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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><h1>NEWSWIRE<o:p></o:p></h1><h1>National Federation of the Blind of<o:p></o:p></h1><h1>North Dakota<o:p></o:p></h1><h1><o:p> </o:p></h1><h1>Vol. 1, No. 14<o:p></o:p></h1><h1><o:p> </o:p></h1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><h2>Happy Holidays!!!<o:p></o:p></h2><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>You are cordially invited to join the members and friends of the National Federation of the Blind of North Dakota for our Christmas party! <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Eat! Drink! Play games! Sing along Christmas carols! $10 Secret Santa gift exchange <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'>When: Saturday, December 9, 2017<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'>Time: 2:00pm to 6:00 pm<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'>Where: Holiday Inn 3803 13<sup>th</sup> Ave S, Fargo 58103 <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'>Phone (701) 282-2700<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'>Sleeping rooms $114 per night <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Party will take place at the Gallery Restaurant Club room #1(pay on own)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Main entrance, walk straight ahead and Gallery restaurant is on the right<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Please rsvp ASAP or for any questions, call Sherry Shirek 701-781-3055 or <a href="mailto:sherrybeth7@gmail.com">sherrybeth7@gmail.com</a><span class=MsoHyperlink><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The Christmas party at the Holiday Inn in Fargo will be in place of the December meeting, so you will be responsible to finding and listening to the December Presidential Release on your own. We will resume our monthly meetings on the second Saturday of the month along with dial-in for those who are unable to come to Fargo in January, 2018.<o:p></o:p></p><h1><o:p> </o:p></h1><h2 align=center style='text-align:center'>Organization Says Senate Tax Bill Disastrous for Education, Employment of Blind Americans<o:p></o:p></h2><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>National Federation of the Blind Denounces Tax Cuts and Jobs Act<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b>Baltimore, Maryland <o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b>(November 29, 2017):</b> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The National Federation of the Blind officially opposes the United States Senate’s current Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).<br><br><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The organization cites a probable dramatic increase in unemployment among blind Americans, which already approaches sixty percent, as the reason for its opposition.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>According to projections by the Congressional Budget Office, the losses in tax revenue under the TCJA will be so high, at least initially, that they will trigger the “pay-as-you-go” rules of the Office of Management and Budget. This will eliminate funding for vital programs and services for the blind, such as Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funding. These vital services link blind people to educational and employment opportunities by providing the training and resources that they need.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The 2015 American Community Survey, the most recent data available, reported that, for working age adults reporting significant vision loss, only 42.0% were employed.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“The detrimental impact the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will have on blind Americans cannot be denied,” said Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. “This bill slams the door on education and vocational rehabilitation, and ultimately on employment, for some seven million blind Americans. We call upon the United States Senate either to protect these critical programs and services, or to vote no.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><h2>Same Place, New Look!<o:p></o:p></h2><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>In August of this year, our national office hosted a training session for webmasters to learn how to setup Drupal and use the new template that will make affiliate websites look more like the national site. This is in effort of the NFB Branding. Jesse Shirek was sent to help get the NFB of North Dakota rolled over to the new template so that the NFB of North Dakota’s website will have a more similar look like the national one. You will see the new logo, the one-minute statement about who the National Federation of the Blind is, along with basically the same menu structure as the national site. The site is still under construction and will have more content as time goes on. You are welcome to visit the site at <a href="http://nfbnd.org/">http://nfbnd.org/</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Now, you ask, what is Drupal – this is a “contact management system, CMS” and it will make it easier to maintain as a webmaster.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Should you have any questions please contact me and I’ll try to answer them as your webmaster. My contact by e-mail is <a href="mailto:mota1252@gmail.com">mota1252@gmail.com</a> or you can call me at (701) 731-0511.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><h2 align=center style='text-align:center'>NFBNJ: fourth national technology seminar<o:p></o:p></h2><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='line-height:106%'>From the desk of NFBNJ President Joe Ruffalo.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='line-height:106%'>Received from Jane Degenshein, President, NFBNJ Technology Division.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='line-height:106%'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>The National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey’s technology division is proud to present our fourth nationwide technology seminar featuring Marty Schultz and his Blindfold Games and more on Monday, December 18 at 8 PM.</span><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:.25in;background:white'><span style='color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:.25in;background:white'><span style='color:black'>Marty Schultz, owner of Blindfold Games, will tell us all about his apps that are made accessible for blind and visually impaired users on their favorite iOS powered devices such as an iPhone, iPad, or an iPod Touch. To learn more about Blindfold Games, please visit </span><a href="http://www.blindfoldgames.org">www.blindfoldgames.org</a><span style='color:black'>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:.25in;background:white'><span style='color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:.25in;background:white'><span style='color:black'>To attend the call, dial 515-604-9570, then use access code 612068 pound. You will hear the code you entered repeated. Press 1 if it is correct. Press 2 to re-enter it. If you press 1, you then announce yourself by stating your name and you will then be entered into the conference call.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:.25in;background:white'><span style='color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:.25in;background:white'><span style='color:black'>In order to obtain the best possible sound for the call, the host will put all callers into mute mode until the Q and A portion of the call. You will be able to hear everything during the call but background noise from your location will not disturb others listening in on the conversation. During the Q and A portion of the call, you can unmute yourself by pressing star 6. Before giving a comment or asking a question, please announce your name and what state you are from, and then wait for the moderator to recognize you before speaking. We can have too many people trying to seek the floor at one time and chaos can occur. The moderators will do their very best to recognize as many callers as possible however, they will determine the order in which speakers proceed. When finished with your comments or questions, press star 6 again to go back into “mute” mode to facilitate better, uncluttered communication for everyone. Star 6 also works when you have your phone on speaker.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:.25in;background:white'><span style='color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:.25in;background:white'><span style='color:black'>The times for the call are<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:15.0pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol;color:black'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span style='color:black'>8:00pm Eastern<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:15.0pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol;color:black'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span style='color:black'>7:00pm Central<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:15.0pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol;color:black'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span style='color:black'>6:00pm Mountain<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:15.0pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol;color:black'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span style='color:black'>5:00pm Pacific<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:.25in;background:white'><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:.25in;background:white'><span style='color:black'>Please determine for yourself the time to enter the call if you live in a time zone other than those listed above.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='line-height:106%;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='line-height:106%;color:black'>If you have any specific questions for Marty Schultz, kindly email Janie Degenshein at:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="mailto:jdegen16@comcast.net"><span style='line-height:106%'>jdegen16@comcast.net</span></a><span style='line-height:106%;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='line-height:106%;color:black'>and put tech div seminar in the subject line.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='line-height:106%;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='line-height:106%;color:black'>To learn how to listen to previous seminar calls, please visit </span><a href="http://www.nfbnj.org/technology-seminars"><span style='line-height:106%'>www.nfbnj.org/technology-seminars</span></a><span style='line-height:106%;color:black'>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='line-height:106%;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='line-height:106%;color:black'>Looking forward to a powerful and rewarding seminar with you!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><h1>In Closing!<o:p></o:p></h1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>My wife Charlene and I would like to wish all of you a Happy and Safe Holiday as 2017 comes to a close and we bring in 2018 with many new and exciting things to come, especially with the National Federation of the Blind of North Dakota.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Please feel free to distribute this newsletter to anyone who you think might be interested in reading about us.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Milton Ota, President<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>National Federation of the Blind of North Dakota<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Web: http://nfbnd.org/<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>909 8th St., S.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Fargo, ND 58103-2723<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Cell: (701) 731-0511<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>E-mail: mota1252@gmail.com<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND KNOWS THAT BLINDNESS IS NOT THE CHARACTERISTIC THAT DEFINES YOU OR YOUR FUTURE. EVERY DAY WE RAISE THE EXPECTATIONS<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>OF BLIND PEOPLE, BECAUSE LOW EXPECTATIONS CREATE OBSTACLES BETWEEN BLIND PEOPLE AND OUR DREAMS. YOU CAN LIVE THE LIFE YOU WANT; BLINDNESS IS NOT WHAT HOLDS<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>YOU BACK. THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>With Love, Hope and Determination, We Turn Dreams Into Reality.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Together We Change What It Means to Be Blind.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>