Bobby Harris, Future Consultant for Law Enforcement Agencies?

 Pretty good numbers of newspaper coverages from Frederick, MD to Canada about Bobby Harris, deaf student intern from Maryland School of the Deaf, currently have a summer internship at the city of Frederick's Police Department. 

  Bobby Harris brought many smiles and respects and appreciations to the Frederick Police Department with his glowing personality from helping out with the police training exercises how to deal with uncooperative deaf subject to the modification of visual aids fold-out pocket book for police officer to have an excellent communication with deaf individual. Harris also engaged in role-playing as a potential deaf troublemaker for police officer to deal with any deaf troublemaker. Harris demonstrated the handcuffing of deaf suspect/troublemaker behind their back to hamper (block/limit) necessary communication. Harris hopefully complete the development of his visual charts for productive communication between deaf individual(s) and police officer(s) before hitching to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) this fall to study criminal justice and computer graphics. 

   Will Bobby Harris be our future consultant for the law enforcement agencies how to deal effectively with deaf individuals, instead of trampling on our civil liberties and police misconducts/ brutality? Hope so! Wish Bobby Harris all the good lucks with his studies and university life! 

  Here is the link to the Frederick News Post newspaper article  - 

   www.frederickpost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=76431

   or type Frederick News Post  or Canadian Press or Annapolis Capitol 

   The Washington Post's Express newspapers for commuters did cover Bobby Harris with more pictures, but not possibly find the link to feature this article. 

ASLize yours, 

Robert L. Mason (RLM)

RLMDEAF blog

Guess Who Come to NAD Conference 2008?

You could check out whom attend this year's NAD Conference 2008 within the attached link. FYI, this is not a complete list of individuals attending the conference. Some individuals wish not to publicize their conference attendance.


The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and Deaf Bilingual Coalition (DBC) are more transparent and open about what they are doing at the conference as compared to the Alexander Graham Bell Association of the Deaf (AGBAD) and other audiological-leaning organizations. Don't you agree?


So you enjoy yourself to scan and browse to see if you know anyone attending the 48th NAD Conference (2008).


Here is the attached link as promised:
http://www.nad.org/site/pp.asp?c=foINKQMBF&b=3832173



ASLize yours,
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLMDEAF blog

Senator Jesse Helms and His Wife Knew ASL

 One of most colorful and conservative politician on the national level, recently passed away and had a connection to the deaf community thru his wife. Honorable Jesse Helms of North Carolina, elected to the U.S Senate in late 1970s. Helms was a polarizing lawmaker, but truly effective with his anti-communist and moralistic messages - www.conservapedia.com/Jesse_Helms

Senator Jesse Helms' hearing wife knew American Sign Language (ASL) and often volunteered at Gallaudet's Visitor Center as what Gallaudet Professor Robert Weinstock noted on his writings for Gally's WHATSUP4 VAX-forum moderated by students during the 1990s.  

Senator Jesse Helms once signed "I Love You" in ASL to two little girls and their parents at the Anchorage airport after getting back from the "KAL 007" Senate investigation in the early 1980s. The "KAL 007" was a major international outcry against the Soviet Union for shooting down the civilian passenger plane. 

Many Gallaudetians and other individuals described Jesse Helms' wife as a sweet one as opposed to Senator Jesse Helms' combative treatments toward disability laws. Helms pushed for the nomination of Terrence Boyle to the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court. The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) expressed such a concern about the nomination of Terrence Boyle due to his judicial career of weakening the American with Disabilities Act (ADA)  and Section 504. Boyle frequently ruled against the ADA and ruled to limit the US. Congress' power of enforcing the ADA. Boyle ever ruled that the U.S. Congress had no powers to apply the ADA to state prisons either under the Commerce clauses (U.S. Constitution) and the 14th Amendment. Boyle ever ruled against the right to reasonable accommodations. 

http://www.nad.org/site/pp.asp?c=foINKQMBF86=297979 or look up to NAD Archives - 2001

How hilarious about the ACT-UP, a radical and militant gay activists surprised Honorable Jesse Helms by putting the 40-feet giant and inflatable condom over Helms' residence in Arlington, VA (2000) to send the strong message about not ignoring the AIDS victims. Helms was well-known for dismissing the AIDS epidemic and blasted the homosexual agenda from time to time. In the end, Helms finally realized about the seriousness of AIDS epidemic near his final Senate years. He was very regretful for not doing something about the AIDS/HIV epidemic.  The ACT-UP activists barged into drug companies' office about their questionable rigging practices to make the HIV medications' price too high to be affordable for HIV victims. Bravo to the ACT-UP's gutsy tactics and provoking "street theatres" to force politicians to take a hard look at the sufferings of people with AIDS and HIV! 

Jesse Helms' former press secretary, Claude Allen, was recently arrested at Target's store for shoplifting.  He brought Target shopping bags and grabbed items and asked for full refunds. Nothing new about the so-called family values among the GOPers! 

Honorable Jesse Helms often quipped "I really do not care if I am wrong about things!" Questions remained about how much "deaf-friendly" Honorable Jesse Helms really was toward deaf people. What was his legacy to the deaf community especially North Carolina? Helms never was afraid if he appeared as a bigot or ignorant. Good riddance!

ASLize yours, 

Robert L. Mason (RLM)

RLMDEAF blog

  

Why "Medical Intervention" Enclosed in EDHI Bill And Seen Deaf Babies as "Birth Defect"

You ought to examine the "Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Program" H.R. 1198 legislation passage closely what it really meant by "medical intervention for children with hearing loss" and "appropriate programs".

The EDHI bill also mention "treatment of hearing loss" and see deaf babies as "birth defect"

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bquery for the text of legislation - S 1712 and look for Hillary Clinton as a sponsor of S 1712 bill - Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program.

http://walsh.house.gov/list/press/ny25_walsh/pr_080408.html , Jim Walsh, Congressman

The incoming S 1712 Senate bill did not mention anything about the emphasis of ASL and bilingualism as a real necessity for language development and academic successes, etc.

Let's look at the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASLHA) website for the list of "Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Action Center -

http://www.asha.org for State Information, ASHA Resources, Other Resources

for State Laws, Find Your State EDHI Contact, ASHA's Resource Guide for Educational and
Pediatric and "Can Your Baby Hear?"...

What is the National Center on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders really doing to us, deaf people so far? Why it largely focus on the pathological aspects of deafness?

Are deaf people being slowly exterminated in name of science and human perfection?

The U.S. government once took the Native Americans' own identity and deny them to speak their native language, then cut off their long hairs and Anglicized their names in name of Americanization.

That could happen to us, deaf people which the Jews and other undesirables dismissed the possibility of systematic extermination and re-education programs in Nazi Germany until too late for them.

Our U.S. Government hardly bother to acknowledge our rich cultural and linguistic hertiage of deaf people and its contributions to the United States.

ASlize yours,
Robert L. Mason
RLMDEAF blog

ASLforLife, That's What I Tried Last Sumemrtime on Issue of EDHI

ASLforLife and the DeafRead readers and everyone concerned,

That's why I wrote this blog posting last summertime 2008 to urge the Deaf America to block the re-introduction of the Early Detection of Hearing Loss (EDHI) bill within the U.S. Senate.

I am very glad to see some people like you and others begin to realize what the EDHI intentionally pave the way for cochelar implantizing deaf babies and youngsters than just screening and providing balanced advices and options to parents of deaf babies and youngsters.

I have not been bothered with the follow-up updates of the EDHI bill so far. I rather see the EDHI bill being dead in the process than bringing up to the table for votes. If the U.S. Senate pass the EDHI bill, then the real nightmare for the Deaf America will come beyond our imagination.

It's time for us, Deaf America to act and keep the EDHI from becoming the real law!

We also could do something about the upcoming SCHI (health insurance for children) funding proposal for cochlear implant surgery on deaf babies and youngsters thru the Medicaid and other government fundings.

Our government really have no business of promoting the human engineering option or linguiscism of American Sign Langauge (ASL) at all.

ASLize yours,
Robert L. Mason
RLMDEAF blog *enclosure below from last summertime 2008 blog posting*

FYI, the re-authorization of "Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act" (EDHI) legislative bill have been recently introduced to the U.S. Senate for final voting anytime this summertime.

This bill have been passed in the House of Representatives known as H.R. 2889 last April 2008. The EDHI bill is also an amendment to the S 1712 bill known as "Screening for Health of Infants and Newborns Act" sponsored by Senator Hillary Clinton in 2007. The S 1712 proposed bill have been referred to the U.S. Senate's Health, Education subcommittee twice in past year.

Many of us, deaf people are much aware of how this original legislation back in 2000, kinda responsible for spawning the path for parents of deaf babies and youngsters to get cochlear implant surgery quicker and sooner.

More and more deaf babies and children got cochlear implant surgery, BECAUSE of this damned legislation. That's what the AGBell had in mind when called and supported for the idea of newborns' hearing screening and intervention for quick way of getting deaf babies and youngsters to get cochlear implant surgery much younger than ever. NAD was too blind for supporting this 2000 legislation without making sure that every parents of would-be deaf newborn or youngster to give real options like consulting deaf agencies to get unbiased information and feedback.

"Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act" legislation led the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve the CI surgery for deaf babies much sooner after six months old. That's what the AGBell want to exploit parents of deaf babies and youngsters' emotional upsetness to find out about their baby or child officially screened as deaf. So parents of deaf babies and youngsters could rush to the decision to cochlearize their own deaf offspring(s) without giving a chance to see and appreciate what their deaf infant/child really is all about.

AGBell and other audiology and financial industry often got upset with the original legislation due to the lack of follow-up incentives for the intervention programs to be in gear to get parents of deaf babies and youngsters coming back for getting cochlear implant or digital hearing aids. They wanted to make sure that no cracks within the system for parents of deaf babies and youngsters leaving the hospital without considerations for cochlear implant or digital hearing aids.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the similar bill related to the EDHI programs like
H.R. 1198 last April 2008 which enabled the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish the post-doctoral research fellowship program to effectively recruit researchers to become involved in early hearing detection and intervention and provide the agency authority (state agency) to support excellent family-to-family support programs developed by state EDHI programs and other organizations that are not yet widely implemented.

Why many business-oriented publications like the Forbes magazine bothered to report on the National Center on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NCDCD)'s Research Symposium on "New Mechanism in Auditory Discrimination And Speech in Deafness" at the AGBell 2008 Conference in Milwaukee? That raise many questions about real intentions of money-making incentives for American corporations to ride on the S 1712 bill within the 110th Congress's.

Here are our chances to block the Re-Authorization of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act bill in the U.S Senate to vote on! We could demand for having an open congressional forum with the AGBell and other audiology-interest groups to find out why many parents of deaf babies and youngsters and deaf clients to be heavily requested whether they want cochlear implant surgery during the simple audiology visit(s). Many deaf adults feel offended when they come to the audiology office for hearing aid-related problems and ended up of being stealthily asked if they are interested in getting cochlear implant or not.

Our elected national lawmakers ought to know what is really going on with the profit-driven industry to reel in the emotionally-wrecked parents of deaf babies and youngsters to cochlearize their own offspring without any considerable or unbiased information from any intervention programs within audiology industry and audiology interest groups.

The national lawmakers ought to explore the costly impact of cochlear implant surgery on deaf babies and youngsters with the creation of federal commission to study the long-term consequences on the health of deaf individuals with cochlear implant devices. The commission must be fairly balanced staffed with deaf advocates and deaf professionals for the unbiased outcomes of the commission's findings.

Please contact your U.S. Senator(s) to hold off the S 17172 bill until the creation of federal commission and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigative the audiology, cochlear implant and other audiology interest groups, ex. AGBell for possible racketeering and monopolistic practices along with too many "conflict of interest" occurrences.

There are also other critics of the proposed U.S. Senate bill, S 1712 from the privacy groups about the potential government database collection on every newborns about their DNA and health ailments.

ASlize yours,
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLMDEAF blog

Milwaukee WITI FOX-TV Station Apparently Violated Federal Law For Not Providing Equal Time To DBC On Opposing Viewpoints

Milwaukee WITI FOX-TV station apparently violated the existing federal law for NOT providing equal time to Deaf Bilingual Coalition (DBC) last weekend to offer the opposing viewpoints on controversial issues regarding the options for language acquisitions among deaf babies and youngsters with cochlear implant (CI).

The Fairness Doctrine law created by the U.S. Congress to require the licensed broadcasting industry to offer opposing viewpoints on controversial issues without appeared biased toward anyone or favor particular individual or group.

Why the new AGBell president, Jay Wyant, solely appeared on the Milwaukee WITI FOX News' Health Center segment without someone from the DBC to offer the counterargument on the ongoing controversy on the educational method and language acquisition and development?

Please check out the AGBell website - http://www.agbell.org/ for viewing the video clip from the WITI FOX-TV station and see for yourself for new AGBell President's first television interview.

SHAME on AGBELL for not providing any kind of transcript or captions for its own members and general public on her website regarding the exclusive clip of new AGBell President's television interview! Many AGBell members and parents of deaf youngsters do use the television captions to keep abreast of any current events and news within the society at large.

To understand the Fairness Doctrine much better. Please check out any ISP- Google and Yahoo and spell out Fairness Doctrine. The Wikipedia site have an excellent description and summary of the Fairness Doctrine.

ASlize yours,
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLMDEAF blog