What Dr. King's Dream Means to Me

Today is the actual birthday for one of the greatest men in our nation's
history, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Yes, I know we will celebrate on
Monday, January 18.

The holiday that celebrates this man's birthday is more than part of a three
day weekend to me. As I sit and reflect on what Dr. King's dream means to
me, I come up with a couple of things.

First, Dr. King's work for a society in which African-Americans are afforded
equal opportunity and respect has led to other groups being able to do the
same things. As a person who is blind, I am indebted to Dr. King for
fighting so hard for civil rights. The work Dr. King and those who followed
him did has led to such civil rights laws as the Americans with Disabilities
Act. Thank you, Dr. King, for leading our nation toward one in which all
citizens, regardless of race, gender, national origin, physical or mental
disability, ETC. can be all they want to be. My wife and I have spent the
last few years in King day doing business on the community. Thanks to Dr.
King's work, we have the right to go into stores, purchase goods and
services, and know that we have the right to receive equal service as those
without disabilities.

In thinking about Dr. King's work, I cannot help but look at the so-called
African-American leaders out there and shake my head. Jesse Womanizer
Jackson and Al Big Mouth Sharpton couldn't even hold open the door for Dr.
King, much less carry on his legacy. I truly hope African-Americans figure
that out and figure out that they can excel to whatever position they want
too, and that they thank Dr. King for that. Look at our President,
President Barack Obama. He is living proof that anyone, regardless of race,
can strive to be elected to the highest office in arguably, the most
powerful nation on earth. You have to admire President Obama, regardless of
your political persuasion. A later entry I wil post will grade him after
his first year, and it will be very harsh. But, if any President,
regardless of color did the things he has done I'd grade them the same way.

So as we reflect on the words and work of Dr. King, let us strive to keep
our nation one in which all people can equally enjoy te opportunities they
want to take advantage of.

Unimaginable Tragedy

It is impossible for me to imagine the horror, anguish, and other things
those who are still alive in Haiti are going through as I write this. Many
have family members whose whereabouts they do not know. People hearing
cries for help under the rubble rought by the quake who can do nothing to
help.

Many thoughts are crossing my mind as I think about this tragedy. First and
foremost, my prayers are with those still alive in Haiti, with the rescue
teams working to save people, and with the families of those no longer with
us. This tragedy also demonstrates once again the awesome power Mother
Nature has. Think about it. Just two days ago, the people of Porta Prince
and other parts of Haiti were going about their lives with nothing but their
usual concerns. Then, in a few short seconds, their world was tragically
turned upside down.

Haiti may be the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. But neither rich
nor ppoor people deserve to have family members taken from them or have
their own lives snuffed out in an instant like this.

Finally, this tragedy reminds me how precious life is and how we must
cherish every moment we have. It reminds me to take the time and spend it
with those I care most about. Because, we never know when something will
happen to change our world in a significant way, and not necessarily for the
better.

So as we pray for the people of Haiti and those trying to help them, let's
all take a few minutes, call our families and let them know how much we care
about them. Let's make sure those we love know how much we love them. Life
is a precious gift, which God giveth and God can taketh away.

Double Standard Alive And Well, And It Makes Me Angry

Well, the double standard is alive and kicking. In the book soon to be
published, "Changing game," reference is made to comments made by U.S.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reed of Nevada which were along the lines that
President Obama would have an easier time getting elected because he is a
light skinned African-American and doesn;t speak in Negro Dialect unless he
wants too.

Clearly, these comments were hurtful and offensive. They shouldn't have
been said. Reed has apologized to Obama for making these comments and Obama
has accepted. I have no problem with that.

What I do have a problem with is the way the media and others are responding
to this. They seem to be casting it off, saying it's really no big deal.
Even Al Sharpton says he's standing by Senator Reed.

Imagine if Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell would have made a similar,
dumb, offensive comment and apologized. Would the reactions be the same?
Absolutely not. There would be calls for McConnell to step down from the
Senate. There would be demonstrations outside of his office. Every talking
head would have something to say about it and it would go on and on forever.

Comments like those of Senator Harry Reed are offensive regardless who says
them. Reed apologized as he should. However, as long as you favor liberal
idiology, you can pretty much say anything you want and a simple apology is
all that is required. If you follow conservative ideology, then reactions
are quite different and it makes me sick. Reed said something he shouldn't
have said. Well, conservative folks make mistakes too and should be treated
the same way when we do.

Packers' Season Is Over, But A Lot to Build On

I'm sad that the Green Bay Packers' season has come to an end at the hands
of the Arizona Cardinals. But, the Packers have a lot to build on for the
future and will probably be back in the playoffs next year, going farther.

Offensively, Aaron Rodgers has another year under his belt. He and the team
didn't quit today, that shows guts and determination. Despite the turnovers
Rodgers had today, he's an excellent game manager, and is proving to be a
very good Quarterback. He's going to be a starr in the NFL.

Speaking of stars, Jermichal Finley is emerging into a great tight end.
Finley looks like the real deal, and his ability to stretch a defense will
pay big dividends in the future.

The Packers are still very strong at wide receiver and at running back.
Their offensive weakness in my opinion is Offensive Line.

Although they didn't play the part today, the Packers' defense has greatly
improved throughout the season. Clay Mathews looks like the real deal.
Another year under the 3-4 and a few more players and they've got the
potential to be something special.

Now that the off season is upon us, darn it, here are what I believe the
Packers' needs are. At the top of the list is offensive tackle. Chad
Clifton and Mark Touscher are getting up in years and will need to be
replaced. T. J. Lang looks like he could play one of the tackle spots with
a little more seasoning.

Next on the list, a punter. They need someone who can place the ball inside
the 20 consistently. They need to bring in a kicker to compete with Mason
Crosby as Crosby had a down year. Crosby has a very strong leg, so I don't
want to totally give up on him. Having competition in training camp would
push him to improve his accuracy.

Finally, the Packers need to draft for depth at Cornerback and Safety. It's
time to end the Jarred Bush experiment. With Woodson, Harris and Williams,
they have three solid starting caliber corners, but beyond that they are
week and need to bring in some depth. Also, they need better depth at
Safety, for after Bigby and Collins there isn't much there.

As for the remainder of these playoffs, I'm rooting either for the Cardinals
or Saints to get into the Super Bowl from the NFC. I believe Indianapolis
will ultimately win the big game.

2010 Advocacy Resolutions for this Advocate Who Is Blind

As we approach 2010, many of us are making New Year's Resolutions. Oh I
know, there are the usual ones like losing weight, quitting smoking,
resolving to spend more time with family, ETC., and I may or may not make
some of those.

Right now, here are my New Year's Resolutions as an advocate who is blind.

Resolution 1: resolve to fight wit every ounce of my being to see H.R.3101
increase in co-sponsors, get passed by Congress and signed into law by
President Obama. This simply has to happen so that as technology advances,
people who are blind and people who are deaf-blind aren't left behind.

Resolution 2: resolve to work to see that H.R.734 and S.841 are passed and
signed into law. This will force action to be taken to resolve the very
real safety concerns posed by quiet cars for pedestrians who are blind.
More and qieter cars are coming on the market. The time for action to help
make them safer is now!

Resolution 3; resolve to work tirelessly so that no state which has a
residential school for the blind has to live in fear that legislators, more
concerned about cutting budgets than the education of all children will
pounce on that school and either target it for closure or suggest that it be
merged with other institutions within the state. Like all children,
children who are blind have varying educational needs. While many can
thrive in mainstream environments, there are those who need the education
that can be offered at a residential school for at least part of their
educational career and that option needs to be available.

Resolution 4: resolve in my home state of Illinois to get the process
moving so that new people with new ideas have a fighting chance to get
appointed to our Bureau of Blind Services' Blind Services Planning Council.
It's kind of like bread. If you keep the same people on the council for
years and years, their ideas get stale. We all need to think out of the box
and that goes for blindness services too. Bringing in new people and ideas
wil help us do that.

Resolution 5: resolve to participate in whatever ways I can to see that the
Department of the Treasury continues moving ahead at a rapid pace to make
United States paper currency independently identifiable by people who are
blind. The courts have spoken, it's time for Treasury to move ahead.

Resolution 6: resolve to work in whatever ways I can for increased access
to the growing libraries of electronic books off the shelf for people who
are blind. Mainstream devices like the Kindle promise an unprecedented
level of access to the written word for people who are blind. We must work
to see that forces which would delay or deny this access are stopped.

Resolution 7: resolve to work for increased access to prescription drug
information and medicare and insurance reimbursement for vision-related
services and equipment. We stand on the brink of passing sweeping changes
in our nation's ealth care system. Regardless how you personally feel about
that, we can't let this opportunity pass us by to make meaningful changes in
health care which benefit people who are blind.

Whew, it's going to be a busy year. I certainly can't and won't be doing
these things alone. I hope many of you will share the resolve out there and
help this advocate and others to keep at least a few of these resolutions.
As the theme of President Obama's election campaign went, "Yes we can."

Happy New Year,

Most Significant Event of the Decade for People Who Are Blind

Everyone is looking back on the first decade of the new Millennium and
talking about things that changed our lives. As a person who is blind, I
thought I'd do some looking back on the thing that most changed the world
for people who are blind.

Maybe others have different thoughts, but I think the 2000 Presidential
Election and the resulting Help America Vote Act is the most significant
thing that changed life for people who are blind. This is because for the
first time, Congress took seriously the fact that we who are blind have a
right to a secret, independently verifiable ballot. The 2000 election
exposed many of the flaws in our nation's election system, and forced us to
think of new ways to record and count votes. This brought new, electronic
technology into the voting booth and with it, increased access for those of
us who are blind.

Certainly, there were other events this decade that changed the lives of
people who are blind in significant ways. From continued advances in
technology to political changes, we've come a long way. But independent
access to exercise one of our most inalienable rights, the right to vote is
to me the most significant event that changed the lives of people who are
blind this decade.

Looking Back on 2009

In many ways, 2009 was a year of change. For the first time in eight years,
we inaugurated a new President of the United States. Regardless of your
political persuasion, everyone has to admit that it was a significant time
in our nation's history, swearing in of the first President who is
African-American. Changes happened in our nation's and world's economies
that will affect all of us for years to come.

How were we as people who are blind affected by what has happened in 2009?
Certainly, we could not escape the realities of the economic downturn in our
nation. Perhaps some of us lost jobs, perhaps those of us who still are
working experienced cutbacks. Perhaps state rehabilitation services had to
cut back on purchases. Whatever your experience, the economy affected our
lives as it did the rest of the nation.

Many of the major things that happened in 2009 centered around politics.
Regardless of how one personally feels about Health Care Reform, there are
significant things we as people who are blind need. Things like better
access to prescription drug information, and Medicare and insurance
reimbursements for vision related services and equipment.

The continuing changes in technology have affected people who are blind.
The growth of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter has helped
more people who are blind become more connected. I also believe this has
been helped by alternatives to the more expensive adaptive programs like
JAWS and Window-Eyes. Programs like System Access, System Access to Go, and
NVDA have put adaptive solutions within reach of more people. We've seen at
least one company come out with a cheaper 40-cell Braille Display. The
proliferation of Netbooks can put the power of the computer, literally, ad
one's fingertips almost anywhere. And, devices like the BookSense and
Plextalk have joined the Victor Stream in making books, music, podcasts and
other things available on the go.

We've managed to bring the discussion of quiet cars and the hazard they pose
to pedestrians who are blind to a little closer to the front burner. Still
work to do there. We also must continue to work in 2010 for passage of
legislation to improve telecommunications and video access for people who
are blind.

As we approach the end of 2009, we who are blind will be affected by much of
what happens in general society in 2010. There will be a mid term election,
and who knows how or if that will change our political landscape.
Certainly, with the latest attempted terrorist attack security and safety in
the skies will be revisited and we who are blind will be affected by that.
We'll just have to see how things go. As we move toward 2010, I wish
everyone a Happy New Year. Enjoy all of those football games tomorrow, and
the Rose Bowl Parade featuring the Ohio State School for the Blind's
Marching Band.