[blindlaw] New York's lieutenant governor, a blind lawyer,

Fri Mar 14 04:21:27 CDT 2008

You hit the nail on the head.  The media portrayal is where our focus should
be.  And remember, we have to take what is portrayed in the media with a
grain of salt, which goes back to my earlier posting.  
Find out exactly what his limitations/strengths might be, then go after the
media for the tone of the articles, if you think it is warranted at that
point.
Craig

Craig Borne 
Baltimore, Maryland
cjborne at comcast.net

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Angie Matney
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2008 1:14 AM
To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] New York's lieutenant governor, a blind lawyer,

As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter to me what he does or doesn't
use. What baffles me, though, is the tone taken in many reports that he's
somehow *more* independent or remarkable or whatever for refusing to use
braille or a mobility aid. It 
reminds me of an article I read about a woman who was losing her vision. She
said her doctor wanted her to use a cane, but she didn't because she wanted
to remain independent as long as possible. Her solution was to have
coworkers yell out to 
her every time she approached the stairs.

So, my question is, why does the media portray a decision not to use braille
or a cane or whatever as maintaining one's independence? The articles about
Paterson are just the latest in a trend.

Angie

On Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:39:19 -0400, Craig Borne wrote:

>This is really an individual determination and decision, isn't it?  I don't
>know what the man sees or does not see, and I am certainly not versed
enough
>in his vision or travel to come close to making that determination for him.
>His so called lack of independence doesn't seem to have held him back, has
>it?
>Craig

>Craig Borne 
>Baltimore, Maryland
>cjborne at comcast.net

>-----Original Message-----
>From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>Behalf Of albert griffith
>Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2008 9:31 PM
>To: 'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'
>Subject: Re: [blindlaw] New York's lieutenant governor, a blind lawyer,

>Whether the man uses braille or a cane isn't relevant to his qualifications
>as a politician but it does cause me to wonder a little about him
>personally.  Someone who can only see shapes and doesn't use a white cane
>can't be fully independent.   

>-----Original Message-----
>From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>Behalf Of Rod Alcidonis
>Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2008 2:39 PM
>To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
>Subject: Re: [blindlaw] New York's lieutenant governor, a blind lawyer,

>As long as he had a way to cope not learning them is of no consequence. The
>man is been in politics since 1986 and he has performed remarkably since. 
>Though important, Braille is not the savior of the world and the ability to
>function efficiently. This point has been made here times and again.

>I doubt he could be functioning without a cane if he were walking into
>things everywhere in the legislature's building. A cane is only usable when
>it's needed not just for the heck of using a cane. I use one because I need
>to, and the governor does not use one because he found that he does not
need
>one. Obviously he has just proven his effectiveness without them. Let's
stop
>creating issues where none exist.

>Rod Alcidonis
>Juris Doctor Candidate, 2009.
>Roger Williams University School of Law
>10 Metacom Ave., Box: 9003
>Bristol, RI 02809
>Cell: 718-704-4651
>Home: 401-824-8685
>Visit my Law School Blog at:
>http://blogs.rwu.edu/law/ralcidonis

>----- Original Message -----
>From: "albert griffith" <albertpgriffith at hotmail.com>
>To: "'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2008 5:42 AM
>Subject: Re: [blindlaw] New York's lieutenant governor, a blind lawyer,

>> While he sounds brilliant and I'm happy for him, it was reported that he
>> refused to learn braille and uses no travel aid such as a white cane or
>> guide dog.  I'd be interested in hearing his side of the story.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of Sarah Clark
>> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 11:18 PM
>> To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] New York's lieutenant governor, a blind lawyer,
>>
>> That's how I understand it as well.  I read that he did not pass the New
>> York bar exam so never became a practicing attorney, and because of that,
>> he's apparently been a big advocate on the issues of special 
>> accommodations
>> for bar exams.
>>
>> Sarah
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Rod Alcidonis" <roddj12 at hotmail.com>
>> To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 11:52 AM
>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] New York's lieutenant governor, a blind lawyer,
>>
>>
>>> As far as my recollection serves me he is not a lawyer. He had only been
>>> to
>>> Law School.
>>>
>>> And, as a New Yorker and an African American who is blind, I am very 
>>> happy
>>> for him. He has demonstrated so much and the Media can only mention that
>>> he
>>> is blind, not whether he can do the job. I briefly met him prior to
>>> starting
>>> Law School and he is a brilliant individual.
>>>
>>>
>>> Rod Alcidonis
>>> Juris Doctor Candidate, 2009.
>>> Roger Williams University School of Law
>>> 10 Metacom Ave., Box: 9003
>>> Bristol, RI 02809
>>> Cell: 718-704-4651
>>> Home: 401-824-8685
>>> Visit my Law School Blog at:
>>> http://blogs.rwu.edu/law/ralcidonis
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "Peter Donahue" <pdonahue1 at sbcglobal.net>
>>> To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 3:27 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] New York's lieutenant governor, a blind lawyer,
>>>
>>>
>>>> Hello Michael and listers,
>>>>
>>>>    History could be made this fall when we elect a new President should

>>>> a
>>>> Democratic Candidate win the election. This nation could have its first
>>>> African-American, or its first woman who is also the spouse of a former
>>>> U.S.
>>>> President serving in our nation's highest political office. Given that
>>>> New
>>>> York State now has a blind governor it's very conceivable that we could
>>>> elect a blind U.S. president in the not so distant future.
>>>>
>>>> Peter Donahue
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>>> From: "Michael O. Hanson" <mhanson at winternet.com>
>>>> To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 10:31 AM
>>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] New York's lieutenant governor, a blind lawyer,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I beliefve he resigned this morning.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>>> From: "Nightingale, Noel" <Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov>
>>>> To: <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 10:24 AM
>>>> Subject: [blindlaw] New York's lieutenant governor, a blind lawyer,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>From the Justice For All sidebar blurb:
>>>>>
>>>>> First Blind Governor of New York?
>>>>>
>>>>> In the wake of yesterday's breaking news of New York Governor Elliot
>>>>> Spitzer's involvement in a prostitution ring, many top aides to
Spitzer
>>>>> expect his resignation.
>>>>>
>>>>> If Governor Spitzer does resign, Lt. Governor David A. Paterson, who
is
>>>>> legally blind, would become the state's first black, first blind
>>>>> governor.
>>>>>
>>>>> A bit more about Mr. Paterson:
>>>>>
>>>>> Link to NY Times profile:
>>>>>
>http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/p/david_a_pat
>>>>> erson/index.html?inline=nyt-per
>>>>>
>>>>> Text:
>>>>> David A. Paterson
>>>>> Stewart Cairns for The New York Times
>>>>>
>>>>> David A. Paterson was elected lieutenant governor of New York in
>>>>> November 2006 on the ticket led by Eliot Spitzer. Previously, Mr.
>>>>> Paterson had served as the minority leader of the state Senate. The
>>>>> scion of a prominent Harlem political family, Mr. Paterson was born
>>>>> legally blind and worked as a prosecutor before entering politics.
>>>>>
>>>>> Mr. Paterson's decision to become Mr. Spitzer's running mate stunned
>>>>> many in Albany. With the growing strength of Democrats in statewide
>>>>> elections, it seemed only a matter of time before his party took over
>>>>> the chamber, allowing him to join the ruling triumvirate in Albany and
>>>>> take his seat with the governor and the Assembly speaker to decide
>>>>> between them how New York State is governed. By contrast, the 
>>>>> lieutenant
>>>>> governor's post brings with it no power and little prestige.
>>>>>
>>>>> Mr. Paterson explained the decision in terms the few lieutenant
>>>>> governors who had been given a real role, saying he wanted to be an
>>>>> "extension'' of Mr. Spitzer. Others close to him spoke of the enviable
>>>>> position he would be in if there was a chance to move up. If, for
>>>>> instance, Hillary Clinton were to become president, Mr. Spitzer would
>>>>> appoint a replacement to complete her term. Mr. Paterson has
>>>>> demonstrated political skills and good timing in the past; he became 
>>>>> the
>>>>> minority leader in the Senate by pulling off a coup, which is a rare
>>>>> feat in Albany.
>>>>>
>>>>> As the leader of the Democratic minority in the Senate, Mr. Paterson 
>>>>> has
>>>>> tried to make up for his lack of power with wit, flurries of reform
>>>>> proposals and unusual bursts of candor, a combination that has made
him
>>>>> a quotable presence in a Capitol where such leaders are often ignored 
>>>>> as
>>>>> irrelevant. He worked on making inroads with national Democrats,
>>>>> traveling to Washington to meet with Congressional leaders. And here,
>>>>> where much of what passes for legislative humor is of the backslapping
>>>>> variety, Mr. Paterson's stands out.
>>>>>
>>>>> Take his request at a recent news conference on government reform.
>>>>> "Anyone else in this Capitol that's telling you about the reform that
>>>>> they're doing, I want you to give me their names, we're going to bring
>>>>> them to this conference room, and we're going to beat them up," he 
>>>>> said,
>>>>> with a straight face.
>>>>>
>>>>> Mr. Paterson was born to politics. His father, Basil, represented the
>>>>> same Harlem district that his son later did, and ran unsuccessfully
for
>>>>> lieutenant governor in 1970. The younger Mr. Paterson was raised at
the
>>>>> knees of much of Harlem's old guard. He also grew up legally blind,
>>>>> after an infection as an infant that left him totally without sight in
>>>>> his left eye and with severely limited sight in his right. His family
>>>>> moved to Long Island, where they found a school that agreed to educate
>>>>> him in regular classrooms. He graduated from high school in three 
>>>>> years,
>>>>> went to college at Columbia and graduated from Hofstra Law School.
>>>>>
>>>>> When he was elected Senate minority leader, Mr. Paterson recalled the
>>>>> discrimination he had suffered because he is disabled. "So I have had
>>>>> this desire my whole life to prove people wrong, to show them I could 
>>>>> do
>>>>> things they didn't think I could do," he said. "This is just another."
>>>>>
>>>>> --March 10, 2008
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> blindlaw mailing list
>>>>> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
>>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw
>>>>>
>>>>
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