[nfb-talk] National Federation of the Blind DefendsRightsofBlind Students

ckrugman at sbcglobal.net ckrugman at sbcglobal.net
Wed Aug 11 00:51:04 UTC 2010 

As I understand it that was the weaker of the two bills that was passed. The 
House version H.R. 3101 actually contained stronger provisions as I 
understand it so I'm assuming that there will now be a conference bill, 
although I'm not sure this is correct.
Chuck
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Heim" <jheim at math.wisc.edu>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2010 12:49 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] National Federation of the Blind 
DefendsRightsofBlind Students


> Did you see that the bill that passed last Thursday authorizes the FCC to 
> require a certain number of hours of DVS each week on the 4 major 
> networks? There are probably lots of things in that bill that the NFB 
> approves of but it sure didn't approve of that.
>
> On the other hand, the bill also requires that emergency information be 
> accessible. The NFB has been fighting for that for years.
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Dewey Bradley" <dewey.bradley at att.net>
> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2010 2:20 PM
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] National Federation of the Blind Defends 
> RightsofBlind Students
>
>
>> Its the same thing as the cable and dish companies, I guess the market is 
>> not big enough for them, We could buy on demand movies and give them more 
>> money, but they don't think they can off set the caust I guess.
>> ----- 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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