On 7/10/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The fact is that in this society, if you can't drive in most locations,
you're completely dependent on other people and it's a terrible situation to
find oneself in. I felt that moving to the suburbs was one of the worst
decisions we'd ever made because had we stayed in New York City, we'd been
traveling independently on excellent public transit. And now that I'm so
disabled and am almost completely dependent on others for just about
everything, I can attest to the soul crushing effect. So I can completely
empathize with those people who cling to their cars until a disaster
occurs.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2019 11:44 AM
To: Roger Loran Bailey <rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx>
Cc: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: And I Thought 1984 Could Never Happen!
Roger and All Brave Former Drivers,
For those people who are "Personal Auto De pendant", losing their ability to
drive is the single most overwhelming loss, next to life, itself.
In our 25 years of providing services to more than 3,000 older blind and low
vision clients, the single most difficult loss is the loss of the driver's
license...As an aside, this feeling is a clear indication of how dependent
we have become on our automobiles.
And you, Roger, are in the minority of men who voluntarily give up
driving...before the accident occurs. Pat yourself on the back!!!
Women do better, but the ones who struggle make more noise than any ten
grown men. The folks who have their driver's licenses taken from them are
especially angry. "My daughter is acting like my mother!"
And my favorite, "I'll know when it's time to quit!" Yup. Right after the
sickening crunch. We do our best to "encourage" folks to play it safe and
leave the driving to others, but if the DOL has issued them a license, and
especially if their doctor will not sign off on the danger of this person
driving, then there's nothing we can do. So we try to scare the Hell out of
them. And after 25 years we have a big time collection of horror stories to
"share".
But those are tales best held for another day.
So Roger, a final salute to you, and as a reminder, never get in a car
driven by someone who uses a magnifying glass to see how fast they're going.
Yes! Such a woman does exist. So does the lady who asked us if they made
magnifying windshields. And the very angry woman whose two daughters stole
her driver's license and car keys, "I only need the car to drive back up the
hill to my house." Hmm...and just how did she plan to get the car down the
hill?
We may chuckle over some of the stories, but they are never funny to the
teller of the tales.
Carl Jarvis
on 9/19, Roger Loran Bailey <rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx> wrote:
I carry a non driver's ID now, but having to give up driving was
agonizing for me. The last time I drove the trip should have taken
about forty minutes, but turned into about two hours. A lot of that
time was taken up by pulling over to just collect my nerves. The trip
back was a lot faster because it was done at about three in the
morning without glaring sunlight and with sparse traffic, but I
realized that would have to be the last time I drove.
---
Voltaire
??? Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit
atrocities. ???
??? Voltaire,
On 7/9/2019 6:24 PM, Carl Jarvis wrote:
Back in my life as a sighted man...sort of...I did have a learner's
permit and took drivers Ed in high school. But I quickly realized
that I was crazy if I thought I could drive under normal conditions.
So I obtained a Washington State Identification Card. Like the
driver's license, it bore my most unflattering photo. At one time I
did not need to renew it for 7 years. I believe it's fewer years
now, but I just reapply through the mail.
My first wife, Judy, and I were married ten years and never owned a
car. At barely four feet eleven inches, and uncertain regarding her
own driving abilities, we rode with other folks...some of whom should
not have been allowed behind the wheel.
My second wife, Trish, and I stored her brother's car while he and
his wife worked in Alaska. Bill, her brother, said, "Go ahead and
drive it anytime you want." It was a Gremlin, a piece of tinfoil
wrapped around a scooter motor. But one day I said to Trish, "I'll
bet I can teach you to drive." And I did! I don't brag about this,
since she turned into one wild and crazy driver. But we used to
laugh about the thought of a cop pulling us over, and him yelling at
her, "you blind, or something?" And we'd say, "No, but my teacher
is." It was illegal as all Hell, but when Bill reclaimed his car, we
bought a Subaru.
Brand new for just over $5,000. That was 1972.
Carl Jarvis
On 7/9/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
One advantage of being blind, you can't drive a car. But if you get
a non driver's license for ID purposes, I guess it's no advantage.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Tuesday, July 09, 2019 4:17 PM
To: blind-democracy <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] And I Thought 1984 Could Never Happen!
Ah, but I do miss the innocence of my youth. Those were the days
when we thought our biggest fear was contacting a case of the Clap.
How little did we know.
Carl Jarvis
Subject: [EXTERNAL] FBI, ICE Using Facial Recognition To Bulk-Scan
DMV Photos In "Unprecedented Surveillance Infrastructure" | Zero
Hedge
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-07-08/fbi-ice-bulk-scanning-dmv-
photos-facial-recognition-unprecedented-surveillance
FBI, ICE Using Facial Recognition To Bulk-Scan DMV Photos In
"Unprecedented Surveillance Infrastructure"
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) along with Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been using state driver's license
databases to run photos of millions of Americans through
facial-recognition systems without their knowledge or consent,
according to the Washington Post.
inline-images/racial%20rec
block quote
Thousands of facial-recognition requests, internal documents and
emails over the past five years, obtained through public-records
requests by Georgetown Law researchers and provided to The
Washington Post, reveal that federal investigators have turned state
departments of motor vehicles databases into the bedrock of an
unprecedented surveillance infrastructure.
Police have long had access to fingerprints, DNA and other
???biometric data???
taken from criminal suspects. But the DMV records contain the photos
of a vast majority of a state???s residents, most of whom have never
been charged with a crime. - Washington Post block quote end
Disturbingly, neither Congress nor state legislatures have
authorized this type of system, and none of us agreed to it when we
obtained licenses.
"They???ve just given access to that to the FBI," said Rep. Jim
Jordan, ranking GOP member of the House Oversight Committee. "No
individual signed off on that when they renewed their driver???s
license, got their driver???s licenses. They didn???t sign any
waiver saying, ???Oh, it???s okay to turn my information, my photo,
over to the FBI.??? No elected officials voted for that to happen."
"Law enforcement???s access of state databases," and in particular
those of the DMV, is "often done in the shadows with no consent,"
added House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD).
And as has been reported for some time, law enforcement has been
relying on facial recognition technology as a routine investigative
tool for years
-
and it's going to get worse.
block quote
Since 2011, the FBI has logged more than 390,000 facial-recognition
searches of federal and local databases, including state DMV
databases, the Government Accountability Office said
last month, and the records show that federal investigators have
forged daily working relationships with DMV officials. In Utah, FBI
and ICE agents logged more than 1,000 facial-recognition searches
between 2015 and 2017, the records show. Names and other details are
hidden, though dozens of the searches are marked as having returned
a ???possible match.??? - Washington Post block quote end
Also disturbing is the fact that law enforcement often uses facial
recognition to investigate low-level crime, with searches "often
executed with nothing more formal than an email from a federal agent
to a local contact,"
according to the Post.
"It???s really a surveillance-first, ask-permission-later system,"
says Project on Government Oversight watchdog lawyer Jake Laperruque.
"People think this
is something coming way off in the future, but these
[facial-recognition] searches are happening very frequently today.
The FBI alone does 4,000 searches every month, and a lot of them go
through state DMVs."
Targeting illegals with licenses?
The Post also brings up the fact that undocumented residents who
obtain driver's licenses in states which allow this may be subject
to immigration enforcement due to the facial recognition technology.
block quote
Though Utah, Vermont and Washington allow undocumented immigrants to
obtain full driver???s licenses or more-limited permits known as
driving privilege cards, ICE agents have run facial-recognition
searches on those DMV databases.
More than a dozen states, including New York, as well as the
District of Columbia, allow undocumented immigrants to drive legally
with full licenses or driving privilege cards, as long as they
submit proof of in-state residency and pass the states???
driving-proficiency tests.
Lawmakers in Florida, Texas and other states have introduced bills
this year that would extend driving privileges to undocumented
immigrants. Some of those states already allow the FBI to scan
driver???s license photos, while others, such as Florida and New
York, are negotiating with the FBI over access, according to the
GAO. - Washington Post block quote end
"The state has told [undocumented immigrants], has encouraged them,
to submit that information. To me, it???s an insane breach of trust
to then turn around and allow ICE access to that," according to
Georgetown Law Center on Privacy and Technology senior associate
Clare Garvie, who led the research.
block quote
The FBI???s facial-recognition search has access to local, state and
federal databases containing more than 641 million face photos, a
GAO director said
last month. But the agency provides little information about when
the searches are used, who is targeted and how often searches return
false matches. - Washington Post block quote end
When asked about the surveillance, the FBI told the Post to refer to
last month's congressional testimony from Deputy Assistant Director
Kimberly Del Grecco, who said that facial recognition was necessary
"to preserve our nation???s freedoms, ensure our liberties are
protected, and preserve our security."
Racist technology?
Civil rights advocates have decried the use of facial recognition
technology due to the fact that it is far less accurate when trying
to identify people of color. According to the report, "The
software???s precision is highly dependent on a number of factors,
including the lighting of a subject???s face and the quality of the
image, and research has shown that the technology performs less
accurately on people with darker skin."
Whatever the objection, we're now at the point where our ability to
drive a car or enjoy the out-of-doors is subject to constant
electronic surveillance of varying accuracy.
