http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/20
Just to give you an idea, the cuts would mean a $10000 cap on hospital stays per year, 8 out-patient visits, and the complete elimination of occupational, speech, and physical therapy, along with hospice care. It would also mean the end of the Med here in Memphis (for the full story, see the link below), along with who knows how many other hospitals across Tennessee.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/20
For people who have severe disabilities, a $10000 cap on hospital stays could be used up in less than a week, and a limit of 8 doctor visits could be reached in two months. One such person is a very good friend of mine and a fellow volunteer here at the Center, whose name I won’t reveal for confidentiality reasons. She is 32 and has had diabetes since around the age of four. Her diabetes causes a condition called gastroparesis, which causes her stomach to shut down completely about four or five times a year. This results in her having to stay at the hospital for extended periods. The condition is getting worse, and her best hope is an Enterra—a stomach pacemaker. None of us want to think about what will happen if the TennCare cuts are approved and implemented before she is able to have the operation. The following is a link to an impassioned letter to the editor, written by her father:
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/20
As a part of the Tennessee Health Care Campaign, I’m working to spread awareness about the dire effects of the cuts and to persuade legislators to oppose them. I also had the opportunity last week to go to Nashville for Disability Day on the Hill and speak to several legislators in person. The response was mixed, and the day was emotional for all of us from the Center who went. I would like to ask all of you to please call your legislators, find out where they stand about the cuts, and try to persuade them not to support the cuts. If you’d like to know more about the Tennessee Health Care Campaign, the site can be found at
http://www.thcc2.org
We have a health care reform conference on March 6 at Bridges in Memphis, information about which can be found here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=4
Also, please take a moment to share this with your friends. People’s lives are at stake, and one of those people might be someone you know. In the words of the assistant director here at the Center, “These cuts will affect the poorest of the poor and the sickest of the sick. It seems like lately all the cuts are coming down on the backs of people with disabilities.”
Thank you,
Becky J. Scott
becky@mcil.org
The State of Texas issued the Amber Alert late Monday night (11-23) after the girl was reportedly abducted in Shepherd. Shepherd is north of Houston. The
girl is considered to be in grave or immediate danger.
Angela Rodriguez , a 14 year old Hispanic female, 5' 1", weighing 140 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing blue and white Jordan
shoes and gray capri pants.
The suspect is Joaquin Garcia, an 18 year old Hispanic male, 6' weighing 175 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He has spiky hair and acne all over
face. He was las seen wearing a brown shirt with an eagle on the front, blue jeans and white tennis shoes.
The suspect vehicle is a blue-green 1999 Chevy Malibu 4-door with Texas license LHF-502.
Anyone with information is asked to call the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office at 936-653-4367 or dial 911.
The State of South Carolina issued the Amber Alert Monday night (11-23) after the boy was abducted in North Charleston. According to reports the child's
mother left the child in hoer car while she went into a post office to drop off mail. Upon her return the child was gone. According to a witness a suspect
was seen getting into the suspect vehicle with the child in her arms.
Angel Miguel Perez , a 1 month old Hispanic male weighing 11 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt, blue pants,
white shoes and a blue hat.
The suspect is stocky black female in her mid-20s, approximately 5 feet 1inch and 175 pounds. She was wearing a blue and white vertical stripped shirt
and possibly boots. She has straight black hair between her ears and shoulders.
The suspect vehicle is a gray, four door compact vehicle.
Anyone with information is asked to call the North Charleston Police Department at 843-822-1128 or dial 911.
This is huge news! New York Senator Schumer introduced the Community First Choice amendment to the Senate Finance Committee's health care reform! The next
step is to urge the Committee to pass the amendment.
Now, we need to call on our friends and family across the country to contact their Senator on the Senate Finance Committee and urge them to support the
amendment. Have a friend in Kentucky? An aunt in Florida? Have them call their senator TODAY and say:
"I am calling because NY Senator Schumer just introduced the Community First Choice amendment to the health care bill and I want my Senator [name] to help
pass this amendment! Everyone should have a choice to get home care and not be stuck in a nursing facility."
[More info] The amendment would give states increased federal Medicaid matching funds for providing attendant services and supports as an alternative to
nursing facilities and institutions.
Below is a list of all of the Senate Finance Committee members and their D.C. phone number. (If the Senator is already a co-sponsor of CCA-as noted below-then
they should be the first to support this amendment!)
Arizona:
Jon Kyl (R)
(202) 224-4521
Arkansas:
Blanche Lincoln (D)
(202) 224-4843
Delaware:
Tom Carper (D)
(202) 224-2441
Florida:
Bill Nelson (D)
(202) 224-5274
Idaho:
Mike Crapo (R)
(202) 224-6142
Iowa:
Chuck Grassley (R)
(202) 224-3744
Kansas:
Pat Roberts (R) [CCA CO-SPONSOR!]
(202) 224-4774
Kentucky:
Jim Bunning (R)
(202) 224-4343
Maine:
Olympia Snowe (R)
(202) 224-5344
Massachusetts:
John F. Kerry (D) [CCA CO-SPONSOR!]
(202) 224-2742
Michigan:
Debbie Stabenow (D) [CCA CO-SPONSOR!]
(202) 224-4822
Montana:
Max Baucus (D) [Chair of Sen. Finance Committee]
(202) 224-2651
Nevada:
John Ensign (R)
(202) 224-6244
New Jersey:
Robert Menendez (D) [CCA CO-SPONSOR!]
(202) 224-4744
New Mexico:
Jeff Bingaman (D)
(202) 224-5521
North Dakota:
Kent Conrad (D)
(202) 224-2043
Oregon:
Ron Wyeden (D)
(202) 224-5244
Texas:
John Cornyn (R)
(202) 224-2934
Utah:
Orrin Hatch (R)
(202) 224-5251
Washington:
Maria Cantwell (D)
(202) 224-3441
West Virginia:
John D. Rockefeller, IV (D)
(202) 224-6472
Wyoming:
Mike Enzi (R)
(202) 224-3424
The State of Idaho issued the Amber Alert early Thursday morning (08-20) after the boy was reportedly abducted from his home in Boise. The suspect reportedly
knocked on the door and asked to see the boy. The suspect then took the boy and fled in the listed vehicle.
Luca Principali a 7 year old white male, 4 feet tall, weighing 60 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black Star Wars T-shirt
with a picture of Darth Vader and the Emperor on it, camouflage knee length shorts, and was barefoot. He goes by the nickname of Goober.
The suspect is an Unknown White Male 45 years old, 5 feet 11 inches tall, 190 lbs. with brown hair, a full beard with a short hairstyle that is thinning
on top. He was last seen wearing a Red, white, purple, green horizontal striped short sleeve t-shirt and blue jeans.
The suspect vehicle is a 2009 Chrysler Town & Country Mini Van with California tag number 6GQC981.
Anyone with information is asked to call Boise PD at 208-570-6457 or dial 911.
Web Site and Store Point-of-Sales Devices
Initiative Announced In Collaboration with State and National
Organizations for the Blind
WOONSOCKET, R.I., July 30, 2009: CVS/pharmacy, the nation's largest
retail pharmacy, announced today that it is implementing functional
improvements to benefit its customers with visual impairments and other
disabilities. The company has installed tactile keypads in all CVS
stores and it will enhance
its website in 2009.
Today's announcement is the result of a collaboration between
CVS/pharmacy, the American Foundation for the Blind, American Council of
the Blind and California Council of the Blind. CVS/pharmacy's actions
were applauded by these groups.
"We are pleased to collaborate with organizations committed to advocacy
for the blind and introduce service enhancements in our stores and
online that will increase access for our visually impaired customers,"
said Helena Foulkes, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing
Officer of CVS Caremark.
Point-of-Sale Improvements
CVS/pharmacy's point-of-sale improvements are designed to assist
customers who cannot read information on a flat-screen point-of-sale
device and therefore cannot privately enter their PIN or other
confidential information. All CVS stores have been equipped, at a
minimum, with a tactile device at both the front check-out counter and
the pharmacy counter to ensure that customers unable to use a
flat-screen keypad do not have to provide their PIN to a store employee.
The company is also training its store employees to provide appropriate
interaction with visually impaired customers regarding the use of the
new tactile devices.
"Without tactile keys, blind and visually impaired people have no choice
but to share their PINs with strangers," explained Melanie Brunson,
executive director of the American Council of the Blind. "Today's
announcement, and the collaboration that led to it, demonstrates
CVS/pharmacy's ongoing commitment to its blind and visually impaired
customers."
Web Site Access
The initiative includes CVS/pharmacy's commitment to ensure that its
online pharmacy, <
http://www.cvs.com/>
www.cvs.com
, is accessible to
persons with a wide range of disabilities, including blind computer
users who use a screen reader or magnification technology on their
computers and those who rely on a keyboard instead of a mouse. CVS.com
will implement these enhancements by the end of 2009.
"An accessible web site is crucial if people with vision loss are to
obtain goods, services and information on an equal footing," said Paul
Schroeder, vice president, programs and policy group of the American
Foundation for the Blind. "We appreciate CVS/pharmacy's commitment to
ensure that CVS.com is usable by the broadest range of online consumers,
including those who have disabilities."
About CVS/pharmacy
CVS/pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE:
CVS), is America's largest retail pharmacy with more than 6,900
CVS/pharmacy and Longs Drugs store locations. CVS/pharmacy is committed
to improving the lives of those we serve by making innovative and
high-quality health and pharmacy services safe, affordable and easy to
access, both in its stores and online at CVS.com. General information
about CVS/pharmacy and CVS Caremark is available at <
http://www.cvscaremark.com/>
www.cvscaremark.com.
Yay for them!
When I was in fourth grade, I spent every Saturday morning watching an incredible line-up of shows on Fox Kids, and one of the memorable commercials that they used to play was for Chips-ahoy. And, as requested, here is the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGlIqjsz
This is a slightly different version, and the description from YouTube says 1993, but it's not much different from the one that was shown in 1996/97. Enjoy!
- Location:Memory Lane
- Mood:
nostalgic
(1) trying to figure out if any are scams. I won't touch any site that asks for my bank info, but I think that in order to weed those out, I'll have to go through the registration process on every single site.
(2) Finding the ones that pay enough for my specific needs. For example, there's a great website called mylot.com that pays you every time you post something, but the pay is only $0.03 per post on average. I'd have to work about 12 hours every single day to earn about $50 a month, which is impractical and which I can't do anyway because I don't have my own computer. One of the sites on my list is Associated Content. I like the look of it, but it doesn't say how much it pays. Luckily, I know someone who has used it, and I'm waiting on a response from her.
(3) Some of the sites require you to have a resume, which I do not at the moment. The job placement specialist at Clovernook is going to help me put one together, but it may not be finished for a few more weeks.
I wish direct sales was feasible for me right now, but given the time limit with which I'm working, I think I'll wait to get started with that until I'm actually in school next semester, at which time I think it'll be great for me.
Has anyone else ever been through this? Any suggestions on how I can simplify this process would be greatly appreciated.
Later,
Becky
- Location:the CIL
- Mood:
frustrated
tenets of the disability community's civil rights law virtually on
the eve of its 19th anniversary? The New York Times' decision to
publish Peter Singer's latest long essay entitled 'Why We Must Ration
Health Care' (7/15/09) two weeks before the anniversary of the
signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act demonstrates either
deliberate malice or reckless disregard of the reality of disability
as an important demographic representative of nearly 20% of the
American population.
As anyone who has read "Why We Must Ration Health Care" knows, Singer
spoke "hypothetically" of assigning a life with quadriplegia as
roughly half that of a life without any disability at all. On this
"hypothetical" basis, Singer lays out a case for denying health care
to people with significant disabilities on the basis that our lives
have less value than the lives of nondisabled people.
This is Peter Singer's most direct assault on the value of the lives
of people with physical disabilities past the age of infancy that we
have read. His policy proposals allowing for the killing of newborns
with disabilities and people with significant cognitive disabilities
are already well known.
While this is a bolder assault than we have seen from Professor
Singer in the past, it's hardly surprising. What's surprising and
deeply disturbing is that the NY Times editorial staff have sought
him out as a writer on more than one occasion.
Reluctantly, we have to suspect that the NY Times accepted this piece
because of its content, agreeing with Singer that our lives have
lessened value and that we represent a drain on the collective
economic and health care resources of our country. It's hard to
imagine the NY Times green-lighting an article that targeted any
other group in such a way - e.g. immigrants, the poor, or other
groups who have been targeted as scapegoats in the health care
debates. Did the editor in charge of publishing this issue even
notice that Singer used no factual information at all to support his
devaluation of people with disabilities?
We have to wonder what went through the heads of the editorial staff
when they thought about the reactions of readers - with or without
disabilities - to the large graphic that read "__ YEARS OF A
NONDISABLED LIFE IS WORTH __ YEARS OF A DISABLED LIFE."
Contrast this with Senator Edward Kennedy's essay on the fight for
universal healthcare in the current issue of Newsweek. Talking about
people with disabilities he said, in part:
Social justice is often the best economics. We can help disabled
Americans who want to live in their homes instead of a nursing home.
Simple things can make all the difference, like having the money to
install handrails or have someone stop by and help every day.
Obviously, the definitions of justice that Senator Kennedy uses are
very different from the definitions favored by Peter Singer and the
NY Times.
The proposed treatment - or nontreatment - of people with
disabilities also violates the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities, which President Obama signed on July 24th, 2009.
While the Singer essay violates the spirit and vision of the
Convention in numerous ways, the most pertinent section of the
document is spelled out in Article 25 (f), in which obligates
signatories to "prevent discriminatory denial of health care or
health services or food and fluids on the basis of disability." This
is important. Article 4(d) states that countries that have signed the
Convention agree to "refrain from engaging in any act or practice
that is inconsistent with the present Convention."
The American disability community, Senator Kennedy and an
ever-growing majority of the international community all recognize
that public policy has to embrace the inherent equality of the lives
of people with disabilities - and public policy must reflect that in
practice. The NY Times and Professor Singer stand opposed to the
more progressive voices of social justice, inside and outside of the
United States.
So, we in the disabled community have to fight against discrimination every single day, and yet this wank-stain has a college degree and is allowed to share his Hitler-esque opinions with the world? He thinks that people with cognative disabilities should be killed because their lives are worthless, and yet I guarantee that just one of them has more sense than he does. And the New York Times is supposed to be this world-renowned publication... really?
Right... now that I've expressed my opinion of that story in a thoroughly unprofessional way... there's a petition somewhere protesting this, but the link was not provided in the e-mail. If I can find it, I'll post it.
Becky
- Location:the CIL
- Mood: irate
ADAPT - It's time to pass the CCA!
ADAPT TALKS BACK TO THE DEMOCRATS!
The Democratic National Committee has created ads talking about the need for healthcare reform, but they don't tell you about the need to eliminate the
institutional bias.
ADAPT is talking back to the Democrats in a language they should understand. ADAPT has produced its own video telling the Democrats that "It's time to pass
the Community Choice Act." Watch the video here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqs-fdhD
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has a paper position supporting the Community Choice Act, but the DNC stands by and watches while the Democratic
Leadership does nothing to eliminate the institutional bias. Instead, the DNC publicly supports healthcare reform that perpetuates Medicaid's institutional
bias that steals the freedom... and lives... of Americans with disabilities and older Americans.
When the aging and disability communities advocated that healthcare reform eliminate the institutional bias, we were told that "It's too expensive." We
were told to be patient. We were told to wait. Well, we cannot and will not wait any longer. Tell the Democrats that it's time to eliminate the institutional bias. Tell them that it's time to pass the Community Choice Act.
Seniors and people with disabilities overwhelmingly prefer to live in the community with supports rather than receive long term assistance in a nursing
facility or other institution. Unfortunately, under federal rules, the Medicaid system does not give people a choice and often requires that people go
into a nursing facility or other institution to get the assistance they need.
The Community Choice Act gives people real choice in long term care options. This legislation ends the institutional bias in the Medicaid program by giving
individuals who are eligible for nursing facility services or other institutional "care" equal access to community-based services and supports, like attendant
services.
Personally, I’m shocked by the attitude of the DNC. I expected better of them. Institutional bias was supposed to have been stopped 10 years ago, and yet it continues to be an issue. Here in my home state of Tennessee, the governor has cut vast amounts of funding for people with disabilities. His feeling is, more or less, that if people with disabilities can’t support themselves without state funding, then they should be put aside in institutions.
The 19th anniversary celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act was held at City Hall this morning here in Memphis. There were many inspiring and informative speeches, one of the last of which was given by Randy Alexander, a disability rights advocate who works here at the Center for Independent Living. He told of the actions that are being taken right now by ADAPT to get the message to the DNC. I myself have been following news of the protests on Twitter. I’d like to encourage all who read this to join with us. Make your voice heard! I’d like to see as many individuals and organizations involved as possible. If enough people fight for their rights, changes WILL be made!
You can find information about ADAPT and ways in which you can get involved and stay up-to-date on the website mentioned at the beginning of this post. I ask everyone to please pass this on, and stay tuned for more updates.
Regards,
Becky J. Scott
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