George - this post was written by my friend Don Reed - "diverdon" - it is 
not as clear as it should be because his regular signature got cut off when 
I cropped the article for posting.
Ray
Rayilyn Brown
Director AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation
[log in to unmask]

--------------------------------------------------
From: "George Bousliman" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2009 10:01 AM
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Obama and Disability Community

> Ray - Excellent post.  I would urge you  to  forward a copy to the White 
> House.
>
> George L. Bousliman
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "rayilynlee" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 5:00 PM
> Subject: Obama and Disability Community
>
>
>> What an amazing record in first 60 days!!!!
>> President Obama and the Disability Community
>> April 15, 2009 by diverdonreed
>>
>> OBAMA AND THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY
>>
>> Before my son Roman received a spinal cord injury, I never gave much 
>> thought as to what it meant to be disabled. I was polite, of course. If I 
>> met a person in a wheelchair, I just went around. But what was it like to 
>> be denied the use of one's limbs? Or to be unable to hear? Aside from an 
>> occasional movie, like the "The Miracle Worker", Helen Keller's true 
>> story of being both blind and deaf, the subject never seemed to come up.
>>
>> Disability was just a word.
>>
>> Then, in an instant, everything changed. Roman became paralyzed, and he 
>> (and indirectly his family) became part of the disability community.
>>
>> I had no idea how many citizens with disabilities there were.
>>
>> According to the most recent U.S. Census, roughly one in five Americans 
>> has a disability: meaning she or he has difficulty with everyday 
>> activities: like breathing, or seeing, or getting dressed in the morning.
>>
>> The disability community is America's largest minority-even without their 
>> families! If organized, we can win any election.
>>
>> This vast potential power has not gone unnoticed.
>>
>> During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Sarah Palin and John McCain tried 
>> to rally the disability community against the Democratic party. Their 
>> campaign stated that Obama's tax plan would hurt disabled people, by 
>> taxing families who had set up trust funds for their special needs family 
>> members.
>>
>> That was a surprise to me. Trust funds? Most folks in the disability 
>> community are poor: financially struggling to make ends meet. Even in the 
>> best of times, unemployment for disabled workers is like the Great 
>> Depression. When you are worried about scraping together enough money to 
>> put food on the table, there is no extra cash for stocks or bonds or any 
>> kind of trust fund.
>>
>> I was glad to hear Obama spokespeople respond strongly. One advisor, 
>> Jason Furman, called the attack a "blatant lie", saying that Obama would 
>> work with the Treasury department to "make sure tax rates do not.increase 
>> on any family making less than $250,000 a year." Another (Bill Burton) 
>> said that Mr. Obama "has a comprehensive plan to support families that 
>> have children with special needs and empower individuals with 
>> disabilities." -Wall Street Journal, Chozick and Timiraos, October 24, 
>> 2008.
>>
>> Were they telling the truth?
>>
>> Like millions of Americans, I was a volunteer worker for Obama, seeing 
>> his leadership as crucial for the nation as a whole, and the disability 
>> community in particular.
>>
>> One of the people I worked with on the campaign was Kareem Dale. He was 
>> in charge of outreach to the disability community. We never met, just 
>> talked on phone conferences, where he was invariably calm and affable, 
>> very focused and on top of the situation. I did not realize till much 
>> later that he was blind.
>>
>> So, after the campaign, did Mr. Dale go back to what he had been doing 
>> before? Did the Obama campaign tell him, thank you very much, we 
>> appreciate your support, see you next election?
>>
>> Not exactly.
>>
>> A new position was created in the White House.
>>
>> And a few days ago, I received the following information from Kareem 
>> Dale, now Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy..
>>
>> Kareem Dale may be visually challenged, but he sees deeply into the 
>> problems of the disability community, and he is right there beside the 
>> President, making sure our families will never be forgotten.
>>
>> Remember the disability community saying, "Nothing about us, without us"? 
>> Disability folks do not want occasional handouts, crumbs tossed from the 
>> table-we want to be seated at the table of power, contributing and 
>> participating when decisions are made.
>>
>> The rest of this column is from Kareem Dale, listing some of the steps 
>> the Obama Presidency has already taken in support of Americans with 
>> disabilities.
>>
>> ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN DISABILITY COMMUNITY IN FIRST 60 DAYS
>>
>> SIGNINGS
>>
>> ? (President Obama) signed SCHIP, which will provide insurance to 
>> millions of children, including children with disabilities.
>> ? Signed stem cell Executive Order, which will open the door to potential 
>> cures for many disabilities.
>> ? Signed Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, which will, for the 
>> first time in history, bring together the best minds across the country 
>> to collaborate on research, rehabilitation and improvement of quality of 
>> life for people living with paralysis.
>>
>> RECOVERY ACT
>>
>> ? People with disabilities were included as never before in the recovery 
>> plan.
>> ? Provided a one-time additional payment of $250 to people who receive 
>> Social Supplemental Income.
>> ? Provided $500 million to the Social Security Administration to help 
>> reduce backlogs.
>> ? Provided $87 billion in Medicaid funding for states.
>> ? Provided $140 million in funding for independent living centers.
>> ? Provided over $500 million in funding for vocational rehabilitation 
>> services to help with job training, education and placement.
>> ? Provided $12 billion in funding for the Individuals with Disabilities 
>> Education Act.
>>
>> APPOINTMENTS
>>
>> ? Appointed a Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy 
>> with responsibilities in the Domestic Policy Council and Office of Public 
>> Liaison for the first time in history.
>> ? Appointed a Special Assistant to the President in the White House 
>> Office of Personnel to focus on disability appointments for the first 
>> time in history.
>> ? Appointed a Senior Advisor on Disability Policy in the Domestic Policy 
>> Council for the first time in history.
>> ? Nominated a person with a disability, Kathy Martinez, to be Director of 
>> ODEP.
>> ? Nominated Seth Harris, a long time disability advocate, to be Deputy 
>> Secretary of Labor.
>> ? Nominated Tom Perez, a long-time supporter of the disability community, 
>> to head the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.
>>
>> OUTREACH
>>
>> ? President hosted a greet with 10 disability leaders following the 
>> signing of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act.
>> ? Vice-President led a delegation to the Special Olympics.
>> ? Included people with disabilities at all public White House events.
>> ? Invited Carmen Jones, an African American woman with a disability, to 
>> participate in the small group meeting with seven other small business 
>> owners to discuss issues with the President facing small business owners.
>> ? Invited six leaders from the disability community to the signing of 
>> SCHIP.
>> ? Invited disability leaders to participate in the White House and 
>> regional healthcare summits, including members of CCD, ADAPT, National MS 
>> Society, mental health groups, autism groups and many other disability 
>> groups across the country.
>> ? Invited CCD to participate in the fiscal summit.
>> ? Hosted outreach meetings with disability leaders and organizations.
>> ? Hosting briefing and meeting for presidents of national disability 
>> organizations.
>>
>> Rayilyn Brown
>> Director AZNPF
>> Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
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