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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] >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: >> mailto:[log in to unmask] >> In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: > mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn