it seems unlikely that the accommodation needs associated with this expanded definition will significantly increase costs to colleges and universities.
CURRENT ACTIVITY IN CONGRESS:
Both the House Judiciary Committee and the Education and Labor Committee have passed the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 by large majorities. This bill would return the ADA to the original congressional intent by reversing the harmful court cases mentioned above. This legislation is particularly noteworthy for the spirit of cooperation between the business and disability communities. Advocates have worked together to ensure that the spirit and intent of the original law are maintained and the rights of individuals with disabilities are protected in education and in the workplace.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
With 245 sponsors the bill is likely to pass, unless amendments kill it.
Passage is less sure in the Senate so constituent support is important.
Other higher education associations have expressed concern that the bill will threaten academic standards; your voice can help counter that.
ACTION REQUESTED:
The bill is expected to come to a vote in the House of Representatives this Wednesday, June 25. Calls or e-mails to to your representative can send an important message.
Suggested Message: "I am your constituent and a member of the Association of Higher Education And Disability and am a _________________ (parent, individual with a disability, teacher, etc.). I urge you to support passage of the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 without amendments to ensure that individuals with disabilities receive the accommodations they need to be successful in school and in the workplace. This bill strikes a balance between individual and institutional rights as reflected by support from both the business and the disability communities, and I urge you to vote in favor of the bill without amendments. Thank you."
Email your message to your Representative by going to www.house.gov . You will see a listing of all the Representatives and their websites, and you can email them through the websites.
OR Call your Representative. You can connect to all House offices through the Capitol Switchboard – (202) 224-3121.
Every call and email will help!
Sincerely,
L. Scott Lissner, AHEAD Secretary
---------------------------------------------------------
The AHEAD Board of Directors announced its support of the ADA Restoration Act in February, 2008 with a direct mailing to the membership. As negotiations on language continued to move forward, this support was reiterated and reaffirmed by the Board in June 2008. The amended bill is headed to the Floor in the House for a vote tomorrow (Wednesday, June 25, 2008). Therefore, we are asking our members to urge House Members to VOTE YES on the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 (formerly called the Americans with Disabilities Restoration Act-ADARA).
BACKGROUND:
Over the last few years, the courts have decided a number of cases that have narrowed the interpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The current ADA Amendments would reset the definition of disability by eliminating the strict analysis of "substantial limitation" used by the Court in Toyota v. Williams and the consideration of mitigating measures (medications, prosthetics, compensatory strategies, etc.). Clearly this would expand the number of students meeting the definition of disability and being protected from discrimination.
The Amendments will not increase the need for removing architectural barriers, providing interpreters or converting print to accessible formats so it seems unlikely that the accommodation needs associated with this expanded definition will significantly increase costs to colleges and universities.
CURRENT ACTIVITY IN CONGRESS:
Both the House Judiciary Committee and the Education and Labor Committee have passed the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 by large majorities. This bill would return the ADA to the original congressional intent by reversing the harmful court cases mentioned above. This legislation is particularly noteworthy for the spirit of cooperation between the business and disability communities. Advocates have worked together to ensure that the spirit and intent of the original law are maintained and the rights of individuals with disabilities are protected in education and in the workplace.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
With 245 sponsors the bill is likely to pass, unless amendments kill it.
Passage is less sure in the Senate so constituent support is important.
Other higher education associations have expressed concern that the bill will threaten academic standards; your voice can help counter that.
ACTION REQUESTED:
The bill is expected to come to a vote in the House of Representatives this Wednesday, June 25. Calls or e-mails to to your representative can send an important message.
Suggested Message: "I am your constituent and a member of the Association of Higher Education And Disability and am a _________________ (parent, individual with a disability, teacher, etc.). I urge you to support passage of the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 without amendments to ensure that individuals with disabilities receive the accommodations they need to be successful in school and in the workplace. This bill strikes a balance between individual and institutional rights as reflected by support from both the business and the disability communities, and I urge you to vote in favor of the bill without amendments. Thank you."
Email your message to your Representative by going to www.house.gov . You will see a listing of all the Representatives and their websites, and you can email them through the websites.
OR Call your Representative. You can connect to all House offices through the Capitol Switchboard – (202) 224-3121.
Every call and email will help!
Sincerely,
L. Scott Lissner, AHEAD Secretary
Friday, May 16, 2008
New Podcast
I can FINALLY unveil the project that has taken me away from D411 so much the last few months. And I think it's been worth it! It will still require as lot of time to do the edits and everything, but now that it's up and running, the worst (i.e. most time consuming) is over.
I'll talk more about it in a show I plan to record this weekend.
------------------------------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jacquie Brennan
DBTAC Southwest ADA Center
713.520.0232, jbrennan@bcm.edu
FIRST EVER ASL VIDEO PODCAST LAUNCH from the
DISABILITY LAW LOWDOWN
May 13, 2008 – The first ever video podcast in American Sign Language is being launched today on the Disability Law Lowdown website at ASL.DisabilityLawLowdown.com. The Disability Law Lowdown ASL podcasts will bring a new level of service to the Deaf community by expanding traditional audio-only podcasts to include video that allows subscribers too see native Deaf speakers signing the show’s content. The podcasts will deliver the latest in disability law information every other week via American Sign Language, captioning, voice-over, and transcripts to maximize accessibility. Free subscriptions to the ASL podcasts are available to have shows automatically delivered to MP3 players. The ASL podcasts are also available on the Disability Law Lowdown website, where transcripts of the shows are simultaneously available. And for the fastest viewing, the ASL podcasts are available on YouTube at www.youtube.com/disabilitylawlowdown.
The hosts for the ASL Disability Law Lowdown are native Deaf signers Danny Warthling and AJ Roupp. They will provide the latest information about disability rights and obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other disability-related topics. Subscription is free and RSS feeds are available to automatically download the shows to video iPods, computers, phones, and other video-capable devices.
Disability Law Lowdown is provided by the Disability Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC), a national network of ten ADA Centers across the country, offering technical assistance and training in the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability-related laws. DCRE Labs developed the Disability Law Lowdown website and brought together several new technologies as part of the Disability Law Lowdown project.
To subscribe, look for the ASL Disability Law Lowdown podcast on iTunes, or visit ASL.DisabilityLawLowdown.com.
I'll talk more about it in a show I plan to record this weekend.
------------------------------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jacquie Brennan
DBTAC Southwest ADA Center
713.520.0232, jbrennan@bcm.edu
FIRST EVER ASL VIDEO PODCAST LAUNCH from the
DISABILITY LAW LOWDOWN
May 13, 2008 – The first ever video podcast in American Sign Language is being launched today on the Disability Law Lowdown website at ASL.DisabilityLawLowdown.com. The Disability Law Lowdown ASL podcasts will bring a new level of service to the Deaf community by expanding traditional audio-only podcasts to include video that allows subscribers too see native Deaf speakers signing the show’s content. The podcasts will deliver the latest in disability law information every other week via American Sign Language, captioning, voice-over, and transcripts to maximize accessibility. Free subscriptions to the ASL podcasts are available to have shows automatically delivered to MP3 players. The ASL podcasts are also available on the Disability Law Lowdown website, where transcripts of the shows are simultaneously available. And for the fastest viewing, the ASL podcasts are available on YouTube at www.youtube.com/disabilitylawlowdown.
The hosts for the ASL Disability Law Lowdown are native Deaf signers Danny Warthling and AJ Roupp. They will provide the latest information about disability rights and obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other disability-related topics. Subscription is free and RSS feeds are available to automatically download the shows to video iPods, computers, phones, and other video-capable devices.
Disability Law Lowdown is provided by the Disability Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC), a national network of ten ADA Centers across the country, offering technical assistance and training in the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability-related laws. DCRE Labs developed the Disability Law Lowdown website and brought together several new technologies as part of the Disability Law Lowdown project.
To subscribe, look for the ASL Disability Law Lowdown podcast on iTunes, or visit ASL.DisabilityLawLowdown.com.
Monday, February 25, 2008
If you have a few seconds...
I know this looks like spam, but it's not. It's from someone I actually work with. The voting takes just a few seconds...
------------------------------
Hi everyone.
The link below leads to the Colgate-Palmolive site where they are giving away fun centers to nine children's hospitals around the country. Children's Memorial Herman Hospital in Houston is one of the nine hospitals receiving a fun center. There is also voting going on through 2/29 to determine the hospital that will receive an additional fun center.
My son Noah has been in Children's Memorial Herman Hospital twice for testing. His stays have only been overnight, but hospital stays are very difficult for children. Noah is fortunate because he has grandparents who send a large bag full of individually wrapped presents for him to open throughout his stay. For most children a fun center could really make the difference between a fun experience and another difficult or traumatic encounter with medical intervention, especially for a child with chronic medical concerns.
If you cut and paste the link below, you'll see that Houston is slightly in the lead for receiving the additional fun center. The number of children who are hospital patients is staggering. The experience is overwhelming for families, especially those whose children are frequently in the hospital or who are in the hospital for extended stays. With all my heart, I would like to see the additional fun center in Houston. I hope that Noah won't be the child using the fun center, but he might. Please go to the link and vote. I understand that you can vote daily, and I think the voting ends on 2/29. Voting takes just a few seconds.
Please pass this on to anyone you know who might help out by voting.
http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/CommunityPrograms/show-the-love.cvsp
Thanks so much,
Angela Martin
------------------------------
Hi everyone.
The link below leads to the Colgate-Palmolive site where they are giving away fun centers to nine children's hospitals around the country. Children's Memorial Herman Hospital in Houston is one of the nine hospitals receiving a fun center. There is also voting going on through 2/29 to determine the hospital that will receive an additional fun center.
My son Noah has been in Children's Memorial Herman Hospital twice for testing. His stays have only been overnight, but hospital stays are very difficult for children. Noah is fortunate because he has grandparents who send a large bag full of individually wrapped presents for him to open throughout his stay. For most children a fun center could really make the difference between a fun experience and another difficult or traumatic encounter with medical intervention, especially for a child with chronic medical concerns.
If you cut and paste the link below, you'll see that Houston is slightly in the lead for receiving the additional fun center. The number of children who are hospital patients is staggering. The experience is overwhelming for families, especially those whose children are frequently in the hospital or who are in the hospital for extended stays. With all my heart, I would like to see the additional fun center in Houston. I hope that Noah won't be the child using the fun center, but he might. Please go to the link and vote. I understand that you can vote daily, and I think the voting ends on 2/29. Voting takes just a few seconds.
Please pass this on to anyone you know who might help out by voting.
http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/CommunityPrograms/show-the-love.cvsp
Thanks so much,
Angela Martin
I'm still here!
I know there's been a huge delay on the next Disability411, due to a number of reasons that I won't bore you with. Just in general, my life has been a bit...unpredictable lately. But I have a show recorded and hopefully will be out to you soon, so hang in there, stay subscribed, and Disability411 will be back with a vengence!
Friday, October 12, 2007
I'm in the paper!
It's not related to the podcast, but still kinda fun. And not a bad picture...
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/tomball/news/5201083.html
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/tomball/news/5201083.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
