Real Shame on Laura Bush for Excluding Deaf Authors

Real shame on Laura Bush, the current First Lady for excluding deaf authors from being part of the 2008 National Book Festival this September 26th and past bookfests- seven straight years!

First Lady Laura Bush never made any attempts of being inclusive with the deaf community like inviting any deaf authors to the Texas Book Festival and National Book Festival. We have plenty of deaf authors in our literary circles!

Our first lady of America is supposed to bring out the best out of the diverse America! She never did at all. Laura Bush schmoozed the Library of Congress to support the National Book Festival at the expenses of American taxpayers! Not every American taxpayers benefit from the National Book Festival since it is in the Nation's Capitol!

The past National Book Festival usually provide the ASL interpreters for deaf attendees, not this year. Huh?

Please check out the Library of Congress web site for the 2008 National Book Festival -

http://www.loc.gov.bookfest/

Laura Bush the First Lady, never bother to visit Gallaudet University or Model Secondary School for the Deaf or any school of the deaf. Have Laura Bush or Georgie visit the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin before??

Bill and Hillary Clinton have been regularly visited the Arkansas School for the Deaf in Little Rock, AK as Governor of AK. Bill Clinton stepped on the ground of Gallaudet University to give the Gallaudet commencement in the 90s. Hillary Clinton made one or two informal visits to Gallaudet University as the First Lady.

Deaf America's Librarian - Alice Hagemeyer, a tireless advocate of library access and uses for deaf people across the United States. Ms. Hagemeyer once told me that Laura Bush was her personal favorite. Hasn't Laura Bush help anything in DC-area libraries or any deaf library programs? Nope!

Laura Bush just lend her personal support to the creation of DC City Museum at the former Carnegie Library next to the brand-new Washington Convention Center on 7th-9th and K Street, NW. Guess what? The DC City Museum suddenly closed in a year due to lack of interests among local DC residents and tourists. Laura Bush doesn't know how to choose the projects more carefully. How typical of her own hubby, Georgie for screwing up our country beyond imagination!

Not many people realize that Laura Bush is a smoker herself! She have been shamelessly promoted her own daughter, Jenna Bush's book at this year's 2008 National Book Festival. Jenna Bush's name have been omitted on the list of 70 authors featured at the 2008 book festival website. Why??

Several authors like Bob Schieffer of CBS-TV News and Salman Rushdie are being featured as this year's selected authors. Many people did not realize that Bob Schieffer is a close pal of George W. Bush's brother. Journalistic integrity with Bob Schieffer? Nah!

Salman Rushdie do not deserve to be on the list of selected authors since he is not an American citizen at all.

We must demand that some deaf authors to be featured at the 2008 National Book Festival or Laura Bush herself is really anti-deaf .

Deaf America's Librarian -Alice Hagemeyer should get some recognition from President George W. and Laura Bush for her never-ending library advocacy for deaf people. She founded the Red NoteBook directory for librarians across the United States and tirelessly pushed libraries to provide the library programs/lectures and books related to deaf people . Hagemeyer founded the Friends of Libraries for Deaf Action. She have been the current outreach coordinator for the National Literacy Society of the Deaf lately.

Alice Hagemeyer ever is a registered Republican herself. I am sure that she is rooting for John McCain this year. Despite her political party affiliation, I dearly love Alice for who and what she is.

For more info about Alice Hagemeyer's past accomplishments and awards -

http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=archives&template=/contentmanagement/contentdisplay-cfm&ContentID=151

www.folda.net/libreading.hmtl

I look forward to see President George W. Bush to award Alice Hagemeyer the Presidential medal before he and Laura leave the White House for the new occupant.

ASLize yours,

Robert L. Mason
RLMDEAF blog

What About Deaf America's Misgivings Toward Racial Attitude?

 What about any of you, deaf voters have any misgivings about the Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama's color of skin (race)? 

  The latest Associated Press (AP) and Yahoo Poll found out about too many white and Republican voters have misgivings about Democratic President Barack Obama's color of skin (race). How shocking about the American society in 2008!

  I already thought that the majority of American people were past the racial misgivings of other ethnic and racial people. I was totally wrong! 

  Of course, I keep seeing many white and black deaf people still have the racial attitudes toward black people or white people in general. 

  I must admit that I have some deaf friends, who are genteel racists themselves. I usually dismiss their racist or prejudiced views of different people.  Those friends are really great people, but happen to have the mischaracterized view of the society from time to time. My personal viewpoints are more liberal and progressive than most people I know of. 

  I seldom use "N" to test deaf people's reaction as part of my own informal sociological study. At the first glance, deaf people would get little uncomfortable and look around, then show their real-self and openly used "N" with me. 

  Most deaf people I encounter or socialize with, are likely to have a progressive views of ethnic and racial minorities. Deaf white people in DC area, usually have negative views of African Africans whose happened to be living on the street or being the panhandlers or thugs lurking on the street. 

  Are those deaf white people being racist or look down on the downtrodden society? 

  Kinda troubling about the handful of American people have such a skeptical views of Barack Obama, because of his color of skin. 

  Nothing new about the deaf America being racially formed due to their own color of skin. Is that part of the comfort zone or purely a societal prejudice? 

  The past sociological studies about the deaf America and racial attitudes shown that there were many deaf clubs of the past tend to have the segregated cliques. 

 From the past observance of deaf social gatherings like the Deaf Professional Happy Hour (DPHH) or deaf gay (GLBT) social gatherings in DC, there were still kinda a racial cliques. 

  Deaf DC GLBT social gatherings hardly have seen deaf African Americans on the scene. Why??

  I told several deaf African American gay guys about the monthly deaf GLBT coffeehouse or social events. They ever don't know about the events at all. Deaf African Americans were kinda reluctant of coming down to the predominately white social gatherings. Who would blame them? 

  I was seldom accused of being a racist from time to time, because I never expressed any interests in African American guys or other ethnic guys. I was confronted by one hearing African American last spring 2008 that I was not interested in him due to his color of skin. That African American was really a nice-looking, but I frequently seen him at particular places. I was totally shocked that I was being accused of racism. I told that hearing African American guy that I came down to this place to enjoy myself with a drink and had a conversations with patrons. Nothing more than that! Of course, this hearing guy was a sexoholic. 

One friend of mine during the Gallaudet years- late 1980s. We often talked about the issue of racism. That friend hitched from the Deep South. He often harmlessly said about African Americans. I returned with progressive views of people in general. That friend turned to me with a simple question - "Have you been with any black people in bed?" I replied nope! My friend said "See that! I already had sex with several black women. Their pubic hairs were like steel wool pad. I replied 'Come on!" 

After frequent discussions with my friend about racial issues got me really think of who and what I was. I found some African American, Latino and Asian guys to be truly attractive, but I was kinda reluctant of those ethnic and racial guys. I still kept on the straight course what attracted me to gay guys - their intelligence, social courtesy, behaviors and appearance of how they took care of themselves. That was it!! 

  I personally find male foreskin to be much unappealing (ugly). That's why I hardly expressed any interests in any ethnic and racial guys due to their cultural upbringings for not having the circumcised male genitals. Yes, white guys do have foreskin genitals. I still am not interested in any white guys with foreskin genital. Of course, I was often called "prejudiced" by some deaf guys for finckling toward male foreskin genital. I could not help it at all! 

 I do not find Barack Obama to be any handsome or appealling. I also am not really impressed with his thin resume and debate skills and leadership issues. I either do not like McCain and Palin at all. Nothing to do with racism and ageism!  

 I am much aware of many deaf people being discriminated and prejudiced because of us being deaf. We, deaf people have to get the college Bachelor of Arts degree to obtain the entry job to prove ourselves to be worthy to the audistic society or PhD degree for B.A. employment position. 

 Should we give Barack Obama a chance to lead our country or what? John McCain is surely a "bipolar" person due to his often changing positions. Obama is not really perfect at all.

  My deaf  friend often emailed me that he worried about Barack Obama would have a revenge on white Americans for the past racist practices. I don't think so! 

 I noticed about many deaf Christians have such a prejudices toward Muslim people in general. They often emailed me about Barack Obama in Muslim attires. I tried to explain that was not accurate about Obama being a Muslim. Obama just wore the Muslim clothing while he conducted the Senate business trip to the host country. He had to wear the customary attire not to offend the host for the reception, etc. 

I am no "bleeding heart" liberal myself. I hardly bother to give any changes or $$ to the African American beggars on DC-area street, because I always am annoyed of their misassumption of us, white people have more money than well-off black people. 

What about you??

ASLize yours,

Robert L. Mason (RLM)

RLMDEAF blog

  

Tap on Hearing People's Shoulder or Wave Your Hand Over Their Face Could Get You in Legal Trouble!

The well-known and respectable film "hearing" critic, Roger Ebert of Chicago, IL, seems understood what we, deaf people were going thru everyday life. Ebert's knee got whacked by another film critic during the film screening. Ebert couldn't see the subtitles of the new foreign film to be reviewed. He got the cancer on his mouth area few years ago. The main part of his mouth area had been heavily removed due to cancerous region. Ebert had to tap on that hearing man's shoulder to move his shoulder blocked Ebert's view. Guess what?

http://entertainment.msn.com/news/article.aspx?news=330303

Any of us, deaf people have the tendency of tapping on hearing people's shoulder or wave hands over their face to get their attention. We would get in legal troubles for so-called physical assault.

No questions about the difference of cultural and linguistic upbringings between deaf and hearing Americans how to get someone's attention. Deaf people usually tap on someone's shoulder or wave their hands in front of someone's face.

Many hearing Americans dislike this kind of manual communication approach by deaf people.

What we should do with hearing people's misunderstandings of us, deaf people to do the outreach to any hearing people?

In the past, I did gently tapped on one hearing lady to get her attention. She became squeamish and shouted to me "Don't touch me!" I tried to calm that lady, but she seems frantic all over the place.

Hearing Americans seems little paranoid about physical touchings on shoulder area, ex. tapping.

I hope that Roger Ebert will be more sympathetic toward deaf people and feel solidarity with us.

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

"Biological Weapon" Scare at Gallaudet University

There was the "biological weapon" scare at Gallaudet University this Wednesday morning at the North Ballard dormitory which found later to be the plant food for growing marijuana in the undisclosed empty dormitory room. The Gallaudet Physical Plant Department (PPD) done their regular heating/AC cleaning tasks and found those chemical containers and heat lamps and called upon the FBI agents, DC Metropolitan Police, bomb squad technicians and firefighters.

The Washington Post newspaper accurately defined this incident to be the "chemical scare".

300 Gallaudet students had to be evacuated from both Ballard dormitories. The heightened concerns about the possibility of chemical/biological attacks due to the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks across the country.

For more info, click attached links -

www.wjla.com/news/stories/0908/5522221.htm

www.wusa.9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=75945&catid=158

www.nbc4.com/news/17438124/detail.html?d=headlineclick

www.washingtonpost.com and look for Gallaudet chemical scare.

Dallas VOICE, Inc. Being Audistic Toward Martin Ritchie

Dallas VOICE magazine, the Community Newspaper for Dallas Gays and Lesbians, was being audistic toward Martin Ritchie like asking questions -

"Can you hear anything at all?"

"If you have a perfect hearing for four hours, what would you want to do?"

Check out this link -

http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/printer_9613.php for Martin Ritchie's replies to those questions.

Please tell what you really think of this audistic questions toward Martin Ritchie?

ASLize yours,

Robert L. Mason (RLM)

RLMDEAF blog

Martin Ritchie Appeared in "Instinct" Magazine

Culturally deaf Martin Ritchie get more press exposures almost daily. Ritchie's celebrity interview appeared in the September 2008 edition of "Instinct" magazine.

Here is the link -

http://instinctmagazine.com/celebrity-interviews/the-boys-from-janice-dickerson-modeling-agency.html

  Click on Cover Story heading and will take you to the Celebrity Interviews and click on the latest attachment - Janice Dickerson Modeling Agency ...  Okay? 

or www.instinctmagazine.com

"Instinct" g a y magazine have about the 100,000 subscriptions and 300,000 readership.

Hooray for someone culturally deaf like Martin Ritchie, who do not resort to the audistic behavior to please any hearing people on the reality TV! We need more deaf people like Martin Ritchie!

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

(PIC) Janice SLAPPED Christian for Making Fun of Martin Ritchie

Janice Dickerson of Oxygen TV's "Janice Dickerson Modeling Agency" SLAPPED Christian, one of the male contestant for making FUN of Martin Ritchie. Oh boy! Holy Mackeral!

Check out this attached link with PICTURE -

http://www.afterelton.com/taxonomy/term/22

Jeez, we are still living in the world of AUDISM within the year of 2008! Great of Janice Dickerson slapped someone hearing in defense of Martin Ritchie and the rest of us.

Let's hiss Christian and bombard him with nasty email messages!

Let's email Janice Dickerson and thank her for standing up to someone like Christian and other audists! Oz.feedback@nbcnni.com

www.oxygen.com/legal/contact.aspx

Wanna receive your comments what you really think of Janice Dickerson slapped Christian?

Some people were overly concerned about Janice Dickerson's illegal physical assault on employees. Janice Dickerson is in the modeling business more than 30 years.

We must root for Martin Ritchie and Janice Dickerson. Everyone across the US talking about Martin Ritchie.

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