[nfbmi-talk] from draft minutes
joe harcz Comcast
joeharcz at comcast.net
Thu Mar 17 03:35:05 UTC 2011
Hi Marcus,
I could be incorrect, but I do believe that Mike Ellis offered to sell some
used hardware including microphones and P.A. systems and other technical
pieces. Here the agency from reports deferred and bought on the cheap from
Lord knows who. Or such is the story. Regardless the mics often weren't
working effectively, the PA in the room was not working correctly and often
people including commissioners couldn't be heard by us in the room let alone
the issues of the telephony.
Also did anyone use the stream? These are questions like the ones following
that have plagued us for years. And Cannon blames alternately this or that
person or this or that contractor over and over and over again when things
come to a head like a volcano coming to boil with an explosion of lava flow.
I don't care about the personality of contractors from Mike Ellis to others.
I'm sorry Mike not a thing against you or anyone else here in this diatribe.
I just wish for things to work, and if not then why not and why aren't they
fixed?
Of course Marcus you understand these issues like Cannon and spin masters do
not. For you as a mechanic knows that a mechanical device either runs or
does not run. Oops I've stated the obvious here. I'm sorry as I've been
distracted by the babble over years over "philosophy" and not the "Bottom
line" which has been exploited by spin masters like Patrick D. Cannon.
For example in this theory, the bottom line is that the MCB stream was down
during many MCB webcasts of meetings for years That has often been out and
documented in the public record over years even when Mike ran it. And when
this happened who was the MCB director?
\
But, when things broke down who created the prioblem? Well, it wasanyone but
Cannon. And this "Goeebels" principle of government works only so long
right?
I know as I've written in as did former commissioner Ashcraft when it wasn't
working and folks can see
denotations of that reflected in official minutes for several years.
In other words the stream wasn't working under Ellis sometimes and that is
just a fact and not a denigration. And nothing was done to make the thing
stop repeating itself regardless as to contractor or this or that intricacy.
Bottom line is that more often than not, and again, in the public recorded
and minutes record things have been broken., month after month, day after
day and so on and so forth. And who was in charge of this?
Now, none of this is an attack upon an individual or an individual
contractor. It does go to leadership or lack thereof and to the poor for
planning and lack of accommodations let alone effective and common sense
technical expertise.
And who was the State ADA coordinator during these follies? Who was the
Director of the MCB which is supposed to be the vanguard of access in this
state for people who are blind?
Listen, all the mantra is being bespoken, but doesn't the "buck stop at the
top"?
This does not mean that mistakes and stuff doesn't happen. It does. It
doesn't mean that Pat Cannon has to be all things from dishwasher to
Director. But, effective leadership would have come to grips with these
issues years ago. If this was a one time item I wouldn't be personally
upset. But, at the risk of multiple redundancies here it happens over and
over and over again.
Now, tomorrow the site for the meeting is physically non-compliant with the
ADA and Cannon should know that if he did his job or even read what I have
read from Freedom of Information Act requests for accessibility surveys. He
has done nothing to advance the civil rights let alone practical access for
those who are blind let alone others with other disabilities that are also
under his charge statewide since he was ordained State ADA coordinator in
2004.
In fact when it comes to issues relating to physical access which includes
signage (raised character and Braille ADAAG 4.2, 4.3, 4.4) alone the only
person to my knowledge to know these and other requirements and to act to
remeliorate them was Christine Boone. She did this (repairing the MCB TC)
for all people with disabilities as best she could as one of her first acts
as director. That is why I sincerely praised her publicly last year at the
March 19 meeting in the public record And might I express my "love' in the
best sense ofthat word for Christine Boone here for her selfish and
altruistic ventures towards the self-redevelopment of thos who are blind in
these pursuits?.
But, we should note that this hero, and again not only for people who are
blind but just a hard working and kind and knowledgeable person who took
charge to rectify wrongs was fired by even then by a tyrant out of control
for purposes that were nothing short of pathological in my opinion for
otherwise they made no sense.
Since I first arrived back in Michigan in January 2001 I worked diligently
to fulfill the promise of the ADA in equality of physical and communications
access. The only one in an executive management position since then that
actually removed physical barriers or forced them to be removed except for
me was Christine.
This is not stated to denigrate anyone or any organization. Seriously it is
not. But, think about the issues here in that the spotlight is still on
others than the one individual and his lackies who created and perpetuated
this mess.
Cannon has ruled by divide and conquer; consumer against counselor; PA
against operator; democrat against Republican; Rehab Teachers against
Counselors; blind again sighted; urban against rural; black against
white...You name it the ploy has been there and all the while has
misdirected us against them and them against us all to maintain him.
He has been as documented however in regards to the ADA and other laws in
gross violation and indeed has engaged in acts of mass discrimination, for
the ADA, and Section 504 are indeed civil rights laws based upon the 14th
Amendment Article V, (due process and equal protection" clauses. And upon
these pillars we human beings being also citizens of the United States of
America must agree or our democratic republic is folly I think. I think we
must agree that we who happen to be blind have all the fundamental rights
given to all other citizens in this nation right? I think this means that
subsets of us whether people of color, or of assorted religious
affiliations, or of various national origins, or of differing genders, etc.,
etc. all have one thing in common as the great civil rights leader
regardless as to his condition of blindness , Jacobus Tenbroek often
asserted or implied in commonality with all goodly human rights leaders (and
here I paraphrase a principle): All Americans are endowed with certain
inaliable rights. And all regardless as to circumstance are thus given at
least ata minimum the right, the fundamental and precious right to have,
again at the minimum, the right to "equality of opportunity, if not the
right to equality of result".
Now the last quote was from the preamble of the ADA.
And of course Tenbroek lived before it (the ADA), but was a Constitutional
lawyer of whom I still stand in awe of as his principles were so sublime and
profound. They would have adapted to the changes in technology and prospects
for inclusion I'm certain just as NFB has continually adapted after some
bumps and bruises along the line in these arenas to the present.
In full circle and back to the present the ADA is twenty plus years old now.
And Cannon knows or should know his obligations in these regards. These are
black and white issues and not issues of debate, but rather issues of
performance and compliance the letter and spirit of this law alone.
He has failed. Period. End of story, by every measure, even the most casual
ones.
He has retarded progress of the blind in this state along with those with
others with other disabilities by his, at best gross dereliction of duties
of which he was paid and most handsomely, by any measure for a college
dropout.
Now, when I talk about these things with sighted peers and friends and
colleagues they just don't get it. They ask, "Why isn't this fool fired? Or
why would one blind man discriminate and abuse other blind folks?
Similar questions abound. I often don't have answers as to why this or that
happens. I'm after all an observer of the scene and activist who is much
more attuned to the who, what, when, where, and how of journalism. I can
define those things objectively. They are even quantifiable. But, the "why"
thing often is, or semi-mysterious, or like trying to eat a steak through a
straw -- imposable.
no, I do not know why Pat Cannon has for his entire reign, but increasingly
on a course of self and communal emulation, destroyed the abilities of MCB
and fundamentality by this destroyed countless and unknown lives of
literally tens of thousands of Michiganders being blind himself. No I cannot
explain that anymore than I can explain why some dictators kill their own
people. Or why there is fratricide or matricide or even homicide in the
human condition.
I have strong opinions about such things, and some grounded in science. But
they are all speculation in the long rung. Besides it is worthless and
irrelevant and, once again a diversion as to ask, "Why?"
The real issue is: "What."
Tomorrow Muumar Cannon or Pat Qadiffi comes to the peoples court of
accountability. Will we and will others hold him accountable for actions or
will we be diverted by ... well diversions? Or will we in the righteous calm
of day, and acknowledging the severe attacks on our economic and body
politic overall at very least overturn this incompetence; this pervertor of
due processes, by any considerable measure; this perversion of
democratic-republican principles by any measure. In other, simpler words
will this new board, regardless as to political affiliation throw the bum
out as should be done?
I know this is most radical, and is indeed not to be meant in the least to
denigrate my fundamental applause for Lary's and Lydia's (let alone the
previous appointment of John Scott) to the board of MCB. And I know they
each and everyone know the dire straights of this nation, this state and
this state agency to differing degrees. In fact these poor folks have
inherited a disaster of monstrous per beyond narrow constructs of our class.
But the first step in my mind is like, in the case of the so-called radicals
of say "Egypt" to get rid of the tyrants, incompetents, and other
malefactors in office.
Look, all it doesn't matter if one is a democrat or republican, or socialist
or whatever public, let alone private administration. It doesn't matter if
one is of this or that ideology. Not now at least it doesn't matter in my
mind. What matters is competence at very least in any measure and by any
measure from even the crap of RSA monitoring to budgetary considerations to
effective communications to ADA compliance in other realms to this that and
to everything the administration of Patrick D. Cannon has been a failure. It
has been sadly a most miserable failure with human consequences riddeen in
the experiences of all of us here on this list from employee to retiree to
consumer to administrator to the untold and unnamed individuals turned away
at the very front door by the evil spirits of this MCB under Director
Cannon. must be vented somehow.
They are like the noxious fumes emminatingfrom the reactors in Japan. There
must be a secure zone against the emissions defined. And the first thing
that must be done is that the head of the perfidious organization must roll
politically speaking. I mean MCB's demise and it does exist, MCB's demise
that is in all of those consequences from rehabilitation to job creation for
the blind to access and so on and so forth has devolved to a bunker of the
enabled top end around the Executive Management Team is all that virtually
exists in meaningful forms within MCB if we don't rid ourselves of these
tyrants and its source effectively and now. Even if we do this the situation
is hard, rife with hazards, and seemingly treacherous. But, with Patrick D.
Cannon at the healm it is impossible.
Colleagues, programs are being cut as fast as I can write this. Some agree
and some disagree with this. But facts are facts and events are fast moving.
They are faster than I or others can calculate in this and these volatile
times. But, reflecting on the gains and the crap giving to blind folks we
are in desperate convergences of colliding almost tectonic plates of
political convergences. In fact we are devolving in rights and entitlements
long since fought for by NFB, ACB and other rightiougs souls.
Where do we stand today in regards to equality, security, and opportunity
for the average blind person in America? Is it better for our say 14 year
ould youth today than one who was of the same age in 1960?
Is it better for the expanse of those growing to be legally blind in tage
even as compared to ten years ago?
And all know that the answers to this and more lie in the books, the deals,
and the crap and the abuse of process and law and all that is right and real
over the last decade of decline under the so-called leadership of Cannon.
Bumpint this bum from his position won't soulve all of our problems. They
are, after all manifest, but like in the dumping of Merkerbic in Egypt it
must be considerred nothing short of a pre-requisite towards reform let
alone a "fix" for the doldurms and other bovine stuff that plagues us all.
In other words getting rid of Cannon won't solve by a long shot all that
plagues us but it is a vital component and a vital first start in the
direction of the process towards a cure.
Peace with Justice,
Joe
Peace only Comes with Justice,
Joe
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marcus Simmons" <MarcusSimmons at comcast.net>
To: "Joe Sontag" <suncat0 at gmail.com>; "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing
List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2011 6:54 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] from draft minutes
> As I understand it, The MCB has purchased the audio equipment from a
> vender of their choosing and not from Mike Ellis Enterprises. Mike offered
> to sell them equipment but they went elsewhere. Please correct me if I am
> wrong.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Joe Sontag" <suncat0 at gmail.com>
> To: "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2011 10:56 AM
> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] from draft minutes
>
>
>>I understand that a number of people called in again after the disconnect,
>>only to hear a recording of the morning session being played into the
>>conference line instead of the live audio from the afternoon session.
>>This doesn't just "happen," in my opinion and experience.
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz at comcast.net>
>> To: <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 18:47
>> Subject: [nfbmi-talk] from draft minutes
>>
>>
>>> The meeting reconvened at 1:19 p.m.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Chair Pilarski asked phone participants to mute their phones to
>>> eliminate the background noise. Because some participants failed to
>>> mute their phones and noise continued, the connection had to be
>>> terminated so the meeting could continue.
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
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