Blind Couple Denied Day Care License

All rights reserved.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/4159677/detail.html
There's even an on- line poll that allows you to vote on the debate. Last time I checked, 26% of voters believe that the couple should be allowed to open a day care, 62% feel they should not, and 12% aren't sure.

A Grand Junction, Colo. couple is at the center of a developing controversy over disabilities
that could become a national issue.
Tom and Christine Hutchinson wanted to open a day-care operation in
their home, so they took CPR and first-aid courses required by the state
of Colorado.
They also submitted to background and medical checks and provided
references. Their home was inspected and the submitted to in-home interviews
about their
backgrounds, college degrees, and child and family studies.
The state spent six months going through their qualifications before
denying their license because of their disability.

some dis-quieting news & what to do about it

This was sent to me by way of the National Federation of the Blind's Director of Governmental Affairs

Immediate Action Needed To Save Vocational
Rehabilitation

Fellow Federationists,

H.R. 27, the bill to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act comes
before
the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on February 16.
Indications are that this legislation will include a provision allowing
governors to seek permission to consolidate several employment and
training
programs including the Vocational Rehabilitation program. Every one of
us
must express opposition to this provision because its passage likely
means
the end of separate and identifiable services for the blind in those
states
that choose this option.

We all know there are significant costs necessary for good training
prior to
employment. We all know the rehabilitation program including funding
and
services must remain separate from other programs in order to preserve
accountability for the spending of those funds. The blind are a low
incidence disability and would suffer in the fierce competition for
services
and funds expected under consolidation.

So what shall we do? Each of you with members from your state on the
House
Committee on Education and the Workforce must call your Washington
office
and urge your representatives to exclude the Vocational Rehabilitation
program from any consolidation plan. At this time, I do not have an
amendment sponsor, but I continue to aggressively pursue leads to find
a
Republican committee member who will introduce an amendment. Let me
know
immediately if you have a lead for me. An announcement will be
promptly
posted when someone is found.

This provision is among the most serious threats ever faced by the
Vocational Rehabilitation program. While many of us have our share of
bad
rehabilitation experiences, we are much better off with the program we
have
than the one that would result if this provision becomes law. We have
much
educating to do. Please spread the word widely seeking calls from all
who
can do so. This threat to rehabilitation services is real and it
demands
our very best efforts if we hope to prevail. I trust that we will.
Below
you will find a list of members of the House Education and the
Workforce
Committee with phone number included. For states without members,
contact
either the office of John Boehner or the office of Buck McKeon to show
your
concern about this provision.

James McCarthy
Director of Governmental Affairs
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
(410) 659-9314, ext. 2240
jmccarthy@nfb.org

COMMITTEE MEMBERS: House Committee on Education and
the
Workforce

MEMBER
PHONE FAX
Rep. John A. Boehner (R-OH) (Chair) 202-225-6205
202-225-0704
Rep. Thomas E. Petri (R-WI) (Vice Chair) 202-225-2476
202-225-2356
Rep. George Miller (D-CA) (Ranking Minority Member) 202-225-2095
202-225-5609
Rep. Howard P. McKeon (R-CA) 202-225-1956
202-226-0683
Rep. Michael N. Castle
(R-DE) 202-225-4165 202-225-2291
Rep. Sam Johnson
(R-TX) 202-225-4201
202-225-1485
Rep. Charlie Norwood
(R-GA) 202-225-4101 202-225-0279
Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers (R-MI) 202-225-3831
202-225-5144
Rep. Judy Biggert
(R-IL) 202-225-3515 202-225-9420
Rep. Todd Platts
(R-PA) 202-225-5836
202-226-1000
Rep. Pat Tiberi
(R-OH) 202-225-5355
202-226-4527
Rep. Richard Anthony Keller (R-FL) 202-225-2176
202-225-0999
Rep. Tom Osborne
(R-NE) 202-225-6435
202-226-1385
Rep. Joe Wilson
(R-SC) 202-225-2452
202-225-2455
Rep. Jon Porter
(R-NV) 202-225-3252
202-225-2185
Rep. John Kline
(R-MN) 202-225-2271
202-225-2595
Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) 202-225-4676
202-225-5870
Rep. Bob Inglis
(R-SC) 202-225-6030
202-225-1177
Rep. Cathy McMorris
(R-WA) 202-225-2006 202-225-3392
Rep. Kenny Marchant
(R-TX) 202-225-6605 202-225-0074
Rep. Tom Price
(R-GA) 202-225-4501
202-225-4656
Luis Fortuno
(R-PR) 202-225-2615
202-225-2154
Rep. Bobby Jindal
(R-LA) 202-225-3015 202-225-3015
Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) 202-225-2031
202-225-5724
Rep. Virginia Foxx
(R-NC) 202-225-2071 202-225-2995
Rep. Thelma Drake
(R-VA) 202-225-4215 202-225-4218
Rep. John (Randy) Kuhl
(R-NY) 202-225-3161 202-226-6599
Rep. Mark Edward Souder
(R-IN) 202-225-4436 202-225-3479
Rep. Dale E. Kildee
(D-MI) 202-225-3611 202-225-6393
Rep. Major R. Owens
(D-NY) 202-225-6231 202-226-0112
Rep. Donald M. Payne (D-NJ) 202-225-3436
202-225-4160
Rep. Robert E. Andrews
(D-NJ) 202-225-6501 202-225-6583
Rep. Bobby C. Scott
(D-VA) 202-225-8351 202-225-8354
Rep. Lynn C. Woolsey (D-CA) 202-225-5161
202-225-5163
Rep. Ruben Hinojosa
(D-TX) 202-225-2531 202-225-5688
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) 202-225-5516
202-225-5758
Rep. John Tierney
(D-MA) 202-225-8020 202-225-5915
Rep. Ron Kind
(D-WI) 202-225-5506
202-225-5739
Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich
(D-OH) 202-225-5871 202-225-5745
Rep. Rush Holt
(D-NJ) 202-225-5801
202-225-6025
Rep. David Wu
(D-OR) 202-225-0855
202-225-9497
Rep. Susan Davis
(D-CA) 202-225-2040
202-225-2948
Rep. Betty McCollum
(D-MN) 202-225-6631 202-225-1968
Rep. Danny Davis
(D-IL) 202-225-5006
202-225-5641
Rep. Raul Grijalva
(D-AZ) 202-225-2435 202-225-1541
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) 202-225-5341
202-225-0375
Rep. Timothy J. Ryan (D-OH) 202-225-5261
202-225-3719
Rep. Timothy Bishop
(D-NY) 202-225-3826 202-225-3143
Rep. John Barrow
(D-GA) 202-225-2823
202-225-3377

Trick or treat

I know it’s early to be thinking about this, but for Halloween this year I’ve decided to go as the Cowboy Bomber from the State of the Union- er- Dr. Strangelove. Somehow, I seem to get those two confused…

The absence of outrage coming from Americans infuriates ME.

check out Little Red Shoes...

It’s amazing the power one voice can wield when soaring from the speakers into a chilly Chicago apartment. I spent the morning reading a magazine and generally feeling guilty about not working until I came across an article on theology- themed blogs. It’s sweet vindication when loafing magically begets RESEARCH. Decided to celebrate by listening to the new (to me) Loretta Lynn cd.

Rarely does a cd manage to make me this happy, but Van Lear Rose has led me to the instant giddy caffeine- fueled conclusion that more, MORE Country Goddess-Elders like fierce-tender Loretta should be encouraged, implored, compelled, bribed, begged- whatever it takes- to keep on recording. Would that Jack White vows to make it his life’s mission to ensconce the Grandeammes of country music in a loving embrace of thoughtful, refined productions like this one.

Runoff

A sopping wet day in Chicago. Winter took the day off, obliterating the grimy piles of snow that lingered for the duration of the first deep freeze. Walking home tonight I didn’t even need my coat. It’s practically sultry. I even got my key to turn in the front gate after two weeks of having to use my building’s back entrance. I love taking walks on days like this when so much moisture ssetles back into the earth. I have a thing for drainage, runoff, skirting the puddles, minding the paths worn in the snow, those invisible shifts to ice or slush. I like the patterns of exhaust and tire treads on white, the filthy gray crusts plastered to the curbs by snowplows.

On this strictly imitation spring day I just feel dehydrated, after an unantcipated season of Great Sex. Funny, I thought being in grad school would mean having little or none. What a relief that isn't the case.

Talk Show Mom

This morning I was unlucky enough to turn on the TV to find Oprah consoling the mother of Mattie Stepanek, the child poet and Oprah protige (or as the show’s website puts it, “Oprah’s special friend”) who died last year from complications related to a rare form of muscular dystrophy. Nestled between Oprah, John Travolta, and the other stars of Ladder 49, Mattie’s mom recounts the final tortured moments of her son’s life. Just as the shockwaves of disgust that now drench me begin to show signs of melting into sympathy, the camera angle shifts and I am stunned to see that, like her son, Jeni Stepanek uses a wheelchair.

I'm stunned because I cannot believe that a woman with a disability would subject her own child to the media’s faux- compassion mill, that gratuitous engine of exploitation that makes the larger portion of televised journalism unbearable.

I feel better now.

And, just what does John Travolta have to do with any of this? Turns out the kid liked firemen, and of course poetry, public speaking, girls, Jimmie Carter and... smoozing with big celebs. So I guess no one should mind that this memorial show should double as a promotional device.

Hit or Miss Accessibility at the MCA

Had a great conversation with Angela today about art, blindness, museum accessibility, and how “community building” might facilitate real solutions. I’ve been thinking a lot about the Dan Peterman show at the MCA, and how strange it was to interact with the work within an institutional setting.

The chairs made from grocery carts? “Why, yes you can sit on those!” the museum guard assured me. The same went for the house of foam and the outdoor classroom tree stumps. I’d almost made my way through the entire exhibit without incident when the guard came over to inspect the monocular I use to read the titles of artworks and other inaccessible signage.
“Just as long as you aren’t taking pictures with it…” she warned, visibly concerned, even after I’d explained its function. I realized I was looking at a piece that belongs to someone that I in fact know- the dean of the art school where I’m currently working towards an MFA in Studio Art. An additional sign read, “Please do not touch.” The piece was a customized Swiss army knife, complete with a small tin cup. Nothing too fragile. Still, I wonder if Judith would mind if a couple of blind people handled her Peterman while wearing curator’s gloves. Not that this was an option, because in the U.S. people with disabilities have access to only a fraction of the cultural products on display in public institutions.

I left the MCA that day marveling at the complex negotiations that artists like Dan are engaging in. Angela said something to me today about museums functioning as the mausoleums for dead art. I do think that when people are discouraged from engaging with work in an intuitive way that, well, the smell of rot must creep in.