Monday, May 18, 2009

What To Do With Wisconsin Legislation on CI??

Here is an open letter to Jack Barr and Darrell Roby what both of you and other concerned deaf individuals in regard to the questionable government intervention having the health insurance industry to be mandatory required of providing the insurance coverage on cochlear implant surgery on deaf babies and youngsters upon parental or guardian request.

Both of you really have several options like asking the state attorney general to instruct Governor Doyle to veto the Senate bill # 27 and Assembly bill # 16 due to the backdoor legislation without any input/feedback from ordinary citizens which is actually violation of Wisconsin's state "Sunshine Law" and transparency laws. That is the first step of contacting the state
attorney general of Wisconsin to suspend Governor Doyle from approving and signing the
Senate bill # 27 and House bill # 16.

Second step is to find the transparency advocacy group to assist both of you to file the lawsuit against the Wisconsin's Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission for its failure for not providing any citizen involvements and inputs and reviews for any legislation affecting the deaf community. Citizens for Responsible Government is one of the perfect example advocacy group watchdog over the State of Wisconsin - http://wwwcrgnetwork.com/

You, Jack Barr and Darrell Roby really could find some way to get the "backdoor legislation" of Senate bill # and House bill # to be expunged and probed due to questionable and so-called biased data's being used for this legislation, especially the Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission being under the State Department of Health Services.

What about the educational experts on Deaf Education? What about the consequences of long-term financial costs to the state of Wisconsin and the health insurance providers for the coverage of cochlear implant surgery on deaf babies and youngsters?

What about the exact criteria for any deaf babies and youngsters to be fitted with cochlear implant surgery?

Any formal state board to be created to screen out the requests for lifetime alteration surgery, ex. cochlear implant surgery on deaf babies and youngsters without being pressured from the "for profit" industry from doctors to surgeons to the cochlear implant manufacturers?

The recent legislation passage of Senate bill # 27 and House bill # 16 have to be reconsidered due to many unanswered questions regarding "conflict of interests" among the medical industry and other proponents of cochlear implant surgery and audistic individuals seeking to remake the society at large in name of human superiority and ignorance.

Is there any formal channels to be developed for parental counselings without any appearance of human bias and hidden financial interests? Have the parental counselings being included from the deaf advocacy groups on behalf of deaf babies and youngsters for language and self-esteem development?

You, Jack Barr and Darrell Roby please immediately contact the State Attorney General to suspend the legislation due to legal matter on state transparency laws on open meetings and open records.

Wisconsin's Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission did FAIL to consult the given community for their citizenry inputs and participation to address the legislative proposal.

Wisconsin Association of the Deaf (WAD) surely FAILED its given advocacy duties due to passive advocacy among the WAD officers being employed with the state government.

Please feel free to contact me for more advice and strategy how to halt the legislation in its track from being the official law. Here is my email address - rlmdeaf@hotmail.com

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

NAD's Missed "Golden" Opporunities on Grassroot Deaf Activism

After viewing Jack Barr's vlog posting with Darrell Roby (Jack's Eyes) which left me greatly resentful with the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) for lack of golden opportunities for paving the formal trainings of grassroot deaf activism how to empower, organize and lobby more efficiently for real victories on legal fronts and political maneuverings.

Where the hell the NAD have been for setting up the cost-efficient trainings, lectures and workshops how to empower, organize and lobby on the behalf of concerned deaf community?

We really need some monetary grants for regional grassroot deaf activism training how to persuade, lobby and maneuver the legislators, given community and targeted individuals.

The perfect start is with Carl Schroeder's Western Oregon University and other places for interested deaf individuals to be truly effective grassroot deaf activists and organizers.

It is TIME for many grassroot deaf activists to be paid reasonably and generously for their time and efforts and related expenses!

NAD seems more lofty being in the Inner Beltway mentality and cozy up to the AGBell and other CI proponents without laying out realistic approach and how to battle the increasingly audistic ways of the society at large.

I will be more than happy to be the trainer for grassroot deaf activism from my personal experience for being in the "behind the legislative scenes" and numerous non-deaf organizational participation.

Not everyone have an opportunity to go to the NAD's Youth Leadership Program camps. Moi never go at all.

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

Vivienne Schroeder, Deaf Tibdit, 5/19/09

Just let the DeafRead readers and viewers know that our own Carl Schroeder's deaf daughter, Vivienne Schroeder recently graduated from Gallaudet University last Friday, May 15th.

Vivienne Schroeder will seek the master degree after this Gallaudet graduation.

Let us wish Vivienne Schroeder all the best and success within her graduate studies!

All of you could see what Vivienne Schroeder really look like in her videocast for the VL2
Center. Here is an enclosure - http://vl2.gallaudet.edu/student.php?id=33 or type
"Vivienne Schroder" on the search log of http://www.gallaudet.edu/

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