[nfb-talk] National Federation of the Blind Defends Rights ofBlind Students

Tue Aug 10 19:29:02 UTC 2010

I'll turn you into a liberal yet.

[PS: That's just a joke. I'm not a liberal. I'm a scientist.]

---- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ray Foret Jr" <rforetjr at comcast.net>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2010 10:26 AM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] National Federation of the Blind Defends Rights 
ofBlind Students

> John,  you'll get no argument from me on any of the points you bring up in 
> this message for sure.
>
> ON this matter, we're exactly on the same page.
>
>
> Sincerely,
> The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!
>
> A Very Proud and Happy Mac User!!!
>
> E-Mail:
> rforetjr at comcast dot net
> Skype Name:
> barefootedray
>
> On Aug 10, 2010, at 9:38 AM, John Heim wrote:
>
>> Yeah, the arguments against what the NFB, ACB, and Justice Department 
>> have done are laughable.  Critics would have us believe Amazon made the 
>> Kindle accessible on its own because the free market required it. 
>> Hmmm.... Nah, I gotta say I don't think so.
>>
>> The closest that argument comes to making sense is the fact that some 
>> universities  not named in the lawsuit dropped their plans to buy kindles 
>> because it wasn't accessible. But they did that because of the lawsuits. 
>> Some universities had the foresight to realize that their plans to buy 
>> kindles violated anti-discrimination laws and dropped their plans before 
>> any legal action was taken against them.  The University of Wisconsin, 
>> where I work, was one of them. But there is no reason to believe they'd 
>> have done that if the law didn't require it.Amazon saw what was happening 
>> and fixed their device.
>>
>> Critics also point to the variety of accessible devices out there like 
>> the IPhone and IPad saying its evidence that the free market works. But 
>> its just not true. Apple developed a screen reader because they knew that 
>> if they didn't have a screen reader, they wouldn't be able to sell 
>> Macintoshes to schools and universities. I saw this first hand at the 
>> University of Wisconsin. We started putting Windows machines with jaws 
>> into the computer labs where there used to be Macs. We didn't have any 
>> choice. We had to supply computers with screen readers. Now, Macs are 
>> going back into the libraries and computer labs because each Mac comes 
>> with a free screen reader.
>>
>> The key point here is that Amazon and Apple  made their products 
>> accessible to sell them to schools, not to blind people.  They didn't 
>> say, "We need to make our products accessible in order to tap into that 
>> very lucrative blind market." They simply realized they wouldn't be able 
>> to sell their products to schools unless they were accessible and that's 
>> because of laws and regulations, not the free market.
>>
>> The fact is that even schools and universities will ignore the laws 
>> requiring access unless they are forced to comply. I've seen this too 
>> first hand at the University of Wisconsin. People want to do the right 
>> thing but they have budgets and time constraints to deal with. As someone 
>> who ahs dealt with these issues for many years, I don't believe for a 
>> second that any university would have stopped its plans to buy the Kindle 
>> had it not been for the lawsuits.
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Freeh,Jessica (by way of David 
>> Andrews <dandrews at visi.com>)" <JFreeh at nfb.org>
>> To: <david.andrews at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2010 2:42 AM
>> Subject: [nfb-talk] National Federation of the Blind Defends Rights of 
>> Blind Students
>>
>>
>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>>
>>
>>
>> CONTACT:
>>
>> Chris Danielsen
>>
>> Director of Public Relations
>>
>> National Federation of the Blind
>>
>> (410) 659-9314, extension 2330
>>
>> (410) 262-1281 (Cell)
>>
>> <mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> National Federation of the Blind Defends Rights of Blind Students
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Calls for Equal Access to Information and Technology in America's 
>> Universities
>>
>>
>>
>> Baltimore, Maryland (August 9, 2010): The
>> National Federation of the Blind (NFB) responded
>> today to recent attacks on the right of blind
>> students to have equal access to technologies
>> used by America's universities and to the
>> textbooks and course materials offered by
>> institutions of higher learning.  The NFB and the
>> United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights
>> Division, have come under attack in recent days
>> for reaching settlements with universities
>> requiring that the universities refrain from
>> purchasing any e-book technology that is not fully accessible to the 
>> blind.
>>
>>
>>
>> Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National
>> Federation of the Blind, said: "Blind students
>> must have access to the same textbooks and course
>> materials and the same technology to read them as
>> all other students.  This is not only a matter of
>> fairness to blind students but a requirement of
>> federal law.  For this reason, we applaud the
>> United States Department of Justice, acting at
>> our request and pursuant to its mandate to
>> enforce this nation's disability rights laws, for
>> reaching landmark settlements with colleges and
>> universities ensuring that e-book technologies
>> deployed by these institutions will be accessible
>> to all their students.  With the announcement of
>> a new accessible Amazon Kindle, the recent
>> introduction of the Apple iPad, and the promise
>> of future accessible e-book products many of
>> which would not have been made accessible without
>> our advocacy efforts colleges and universities
>> will find it increasingly easy to procure e-book
>> technology that benefits everyone.  These
>> settlements benefit not only blind students, who
>> will now have access to the same books at the
>> same time and at the same price as their sighted
>> peers, but also institutions of higher learning,
>> which will no longer incur the administrative
>> burden of producing or procuring accessible books
>> through separate and inferior methods.  To the
>> extent that inaccessible e-book technology
>> remains a barrier to the equal education of the
>> blind, however, the National Federation of the
>> Blind will continue to fight for the educational
>> and legal rights of blind students, and we will
>> not hesitate to call upon the Department of
>> Justice and other government authorities to
>> assist us in doing so when necessary."
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ###
>>
>>
>>
>> About the National Federation of the Blind
>>
>> With more than 50,000 members, the National
>> Federation of the Blind is the largest and most
>> influential membership organization of blind
>> people in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
>> "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
>> />United States.  The NFB improves blind people's
>> lives through advocacy, education, research,
>> technology, and programs encouraging independence
>> and self-confidence.  It is the leading force in
>> the blindness field today and the voice of the
>> nation's blind.  In January 2004 the NFB opened
>> the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan
>> Institute, the first research and training center
>> in the United States for the blind led by the blind.
>>
>>
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>>
>>
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