Blogging Against Disablism Day, May 1st 2008

I’m gonna go all political on you today, this glorious day of Blogging Against Disablism Day (and for a chance for a first edition copy of GIFTS drop me a comment, see below) Let me ask this. Have you chosen your presidential candidate? Here in Indiana, we get to participate in the Primary vote next Tuesday May 6th. Quite exciting actually. Did you know Obama is the only candidate that is behind Fully Funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA? If you haven’t seen Barack Obama’s plan, then go to BARACK OBAMA’S PLAN TO EMPOWER AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES . Here is his position on Fully Funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: Barack Obama has been a strong and consistent advocate for fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Congress promised to shoulder 40 percent of each state’s “excess cost” of educating children with disabilities, but it has never lived up to this obligation. Currently, the federal government provides less than half of the promised funding (17 percent). Children are being shortchanged, and their parents are forced to fight with cash-strapped school districts to get the free and appropriate education the IDEA promises their children. Fully funding IDEA will provide students with disabilities the public education they have a right to, and school districts will be able to provide services without cutting into their general education budgets. In addition to fully funding IDEA, Obama will ensure effective implementation and enforcement of the Act. IDEA reaches every public school. Approximately 12 percent of public school students receive assistance through special education. When IDEA was passed in 1975 the law included a commitment to pay 40 percent of the average per-student cost for every special education student. That commitment has never been met. Congress is currently funding IDEA at less than 18 percent. See the impact on your state of proposals to reduce the federal share. No, I have never voted for a Democrat for President. But if Barack Obama, former Civil Right Attorney, gets there, yes, he will get our vote. And I work for a Republican Attorney General! Yes, that is just how important this election is for fully funding IDEA. Really. Now lets hope we can scrape up enough money to buy gas get to the primary on Tues. May 6th _____________________ Oh and on this wonderous of Blogging Against Disablism Day, May 1st 2008, just leave a little note and I will put the names into a hat and have the Nash man pull out a winner for a fantastical GIFT....the unique first edition of Gifts: How Children with Down syndrome Have Enriched Our Lives Copyright 2006 by Booksurge LLC Winner to be chosen on Mothers Day. yeah, how lucky are you all today? A little politics and a big ol' GIFT.

FORMER CLINTON ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS ENDORSE BARACK OBAMA

FORMER CLINTON ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS ENDORSE BARACK OBAMA “Barack Obama is the disability community’s best choice for change.” February 6, 2008 Dear Friends: We were privileged to work for President Bill Clinton in senior appointed positions related to disability policy and programs. We are proud of the progress made during the 1990s on behalf of the disability community and all Americans. Yet, in 2008, we believe that Barack Obama is the disability community’s best choice for change. We support Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. We urge you to join us in voting or caucusing for Barack Obama. Every day, people with disabilities face unimaginable barriers and blatant prejudice that most Americans never encounter. As a result, people with disabilities are employed at a much lower rate than other Americans. They have a higher poverty rate and a lower home ownership rate. Students with disabilities are less likely to earn a high school diploma and even less likely to get a four-year college degree. The number of people with disabilities who depend on Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income is rising while fewer and fewer are able to live independently and support themselves. These challenges did not arise for the first time when George W. Bush entered the White House. The problems are stubborn and long-lasting. Certainly, the empty rhetoric and lackluster policies of the past seven years have made a difficult road more difficult for Americans with disabilities. We believe change --- dramatic change --- is necessary and possible. We deeply believe that Barack Obama is the best candidate to lead our nation and to help us change our world. Barack Obama’s goal is our goal --- a world free of barriers, stereotypes, and discrimination. He has proposed a Plan to Empower Americans with Disabilities that sets the right agenda for achieving that goal. We urge you to read his Plan by going to www.BarackObama.com, clicking on the “Issues” tab, and then clicking on “Disabilities,” or going directly to http://www.BarackObama.com/issues/disabilities. Even more important than the specific details of the plan is the fact that he has a plan. He has focus. Barack Obama’s understanding of the hopes and dreams of Americans with disabilities and their families, and his knowledge of the barriers they face, run deep. He knows what it means to be denied health insurance because of one’s pre-existing condition: his own mother worried about whether her new health insurance policy would deny her coverage as she lay dying from cancer. He learned about the every-day barriers people with disabilities face from his father-in-law, Frasier Robinson, who lived with multiple sclerosis. From his wife Michelle, he learned what families must overcome when supporting a loved one with a disability. Barack Obama has faced down and helped others topple bigotry all of his life. As a community organizer, a civil rights attorney, a state legislator, and a U.S. Senator, he has constantly reached beyond what divides us to forge a working majority for hope. He believes our nation’s best days lay ahead of us --- not behind us. He helps us believe in the most powerful American dream --- that together we can build a more just and perfect union, that together we can change the world. For Americans with disabilities, this is the kind of leader we need. Barack Obama has the experience we must have in the next President of the United States of America. As President, he will bring us together --- all of us --- to build a society in which every person can feel that they belong, each person can achieve to the limits of his or her abilities, and all people can make a difference. We hope you will join us in supporting Barack Obama for President of the United States. Thank you very much. Sincerely yours, Seth Harris, Former Counselor to the U.S. Secretary of Labor, andFormer Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Policy Paul Steven Miller, Former Commissioner, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Former White House Liaison to the Disability Community Sue Swenson, Former Commissioner, Administration on Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Robert R. Williams, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services