Season's greetings Miriam.
One thing about Rules is that anyone can break them. I do it all the
time. One of my rules is to never put folks in boxes with labels.
But at times it is simply easier to do that than to go into long
boring explanations.
The Obama's and the Clinton's are among the privileged servants, not
members of the Ruling Class. They have been dutiful and obedient
Vassals, thus having some of the Master's riches bestowed upon them.
But they, and many like them, have no place at the decision making
table.
We often confuse a person's financial position with their power and
leverage. The Oligarchy is still where the power lies. Some of the
members are less wealthy, financially, than the Clinton's, but have
far more influence in the nation's direction.
For example, I am financially far better off than I was when I first
joined the NFB back in 1969. But through my involvement and
outspokenness , I built a power base that gave me a high degree of
influence in the decisions our State Chapter made. My power was not
tied to how much personal wealth I had, but rather, on my control. I
edited our monthly news letter, writing many of the reports and
articles myself, and ghost writing for others. I held a series of
state offices, including president. As long as I continued my
activities I had others who supported me and did what I told them to
do, without question. They rose to leadership through their loyalty.
But when we moved to the Olympic Peninsula and began our Rehab
Program, I began easing out of direct involvement in the WCB
operation. To make a long story short, handing off control put me in
a different position. I was no longer the person directing our
policies. But nonetheless, I'm financially far better off than back
then.
The example is not a tight fit, but what I'm pointing to is that it's
those who are in control who make up the Oligarchy. Some of them are
not among the very wealthy. Some others have become billionaires
without having much influence or respect...at least at the moment.
Because I honestly believe that our organization must develop younger
leadership if it is going to meet our pressing needs, I have
deliberately stepped back from sounding off when I disagree with one
direction or another. Frankly, to my way of thinking, there's far too
much prayer and not nearly enough action going on. I have become the
"Old Historian" of the organization. I do a monthly "History
Question", setting out many of the people and of the activities from
our past. History is important to any organization or nation.
So, the Obama's and the Clinton's have been better rewarded than most
NFL football players who also served their masters well. And those
football players are far better rewarded than those hard working women
I knew back in the drapery factory. But what they all have in common
is that they do not have power over the government. That control is
held by the Oligarchy.
Oh well, it's all so convoluted.
Have a peaceful Holiday and keep the articles rolling.
With all sorts of good thoughts on this day of Peace, your friend Carl Jarvis
among the nation's leadership.
On 12/24/18, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Do you mean people like Hillary Clinton and Barach Obama? Or Michelle Obama?
Remember, none of them started out as members of the 1% and that's why a lot
of people still believe that if they try hard enough, they can join the
wealthier classes.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Monday, December 24, 2018 11:04 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: one story about how services to the blind
have been stripped away
Miriam,
That "Humane Society" already exists...for those who can afford it,,,the
1%...those who own the government and manipulate it to do their bidding.
The question is, are we brave enough to demand, to take those services that
we have had taken away from us? Those services that our tax dollars, the
sweat from our brows has been given to provide those few elites a better
life than we will ever have?
We are expected to honor these people. We see them parading across our TV
screens, smiling and acting like normal humans. Do not be deceived. These
are not people like you and I. These are the most base of all Humans.
Greedy, self serving, individually focused, cold and uncaring for any but
themselves. They do not deserve to be honored. They are the ones who
define what is to be honored, and what is not. They are the ones who set up
the laws and the rules and the beliefs that hold the Masses prisoners.
When we open our collective eyes and see the difference between how they
live, and how they expect it is their right to live, and how they force us
to live, then we may well become outraged and take action.
Carl Jarvis
On 12/23/18, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
A humane society would provide all those services for anyone who needs
them, just like it would provide quality medical and dental care and
housing and food. The story of the Lighthouse Music School is just one
example of the sickness of our society. 5 billion dollars for a wall!
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Sunday, December 23, 2018 11:41 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: one story about how services to the
blind have been stripped away
Remember the fellow who almost reaches the top of the steep hill,
pushing a large boulder ahead of himself, only to have it slip past
him and roll back down to the bottom, where he begins pushing all over
again.
This seems to be the fate of those Americans who care about All
Americans rather than just those on top, or only of themselves.
In Washington State, we struggled for 7 years to gain a separate state
agency for the Blind. For a brief few years in the late 70's and
early 80's, we watched as our Blind population began receiving truly
meaningful services. But almost at once the struggle turned inward,
causing our attention to be diverted. Today, while still a separate
agency, our programs have been forced to curtail much needed services.
For the first time in it's history, the agency has been forced to go
to "Order of Selection", a Waiting List, in order to be certain it can
provide the range of needed services to a portion of those applying.
Now the agency is toying with the idea of ordering this Order of
Selection for its Independent Living, Older Blind Program. Imagine
needing assistance that will enable you to stay independent for a few
more months or years, and being told that you're being placed on a
waiting list. And imagine that you just turned 95 years of age. The
average age of our clients is 84, with many well into their 90's.
We struggle and fight, making small gains, only to see them snatched
away by a System that is primarily set up to serve the 1%.
Carl Jarvis
On 12/22/18, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
A story from the New York Times about how a music school for the
blind has lost its home, was posted to the email list of the ACB of
New York email list yesterday. I've copied the story below my
explanation. The reporter has no idea of the real story, of what the
music school was originally, and how symptomatic this is of what is
happening all around us.
When I was seven years old, my parents wanted me to have piano
lessons. But I had very poor vision, couldn't read music, so they
began searching for a resource. My parents were amazing people. My
father was a laborer who never graduated from high school. My mother
was very shy and had graduated from high school after taking a
business course. But she never worked. Before her marriage, she was
supported by her brother and sister. She had a disfigured eye with no
sight. Because of that, she didn't feel confident to try to find
employment. But when I was born, legally blind, they found a doctor
who could help me, and they did everything that they could to find
the resources that would allow me to live as fully as possible. So
they went searching for a way for me to learn to play the piano, and
they found The Lighthouse for the Blind in Manhattan. The Lighthouse
had a music school. This was in 1944.
The Lighthouse was housed in two old buildings on Manhattan's east side.
The
two little buildings were connected by an enclosed walkway on the
third floor of each building. I began with something called, "ear
training lessons", and moved onto piano lessons. No, I don't remember
what the ear training lessons consisted of, but I remember the
teacher's name, Mrs.
Jacobs. I remember sitting in a small room called, "the library",
with other youngsters, sitting around a table, all of us waiting for
our lessons.
There
were shelves with big braille books lining all the walls and one
large window. My first encounters with totally blind children were in
that music school library. All of us who took music lessons, were
invited to join the children's chorus which met on Saturday mornings.
Just as there were large print music scores, there were large print
lyrics of the songs we learned in Chorus, and of course, there was
braille for the children with no sight. I remember being amazed to
watch their hands, skimming along those pages of braille, reading
those lyrics, as quickly as I could read my print version.
And because of the chorus, my mother learned that there was a
children's recreation program in the afternoons on Saturday. Back
then recreation for boys and girls was separate. All of us children
would troop back across the bridge to the 59th Street building, and
the girls would take the elevator to the fifth floor where our
recreation program was held. We'd bring our lunch from home, eat it
in the lunchroom, and then participate in 4 hours of recreational
activities in the afternoon. That music school also provided lessons
for adults and many many years later in the early 90's, I knew a
woman with whom I'd been on trips to Ireland and Portugal, who was a
member of the Lighthouse women's chorus.
The Lighthouse provided recreation for children, teenagers, working
adults, and the elderly. It had a nursery school for blind children.
Its music school provided lessons for people at all levels of
expertise. The Lighthouse Drama Group included a few fully sighted
performers, and performed several plays a year for paying audiences
The agency operated summer camps for nursery school aged children, as
well as teenagers, working age adults, and the elderly. The agency
provided the traditional services like rehab teaching, rehabilitation
services, mobility instruction, job training, and later on computer
lessons. It had workshops in the old days and a men's residence, then
later, a residence for working women. It provided volunteer readers
for students. And there's probably more that I can't remember. Jose
Feliciano , I knew as a hunched over little ten year old kid, who
played the guitar without lessons, and attended the recreation
program.
But in the late 80's, the Lighthouse began to strip away services.
Interestingly, it had modernized its old buildings, then replaced the
modernized old buildings with a wholly new building. It had revamped
and modernized its adult recreation services. And then it began
rationalizing why the services were no longer needed. Recreation
services for the elderly were no longer needed because people could
be integrated into existing services for sighted people. The rehab
services that were reimbursed by the federal government remained.
Other services that had been free of charge, now had fees, because,
it was said, fees helped people keep their dignity.
So if you wanted help with learning to use a computer and you were
not a rehab client, you paid $60 an hour. And then all local services
ended as the agency metamorphozed into The Lighthouse International.
There was another multi service agency for the blind in Manhattan
called The Guild for the Jewish Blind. It never had quite the image
that The Lighthouse had, probably because the Lighthouse was started
by very wealthy protestants and a lot of theater and radio
personalities were involved with it in the early days. But the Guild
had many of the same services and, at one point, a much better
vacation camp for blind adults which, rather quickly, separated
itself into its own separate entity. But by the beginning of the
twenty first century, both agencies were moving in the same direction
and eventually they joined together. Their boards of directors
joined. And they changed their focus. Now, most of the money
available to non profit agencies in New York State was for agencies
providing Community Medicaid Services so that's what The
Lighthouse/Guild does. It is involved in a huge
federal/state/counties bureaucracy which provides very poor in home
care for disabled old people on Medicaid. It provides federally and
state subsidized rehab services to blind people as well.
Apparently, the Lighthouse Music School ended up being housed at the
Guild until now and here is the article which doesn't actdually
explain what happened to cause the Guild to decide to strip away the
music school.
School for Blind Musicians Is Evicted by Its Parent Charity from The
New York Times By COREY KILGANNON Get It was supposed to be a cheery
holiday performance in front of the large Christmas tree at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, but the music school ensemble seemed to
be singing for its survival.. The school, which has served blind and
visually impaired musicians in Manhattan since 1913, finds its
existence imperiled by its own parent group -- a charitable
organization with a mission to help the blind. Singers were led into
place by volunteers or guide dogs, but before the music started, the
school's executive director, Dr. Leslie Jones, told the crowd inside
the museum's Medieval Sculpture Hall that the school would be
'separating' at the end of the month from its longtime parent entity,
Lighthouse Guild International. This was a cordial take on the
situation. The Lighthouse Guild sent a letter to students in June --
in large print, for the visually impaired -- notifying them that the
105-year-old school would no longer be part of the Guild's future and
that it must leave the Guild's building on West 64th Street.
'This decision was difficult because the school has been a part of
the fabric of Lighthouse Guild for over 100 years,' Dr. Alan Morse,
president of the Guild, wrote in the letter. Jillian Raquet, 24, who
sings in the vocal ensemble and volunteers at the school as a music
teacher on Saturdays, recalled getting the letter over the summer.
'To find out in some dry letter that we have to look for a new home,
it just seemed like, 'Oh, we don't really care about you,' Ms. Raquet
said. Faced with an order to vacate by the end of December, school
officials will spend Christmas week packing up
12 grand pianos, its estimable Braille music library and other items,
presumably to go into storage. Ms. Jones declined to comment on the
situation, explaining that she did not want to jeopardize the
school's separation arrangements with the Guild. She referred
requests for comment to the Guild; a Guild spokeswoman said its
officials would not comment. Ms.
Jones did provide Dr. Morse's letter, which said that the school's
leaders must make organizational changes to 'direct our resources to
support and serve the largest number of people who are living with or
potentially facing vision loss. School volunteers and students said
the school, officially known as the Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg
Music School, was scrambling to find temporary space in Manhattan --
a daunting challenge, given its limited budget and Manhattan's high
rents -- by late January to avoid canceling the spring semester. Ms.
Jones, they said, was scrambling to incorporate the school as a
nonprofit in order to organize its own finances and raise funds as
well as transfer its endowments and funding streams out of the
Guild's control. The school's revenue has come from its modest
tuition, grants and private fund-raising, as well as funding from the
Guild, which also provided space for the school. 'She's been trying
to fight for the future of the school and the survival of the
school,' said David Malkin, a lawyer in Manhattan, who helps the
school with its endowment. 'What's going to happen for them is
uncertain,' he said of the school. 'They're hoping they'll find a new
home and sustaining support to continue their mission. The school has
been an unsung staple of New York City arts circles for decades,
including
20 years of performances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and
holiday recitals at Midtown Manhattan office buildings. The blind
teenage jazz prodigy Matthew Whitaker is a student there and
accomplished alumni include the blind musician Jos? Feliciano, who is
currently traveling in Vienna but sent a statement recalling that the
school helped him learn music transcription and other skills. Mr.
Feliciano called the Guild's decision to no longer house the school
'callous. 'Perhaps they don't care anymore,' he said. 'When you
consider the school's benefits and how important and meaningful it is
to so many people, it's just very sad. The school serves
120 students, children and adults of varying musical levels. All
students attend part time, for lessons, classes and other services,
including Braille music transcription. In addition to several
performance groups, the school has an archive of roughly 25,000
Braille and large-print musical scores that it said is second in size
only to the collection held by the Library of Congress. Losing their
home has been particularly upsetting for students, some of whom spoke
of their disappointment in the Guild, which has long promoted itself
as a beacon of hope and an advocate for the blind. 'The school has
been such an empowering place and it's just so painful to see these
students being sent a message that blind education doesn't matter,
and that the school is not worth keeping open and they have no say in
any of it,' said Leona Godin, a former student. For more than a
century the school was part of Lighthouse International, which in
2013 merged with Jewish Guild Healthcare to form the Lighthouse
Guild. The Guild has also closed the Harriet and Robert Heilbrunn
School for students who are blind and have other severe disabilities.
Its 33 workers were laid off this month and its
53 students were placed in other schools. The music school is named
after its main benefactor, Filomen D'Agostino Greenberg, a
self-taught stock trader who died in 2000 when she was 101. Mr.
Malkin is the director of the Filomen M. D'Agostino Foundation, which
donates
$100,000 a year to the school, and had served on the guild's board of
directors. But he said he resigned from the board because he was so
disturbed by its decision.
Regarding the students, he said, 'They are at risk for so many other
things, and to lose this resource and opportunity puts them even
greater at risk.
After the holiday concert on Wednesday, one student, Daniel Gillen,
24, tucked away his Braille choral music and picked up his long white
cane. He said he was hopeful that the school would find at least
interim space.
'We're not going to be left on the sidelines,' he said.. PHOTOS:
Dalia Sakas conducted a choral group of students, teachers and
volunteers from the Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg Music School on
Wednesday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Leaving the museum
afterward were Lisa Cantwell, left, 53, with her dog Louie, 3, and
George Ashiotis, 71, with his dog, Pike, 5. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY HIROKO
MASUIKE/THE NEW YORK TIMES).
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