…”the cross of a single method”

color photo of white hand with Sign Union flag colored bird flying through a stigmata in the hand

So as predicted – things have quieted down three weeks out from the AG Bell Association’s pissy fit over Nyle DiMarco supporting bilingualism.

But it was a wild three weeks wasn’t it?
ya all rocked the house. Truths be a tellin’ ten fold.

I especially appreciate the Buff and Blue’s ASL letter to AG Bell Association and the Council de Manos’ letter (see below).  While i had seen the Buff and Blue’s English letter, I didn’t know of their ASL letter until a colleague mentioned it a few days ago and i went a googling and ta da.  WOW it is a gem.  Love the variety of signers and the message as is the Council de Manos, which they also have in English and Spanish – ohhh multilingualism rocks.

I’ve also enjoyed seeing:
#Whyisign
#iamDeaf
Convo’s #tosignishuman
http://www.agbelllies.com/
https://thebelleffect.com/

Letters from individuals (especially poignant letters from parents and victims & survivors), departments, colleges, organizations, De’VIA surdists’ artworks etc singing the praise of ASL & English and busting the bullshit on language and cultural bigotry have been making the invisible visible.  Thank you each and all for standing and demanding that the AG Bell Association cut the crap.  Many of the letters by AG Bell and our communities have been posted up at The Bell Effect website https://thebelleffect.com/

After just one week AG Bell Association’s President M. Sugar released a 2nd letter in which she maintained her very patronizing tone of voice basically saying we don’t know squat.

ha

Problem is – we know a plenty and have brought the truth forward to prove it so she can hide behind their b.s. euphemism LSL as if it were a language when it is the jealous mistress called ORALism, and hide behind the bs shield of parental choice but we know their version of “parental choice” includes child abuse.  YES FOLKS when Ms. Sugar and Co. says parents have the right to choose Oral / Aural Only and ban ASL for their child’s life they are saying depriving a child of ASL and Deaf culture is FINE.  It’s DANDY. Why? because ASL is dying she says (in her first letter) and cuz the babes no needy any ASL cuz they can hear just fine with CI and AVT ie Oralism ie LSL.  Yes she said this crap in response to the American Academy of Pediatric praising bilingualism as best practices too.  She is relentless in her delusions.

Oh the holy grail – to make the Deaf child unDeaf.  to make them speak and hear “like” Hearing folks.  all hail the god of “independence through listening and talking” which is the AG Bell Associations motto and mantra and mission and..

yawn – so boring so endlessly boring and WRONG

W R O N G  AG BELL and Co. – listening and speaking do NOT make someone independent.  This has been proven time and time again.

How do we know?
cuz many completely hearing folks can hear and speak perfectly fine and they are not fully independent

cuz many Deaf folks who use bilaterial implants, do not sign whatsoever, and speak a plenty still want CART services, still want close captioning, still want Oral interpreters, some no go home for the holidays

and cuz… drum rolllllllll

We are all interdependent.  Its called living.  and the holy grail of normalcy is a falsehood and neurodiversity, sensory diversity, gender diversity, ethnic diversity, sexual diversity, etc are groovy.  They truly are – they is what makes the world go round methink.

Truths gonna flow Ms. Sugar and Co. (ie AG Bell Association) and the truth is – there is NO HARM in being bilingual or multilingual and there are GREAT BENEFITS to it. So…..

depriving a Deaf child of such is just basically cruel and unusual

You can cling behind the bilaterial cochlear implants, you can cling behind the clause of “parental rights” when they are really wrong but the truth remains – its unjust and you know it

And YOU – AG Bell Association – have known it since your inception.  You have KNOWN that you can not do pure Oralism (ie lsl and implantations etc etc) without some form of abuse.  YES AG Bell Association you have known about the putting of children into closets for signing, you have known about the making of children sit on their hands, fold their hands, have their hand taped to table tops, bound by mitten strings, tied up, stacked with books to uphold while kneeling on a broom stick, dunked in scalding HOT water, whacked with rulers, and more.  those poor wee dear hands that did nothing but try to do what came naturally – talk.  talk with their hands.  why has this ever been such a sin that parents and teachers have HIT those hands, have made those hands write on boards and sheets of paper 100 times “I will not use my hands.” ha ya all have tried to also make liars out of the children – they knew to write that very sentence they were using their own hands and they knew that to raise their hand in the audiobooth when not really hearing to end the testing, prodding, probing, and distress they would have to practice your skill and value set – deceit.

more has been done to the Deaf child – the Deaf body – lots of surgery – lots of various experimentation on their ears, brains, tonsils and more.  All in that effort to make the Deaf child into something they are not “unDeaf” and as “Hearing like as possible”

ie: AG Bell’s latest and lamest effort at myth-a-making – the notion of “there are many ways to be deaf” duh

that is about as inspired as “Deaf people can do anything except hear”

jewish folks have always been diverse – you dont see folks saying jewish versus Jewish or J/j

African American folks have always been diverse – you dont see folks saying African American vs african american

You did see lots of stratification of disenfranchised folks by the dominant culture in its effort to divide and conquer.  You saw them conjure up Mulatto as a “way of being” and giving it a wee bit of privilege so that resentment and inequality would fester and the oppressed could be the oppressor so the master could worry less and control more

So AG Bell and Co. you can try to paint “your deaf children and poster children turned adults” as being a different way of being deaf but still it is the same ole same ole.  They still be people of the hand eye – they still glean info via their eyes and their hands.  i have seen them in those youtube activation viral videos, i have seen them sitting across from me at the AG Bell Volta Bureau & Laboratory  – speaking when you called on them to speak and trying to read the CART screen when anyone else was speaking despite them having CI and a voice interpreter sitting right behind them.  I have seen how their eyes scan the horizon and i have seen how their hands point and gesture.  So while they are not bilingual with ASL because they have been taught that to use ASL is a dependence and a crutch and demeaning and they should be as hearing-like as they possibly can be, they still gravitate to visual access and if they are Deafblind orally raised they gravitate to tactile access as did John Spencer.

This is nothing NEW.  What it means to be “deaf” has not changed.  The props and excuses and myths have been updated but they are still props, excuses, and myths in which to propagate cultural and linguistic bigotry and that is not cool – AG Bell Association, John Tracey Clinic, House Ear institute, NCHAM, CDC, Cochlear LTD, Advanced Bionics, Med El, and blood cord registry and more..  We see you and we call your bluff.

Not cool at all fools.

We are Deaf – not damaged nor damned.

soooo Ms. Sugar of AG Bell Assoc – you conclude your second letter with a comment about respectful open dialogue after having spread a bunch of disrespectful crap in your letter about not discouraging parents from  ASL (tsk tsk how you lie) and how your mission is backed by research – dont u see how your ACTIONS and words in your letters and history are NOT respectful for open dialogue and if you TRULY wanted an open dialogue – you would accept the Gallaudet Student Body Government invitation to go to Gallaudet for such a dialogue.  AG Bell Association your commitment to crucifying children on the cross of a single method is WRONG and you know it.

Ya busted Ya basta.

George W. Veditz knew that ASL & English was the greatest good for the greatest number.

And from the NAD resolutions from the Proceedings of the Ninth Convention of the National Association and the Third World’s Congress of the Deaf.  Colorado Springs, CO.  August 6-13 1910

• Resolved, That we recognize and appreciate to the fullest extent all methods of educating the deaf, but deplore and condemn the narrow and destructive spirit that endeavors to educate all pupils by any single method. We are firmly and unalterably in favor of the Combined System, which adapts the method to the pupil, and not the pupil to the method. (Resolutions similar in tenor to the above were unanimously adopted at the Nation Convention sat Chicago 1893; Philadelphia, 1896; St. Paul 1899; St. Louis, 1904, and Norfolk, 1907.)

• Resolved, That the educated deaf, even though they may not be in the profession, feel that it is their privilege to discuss and pass upon questions of educational methods, inasmuch, as they are the results of these methods, and that their opinions therefore should have the weight of authority.

 

and now i conclude with the truthful words of a Deaf educator and leader.  James L. Smith, who was a teacher and Supt at the Minn. School for the Deaf.  He stated these words at the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf (ICED) in 1900 at the Paris Congress.  Yes this is the same congress that in 1880 Milan, Italy declared oralism to be superior and banned natural sign language from the hands, hearts, and minds of Deaf children and educators and the same congress that in 2010 (2010-07 ICED Resolution – A New Era document-2) declared that the Milan 1880 ICED resolutions were unjust and caused great harm and that we should remember our history and issued an accord for the future in which Deaf folks shall not be deprived of natural sign language and Deaf culture and they shall be involved in decision making in matters that affect their people.

(note there are a million other great statements from gems from our past who prove that what it means to be Deaf has not changed and that excluding Deaf folks from their birthright – a fully natural and accessible language – is wrong like McGregor’s short, precise, and profound 1920 message – but you get the point – things have not changed cuz the oppressive nature of the jealous mistress, Oralism, remains.  Its time for an upgrade AG Bell and Co. Your deceit aint sweet. In fact it is toxic. and its old as in unchanged and ASL is on the rise not on the decline and the Deaf will always be Deaf.

 

“Let us join together as one to protest these educators who would fix our destiny without consulting us, without hearing us. Here in the greatest republic of the Old World, the delegates from that in the New ask all present to join together to affirm a new declaration of human rights, the right of the deaf to life, liberty the pursuit of happiness, and the education of their children on a plan they accept. Let us declare to the entire world that the deaf will not be crucified on the cross of a single method.”

~ James L. Smith 

Gallaudet Buff and Blue’s ASLized letter to the AG Bell Association:

Council de Manos letter in ASL below (to see in text English and text Spanish go to https://thebelleffect.com/2016/04/08/council-de-manos/)

 

“A language divorced from its culture is like a body without a soul.” ~ M. Byram, 1998

Thanks Brian S for the quote

AG Bell NAD & You & Me

Text below video box:
https://youtu.be/PeASSb6EYl4

Greetings:

I’ve gotten a lot of emails about AG Bell Association insulting Nyle, insulting Deaf people, insulting sign language, insulting research, insulting facts, and insulting truths. (see http://www.agbell.org/in-the-news/response-nyle-dimarco/)

Yep, that is what AG Bell does. It’s really nothing new. That is their way since the beginning.

Many of you are upset and that is good. We should be upset. What they are doing is unacceptable! I’m here not to show the errors of their ways – the falsehoods behind their offending statements. Am i here to be on the defense against their lies – NO – I don’t feel a need to do that. It is obvious that they are 100% wrong in what they are saying. I hope that other linguists and psychologist will post up facts. I don’t feel we need to be on the defense. Who should have to defend their words? They – AG Bell – should. Why? Because AG Bell has been practicing AUDISM against Deaf people since its conception. It has been practicing PHONOCENTRISM (the belief to speak is superior to signing or writing) since its conception. AG Bell has the STRONG belief that Speech is superior. It practices the belief of lingiucism – it believes that English is superior to ASL.

The recent statement from AG Bell Association (http://www.agbell.org/in-the-news/response-nyle-dimarco/) is BIGOTRY – Cultural and linguistic BIGOTRY against Deaf people, against Deaf culture, against Sign Language. They have been doing this since their beginning and its nothing new – in fact it’s their MISSION in life.

AG Bell, the man, himself was against sign language with Deaf children in schools, against Deaf teachers, against Deaf marrying Deaf. He wanted a perfect race (eugenics) – he did not want to see more hereditary Deaf children created. So he founded the AG Bell Association and it adheres to his principles. AGBAD is against sign language. At times they have tried to word smith and cloak their bigotry but every once and a while they overtly show their true colors by making public statements in the media. But regardless of their public actions – throughout time they have enforced a strict practice of Oralism. Fiercely supporting it. Occasionally they get in hot water for making a public statement and its good that their masks comes down and people see them for what they are but we should know that they have been doing this since their origins and it really is NOTHING new for them.

I’m here to sign out what? Number one – that the NAD (National Association of the Deaf) must stop being on the same committee as the AG Bell –(Deaf and Hard of Hearing Alliance) http://usicd.org/doc/DHHA%20CRPD%20Letter%20FINAL%20%282%29%206_2_2014.pdf (added here since the DHHA website is down – AG Bell and NAD also sit on the Council on Education of the Deaf http://councilondeafed.org/member-organizations/) NAD should not serve on the same taskforce / councils /committees with AG Bell. They should step down from such affiliations in protest showing that they will not do business with such a bigoted association. NAD needs to make a strong statement. Previously the CEO of the NAD promised they would make a strong statement against any organization or individual that campaigned saying oralism was superior to ASL but then later the NAD got evasive and backed down. NAD needs to confront AG Bell’s conduct. They need to.

 

If people want to demand an apology from AG Bell that is fine but for me – I am not interested in an apology. I want them to stop – to cease and desist from their persistent campaign against ASL. Enough is Enough.

 

EHDI on the state level across the country and NCHAM, which gets a lot of funds from NIH and CDC and is responsible for gathering information and disseminating it related to Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (note I do not sign the recommend “grab/seize opportunity or Involve sign” for intervention because EHDI is still about INTERRUPTING parent and Deaf bodies via “deafness” frame) – NCHAM is run by Dr. Karl White and the NCHAM lists different resources and services for parents etc. – lists AG Bell Association. Many State level EHDI services lists AG Bell Association. If you look around to various agencies, programs, etc who do they list for referrals, resources, services? AG Bell Association will often be at the top of the list. It’s often at the top because it starts with an A and A is the first letter in the alphabet – when in fact it shouldn’t be listed at all. AG Bell Association should be REMOVED from any such listing because they practice bigotry – they promote hatred of ASL and Deaf culture. This has been proven throughout time.

Us being upset about AG Bell’s response to Nyle and the Pepsi commercial is fine and right. At the same time before AG Bell had sent out a letter to Deaf schools with membership cards. When the teachers all over the country went to their school mail box and saw they got a letter from AG Bell Association they were disturbed and upon opening up the letter they found a unwanted, unsolicited, offensive membership card with their OWN names on it with their title as “Hearing Specialists.” NAD said and did nothing to protect Deaf teachers from this tactic by AGBAD.

Many people were upset as was AFA Audism Free America so they held a vigil at AG Bell Headquarters in Washington, DC and made copies of these offensive “Hearing Specialist” AG Bell membership cards and distributed to folks to burn in protest. A symbolic measure to communicate to AGBAD to stop sending out such “membership cards” and since then they have not done that again.

Thus it is important for us to confront such oppressive practices – not just when famous people are attacked or because of the Pepsi letter. It’s important to challenge the everyday oppressive practices of the AG Bell Association and its promotion of the falsehood that speech is superior.

Last year or the year before that, the president of AG Bell Association wrote a horrible letter in response to an article – she wrote about how superior cochlear implants were since her Deaf son has cochlear implants and when he is on his bike riding she can call him home to eat and he will hear her and come back thus making life easier for her and all hail to the powers of CI and speech and all curses for the inferiority of ASL. http://www.agbell.org/AGBellResponsetoPediatrics/

Was there a great outcry by the community – no because there was no famous person involved so we really need to look at how on-going the AG Bell Association’s campaign against ASL and Deaf culture has been. This recent flare up about Nyle’s and the Washington Post article (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2016/03/28/a-dancing-with-the-stars-contestant-is-vying-for-a-white-house-correspondents-dinner-invite/) – in a few weeks the noise will die down and AG Bell will keep up their sheath-like campaign against ASL and Deaf culture. We need to keep an eye on that and challenge it again and again.

People should host vigils and rallies at AG Bell Headquarters periodically so that the public is aware of what AG Bell Association is playing at. Now with the Nyle’s incident – it would be a good time for folks to have a peaceful rally at AG Bell Headquarters – to practice their first amendment rights of freedom of speech/sign and assembly.

Last summer some of us went to AG Bell Headquarters – called Volta Bureau – which is near Georgetown University. We put 12 black flags in memory of 12 Deaf children who died from Cochlear Implant complications way back in the beginning of experimenting with implanting children. Since that time many others have died from CI complications in the US and other countries – although it is hard to get those facts and details out to the public. (see https://usdeafhistory.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/final-transcriptforpanelexcerptpetitto1.pdf) 12 flags were planted in their memory. AG Bell Association has gotten a lot of money from CI corporations. They have had their circle alliance with different cochlear implant companies that have been sued for fraud and faulty cochlear implants that leak and cause shocks and have had recalls.

AG Bell should be challenged not to be pushing cochlear implants onto innocent parents when they first learn their newborn or infant is Deaf and are looking for answers.

It’s important to watch the various systems that we often allow to go unchecked without our challenging them and holding them accountable. We also need to watch our organizations and leaders that some time refuse to see the truth or even work with various oppressive systems and then later those systems like AG Bell and EHDI say “we work very closely with the NAD” or “we work very closely with Deaf leaders.” They take advantage of those associations and claim that they are not at fault while scapegoating the Deaf orgs and individuals because those Deaf folks are allowing it. We need to challenge and not just passively accept the status quo.

Yes I predict the NAD will write a letter to AG Bell wagging their finger at them “tsk, tsk, tsk AGB. Don’t do that” and then be done with it allowing AG Bell to continue doing OTHER THINGS that are much worse. ADDED 4/4/201One write up by AG Bell with misinformation which is wrong and bad and should not be tolerated – at the same time have a fit over that one action when there is a long history of much great bad deeds that directly adversely impact Deaf children due to Oralism – we need to stand oppose all forms of oppression. Not just today’s situation but 3 weeks from now, 3 month from now, 3 years from now. Confront, Confront, Confront.  bye

ADDED: important blog by Amy Cohen Efron examining AG Bell’s history of having a fit any time ASL and the Deaf-world is shown in a popular light to the greater public
AG Bell Belittles Nyle DiMarco
http://www.deafeyeseeit.com/2016/04/01/ag-bell-belittles-nyle-dimarco/

 

Updates

greetings all

have much to share but have been BUSY so just some announcements:

1. the Georgetown symposium honoring the 100th Anniversary of Vedtiz’ Preservation of Sign Language and three major Pioneers to Sign Language research and documentation (J. Schuchman, B. Kannapell, and D. Cokely) was grand.

2. the NTID 2nd Deaf-mute Banquet and film discussion night honoring l’Epee’s 301st birthday and Veditz’ 100th anniversary of Preservation of Sign Language and other great films from 1913 was AWESOME!!!!!! i was so overjoyed!.  hope to blog about it soon.  You can see pix from the events at https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152043454514626&set=a.10152043454394626.1073741861.110254959625&type=1&theater

3. there is a new website up featuring LOTS and LOTS of great stuff from George W. Veditz – feel free to browse it – especially all the primary documents.  If you have a question, you’d like to ask him – you can post it under ASK GEORGE or send an email.  see see what ya get back https://veditzsite.wordpress.com/author/veditzsite/

4. The NAD had passed a motion re: Language Deprivation back in July of 2012 and according to the approved motion – “A full report including the first draft of a model legislation must be completed by December 1, 2013.”
Today is Dec 1, 2013 but i have seen NOTHING.  As in NADa.  Hopefully the NAD will share the draft legislation soon because while i was at the Gallaudet Archives looking through all the old reports by the NAD i couldnt help feeling like the FLA situation is very similar to what went down in Nebraska under signing CODA Oralist fanatic Frank Booth.  The NAD motion which was proposed by Kelby Brick is at the bottom of this blog entry in full so u know what we have to look forward to once the NAD does what it said it would do.

5. today is World AIDS Day so pls help to circulate these two ASL videos on HIV testing – it can save lives so pls do do.

Tapiwa Talks about Testing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScdC9c2DQTA

Info on HIV testing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYyTz-Yil44

6. The Bear Hunt battle is back a bit as Dr. Eckert was challenging its presence in front of a Deaf school via a petition and as im seeing folks wake up more and more to the injustice of our (meaning us White folks) mis-representation and mis-appropriation of Native Americans to white-wash our genocide against Native people, their languages, and their cultures.

older entry on the topic – at the bottom of that post there are links to vlogs about the subject too https://handeyes.wordpress.com/…/10/03/bear-with-me-please/

————

NAD language deprivation motion

INFORMED DECISION-MAKING AND LANGUAGE DEPRIVATION 2012-KY-PUB-025
Author’s Name: Kelby Brick Seconded by: Beth Bendict, Nancy Bloch, Gertude Galloway, Jay Innes, Tawny Holmes,
Richard Jeffries, Kent Kennedy, Libby Pollard and Roz Rosen
Proposal: The NAD shall set up a Headquarters Ad-Hoc Committee to look into developing model state and federal legislation to prevent language deprivation.
The Committee shall be comprised of individuals with expertise in various relevant areas including legal, educational and socio- and neuro-linguistic development to look into the possibility of making liable actions that causes harm to Deaf children as a result of the deprivation of American Sign Language and develop model state and federal legislation for such liability.
The committee should also look into developing model state and federal legislation that would require medical and audiology personnel to refer deaf infants/children and their families to American Sign Language instruction and education prior to undertaking any medical procedure that may presume to provide hearing.
The committee should also develop a strategy for the adoption of these legislation including identifying which states may be most favorable as early adopters of those legislation.
This is to be an ad-hoc Headquarter committee reporting to the CEO. A full report including the first draft of a model legislation must be completed by December 1, 2013.
Rationale: Past attempts through the educational system to ensure that Deaf children are not isolated and linguistically deprived have experienced extremely limited success. Alternative approaches needs to be fully explored.
This motion is timely because the United Nations developed and adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (“CRPD”) to advance equality further throughout the world. The CRPD makes repeated specific references to the deaf community and sign language in its text.
The rationale and justification for this proposal comes from the abstract of Language acquisition for deaf children: Reducing the harms of zero tolerance to the use of alternative approaches; Harm Reduction Journal 2012, 9:16 which specifically states:
“Children acquire language without instruction as long as they are regularly and meaningfully engaged with an accessible human language. Today, 80% of children born deaf in the developed world are implanted with cochlear devices that allow some of them access to sound in their early years, which helps them to develop speech. However, through early childhood, brain plasticity changes and children who have not acquired a first language in the early years might never be completely fluent in any language. If they
miss this critical period for exposure to a natural language, their subsequent development of the cognitive activities that rely on a solid first language might be underdeveloped, such as literacy, memory organization, and number manipulation. An alternative to speech-exclusive approaches to language acquisition exists in the use of sign languages such as American Sign Language (ASL), where acquiring a sign language is subject to the same time constraints of spoken language development. Unfortunately, so far, these alternatives are caught up in an “either – or” dilemma, leading to a highly polarized conflict about which system families should choose for their children, with little tolerance for alternatives by either side of the debate and widespread misinformation about the evidence and implications for or against either approach. The success rate with cochlear implants is highly variable. This issue is still debated, and as far as we know, there are no reliable predictors for success with implants. Yet families are often advised not to expose their child to sign language. Here absolute positions based on ideology create pressures for parents that might jeopardize the real developmental needs of deaf children. What we do know is that cochlear implants do not offer accessible language to many deaf children. By the time it is clear that the deaf child is not acquiring spoken language with cochlear devices, it might already be past the critical period, and the child runs the risk of becoming linguistically deprived. Linguistic deprivation constitutes multiple personal harms as well as harms to society (in terms of costs to our medical systems and in loss of potential productive societal participation).”
Because Headquarters have the legal staff and interns along with necessary key relationships with those having needed expertise, the committee should report to the CEO.
Fiscal Impact: Minimal. The ad hoc committee will be mostly made up of volunteers. NAD staff expertise on the commit- tee would be most helpful and staff’s time will have the biggest fiscal impact. The committee may also benefit from the research expertise of one of the law student interns that the NAD often has. The CEO may lend NADstaff and interns to the committee as he sees fit.
Steering Committee Comments: Merits Consideration.

History Repeats a la Clarke

Imagine my surprise when finally getting to see the scanned copy of Veditz’s obit to AG Bell to see at the bottom a 1922 resolution from Los Angeles Silent Club of LA, Ca. in regards to Clarke Oral School

“$500,000 fund attempts to beguile the public into a conclusion that the oral method released the deaf in American from what it terms ‘the stone age’ system of signs and fingerspelling, thereby creating a false impression generally of the true status of the deaf.”

LA resolution 1922 against Clarke prejudicial propaganda

Fast forward to 2013 – nearly 100 years later (91 to be precise) and see that Clarke School for Hearing and Speech, while renamed to “help the deaf and their parents forget they are deaf” is still up to the same ole games.  See how the Theresa Bulger of the Clarke School in Fla. slid $500,000 appropriation funding for two wee oral / aural only schools in FLA into a state budget.

see ireport CNN http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-971661 (Text below video box)

see The St. Augustine Record  http://staugustine.com/news/2013-06-11#.Untk60SoUz9

Bulger is an Oral /Aural only zealot who tried to spread fear mongering amongst AG Bell members saying that the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People was really just a plot for the NAD to get VP relay sweet deals and that the UN CRPD would deny parental rights.  Yep this is the lady who would rather see severally disabled children all over the globe mistreated viciously because she is paranoid over the clauses that affirm Deaf culture, natural signed languages, and Deaf autonomy and self-governance so she does what all fear mongers do – she lies.

see https://handeyes.wordpress.com/2012/07/25/ag-bell-oral-group-encourages-lying-to-senators-not-cool/
scroll down there if you’d like to use a just, right, and good sample letter to send to US senators encouraging them to ratify the UN CRPD like the rest of the civilized world and then some.  https://handeyes.wordpress.com/2012/07/25/ag-bell-oral-group-encourages-lying-to-senators-not-cool/

You can see Bulger’s missionary zeal profile at www.oraldeafed.org/schools/aosny/lifestyles.pdf

Bulger made many dangerous and deceitful attempts to influence legislation in California and Florida to go pro-oral / aural ONLY (ie Anti-ASL anything) to no avail until finding a back door via FLA state hefty budget bill and sliding in that HUGE $500,000 appropriation for 2 wee oral /aural only schools in the state of Florida.

Wow the fact that almost 100 years ago Clarke School was using $500,000 to peddler its wares and push for all things oral / aural only is like chilling.

And where do u think they got those enormously huge bucks in 1922 from folks?

And note today AG Bell Association has a lot of association with Clarke School and note that the NAD recently sent a rep. to the Clarke conference.  The NAD remains on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Alliance (see http://www.dhhainfo.com/members/) so that the AG Bell Association can proudly and repeatedly say “we work very closely with the NAD.”

Its incestuous and everlasting because:

1. we do not know our history

2. we ignore what they are doing and we actively engage in collaboration with the very groups and individuals that are trying to eradicate Deaf beings, Deaf teachers, Deaf ASL+English education, and Deaf culture

Wake up

They’re back……

http://www.oraldeafed.org/schools/

http://optionschools.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=35&Itemid=197

They are coming for a pair of ears and eyes and a school or two near you.

Don’t believe me? well 1920s is when almost every school in the US became oral / aural only.

The pendulum is swinging – what are you doing to stop it?

There is no reason in the world that two oral /aural only schools deserve nor need $500,000.

There is absolutely NO REASON why a state legislature should finance abusive practices.  You can not do pure oralism without some form of abuse folks and ya know it.

Wake up!

And where are our organizations’ resolutions – like the wonderful LA Silent Club’s of 1922?

“Resolved, that the Los Angeles Silent Club go on record as opposing such an unwarraneted and untruthful allusion of sign language of the deaf as something meanly associated with stone age times, that we do our utmost to combat the prejudice and false impression spread generally by the overzealous oral propagandist, that we preserve and improve the dignity and beauty of the true sign language which the deaf – orally taught deaf as well as others – universally concede to be their surest medium of happiness.”

gosh aint they grand how they stand.

and remember what THE McGregor had to say about where the doctors were getting their info (from the oralists) and influencing the parents.  See his 1926 address – its our Duty and Our Business folks https://handeyes.wordpress.com/2013/10/30/it-is-our-duty-our-business/

so where be u today in 2013?

Divest from oppressive organizations and practices folks.

 

A tool that shocks – NOT Cool Advanced Bionics & AG Bell

A tool that shocks – more troubles for CI corporations

– Touting cochlear implants as if they are just another tool is not cool.

For they are not.

If they are just another tool, we must ask what they are a tool of?

Tools of false prophecies from the false prophets,

Tools of forced assimilation by the Pharaohs that knew not Joseph,

Tools of corporate greed,

Tools of fraud and deception,

Tools of bodily abuse (see remote control and “complications”)

Tools of cultural and linguistic genocide?

NOTE: this truth seeking entry is in no way an admonishment of folks who have Cochlear Implants or parents who have chosen them for their children.  This is about the system and the auditory industrial complex which couples CIs w/ Oralism and deceit and profit. 

Cochlear implants certainly are not a tool for leveling the playing field because we know many Deaf folks who have been implanted still experience job discrimination, for many children who have been implanted still experience complications and failing of the cochlear implant & LSL practices, for the children who have had 2 or 3 or 4 or 7 surgeries on the same ear with replacement CIs, for many parents believe what the doctors and specialists tell them and they then forbid their children from signing and send them to Oral / Aural only programs where they are banned from gesturing and using their visual acuity, for many survivors of oralism who are dependent on their cochlear implants still sue colleges to get CART and AG Bell helps them.  So while they may create a bit of a have and have not paradigm – Deaf folks with CIs are still Deaf even when they are awake and the CIs are on and in use – they are not profoundly Hearing and at “best” they may be “elevated” to “hard of hearing” but they are in fact still people of the eye.

For if the cochlear implant is just a tool …

– it is a bloody expensive one.  It is way over priced and far more difficult to take into the shop for all the repairs that are commonly needed.

For if it is just a tool – it is an utterly unreliable one.  The external part often has to be sent in for repair and sometimes explants and new implants are required for the internal part – built for life – they are NOT. They also glean very inconsistent results and require a huge amount of auxiliary items and work (LSL, audiology, etc etc)

There is no rhyme or reason why some have an easy time with their CI why others suffer language deprivation and physical complications.

For if it is just a tool – it is a faulty one as some corporations say they are designed for life but some fail shortly after being implanted in the 1 year old and then the child has to be put under again (and this is not good because too much anesthesia exposure for a wee developing brain can CAUSE permanent learning disabilities).  Not to mention all the CT and MRIs the kids need before implantation and all that radiation exposure is really not a great thing for the wee things.

For if it is just a tool – why are more and more survivors being willing to take the risk of having it explanted rather then just leaving it inoperable in their heads?

There are more questions and there is more proof that cochlear implants are NOT JUST ANOTHER TOOL.

But the lastest is the lawsuit against Advanced Bionics (Ca. based co.).

See the case of Breanna Sadler of Kentucky.  A Deaf child who was implanted with the Advanced Bionic HiRes 90K at age four.  “Four years later, an electrical short from the device shocked her so violently that she was thrown to the ground, vomiting and convulsing.” See article Louisville jury punishes company with $7.25 million verdict for selling Meade County girl defective ear implants that shocked her  at http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130418/NEWS10/304180041/Louisville-jury-awards-girl-7-2-million-hearing-aid-gave-her-shocks.  The article says it is the first of 40 lawsuits coming.

And what does Advanced Bionics – the company with numerous recalls, meningitis deaths post surgery, and failing hot shocks due to moisture leaking into the internal implant part do after getting back in the market again? it invents a waterpoof CI that folks can wear in the swimming pool.  Yep all the waking hours a Deaf person should “have their ears turned on” even if its at risk of sparking and sputtering and a one year old can’t tell you its doing so.

NOTE: the AG Bell LSL Symposium is taking place in Los Angeles in July and ADVANCED BIONICS is the main sponsor. 

Totally UNCOOL AG BELL.  You know you should divest from a corporation that has killed some Deaf kids and more recently has been shocking them to the point of vomiting and convulsions.

There have been fines by the Dept of Justice against Cochlear America (Colorado based co) for fraud and kickbacks and previous fines by the Food and Drug Administration against Advanced Bionics.  There have been numerous recalls for cochlear implants failing cold (just stopping and not working any more so they  need to be explanted or left in the brain as duds just sitting there) or failing hot (causing shocks because the seal for the internal part has opened over time and moisture seeps in causing shocks).

There were numerous deaths after people came down with meningitis post cochlear implant surgery (mostly children and very old people succumbing from it).

There have been facial paralysis, nausea, dizziness, headaches and other complications from the surgery and cochlear implantation.  There is more – corporate deviance deep sixs alot of truths.

See the FDA’s list of risks at the bottom of this entry.

Cochlear implants have been the main conduit for the 2nd wave of Oralism –  (almost no Deaf child will be able to get through childhood without being implanted now)

prior to their wild fire spread, Oralism had been proven to be abusive and ineffective but with the advent of the unjust “tool,” Oralism reared its ugly head again and now Oralism is billed as a NECESSITY – a REQUIREMENT with false-proof being fabricated on a daily basis of how signing is BAD for children with Cochlear implants which is not true at all – just how they like to spin it.

AH the jealous mistress syndrome.  binary – oral / aural ONLY is all the rage despite the ICED 2010 New Era Agreement and Accord of the Future saying absolute Oralism is NOT cool!

So to any Deaf person who gets interviewed or asked to present, we call upon you to expose the truth about all the cochlear implants failings and about corporate deviance.

The profit margins on cochlear implants is HUGE and immoral.  They cost more than a car and run far less long or reliably.

Truly truly wrong. Tell the newspapers, TV reporters, etc – “i can not discuss this with you unless you also commit to interviewing a cochlear implant survivor and unless you inquire about the moratorium on implanting Deaf children back in 1985 and what prompted it.”

We call upon Dr. Karl White, of NCHAM and EHDI fame, to share the Language acquisition for deaf children: Reducing the harms of zero tolerance to the use of alternative approaches paper by Dr. Humphries et al (see http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/9/1/16) and to share Dr. Petitto’s proof about the wonders of visual Language and the brain.  http://fb.me/23YsIWPkQ .  This Power Point is packed with FACTS and real research studies showing how critical a fully natural and accessible language is to babies.  We call upon you to list the recalls and lawsuits on the NCHAM website.  We call upon you to explain how the Stem Cell study on newborns and toddlers in Houston, Texas stopped after just one subject.  We call upon you to heed, respect and follow the ICED New Era Agreement and Accord for the Future.

Come on karl – your bias is busted.

We call upon the NAD to actually do something with the Language Deprivation priority – it has almost been a YEAR NOW.  WOW!  You slow!

We call upon the US government (local, state, and federal) not to finance language discrimination.  See how Bulger (of OPTION Schools & AG Bell affiliation and anti-ASL and anti-UN CRPD fame) is lobbying FLA gov’t to have $500,000 go to two oral / aural only schools that serve a maximum of 65 Deaf children for the whole state when they already get oodles of money from the Oberkotter Foundation

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-971661#ireport//It%27s

We call upon the Deaf community to exercise the greatest form of community accountability and STAND and speak out against language bigotry and audism.  The 2nd wave of Oralism is HERE.  Where you be?

STAND and be counted folks cuz you count and community acCOUNTability can not happen unless you have the courage of your convictions – that some day Deaf children should not be judge by the dip of their audiogram but rather by the content of their characters. 

ADVANCED BIONICS – have you no shame?

FDA benefits and risks list of CI (copied and pasted 23 May 2013)

FDA (Food & Drug Administration)Benefits and Risks of Cochlear Implants

What are the Benefits of Cochlear Implants?

For people with implants:

• Hearing ranges from near normal ability to understand speech to no hearing benefit at all.
• Adults often benefit immediately and continue to improve for about 3 months after the initial tuning sessions. Then, although performance continues to improve, improvements are slower. Cochlear implant users’ performances may continue to improve for several years.
• Children may improve at a slower pace. A lot of training is needed after implantation to help the child use the new ‘hearing’ he or she now experiences.
• Most perceive loud, medium and soft sounds. People report that they can perceive different types of sounds, such as footsteps, slamming of doors, sounds of engines, ringing of the telephone, barking of dogs, whistling of the tea kettle, rustling of leaves, the sound of a light switch being switched on and off, and so on.
• Many understand speech without lip-reading. However, even if this is not possible, using the implant helps lip-reading.
• Many can make telephone calls and understand familiar voices over the telephone. Some good performers can make normal telephone calls and even understand an unfamiliar speaker. However, not all people who have implants are able to use the phone.
• Many can watch TV more easily, especially when they can also see the speaker’s face. However, listening to the radio is often more difficult as there are no visual cues available.
• Some can enjoy music. Some enjoy the sound of certain instruments (piano or guitar, for example) and certain voices. Others do not hear well enough to enjoy music.

What are the Risks of Cochlear Implants?

General Anesthesia Risks

• General anesthesia is drug-induced sleep. The drugs, such as anesthetic gases and injected drugs, may affect people differently. For most people, the risk of general anesthesia is very low. However, for some people with certain medical conditions, it is more risky.

Risks from the Surgical Implant Procedure

• Injury to the facial nerve –this nerve goes through the middle ear to give movement to the muscles of the face. It lies close to where the surgeon needs to place the implant, and thus it can be injured during the surgery. An injury can cause a temporary or permanent weakening or full paralysis on the same side of the face as the implant.
• Meningitis –this is an infection of the lining of the surface of the brain. People who have abnormally formed inner ear structures appear to be at greater risk of this rare, but serious complication. For more information on the risk of meningitis in cochlear recipients, see the nearby Useful Links.
• Cerebrospinal fluid leakage –the brain is surrounded by fluid that may leak from a hole created in the inner ear or elsewhere from a hole in the covering of the brain as a result of the surgical procedure.
• Perilymph fluid leak –the inner ear or cochlea contains fluid. This fluid can leak through the hole that was created to place the implant.
• Infection of the skin wound.
• Blood or fluid collection at the site of surgery.
• Attacks of dizziness or vertigo.
• Tinnitus, which is a ringing or buzzing sound in the ear.
• Taste disturbances –the nerve that gives taste sensation to the tongue also goes through the middle ear and might be injured during the surgery.
• Numbness around the ear.
• Reparative granuloma –this is the result of localized inflammation that can occur if the body rejects the implant.
• There may be other unforeseen complications that could occur with long term implantation that we cannot now predict.

Other Risks Associated with the Use of Cochlear Implants

People with a cochlear implant:

• May hear sounds differently. Sound impressions from an implant differ from normal hearing, according to people who could hear before they became deaf. At first, users describe the sound as “mechanical”, “technical”, or “synthetic”. This perception changes over time, and most users do not notice this artificial sound quality after a few weeks of cochlear implant use.
• May lose residual hearing. The implant may destroy any remaining hearing in the implanted ear.
• May have unknown and uncertain effects. The cochlear implant stimulates the nerves directly with electrical currents. Although this stimulation appears to be safe, the long term effect of these electrical currents on the nerves is unknown.
• May not hear as well as others who have had successful outcomes with their implants.
• May not be able to understand language well. There is no test a person can take before surgery that will predict how well he or she will understand language after surgery.
• May have to have it removed temporarily or permanently if an infection develops after the implant surgery. However, this is a rare complication.
• May have their implant fail. In this situation, a person with an implant would need to have additional surgery to resolve this problem and would be exposed to the risks of surgery again.
• May not be able to upgrade their implant when new external components become available. Implanted parts are usually compatible with improved external parts. That way, as advances in technology develop, one can upgrade his or her implant by changing only its external parts. In some cases, though, this won’t work and the implant will need changing.
• May not be able to have some medical examinations and treatments. These treatments include:
  • MRI imaging. MRI is becoming a more routine diagnostic method for early detection of medical problems. Even being close to an MRI imaging unit will be dangerous because it may dislodge the implant or demagnetize its internal magnet. FDA has approved some implants, however, for some types of MRI studies done under controlled conditions.
  • neurostimulation.
  • electrical surgery.
  • electroconvulsive therapy.
  • ionic radiation therapy.
• Will depend on batteries for hearing. For some devices new or recharged batteries are needed every day.
• May damage their implant. Contact sports, automobile accidents, slips and falls, or other impacts near the ear can damage the implant. This may mean needing a new implant and more surgery. It is unknown whether a new implant would work as well as the old one.
• May find them expensive. Replacing damaged or lost parts may be expensive.
• Will have to use it for the rest of life. During a person’s lifetime, the manufacturer of the cochlear implant could go out of business. Whether a person will be able to get replacement parts or other customer service in the future is uncertain.
• May have lifestyle changes because their implant will interact with the electronic environment. An implant may
  • set off theft detection systems
  • set off metal detectors or other security systems
  • be affected by cellular phone users or other radio transmitters
  • have to be turned off during take offs and landings in aircraft
  • interact in unpredictable ways with other computer systems
• Will have to be careful of static electricity. Static electricity may temporarily or permanently damage a cochlear implant. It may be good practice to remove the processor and headset before contact with static generating materials such as children’s plastic play equipment, TV screens, computer monitors, or synthetic fabric. For more details regarding how to deal with static electricity, contact the manufacturer or implant center.
• Have less ability to hear both soft sounds and loud sounds without changing the sensitivity of the implant. The sensitivity of normal hearing is adjusted continuously by the brain, but the design of cochlear implants requires that a person manually change sensitivity setting of the device as the sound environment changes.
• May develop irritation where the external part rubs on the skin and have to remove it for a while.
• Can’t let the external parts get wet. Damage from water may be expensive to repair and the person may be without hearing until the implant is repaired. Thus, the person will need to remove the external parts of the device when bathing, showering, swimming, or participating in water sports.
• May hear strange sounds caused by its interaction with magnetic fields, like those near airport passenger screening machines.

Loosing my religion…

well i have been wanting to write a while about the Catholic Church.  Frankly it is painful.  Truths must be told so here we go.

When the sex abuse atrocities in the Catholic Church in Boston first broke out in the 1980s I was UPSET.  Then things calmed down for a while – meaning that the Church got busy with trying to buy silence.  Then a couple of years ago I was at a conference and a friend handed me the New York Times and i read the front page – it was about several priests sexually abusing children in California and it tore a hole in my heart.  Literally – it left me sobbing and weeping.  My roomies at the conference were like – did you want to catch the shuttle to the conference cuz its the Irish guy u wanted to see presenting and through water filled eyes i was like “i cant stop.  i cant turn off the tears.”  and this is true i could not.  so at my bidding they left me there to see where the maker would take me.  eventually i was able to slow the hurt down to a trickle and when i went down stairs to grab something to eat a Deaf fellow conference attendee, at seeing my red streaked eyes, asked “up all night?”  to which I slide the newspaper over to him, pointed at the headlines and said “I’m catholic.” and started to weep a bit more.

He looked at the (damn im literally crying again now – cuz i can no longer say i am catholic) – he looked at the headlines and then at my face and then he did the beautiful thing that good humans do – he exercised compassion.  He tapped my arm and he said he was sorry but his eyes said it all.  (im pretty sure it was the guy who invented the ASL writing – Robert Arnold – but i might have scrambled my memory – i didnt really know him then  or now but his kindness has stuck with me as has my friends that morning.

I did make it to see the Irish bloke, Dr. John Bosco Conoma, another very very good man but i would say that is the morning that i lost my religion.  My heart was breaking.  I had slowly stopped attending my Catholic Deaf church after reading about the abuse of over 200 Deaf boys at St John’s School for the Deaf in Wisconsin.  The NYT article sealed the deal.  I began boycotting the church.  it was a painful choice for me because the church had been a sanctuary for me growing up partially Deaf in a small town.  Even though i could not fully understand the masses, i read the bible from cover to cover during my adolescence.  The gospel of Luke especially spoke to me.  I developed an intimacy for Jesus and Mary and Ruth and Jacob etc.  They became familiars even if Revelations seemed like someone was tripping.  my attraction to soul force / truth force is largely born out of the social gospel aspects of the bible.

So when i reached out to some folks who are strong Catholics to help me reconcile what the Church had done – its complicity and its HUGE SIN in harboring and aiding and abating pedophile priests and other abuses by nuns, I was greeted by defensiveness on behalf of the Church – comments of how the current (now retired – hmmm) pope was the most progressive and responsive to the abuses to which i had to say but wait a minute why while he was in charge of the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith office where all the sexual abuse cases ended up did he NOT take action on Father Murphy of St John’s.  Why when he was pope was he condemning gays and women’s reproductive rights and role in the church while calling for compassion for the pedophile priests but showing NO condemnation for their conduct nor genuine compassion for the survivors?  SILENCE

So i talked to someone i know loves God purely and i was very hesitant to share my pain because i did not want to call into question his own faith or undermine his belief in the church and he said what i needed to hear – the TRUTH.

There is no defending those priests’ conducts.  There is no defending the Church’s conduct.  the PRINCIPLE and CHIEF belief of the Catholic Church is FAITH in GOD.  If they lived up to this fundamental doctrine they would have turned in those pedophile priests.  Instead they protected the priesthood, the Institution OVER the children.  ie they did not have faith in GOD

I can think of no greater sin.

it breaks my heart and it makes me weep.  The things these abusers have said to defend their sexual predatory acts are abominable – things like:

– i was just teaching them sexual education

– there was homosexual behavior in the boys dorm so I thought if i masturbated some of the boys it would reduce their temptation

– they seduced me

etc etc

some things so sick i have blacked them out.  The case that sent me into a downward spiral crying crash was a CA priest who tied up two boys and raped them on the alter

on the alter folks – what does this do to a child.  not only did they abuse them physically, emotionally, they also abused them spiritually – how does a child grow up to have faith in God when she is represented by reprehensible people who are protected by the church

this is sickness beyond belief.  I read a recent case of a Ma. priest who had tons of pictures of little girls – under their dresses or with diapers off (yes infants) with no faces – pix he himself had taken under the trust of the cloak he wore as a priest.  RECENT

RECENT

it was not an anomaly – it was not an “incident” it is not a simple scandal

basically the church has been running a pedophile ring – they have moved these abusive and seriously dysfunctional criminal priest here there and everywhere giving them more opportunities to abuse, traumatize, and devastate young lives, bodies and SOULS – the very things they were supposed to nurture and elevate.

Recently i watched the documentary film Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God by Alex Gibney.  It covers a great deal of the Sex Abuse that was rampant and protected at St Johns and takes us oversees to a similar priest who abused tons of hearing boys in Ireland.  Both of these priests were big fund raisers and well liked.  When i first read about the film before its release i was apprehensive about how well done it would be but then i checked the director and I had seen his film Taxi to the Dark Side – a doc. about an innocent Afghan cab driver who is tortured to death by the US.  This is another film that sent me into despair as it is so TRUTH filled and tipped my “ok i guess the Afghanistan war is a justified war” to “WTF are we doing!” – it was the film in which i learned how Bush and Cheney had thrown in a “we cant be prosecuted for war crimes / crimes against humanity” clause and CONGRESS passed it – oh despair.  So i knew Gibney does good stuff.

The Mea Maxima Culpa film is VERY well done and VERY disturbing – all roads lead to Rome folks.  the vatican has probably the most graphic and disgusting evidence of sexual abuse stored deep in its archives and all gears in the wheel of the Institution that is the Church are oiled and primed to PROTECT it at all cost.  It is truly heartbreaking.  Many good priests who tried to speak out or get the truth known and protect the children were rewarded ended up leaving the priesthood due to their conscience while other priests who were silent or complicit were rewarded and advanced.  The doc. even discloses how the church almost brought an island to send the pedophile priest to but then thought that it might look bad if word got out about it.  The film doesnt cover the abuse of Deaf children in Ireland but many many many Deaf boys were abused by the priests at the Deaf school in Dublin.  Its an “unknown” known.

The film shows how dedicated several of the survivors of Father Murphy’s abuses were to getting the truth out and to trying to protect future children from abuse.  They really did everything they possibly could for YEARS.  They made a WARNING and MOST WANTED flyers with Father Murphy’s pix and posted them on car wind shields while folks were inside for a fund raiser and handed out others as folks exited a church, they filed law suits, they called for meetings, one even sued the pope because of his role in protecting Father Murphy over the children.  Since the statue of limitations had passed they had to use the violation of use of confession clause cuz Fr. Murphy used confessionals as opportunities for abuse – yes folks these were and ARE very sick men.

The St John survivors even made a trek all the way up to Father Murphy’s cabin (a place where many of them had been taken and abused) to confront him – they even videotaped it.  Father Murphy hurriedly says he was sorry and it was a long time ago before rushing into the house but his Deaf housekeeper intervenes and defends him by throwing some Catholic crap questions at the survivors and blocking them from pursuing their way after Fr. Murphy.  That part of the encounter is in ASL with captions only and you get a chilling feeling from it – the complicity – a Deaf woman defending a pedophile over her brethren, Deaf survivors.

so i could go on and on (i could tell ya about Marcial Maciel Degollado, a high ranking priest who is a sex criminal and has two wives and families or we could discuss Cardinal Maloney of Ca. and all the pedophile ring he runs)-  but the bottom line is – what the church has done and is doing is HORRIBLE – it is beyond hypocrisy.  What the Deaf men have done in confronting and pursuing justice all the way to the pope is HONORABLE.  From their interviews you can see their pain but also their hope and their faith in love and JUSTICE and that is REALLY what the church is supposed to be about.

Shortly after HBO started running the film Mea Maxima Culpa – the Pope announces he is too tired for the job anymore.  Wow!

Seems in addition to having forgotten the purpose of the church (faith in God) it seems the church has also forgotten the power of confession and restitution and reconciliation and JUSTICE.

so while i have lost my faith in the church – i have not lost my faith in something greater than ourselves.  Nor have i lost my faith in the power of truth seekers like Terry Kohut, Gary Smith, Arthur Budzinski and Bob Bolger.  Thank you for having the courage and spiritual fortitude and hardihood to sign out the truth again and again and again until it was final heard.

so while i keep crying – i am eternally grateful that u all kept trying!  Truths must be told and children should never be abused especially by clergy of any kind.

Senator Schumer’s reply re: UN CRPD and V is for VOTE

from the UN Enable site http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/maps/enablemap.jpg

I have been sending my Senators emails re: the importance of the Senate ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD).  this is the response i received from Senator Schumer (D-NY) on Oct 3, 2012. (you can find your Senator and contact info here http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Audism Free America (AFA) has a sample letter at http://audismfreeamerica.blogspot.com/2012/07/urge-ur-us-senators-to-ratify-un-crpd.html

And dont believe all the bs some conservatives are trying to spin about US sovereignty.  We ratify plenty of UN conventions and treaties.  They just spinning.  And take a look at the first Americans sovereignty which the conservative wrong-wing is so eager to trample on.

And send your letter to your senators and get ready to vote on Nov. 6th.  Many hot races on the local, state, and federal level.  Everyday im amazed at what some folks are saying about my vagina and my rights.

Not registered to vote?  Check the listing at this link to see if the deadline to register has passed – if it hasnt then click your state and REGISTER – also has links for absintee ballots etc.

Rock the vote.  They counting on voter suppression to win the election – don’t let ’em.  Remind them that VOTING is what makes this joint a democracy and not a hypocrisy.  http://www.rockthevote.com/rtv_voter_registration.html?source=

peace,

patti

———–

Dear Ms. Durr:

     Thank you for writing to express your support for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  I wholeheartedly agree that people with mental and physical disabilities need to be protected from discrimination and we must ensure that they have the adequate resources to better their lives, which is why I was a cosponsor of the original Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

     Throughout my career, I have been a strong advocate for people with disabilities. Last year, I signed a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee urging them to fund at the highest levels the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in order to fulfill our promise of truly assisting our schools in the education of students with disabilities. I have also continued to urge the Senate Budget Committee to fully fund the Social Security Administration for Continuing Disability reviews in order to reduce the long wait times that many applicants face.  I am troubled by the long wait times facing New Yorkers who are in the process of applying for their disability benefits.  New York State has a backlog of more than 50,000 disability cases, and the average statewide waiting period for a decision is nearly a year.  As a member of the Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Social Security program, this remains one of my top legislative priorities.  I will continue advocating for the rights and the needs of Americans with disabilities in the workplace, schools, and beyond.

     The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has the stated purpose to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.  This would include such rights as the right to health, education, work, inclusion in society and to vote.

     This treaty has been signed by the United States government, but must still be approved by the Senate.  While the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has held a hearing on the treaty, it has yet to be introduced in the Senate.  I do not sit on that committee but I will closely monitor the treaty’s progress in the Senate.

     Again, thank you for contacting me regarding this important issue. Please feel free to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance on this or any other matter.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer

United States Senator

it’s a “brave new world” after all

it’s a “brave new world” after all

it’s a “brave new world” after all

everyBODY sing! cuz ya know not everyBODY can sign seeing how it is still seen as illegitimate and virtually illegal to be… Deaf and a person of the eyehand

dont believe me well maybe u will believe the young person who told me the doctor forbid his folks from letting him go to a Deaf school cuz he had a CI

dont believe me well maybe u will be interested in the gerbils that got some stem cells and the world is all a flutter about a “CURE” even though the scientists and doctors are saying – hold up – its a far leap from gerbil to human and why isnt anyone paying attention to the 10 HUMAN babies that got stem cells.  one study is super cautious about worrying about the effect (tumors anyone) while another is going full throttle on newborns

and there is always that pesky question of geez what do u think is so horrible about being Deaf that u r rushing to such ends to END IT – the scourge (see Dimitry Dornan’s little slip up)

i mean even marlee matlin (of starkey hearing devices fame) is offended by folks coming up to her in the grocery store saying in front of her youngin’ “i heard they have a cure for YOU now”

are we that undesirable?  odd, we dont seem to think so. in fact many Deaf folks like being Deaf – they just don’t like discrimination, oppression, injustice – ie AUDISM

so check out that newborn humans (not gerbils or guinea pigs) but real live bona fide human being Deaf babies who are being experimented on in Texas.  not very humane u say – nah not really but anything is better than Deaf they say.  it will be hard to check out cuz the only info is coming from those over sentimentalized news stories of “CURES” a plenty cures galore – while the doctors are always saying “its too early to tell”

placebo effects on the moms perhaps

why isnt anyone studying that HUH?

phase #1 of the stem cell experiments on newborns (and you know if they were on cats the PETA folks would be going nuts) is just to make sure that the testing and procedures dont leave any overt marks – it is not to see if it works or if it is SAFE in the long term – like ten years out.  its just to see if the CT Scans and injections and prodding and poking dont cause too much harm.  Phase two will be to measure if it even helps their hearing.

and this too might involve ct scan / mri etc which a different study said ct scans for kiddies is not cool (increased rate of leukemia and cancer in such kids with repeated exposure)

just things we will never know about or will only get leaked out after they have ironed out some of those issues.  Kinda like how we cant get the actual number of deaths associated with cochlear implants.

so i have begun the big book folks – no not that one.  no not that one either – done read those before several times.

i type of The War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America’s Campaign to Create a Master Race by Edwin Black.  http://www.waragainsttheweak.com/

im not that far into it simply because its already upsetting me but its a long over due “haftado” so do i must.  thankfully it is very well written and ive already marked up and dogeared almost all the pages i have read thus far.

last night i read a short article re: how “the System” socializes parents of children with CIs into a tightknit cluster of folks who monitor each others diligence in abiding by the doctrine of CI – ie oral / aural ONLY. oy

and last week Mishka Zena shared with me some of the dots she has been connecting re: genetics and the suppression of Deaf folks

now if u r anything like me and thee – we dont want to know this stuff.  we really dont want to see how much the powers that be want to make us ‘un’be but be awake to be aware to be active to be alive and ensure OTHERS have the right to live is what we must do do so – wake up little darlings wake up and if u were one of the many that got bamboozled by Gally and other folks dangling the FREE connexin 26 deal (wee nothing is free folks) in front of ur eyes and u went and got “sampled” so u could know know with out knowing completely what they r doing with ur gene pool – do not beat urself up about it.  they r very slicky and tricky.  just maybe give ’em a ring and ask for ur file, data, and sample back.

knowledge is POWer!

below are some links that mishka zena had shared and more

we r talking eugenics folks

wake up

and know i love ya.

and happy new year for those who celebrate it.  had lovely honey cakes from my honey and shul’s sermon was about ushering up courage and finding the waters that will forge us forward.  handy indeed.

————-STUFF TO PONDER—————

from http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/22725589/reality-check
Newsweek (Pacific Edition);10/16/2006, Vol. 148 Issue 16, p8

“This article looks at embryo screening practices. More than 3 million children worldwide have been born through in-vitro fertilization (IVF), but nearly 500,000 embryos have been rejected in the U.S. alone, having been screened out for having fatal diseases, low-risk illnesses like arthritis, and even illnesses with no clear genetic cause, like leukemia. 42% of U.S. IVF clinics allow parents to select for gender” (1)

——————–

from http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2003-07-20/news/0307190029_1_deafness-gene-embryos

Test Finds Deafness Gene In Embryos

July 20, 2003 By Washington Post

Australian fertility doctors say they have used a genetic test to screen out embryos that carried a gene for deafness — the first known instance of pre-selecting embryos to eliminate a non-life-threatening trait.

Their action has raised eyebrows in some ethics circles, especially because some of the embryos initially screened out would not turn out to be deaf, but would only have carried the gene that increased the odds of having deaf offspring. Others, however, say the work is in keeping with a longstanding ethic that favors anything that enhances the health of newborns.

Doctors at Monash IVF in Melbourne were using “pre-implantation genetic diagnosis,” in which doctors look for a gene of interest in one cell taken from a developing eight-cell embryo created by in-vitro fertilization.

The technique has allowed parents to identify embryos bearing fatal genetic defects and transfer only healthy ones to the womb. In this case, doctors screened for a gene mutation that causes deafness if inherited from both parents. Each parent had one normal and one mutated copy of the gene and so had normal hearing. But there was a 25 percent chance that any child they produced would be deaf.

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from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18051563

[Prenatal diagnosis for hereditary deaf families assisted by genetic testing].

[Article in Chinese]

Han B, Dai P, Qi QW, Wang LX, Wang Y, Bian XM, Wang QJ, Zhang X, Kang DY, Wang GJ, Han DY.

Source

Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, General Hospital of Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Beijing 100853, China.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To provide prenatal diagnosis for deaf families, which the first child was confirmed to be hereditary deafness caused by gap junction beta-2 (GJB2) or SLC26A4 (PDS) mutation, to avoid another deaf birth in these families.

METHODS:

Eight deaf families joined in this study. Each family had one child with severe to profound hearing loss while parents had normal hearing except a deaf father from family 8; mothers had been pregnant for 6-28 weeks. Genetic testing of GJB2, SLC26A4 and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) A1555G mutation were firstly performed in probands and their parents whose DNA was extracted from peripheral blood, and then prenatal testing was carried out in the fetus whose DNA was extracted from different fetus materials depending on the time of gestation.

RESULTS:

The probands from family 1-4 were found to carry homozygous or compound GJB2 mutations while their parents carried corresponding heterozygous GJB2 mutations. The probands from family 5-8 and the deaf father from family 8 were found to carry compound SLC26A4 mutations while their parents and the mother from family 8 carried a single SLC26A4 mutation. Prenatal testing showed that the fetuses from family 1, 5, 8 only carried the paternal mutation and the fetuses from family 2, 3, 6 didn’t carry any GJB2 or SLC26A4 mutations. The new born babies from these six families all had normal hearing revealed by new born hearing screening. However, the fetuses from family 4,7 carried the same mutations with probands in each family. The parents from family 4, 7 decide to terminate pregnancy.

CONCLUSION:

Prenatal diagnosis assisted by genetic testing can provide efficient information about hearing condition of their offsprings.

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from http://www.asperbio.com/genetic-tests/panel-of-genetic-tests/usher-syndrome

Asper has been developed genetic test for screening mutations underlying all major types of Usher syndrome. Currently the test can be used for the screening of 631 mutations in genes CDH23, MYO7A, PCDH15, USH1C, USH1G, USH2A, GPR98, CLRN1 and DFNB31. These genes carry mutations in patients with Usher Syndrome types USH1B, USH1C, USH1D, USH1F, USH1G, USH2A, USH2C, USH2D and USH3A as well as Nonsyndromic Hearing Loss and Deafness types DFNB2, DFNB12, DFNB18, DFNB23, DFNB31 and DFNA11 and also Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Identification of the causal mutations is important for the early diagnosis of Usher syndrome, which is relevant for the decision whether or not to elect for a cochlear implant, and for genetic counselling and for prenatal diagnosis. The test is available both with genotyping service (includes genotyping, electronical copy of the results report) and diagnostic package service (includes DNA extraction, genotyping, additional validation of the APEX-based analysis findings by dideoxy sequencing, interpretation, hard copy of the results report).

——————-LINKS relating to Connexin 26 testing——————

http://www.knightdxlabs.com/home/test-details?id=Connexin+26+%28Non-Syndromic+Hereditary+Hearing+Loss%2FGJB2%2FDFNB1%29

http://www.ggc.org/diagnostic/tests-costs/test-finder/connexin-26-gjb2-sequencing.html

from specialty labs informed consent form:
The DNA will be retained for a minimum of 6 months. In some circumstances, a patient’s DNA may be used anonymously as a negative or positive control sample in future testing, but, in this circumstance, all identifiers will be removed prior to re-testing and the DNA sample and results obtained will remain anonymous.

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from Public Health and Genetics Information Series
Universal Newborn and Infant Hearing Screening and Genetic Testing

click for pdf www.hgen.pitt.edu/counseling/public_health/hearing.pdf

Some programs incorporate a screening protocol that may lead to genetic testing. The question is should genetic testing be a required component of all universal newborn and infant hearing screening programs?

ADDED: link to Steve Emery PhD blogsite that has links to Eugenics in the UK http://tigerdeafie.wordpress.com/2012/08/29/eugenics-in-the-news-and-our-research-dissemination-conference/#comments

ADDED: Where do we draw the line on ‘designer’ babies write up http://ht.ly/dOpQq

Viva Veditz B-DAY & 1913 commentary part I

George W. Veditz’ Birthday (Aug 13) is approaching and folks will be gathering at his gravestone on Aug 12 sun at 10:30 in Colorado Springs for a Day of the Deaf picnic so im posting up a series of vlogs i made last year to discuss Veditz the man, the NAD Motion Picture project and Veditz’ 1913 Preservation of Sign Language film.

totally wish someone else would discuss his film – cuz i get all excited and want to discuss so much and then always run into the challenge that some folks already know this and others haven’t even met George yet smile

but the bloke has definitely been hitting the big time lately – PAH!  Sorry we slow George and THANK YOU for always nudging us.  Coming to see u SOON!
PART I – Veditz Priceless Clip and Birthday (vlogged last year but got hidden when i did the SOPA / PIPA protest / black out and forgot to re-public it and when i did then it shows up as if just loaded yesterday – oh well smile)

Summary from last year: Veditz 150 birthday on Aug 13 – excerpt from his Preservation of Sign Language film – translation by Dr. Carol Padden “Indeed, our National Association of the Deaf has raised a fund of $5000 for this purpose. We have made a number of films. We have films of Edward Miner Gallaudet, of Edward Allen Fay, of John B. Hotchkiss and Robert MacGregor and many others. I regret that we do not have $20,000, for we could have used it all. If we had this amount of money, we could have performances in sign language, sermons in sign language, lectures in sign language. And not only would we American deaf enjoy the benefits of this, but no — deaf people in Germany, in England, in France, in Italy would also see these moving picture films. Fifty years from now, these moving picture films will be priceless.”
Links to:
info on Veditz https://handeyes.wordpress.com/2007/10/12/george-veditz-1861-1937/
full Veditz Preservation of Sign Language Speech http://www.nad.org/news/2010/12/historic-nad-film-selected-preservation-libra…
Other NAD films from the Moving Picture Project – click titles http://libguides.gallaudet.edu/content.php?pid=120564&sid=1083626
info on the library of congress National Film Registry selection of George’s “Preservation…” film https://handeyes.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/happy-centennial-to-the-nad-motion-p…

Help the NAD awake from their do-nothingness

Let us be the “leaven which is raising the Association from its long lethargy of do-nothingness into the activity of doing something worth while.”

this is an email i sent some folks yesterday but since i dont have all ur email addys i thought id post it up here for u to see see

Greetings all

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is preparing for its upcoming convention in Kentucky and in doing so has invited a plenary presenter who has used his political position and power to actively deny individuals of our country justice and equality.  I type of Dennis Daugaard and his war against women, GLBT, and Islam and his lack of defense of Deaf folks and ASL.

Elected officials are supposed to preserve and fight for our founding principles not restrict them.  In addition to passing legislation that curtails women’s rights to their bodies, marriage equality for GLBT, and religious freedom for Muslims – he also did NOTHING when the South Dakota School for the Deaf was being shut down.

there is a letter writing campaign to NAD conference sponsors and affiliates to withdraw their support for the upcoming conference as it conflicts with the core values of which NAD is supposed to stand for (human, civil and linguistic rights) and because its is the right to do. (see Octavian’s blog http://truebizme.com/ (Added – and also the End One, End All facebook page with many letters there http://www.facebook.com/EndOneEndAll)

(Added – you can see AFA’s letter to NAD sponsors and affiliates at http://audismfreeamerica.blogspot.com/2012/05/26-may-2012-greetings-this-letter.html.  ASL version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNjtkLCRAZE&list=UUcY3go7tTUJuZz6b1ijVLVw&index=1&feature=plcp

there is also a petition asking the NAD to withdraw their invitation to Governor Daugaard (see misha’s petition http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nad-should-withdraw-its-invitation-extended-to/

Many folks have been lobbying long and hard on this issue – if you care and dare – pls do sign your name and/or a vlog and/or a letter, tweet, FB, vp ur NAD connections.

remember what Jessie Jackson wrote in his letter of support to DPN students – the problem wasnt that the students could not hear – it was that the board did not listen.  NAD needs to hear from u and needs to hear/t you.

Seriously this is wrong – this invitation of Daugaard and the NAD’s silence to the community’s outcry.   To my knowledge the NAD has not sent any response to anyone emailing their concerns re: Daugaard’s invitation.  (Meanwhile the editor of the American Heritage Dictionary gave John Lee Clark a prompt and positive reply to John Lee’s letter of complaint about their definition of audism – see John Lee’s great letter and the editor’s comment at http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/4xvHAS/www.johnleeclark.com/?p=52).  The NAD should at the very least be responding to folks concern about the invitation – their reasoning for insisting that Daugaard “educate”us about us is incomplete, unclear, inadequate and unjust.

In a 1910 Deaf-Mute Journal issue there is a statement about Agatha Tiegel Hanson’s signing of “AMERICA” at the 1910 NAD convention in Colorado:

“As we sat there in the convention hall and felt the organ’s notes rising and falling and saw the graceful signs—our signs—of Mrs. Hanson giving out the living poetry and inspiration of the song, then allowed our eyes to wander to the window and there we saw America as Colorado only can show it, we almost heard the echoes ring “from every mountain side,” and were indeed glad we had come: glad that we are blessed with such a beautiful language and glad to be among men and women gathered to do it honor and work for its preservation, advancement and permanency.”

this is what we would like to see happen at the NAD 2012 Convention – that folks would gather and feel pride and honor at the good work & the peacework of the NAD for preservation, advancement and permanency

they can only do such if the NAD truly STANDS for justice and equality for ALL.

we dont need more politiking

here is my letter to the NAD https://handeyes.wordpress.com/2012/05/27/nad-do-the-right-thing-or-dont-the-option-is-yours/

i hope to do my letters to the sponsors and affiliates soon

any little bit you can do will go a long way

and now may i say – we should keep our great love and affection for NAD and show them just how much we love them by calling upon them to do the just, right, true and good thing.  

“nothing about us without us” should ring true and “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” ~ MLK Jr

thank you for your attention and heart to this matter

if u prefer not to get such emails from me – just send me a note 

much peace & love

Patti

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here r the full lyrics for America, America My Country, tis of Thee Lyrics by Samuel F. Smith 1832 (and yep i know Deaf folks are still denied the right to serve this country even though they do in other nations like Israel – we still do need to fight peacefully for our liberties and for freedom and justice for all.  Be a peace warrior folks and STAND)

My country, ’tis of Thee,
Sweet Land of Liberty
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From every mountain side
Let Freedom ring.

My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills,
My heart with rapture thrills
Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
Sweet Freedom’s song;
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.

Our fathers’ God to Thee,
Author of Liberty,
To thee we sing,
Long may our land be bright
With Freedom’s holy light,
Protect us by thy might
Great God, our King.

Our glorious Land to-day,
‘Neath Education’s sway,
Soars upward still.
Its hills of learning fair,
Whose bounties all may share,
behold them everywhere
On vale and hill!

Thy safeguard, Liberty,
The school shall ever be,
Our Nation’s pride!
No tyrant hand shall smite,
While with encircling might
All here are taught the Right
With Truth allied.

Beneath Heaven’s gracious will
The stars of progress still
Our course do sway;
In unity sublime
To broader heights we climb,
Triumphant over Time,
God speeds our way!

Grand birthright of our sires,
Our altars and our fires
Keep we still pure!
Our starry flag unfurled,
The hope of all the world,
In peace and light impearled,
God hold secure!