JFActivist

Obama Statement on House Passage of ADA Restoration Act

Statement of Senator Barack Obama on the House Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Restoration Act

Wednesday, June 25, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michael Ortiz, 202 228 5566

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama today released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed the Americans with Disabilities Restoration Act, H.R. 3195.

"We have a collective responsibility to ensure that every American has access to the opportunity to fulfill their dreams and live independent lives. With nearly fifty-four million Americans living with disabilities today, it must be a priority for our government to do everything it can to protect and respect the needs of these Americans.

"The House of Representatives took an important step today by passing this legislation, and I applaud Leader Hoyer and Congressmen Conyers, George Miller, and Sensenbrenner for their efforts. I look forward to working with a true leader on this issue, Senator Harkin, to reaffirm our nation's commitment to giving every American an equal chance."

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Obama Visits War Veterans with Disabilities

From CBS News (June 28):

Obama Quietly Visits Wounded War Vets
Says Those Returning Injured From Iraq, Afghanistan Endure Substandard Care From Bush Admin.

(AP) Barack Obama stopped by Walter Reed Army Medical Center Saturday to visit wounded war veterans, a group that he has said endures substandard care under the Bush administration.

The presumed Democratic nominee, who was in Washington to speak to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, slipped into the facility shortly after 9 a.m. without stopping to speak to the small group of reporters who follow him. The visit wasn't on his public schedule...

...Read more.

Caught on tape: Patient w/ psychiatric disabilities left to die

From MSNBC (July 1):

Caught on tape: Hospital patient left to die
Emergency room staffers ignored 49-year-old woman who fell to the floor

NEW YORK - City hospital officials agreed in court Tuesday to implement reforms at a psychiatric ward where surveillance footage showed a woman falling from her chair, writhing on the floor and dying as workers failed to help for more than an hour...

...Read more.

(View the uncaptioned video)

Paraylmpic Athlete Featured through Sponsorship Opportunities

Tatyana McFadden, a wheelchair sprint racer from Maryland headed to Beijing for the Paralympics, is featured on McDonald's beverage cups and in television commercials for Hilton Hotels Corp.  (More)

Ohio State Senator Adds Disability to Hate Crime Law

State Senator Eric Kearney (D-Cincinnati) introduced a bill that would expand the state's hate crimes legislation to include protections for people with disabilities.

The Senate bill was introduced as a result of a brutal attack in February against Ashley Clark, a teen with intellectual disabilities who was born without limbs. The attack occurred in Clark's rural home when she was tied up, beat with a baseball bat, robbed, her hair cut off, and her prom dress destroyed.

Hate crime laws allow for additional punishments for crimes if they can be shown to have been motivated by animus to a particular group of people.

If the proposed legislation were already in place, arguably, the attack against Clark would qualify as a hate crime because disability seems to be a main reason she was targeted.

Ohio is one of 23 states that do not include disability as a part of their hate crime legislation.

... Read more from the Cincinnati Enquirer
(June 28, "Bill adds disability to hate crime law").

War-Torn Iraq Has Robust Paralympic Team

From The New York Times (June 29):

Athletes Disabled by Wars Lead Iraqi Team in World Games

By ANDREW E. KRAMER

...Playing fields, pools and gyms are in disrepair. Athletes are targets for assassination. Only one, a weight lifter, qualified for the Beijing Olympics, the second Summer Games since the American invasion in 2003.

War and hardship, though, have not destroyed all of Iraq’s dreams for international competition. The country, which has been in three wars in two decades, has a robust Paralympic team.

“As a country that participated in many wars since 1980, we have many disabled people,” said Ahmed Abid Hassan, a wheelchair fencing coach. “Our Paralympic team is better than our Olympic team.” ...

...Read the entire article (free registration may be required).

State Disability News, Week of July 4

Connecticut:
BROOKFIELD - Sighted students at Brookfield High School are joining their visually impaired peers to study the Braille alphabet and learn about daily challenges facing the blind - the only sighted Braille program in Connecticut. ...Read more.

District of Columbia:
Dozens of developmentally disabled persons in the District's care are being moved to new homes after three major care providers decided to stop residential services in the city because they said they were not being paid enough. ...Read more.
 
Massachusetts:
BOSTON - State lawmakers will convene the first of a series of meetings today to consider how to improve mental health services and programs for thousands of veterans returning to Massachusetts from Iraq and Afghanistan. ...Read more.

Minnesota:
LONG PRAIRIE – A restraining order barring a severely autistic boy from church was upheld Monday after a judge determined that the 13-year-old engaged in “repeated harassment” as defined by Minnesota statute. ...Read more.

Ohio:
State Senator Eric Kearney (D-Cincinnati) introduced a bill this week that would put disability in the same category as race, color, religion, or national origin under hate crimes legislation in the state. ...Read more.

 South Dakota:
RAPID CITY - South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks clarified this week that motorized wheelchairs and Segways are not allowed on any part of the Mickelson Trail, but self-propelled wheelchairs are. An official said that anyone needing a motorized wheelchair can take a trolley tour of the trail, which are offered every few months. ...Read more.

Wisconsin:
MILWAUKEE - In an editorial this week, the Journal-Sentinel of Milwaukee challenges the standards in place under No Child Left Behind for students with disabilities. From the editorial: "Surely, the term 'special needs' exists for a reason. ...By all means, have standards for special needs children. But make them fair. On this score, NCLB unfairly punishes schools." ...Read more.

ABC's New Series Features Actor with Down Syndrome

ABC's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" -  Luke Zimmerman, a man who has Down syndrome, will play Tom Bowman, a recurring character and brother of one of the lead character's in ABC’s new series. (More)

British Show Features Eight Disabled Women Competing to Be Models

Britian's Missing Top Model - Eight young disabled women discover what it takes to be a model while competing for a photo shoot and appearance in a top fashion magazine. (More).

Parents Fight for "Right to Life" for Daughter w/ Tay-Sachs

From the BBC (July 1):

Parents fight for 'right to life'

A couple say they face a legal battle with a hospital to keep alive their six-year-old daughter in future.

Amber Hartland, from Cwmbran, Torfaen, has an incurable brain disorder and needs intensive care treatment in Cardiff when she gets chest infections...

...Last Friday Mrs Hartland and her husband Nick were told doctors wanted to withdraw the option of her being put in intensive care and given life-saving procedures in future.

This is what the courts would be asked to decide upon...

...Read the entire article.