[nfb-talk] NY Times Article on Gov. Paterson and Braille

[Kenneth Chrane]

The Governor?
His Staff?
Bring our message to the Public?
In that case, we can use Pacifica Radio to get our message across?
Why not?
Ken Chrane

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2010 11:36 AM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] NY Times Article on Gov. Paterson and Braille


> Ken:
>
> Whom would you demonstrate against?  With respect, this is not one of 
> those situations that lends itself, in general, to public demonstration.
>
> Mike Freeman
>
>
> On Dec 29, 2010, at 1:47, "Kenneth Chrane" <kenneth.chrane at verizon.net> 
> wrote:
>
>> Poking Along is not enough.
>> We need to take to the streets and deminstrate for our rights like the 
>> blacks did in the 1960's.
>> Ken Chrane
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
>> To: <jsorozco at gmail.com>; "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 11:20 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] NY Times Article on Gov. Paterson and Braille
>>
>>
>>> Joe:
>>>
>>> You will be disappointed with my answer below.  However, I would ask 
>>> that you not misinterpret it.  In what I shall say, I'm not saying "we 
>>> can't". I *am* saying that there are good resons reasons we face some of 
>>> the difficulties we do.
>>>
>>> In both the mentoring program and the BEL program, it's often not a 
>>> question of lack of will or lack of training.  In quite a few 
>>> affiliates, it's simply a matter of lack of warm bodies to do the work. 
>>> I know that's hard for people in affiliates such as Texas, new York, 
>>> Virginia and Massachusetts to conceive.  But we in Washington were asked 
>>> if we wished to participate in the BELL program last year and although 
>>> we would have loved to have done so, we did not.  Why?  WE simply didn't 
>>> have the people to make the program work.  Out here, we are very often 
>>> Shakespeare's WE Happy Few.  WE acccomplish a lot for the number of 
>>> members we have.  But it's hard to expand when our membership is 
>>> insufficient, we do not have staff and do not have the funding to make 
>>> the programs a success.
>>>
>>> You may object that we should do more fund-raising and recruiting.  I 
>>> agree. But these efforts do not bring instant fruit.  But, like WPA, we 
>>> poke along.
>>>
>>> Mike
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe Orozco" <jsorozco at gmail.com>
>>> To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 2:38 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] NY Times Article on Gov. Paterson and Braille
>>>
>>>
>>>> David,
>>>>
>>>> The number of entry points to blindness are as plentiful as our 
>>>> membership
>>>> is diverse.  I completely acknowledge that the issue is vast and that 
>>>> there
>>>> is no one single approach to eradicating poor education systems,
>>>> rehabilitation establishments, and uninformed parents, but I dare say 
>>>> there
>>>> is more we could do to make the issue a more central part of what the 
>>>> NFB as
>>>> a whole is accomplishing.  For instance, am I correct that the Bell 
>>>> program
>>>> only exists in certain states?  Is this also true of the mentoring 
>>>> program?
>>>> How did the NFB go about procuring the funds to make these programs
>>>> possible, and how can states educate themselves on how to make these
>>>> programs available in other areas?  How could Affiliate Action play a 
>>>> more
>>>> vital role in not just recruiting new members, but turning our existing
>>>> members into informed advocates who can communicate more fluently with
>>>> teachers, counselors and relevant providers about higher expectations 
>>>> for
>>>> their clients?  Is it possible for us to engage a public relations 
>>>> campaign
>>>> with the magnitude of the Blind Driver Challenge to send a singular 
>>>> powerful
>>>> message that visual impairment of any degree can and should be 
>>>> addressed
>>>> with the highest of expectations?  I don't expect all the answers, but 
>>>> I
>>>> guess I'm also not looking for more reasons why the issue of closing 
>>>> the gap
>>>> between the so-called partially sighted and the totally blind is so
>>>> insurmountable.
>>>>
>>>> Best,
>>>>
>>>> Joe
>>>>
>>>> "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their 
>>>> sleeves,
>>>> some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
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>>
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