One of the problems we, in the Blind Rehab Program, are faced with is
that people are so happy just having someone call on them, that they
are willing to accept just about anything in the way of assistance.
It's difficult to get folks worked up over the blatant discrimination
they face, when, on the one hand they have such low expectations, and
on the other hand they are afraid to request equal treatment for fear
of losing what little they do have.
We need to pay close attention to the example set by President Donald
Trump. His snipes and Tweets are very typical of a large number of
Bosses toward their employees. Trump is the first president in my
lifetime who takes off the velvet gloves when expressing his contempt
for the Working Class. Certainly he is not alone in his beliefs, but
other presidents had enough class(good sense) to cover their biases
with placating verbiage(also called Fog).
Years ago I was talking with my grandpa, promoting an up and coming
fellow running for congress. I raved about his fresh ideas, and how
he would help get our nation headed back in the right direction.
Grandpa listened to me go on and on. Finally I stopped and waited for
his assessment. "Well," Grandpa drawled, "That young man might have
some real fancy ideas, but it's near impossible for a man to fall in a
cesspool and come out smelling like roses".
And in that case, grandpa was dead on.
Carl Jarvis
On 9/26/17, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The Americans With Disabilities Act Is Under Threat
Monday, September 25, 2017
By Kristin Miller, Moyers & Company | Report
The optics were bad enough when disabled Americans were being dragged out
of
capital buildings as they protested potential loss of benefits in the first
two iterations of Republican health care bills. For the protestors it was
all about Medicaid. The Senate bill did away with Obamacare's Medicaid
expansion which would drop millions of low-income Americans from the rolls.
And the bill completely changed the way Medicaid is financed -- getting rid
of open-ended funding and moving toward a "per-capita" system. The new
Graham-Cassidy bill under consideration needs to be voted on within the
next
week to get an easy pass with just 51 votes. Like its predecessors, it also
halts Medicaid expansion and turns Medicaid dollars over to the states to
determine spending.
To see more stories like this, visit Moyers & Company at Truthout.
But disability advocates have even more reason to be distressed by the
policies of the Republican administration. Long a dream of the Chamber of
Commerce, the real estate industry and those who see "frivolous lawsuits"
around every corner, the Americans with Disabilities Act is in danger of
having its bite removed. Just after celebrating the 27th birthday of the
act, signed into law by President George H.W. Bush, up pops (H.R. 620) The
ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017.
As Jake Flanagin at Quartz reports:
The ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017 (H.R. 620) seems like a rather
innocuous bill at first glance -- it compels the Department of Justice to
formulate a program that educates state and local officials and business
owners on "strategies for promoting access to public accommodations for
persons with a disability." A prime example of fatty, ostensibly
meaningless
Washington wonk-speak. But it goes further -- the bill, if passed, would
prohibit civil suits arising out of a failure to provide adequate access to
public accommodations for the disabled unless the plaintiff provides
offending property owners with a written notice specifying the deficiency.
Owners would then have 60 days to respond with a written plan for
improvement, and an additional 120 days to correct the deficiency, or at
least demonstrate sufficient progress towards a correction.
As of now, if a disabled individual cannot access a business open to the
public, they can immediately file a complaint with the Justice Department,
which will investigate and determine whether a legitimate ADA violation has
occurred. If a violation is identified, most plaintiffs opt to mediate with
the offending business under the Justice Department's moderation. If a
business fails to cooperate, the Justice Department may sue on the disabled
individual's behalf. These individuals may also file lawsuits against
businesses in civil court without federal involvement, sidestepping the
entire mediation process.
But as Robyn Powell notes at Rewire, the tricky bit is that there's
currently no entity charged with making sure that businesses comply with
the
ADA. So the onus is almost always on people with disabilities to challenge
violations.
Disability advocates have come out fighting. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a
disabled veteran and wheelchair user, wrote on Facebook:
But the view from the other side is not hard to find. Businesswire tells us
that the real estate industry is strongly behind the bipartisan
legislation.
And both 60 Minutes and Forbes have done stories on the "plague" of
"frivolous lawsuits."
One of the bill's co-sponsors Rep. Ron Calvert (R-CA) states: "The goal of
the Americans with Disabilities Act is to provide access for the disabled
--
it's not to give unscrupulous trial lawyers the opportunity to abuse small
businesses."
The following organizations have endorsed the bill:
American Hotel and Lodging Association, American Resort Development
Association, Asian American Hotel Owners Association, Building Owners and
Managers Association (BOMA) International, CCIM Institute, Institute of
Real
Estate Management, International Council of Shopping Centers, International
Franchise Association, NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development
Association, National Apartment Association, National Association of
REALTORSR, National Association of Theatre Owners, National Council of
Chain
Restaurants, National Federation of Independent Business, National
Multifamily Housing Council, National Restaurant Association, NATSO,
Representing America's Travel Plazas and Truck Stops, Retail Industry
Leaders Association, US Chamber of Commerce.
Human Rights Watch and the ACLU are among the many organizations that
oppose
it.
