[Home-on-the-range] Can Peace Prevail Amongst Blind Organizations?

Fri Jun 21 12:31:30 UTC 2013

Hello all- the discussion is an important one...also, if you haven't yet read the article in May's Braille Monitor regarding the ongoing problems with 508 compliance, you might want to check it out. My 20 year experience with the state of Kansas, is little different than with Susie and others have negatively experienced. Patch jobs just don't get us there...they rarely work effectively nor are they timely, leaving us in "scramble" or catch up mode in order to ensure accurate and on-time assignments are in...I've had this discussion with  the other state administrators over the years and many, if not most states, are in the same exact situation ...that is out of compliance. This as well as so many issues that we encounter is why being an active member of the NFB is so important. Being a "change agent" of one is like slugging it up hill unarmed with an army of well armored guys shooting down at us...having a well organized, strategic plan of defense is critical for our ultimate success...and the outcome must be success so that we can get the jobs we are otherwise qualified for. 20 plus years of the ADA shows that the fight is ongoing...the fed's passed this mandate and they are the very agency that so latently ignores it... Remember both the state agencies and VA's receive a lot of federal funding within their funding streams, thus making them also responsible for following federal law.  Dianne
On Jun 20, 2013, at 11:10 PM, Susan Tabor wrote:

> All great points, Tim! Thanks!
> Susan T.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Home-on-the-range [mailto:home-on-the-range-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Timothy Hornik
> Sent: Wednesday, June 19, 2013 9:40 PM
> To: NFB of Kansas Internet Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Home-on-the-range] Can Peace Prevail Amongst Blind
> Organizations?
> 
> Susie,
> 
> I hope to meet everyone from across the state at the convention as well. 
> 
> As for the 508 Compliancy issues, I have been greatly concerned about this.
> My experience with this can be summarized in two concepts. The first
> originates from Serotalk's comment about the Federal Government obeying the
> letter and not the spirit of the law. The topic they were discussing
> involves the NFB's advocating against inaccessible capchas. 
> 
> My second observation is how Federal agencies ignore 508 by stating they
> will work on it. The VA is notorious for this, as many of their internal
> EMR's systems and other programs possess minimal accessibility, and even
> then with JAWS running off scripts. This is not accessibility, just a patch
> job. Likewise, I have had nothing but trouble with USAJOBS.gov. What a
> better way to limit employing the visually impaired then by having issues
> with the hiring system. I cannot recall any issues with accessing KansasJobs
> or whatever is the name of the state job listing.
> 
> FYI, I am a JAWS, System Access, NVDA, and Voice Over user.
> 
> When discussing the SPIL, I have had made the recommendation for 508 and 504
> to be listed. While it is not the job of the CIL's and Voc Rehab to fix
> other agencies' issues with these two, these two items serve as one of the
> largest barriers to our successful employability in today's computer, cloud,
> or web based working environment.
> 
> On a side thought, I feel sorry for those web developers and programmers who
> have to try to code for the widest accessibility abilities with the vast
> number of screen readers now deployed.. ON the flip-side, I love being able
> to switch between each of these for the slightly different user experiences
> each offers.
> 
> Thank you for your assistance,
> Timothy Hornik
> timothy.hornik at gmail.com
> M: 785.330.3503
> LinkedIn Profile: http://tiny.cc/7bfa5
> Blog: http://www.samobile.net/users/timothy.hornik/ 
> 
> On Jun 19, 2013, at 8:23 AM, "Stanzel, Susan - FSA, Kansas City, MO"
> <Susan.Stanzel at kcc.usda.gov> wrote:
> 
> Good morning Tim and everyone,
> 
> Tim, I hope I will meet you at our Kansas convention in November. My own
> view on this subject is things have really changed since 1961 when the civil
> war happened. I don't spend any time at all talking negatively about the
> ACB. I feel each organization will either exist or fail on its own merits. I
> have seen the organizations work more collectively since 1974 when I joined
> the NFB. I just spend my life doing all I can where I can to improve the
> lives of the blind. There have been three other people sign on with me since
> I came out to fight the federal government concerning Section 508. If you
> don't know anything about this, please see the first article in the May
> Monitor. I might mention that two of the other people are not in the
> federation.
> 
> Susie
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Home-on-the-range [mailto:home-on-the-range-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Susan Tabor
> Sent: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 9:15 PM
> To: 'NFB of Kansas Internet Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [Home-on-the-range] Can Peace Prevail Amongst Blind
> Organizations?
> 
> Hi, listers:
> 
> I would like to note that in my experience,  independent living centers in
> Topeka and Lawrence have worked well with the blind community and have had
> blind employees.
> 
> Nobody and no group is perfect.  20 years ago, Tim, I don't think you'd have
> had blindness groups even acknowledge that blindness groups could
> collaborate on certain issues.  Leadership in both organizations has
> changed, and our current NFB president is much more inclined to dialogue.
> 
> Having belonged to both major groups, I sometimes am pained that there isn't
> more collaboration than there is even now, even though the climate is at
> least somewhat calmer than it used to be.  It frustrates me when time is
> spent in judgment of others, both within our organization and outside it.
> Part of the power that we have is to educate and to share our journies.  We
> have to understand, I believe, that everyone has his or her own reasons for
> being where they are, and that much is based  on fear, for which, I believe,
> it is incumbent on me to feel and express compassion if I intend to help
> someone move into a less fearful and/or more confident place.  Just my two
> cents' worth!  Thanks for posting, Tim! See you at the  August Jayhawk
> chapter meeting, I hope.  We're not meeting in July because of the national
> convention.
> Peace,
> Susan T.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Home-on-the-range [mailto:home-on-the-range-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Dianne Hemphill
> Sent: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 8:24 PM
> To: NFB of Kansas Internet Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Home-on-the-range] Can Peace Prevail Amongst Blind
> Organizations?
> 
> Hello Timothy...it was a pleasure to hear your review of those articles that
> impacted you in the current journals for both ACB and NFB. Having both
> consumer organization's journals easily available via fingertips, will help
> us better understand the philosophy's and practical approaches used to forge
> our road ahead. Just as every interest group out there, has their own
> perspective, so do the blind. Progress is slow, as you noted, especially if
> you're in the middle of situations that appear to be  otherwise simple if
> the disability wasn't factored in...It is my perspective, and for those who
> subscribe to home on the range, that the NFB has been able to make the most
> sense and progress in "changing what it means to be blind" in the most
> positive way... I do not know if the blind can "work together"  but I'm
> willing to put my time and effort into the work that I fully support...and,
> thus the federation. The Independent Living Center philosophy has generally
> left the blind out of their "flat world" focus and I've never seen them
> really make any meaningful positive impact on behalf of the blind...I was
> once on the wichita ILRC board and had a lot of trouble following their
> philosophy, which was one that focused primarily on housing and that
> everyone should get the same thing - and that was determined by those who
> had the largest number of a disability group. I felt their time might be
> better spent on focusing on employment issues as once we are able to "get a
> job" we can have the home and the life that can come with it...thank-you for
> writing such an insightful and thoughtful note to us. I hope we'll hear more
> from you. Dianne On Jun 18, 2013, at 10:16 AM, Timothy Hornik wrote:
> 
>> Happy Tuesday Everyone,
>> 
>> Last night I finally read over the latest Braille Monitor and ACB 
>> Braille
> Forum. The pieces that stuck out for me from the Braille Monitor involved
> the controversy with the Oklahoma "Vision Services" and Iowa's issues with
> potential fraudulent spending by the former Director. Both of these makes me
> reflect on the lack of services here within Kansas, and the numerous Federal
> audits that swept through our CIL's and SILCK.
>> 
>> The ACB Braille Forum article that captivated my attention in balls a
> letter similar to the title of this email. The brief summary is that they do
> not feel the various blind organizations will ever be able to provide a
> unified front as a whole, but maybe able to collaborate together on some
> issues. Maybe I am a little naïve, but I hope this is not true.
>> 
>> At the last SILCK Board Meeting, yes I am a board member, I commented 
>> on
> how I would love to see the date when all of the disability organizations
> placed a representative in the seats behind me. Only then might we be able
> to wield enough power to change the state's position on various issues. For
> example, Voc Rehab and employment centers are truly hit or miss when
> providing assistance for the visually impaired. However the Director feels
> they are more than capable. We seen this with the overwhelming support
> (sarcasm) VR showed in the planning leading up to the job fair in Lawrence.
> Likewise as a Veteran, the VA's own Voc Rehab services only desired to aid
> me so much based on limited power and the VA's own willingness to employ the
> visually impaired outside of blind rehab services, and this is without
> commenting on 508 compliancy issues faced by blind employees.
>> 
>> Here I sit, wondering whether the future will improve, and 
>> acknowledging
> that only will it improve with our own actions.
>> 
>> Like a tree growing from a mountain, progress is slow and steady.
>> However,
> the strongest weather and whipping winds fail to uproot the tree.
>> 
>> Thank you for your assistance,
>> Timothy Hornik, LMSW
>> President
>> Kansas Regional Group
>> Blinded Veterans Association
>> Mobile: (785) 330-3503
>> E-Mail: timothy.hornik at gmail.com
>> LinkedIn Profile: http://tiny.cc/7bfa5 www.facebook.com/ksrgbva
>> 
>> 
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