Dear Friends,
Macy's Community Shopping Day 2006, an in-store shopping event and
fundraiser for charities in the Orange County community, will be held
on May 12, 2006 at Macy's South Coast Plaza. We have 200 tickets to
sell. We need to sell at least 100 of the tickets at $10 each. And
we'll need at least 5 or more volunteers on hand as well. Besides a
good operation at Macy's Community Shopping Day would be as good as a
decent birthday gift to the editor from our communities. The money
will be used for office operating expenses and the fee for our Orange
County fair fundraiser stand which is expected to be around $900 plus
the cost of insurance.
Starting February 9, 2006 Californians who toss batteries in the trash
can, would be getting themselves in trouble according to a new
California law. Millions of Californians who use hearing aids,
cochlear implants, hand held communicators are affected. There is
absolutely nothing going on within the California's deaf and hard of
hearing communities with regards to education of proper disposal of
their hearing aid, cochlear implant processors, and mobile
communicator batteries.
People are still signing up for our American Sign Language (ASL)
classes and we still have seats open on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
We also have a children's ASL classes on Saturday mornings. You can
find more information on Http://asl.deafadvocacy.org and we hope a lot
of people get a good opportunity to enjoy learning to sign and
communicating with deaf people like the big deaf social event each
month at the Block at Orange.
Our prayers and condolences goes to the family and girlfriend of Lee
Carter of Canoga Park, California who was gunned down last week by
suspected gang members because they saw him using sign language. This
is not the first time this kind of news happened. We have probation
officers learning sign language not because they're accommodating the
deaf, but because gang members are increasingly using sign language to
communicate.
Free or low cost dental care agency listing by state on this website
http://www.toothwoman.net/er/index.html so if you or anyone you know
needs dental care, you can count on this site to help create better
smiles.
Panhandling in the deaf communities is making a strong comeback. A
safe possibility is that this is a direct result of many deaf people
getting their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) cut starting this
month and unlike many deaf elitists, we are very sympathetic to those
who need to make their ends meet. The interpreting industry being
sucked into the Video Relay Services (VRS) castles has created
interpreter shortages everywhere. Its very bad that many deaf people
are being denied the opportunities to find work and get social service
assistance from public agencies because they cant find interpreters to
accommodate the communication needs. And the interpreter shortage is
a legally acceptable excuse for not getting interpreters. Therefore
they fall back to the panhandling safety net and unlike many deaf
organizations out there, WE UNDERSTAND their needs and we support them
100% and we have copy master of one of the popular forms of
panhandling systems, the famous Robert Herbert Meyers "ABC" Card, at
Http://www.deafadvocacy.com/cbep/des.pdf and we even have testimony
from James (Jimbo) Stinson of Washington State that he once made about
$700 a day selling these ABC cards in the big city. And according to
a former Florida Association of the Deaf president, Stephen Hardy,
it's "Free Enterprise". To most of the deaf communities, it's a means
of survival, not an embarrassment as the deaf elitists call it.
We are having a Bowl-A-Thon next February 18, 2006 at the Westminster
Lanes from 8 am to noon. We now have sponsors and bowlers ready to
make this a success story. Check on
http://www.deafadvocacy.com/bowlathon/2006/ for more information.
Chinese New Year and Tet Festival is here you need to be thinking of
all the good deeds we've done to our community members when you pass
out those red envelopes.
OCDAC Communications
[email protected]
-------------< INSIDE NEWS >
With our subscribership from the international communities increasing
at a steady pace, we wish to make this newsletter accessible to them
and the easiest way to accomplish this is by directing them to
http://www.babelfish.altavista.com/ and entering
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ocdacnewsletter/ in the website
translation box and the babelfish will help our international
subscribers become strong advocates for the deaf and disability
communities.
We have started on our giant Orange County Fair educational booth
planning for this upcoming summer. This year's theme is 'Flower
Power' and its a retro theme. We are waiting for the official invite.
Our OC Fair fundraiser merchandise stand is taking a nice shape. We
plan to subcontract 2 people to man the fundraiser stand for us.
We have started a Campbell's product label collection campaign to help
us raise the means to get supplies for our office and if we're able to
get 1,500,000 lables we'd be able to get ourselves a brand new van to
replace the blue van which we use heavily to transport deaf-blind
people to events and we also use to conduct numerous fundraiser and
education activities. Start saving your campbells product labels today
and mail them to us on the first week of each month. We have
aproximately 1050 subscribers and if each one of them accumulates and
sends us 900-1000 labels a month, we'd be able to get the van in 2 or
3 months in addition to lots of new equipment for our office and
internal and external education programs! Lets get those labels
coming, the program ends in June.
Weve had fireworks stand fundraisers in the past. They've all been
very successful in raising thousand$ for us in a very short time.
Theyre also extremely stressful to those who run it. And add preparing
for the OC Fair while running the fireworks stand is a great recipe
for a burnout because OC Fair happens just right after the fireworks
stand. So the more people that we get involved with the fireworks
stand, the less stress it is upon the management volunteers. We're
going to have one either through TNT (Red Devil) or Blockbuster. Next
week is when we are going to be focusing on our qualifications and
contacting the fireworks companies. The proceeds from the fireworks
stand usually go to the costs of our OC Fair education project. If
youre interested in our fireworks stand fundraiser this coming summer,
please reply by email.
We got invited last week to the Tustin Street Fair and Chili Cookoff
on June 4, 2006 and it has in the past 3 years been good success of us
having a food stand fundraiser there. We will only sell hot dogs,
nachos, baked potato, bagged snacks, and sodas. Pretty much like last
year. It will be a very small version of the Winterfest as they limit
us to 5 different items to sell.
Theres going to be a large deaf bowling tournament by the Pacific
Coast Deaf Bowlers Association in the end of May. We've been invited
to have a booth there. This is attended by 1,500 people most of these
are big spenders and we're trying to decide if it will be feasible for
us to invest $455.00 in which it could bring a return of approximately
$1,000. If people or corporations sponsor us, then we can do it.
We have began planning for our booth at the Pet Expo thats coming up
April, 2006 at the Orange County Fairgrounds. This will be our 3rd
year there. The booth rules have changed and we have to have at least
90 percent of the products were selling at the Pet Expo to be pet
related. We have already sent written communications to several pet
products wholesalers asking for donations of overstock and/or
discontinued pet products for our booth. We will have our service
animal training, certification, and advocacy education materials for
the public.
Drastic Social Security rule changes for Title II Old Age, Survivors,
and Disability Insurance and SSI programs such as outlined in
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/200\
5/pdf/05-14845.pdf
renews our calls for self-reliance ideas for organizations who serve
the deaf and disabled and our very own idea, our California Disability
Gaming Initiative idea and that can be found at
http://www.deafadvocacy.com/cdgicinfo.pdf is an idea that works for
Native Americans. Why shouldn't it work for the Disability
communities? The proposed Social Security rules will limit appeals
and create a new process that is less about truth-seeking and more
hostile to applicants.
-------------< ANNOUNCEMENT >
Take a look at our new magazine fundraiser and this is one of the ways
you can help us do the good work for the deaf and disabled communities.
The URL is http://www.magfundraising.com/GroupPage.aspx?e=788159
-------------< OUTSIDE NEWS PART 1/3 >
Toss that battery in the trash and you'll be breaking the law
http://www.4hearingloss.com/archives/2006/01/toss_that_batte.html
Yoga teacher caters to deaf
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=community&id=3852513
Deaf dog learns new tricks to find a home
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/27/ndog27.xml&sShee\
t=/news/2006/01/27/ixhome.html
A joyful noise from Shores Deaf Church
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060124/NEWS04/601240366/1006
Meet on education of hearing impaired
http://www.hindu.com/2006/01/24/stories/2006012416890300.htm
College provides help to hearing impaired
http://www.theranger.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/01/26/43d957b85825d
Disabled have new job opportunity
http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/01/25/HJN012606CONNEX\
_s.html
Chocolate Factory Accused Of Discriminating Against Disabled
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/6441489/detail.html
Tesco agree to waive disabled woman's fine
http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=324444
Fire Safety for the Deaf
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=5211
Suspected Gang Members Kill Deaf Man
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=3854425
Disabled take to the slopes in Niigata
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20060129TDY02006.htm
-------------< CALIFORNIA DEAFIE HAPPENINGS >
COME TO OUR MEETUPS!
The Orange County American Sign Language Meetup Group -
http://asl.meetup.com/37/ - and the he Orange County Deaf & Hearing
Impaired Meetup Group http://deaf.meetup.com/38/ meets each 3rd
Fridays of the month.
-------------< ANNOUNCEMENT >
Even though most of us working on computers only work on one, the
average American depends on more than 264 computers per day—from the
tiniest microprocessor to the largest mainframe! That is a lot of
people depending on a lot of computers! Think of how much money could
go to the Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center if 264 supporters bought
one computer each at www.iGive.com/ocdac, where up to 26% of every
purchase is donated to the Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center! At
www.iGive.com/ocdac, membership is free! So hurry up and visit the
Mall at www.iGive.com/ocdac, where you can shop at 600+ stores for all
your favorite electronics and computers from Dell, HP Shopping, Buy,
Computers4SURE, The Apple Store, SONY, and Gateway!
-------------< DEAF GRAPEVINE >
This Los Angeles based deaf social service agency had a very colorful
and romantic fireworks chapter with the deaf communities of the
Southern California areas. But we need to know what started it, what
the first firework sounded like, what the flash-point was like, the
first fuse that was lit that started all the fireworks.
Mark Apodaca, a former CEO of this Los Angeles Based social service
agency, filed this lawsuit that started the romantic fireworks chapter
in the history of Southern California deaf communities.
Mark Apodaca's lawsuit : Http://www.deafadvocacy.com/wai/apodaca.doc
Soon in February, we will highlight some of the romantic fireworks
that went on between the Los Angeles deaf social service agency and
the deaf communities. You all be ready for that!
If you want to help remedy the unfairness of our agency having to do
over 90% of the the work of the Los Angeles based deaf social service
agency, Please send us a donation.
-------------< BULLETIN >
The Medicare Rights Center (MRC) needs to hear about all the problems
with the Medicare Part D benefit, whether they happen to you or
someone in your community. With this information, we will be armed
with the needed evidence to push for a decent Medicare drug benefit.
Submit your story at: http://www.medicarerights.org/partdstories.html
-------------< ANNOUNCEMENT >
Please visit our bookstore that has related books and different kinds
of assistive living devices at http://store.deafadvocacy.org
-------------< OUTSIDE NEWS PART 2/3 >
Augustana adds degree in sign language interpreting
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060127/NEWS/601270302/10\
01
Award for deaf school
http://www.hertsad.co.uk/content/herts/news/story.aspx?brand=HADOnline&category=\
News&tBrand=herts24&tCategory=newshadnew&itemid=WEED26%20Jan%202006%2012%3A13%3A\
25%3A793
Deaf collie hopes for thumbs up
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/4650964.stm
Minister to the deaf also boxes professionally
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=community&id=3849508
Pair emphasizes benefits of deaf culture
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-27/1138290851147150.xml&c\
oll=6
Disabled athlete gets his leg back
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=16631804&method=fu\
ll&siteid=50082&headline=disabled-athlete-gets-his-leg-back-name_page.html
Lawsuit aims to end wait for disabled
http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060124/NEWS01/601240303/\
1002
Lewisboro gets grant for disabled access
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060128/NEWS02/6012803\
27/1018
ACT mulls photo ID for disabled parking permits
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200601/s1557369.htm
Cathedral Home builds home for deaf program
http://www.laramieboomerang.com/news/more.asp?StoryID=104630
Letting operators warn potential victims curbs fraud, deaf service says
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060129/NEWS/601290314/10\
01
-------------< ADVOCACY NEWS >
The budget reconciliation bill will do more harm to the Disabled
Americans if passed. Disabled Americans who cannot pay for needed and
costly long-term care could be denied health coverage if they gave
money to churches, helped family members or donated to charities at
any time in the past 5 years. Disabled Americans may have to sell
their homes, family farms or ranches in order to get long-term care
services. Millions of Disabled Americans will be denied medically
necessary care if they are unable to pay new premiums and higher
copays. Many may become uninsured and be forced to go to more costly
emergency rooms to get the care they need. Medicare beneficiaries
will have to pay $2.7 billion in higher coinsurance and premiums.
Is this the domestic humanitarianism we expect from our elected
representatives? Remember this is an election year and you must
remind your congressperson of that.
-------------< DEAF QUOTES >
"We grew too large for our shoes," said Deaf & Hearing Connection
director Julie Church
-------------< ANNOUNCEMENT >
Do you shop at Albertsons or Sav-on stores? You can get a free
community partners card at those stores and then add it to our list of
supporters. A percent of what you buy will go to helping our Deaf
youth program. If you already have a school or other program that you
are supporting, don't worry, you can add your card to support our
program too! There are two ways to add your card. You can email your
First and Last name with your phone number and community partners card
number to [email protected] or you can download and print our
Albertsons / Sav-on Community Partners signup forms at
http://www.deafadvocacy.org/AlbertsonsSignup.pdf and have your
friends, neighbors, associates, and relatives sign up as supporters
and then mail the form to the address on the
form. To reach our funding goal we need 25,000 supporters who shop at
Albertsons / Sav-on. And remember to use your community partners card
when you shop at Albertsons or Sav-on.
-------------< COMMUNITY BULLHORN >
NIGHTMARE on Frist Street
There is a classic cliffhanger you've probably seen in more than one
horror movie and it generally goes like this. One character in the
movie is in some kind of a trance under an evil spell, and their
inaction or unwitting complicity is required for the evil plan to be
fulfilled. And you see the hero of the movie shaking them, and
yelling at them, "Snap out of it!" because only by working together
can the good and the just prevail. Because it is a movie at the last
minute the hero always succeeds in getting the other character to come
to their senses and everyone cheers. And that's exactly what is going
on right now with the nightmare nomination of Samuel Alito to the
Supreme Court.
Is "nightmare" too strong a word? Actually, that's the word that Bill
Frist used just the other day in referring to their own nominee. For
decades they have dreamed of overturning every progressive precedent
since the New Deal, for privacy rights, for labor rights, for the
rights of people to be protected from socially irresponsible
corporations, and more. And now they even want to absolve the
president himself from having to obey the laws of the people as passed
by Congress, with Sam Alito the prime mover and judicial theorist
behind the so-called "unitary executive" theory. That is nothing more
than dictatorship with a make-over. A dream to them perhaps, but
truly said a very scary nightmare for the rest of us.
However, YOU can put a stop to the destruction of the very foundations
of our democracy but speaking out to your senators and demanding they
stand up for us at http://www.emailtocongress.com
There you will find a one click for that will send your personal
message to all your members of Congress at once, and you can make it a
letter to the editor of your nearest daily newspaper all at the same time.
Be ye not deceived by the corporate media talking heads who have taken
over our airwaves. They speak of "done deals" to try to discourage
some from taking action, like zombies in a horror movie. But more and
more of us are suddenly waking up now and realizing that we not only
DO have the power to put a stop to a reactionary takeover our highest
court, we have a DUTY as citizens to do so by telling our senators
that they must take a stand and will support them if they do so.
Alito's problem is that he is NOT a judge. He is an advocate. He has
a lifelong commitment to being an advocate, and here is the important
part, his supporters are pushing him precisely because THEY believe he
will be their advocate. They drop kicked their own Miers because she
did not have enough proven fealty to the agenda of the extremist
Federalist society or the doctrine of a particular religious group.
He is just like Roberts, a stealth nominee who promised to be fair in
his confirmation hearing, and then lurched to the far right to cast
his first vote on the Supreme Court to try down to strike the TWICE
expressed will of the people by voter initiative in Oregon.
In 1985 Alito stated categorically his belief that a woman's right to
privacy is not constitutional. At his hearing he refused to say if he
still holds this view, the equivalent of taking the Fifth Amendment.
But Robert Bork said the other day that HE believes without a doubt
that Alito is still that same guy. His supporters are only interested
in installing a lock down vote who will rule as THEY want every time,
without regard to the facts, the law or prior precedent. They want
our country to be ruled by the kingly decree of their presidential
signing statements, one of Alito's own personal brainstorms. And just
like Frist, they will admit it even if Alito himself will not. In
fact, they are bragging about it.
ACTION SITE: http://www.emailtocongress.com
What Alito's advocates fear the most is that the American people will
suddenly come to their senses, that more and more will speak out as
they are doing now, and that our representatives will listen and obey
the will of the people. That is why they've been in such a hurry to
try to push this thing though. But thousands and thousands and
thousands ARE speaking up. Please add your voice to the growing
chorus and the people will surely prevail. Together we will dispel
the dark cloud over our Supreme Court. Because for people like Bill
Frist real participatory democracy would be the worst nightmare of
all, a nightmare on Frist Street.
The People's Email Network
-------------< OUTSIDE NEWS PART 3/3 >
Lawyers say deaf man accused of assault can't stand trial
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=4413614&nav=4QcS
Mental Health Care of Deaf People: A Culturally Affirmative Approach
http://psychservices.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/57/1/147
Karachi is slowly going deaf: PMA
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C01%5C26%5Cstory_26-1-2006_p\
g7_50
Runners needed to raise funds for deaf
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5048256.html
Group advocates for deaf women
http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/living/smart_woman/default.asp?ArID=11180\
5&AC=True
New voting equipment to aid the disabled
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-story/localnews/current/lf/01-26-06-8103\
65.html
Court decision seen as victory for developmentally disabled
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20060127/REVIEW27\
/TPNational/TopStories
Bill to help disabled find jobs
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/161704/4/
Family searches for disabled girl's dog
http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1138529720230660.xml&\
coll=3
The sky's the limit for some disabled kids
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cfly29jan29,0,2712510.story?c\
oll=sfla-news-broward
-------------< DEAF FRIENDLY JOB OPPORTUNITIES >
1) Temporary warehousing, hospitality, landscaping, construction,
light manufacturing, retail, wholesale, facilities and sanitation
through various employers.
All candidates interested in any of the job opportunities are required
to apply for our job placement services. Our intake form is at
http://www.deafadvocacy.org/intake.htm
-------------< ANNOUNCEMENT >
We have partnered with NetFlix to help community members enjoy movies
in the safety of their homes and our subscribers are given a free 2
week trial membership to NetFlix. If you haven't tried NetFlix yet,
you should log into Http://www.fundraising.com/movies and be sure to
enter our group code # 521684 and enjoy your 2 free weeks of
membership and if you decide to continue the membership after the free
trial, you will help us get $10 for each new membership. Most movies
offered by NetFlix have subtitling and or closed captioning in them.
-------------< DEAF FRIENDLY BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES >
Begin your journey toward self-sufficiency by becoming a .WS domain
reseller! Become an owner of a _________.WS website for only $10 a
month! Includes hosting, email, and easy to use website design tools
to create a professional looking website. And all _________.WS owners
automatically become .WS website resellers and it comes with an
automatic selling program. All you have to do is lead people to your
reseller website! The WS stands for 'website'! This is an excellent
self-sufficiency opportunity for people who want to be on the top of
the .WS cyber real estate market. Take a look at the ASL video at
http://www.deafadvocacy.org/cbep/website05.wmv and if you're
interested in this self-sufficiency program please go to
http://website.ws/ocdac for an easy sign
up. Or if you do not know American Sign Language, go straight to the
reseller page at http://website.ws/ocdac for a video of the program.
===============================
Begin your journey toward self-sufficiency by becoming a Discovery
Toys consultant! Discovery Toys focuses on learning through play,
with products specifically designed to maximize learning moments, has
proven to be a success as the company has now witnessed an entire
generation grow up with Discovery Toys. Many parents and their adult
children credit DISCOVERY TOYS® products with helping them to develop
core skills and self-esteem, which contributed to their later life
accomplishments and success as adults. Beth Koenig is your Discovery
Toys consultant. Her Discovery Toys website is at
Http://www.discoverthetoys.net and this is a great business
opportunity for people disabilities. Discovery Toys is one of our
supported activities through our Community Business Enterprise Program.
-------------< LETTERS >
Dear Mr. Roehm,
This might interest you. It was in the web under STOP DEAF MILITANTS
and the follow up post states the the Representative in question
requested the author appear at a budget hearing. He is advocating for
the CLOSING of Salem, Oregon's School for the Deaf because the cost of
preserving deaf culture isn't worth the expense.
Here's the link:
http://www.deafonline2.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1115
Mac
-------------< EPILOG >
If you wish to contribute to this newsletter, feel free to send in
news, stories, and opinions relating to the disability community. Your
support in this effort to move the disability community forward will
be greatly appreciated. We will continue to aggressively pursue
justice, fairness, and equality for the disability community as it has
been doing since November 1996. We have chosen
that EDUCATION is the best way to accomplish this objective.
The Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center is a community based
organization that puts people with disabilities first in their
advocacy for equal opportunities in safety, health, and productive living.
The Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center provides services for disabled
individuals and their families in our community who need help in
navigating the social services maze. Every day people go without
proper food, shelter, and essential medical care every day due to a
variety of factors including low wages, job loss, injuries, illness,
age, domestic violence, or divorce. While all of us are susceptible to
hard times, disabled individuals are at the most risk. With the
generous support of people like you, we are able to help many of these
families and individuals not only to meet essential daily needs, but
to work toward a brighter future with programs in job training,
education, counseling, elderly assistance, and temporary housing.
Feel free to forward this email message to anyone and any of your
personal mailing lists so we can get the important messages out far
and wide and encourage them to sign up for our weekly newsletter.
DISCLAIMER: The OCDAC Newsletter is designed to share information of
interest to people with disabilities, their friends, associates, and
relatives and promote advocacy in the disability community.
Information circulated does not necessarily express the views of The
Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center. The OCDAC Newsletter is
non-partisan. OCDAC Newsletter does not sell advertising space.
To subscribe to this newsletter go to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ocdacnewsletter/ or send a blank email
to [email protected]
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