[gui-talk] National Federation of the Blind Comments on Federal Court Ruling on U.S. Currency

Wed Nov 29 20:32:14 CST 2006

You have something to do with us, you are on at 
least one of our sponsored lists!
Da
vid Andrews

At 07:49 PM 11/29/2006, you wrote:
>It's times like this that I'm reminded why I have nothing to do with the
>federation. I'm certainly not saying everyone in the federation is this way,
>but you have to wonder where some of this logic comes from.
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Will Smith" <wilsmith at iglou.com>
>To: "NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2006 5:30 PM
>Subject: Re: [gui-talk] National Federation of the Blind Comments on Federal
>Court Ruling on U.S. Currency
>
>
>
>I continue to marvel at the positions NFB top brass take on things like
>distinct money markings or shapes.
>
>I guess if you have enough power and position then money just doesnt
>matter much.
>
>Will
>wilsmith at iglou.com
>On Wed, 29 Nov 2006, Reinhard Stebner
>wrote:
>
> > I really do not understand the NFB's stand on this.  I think having money
> > that I can tell at a glance what it is makes me more independent from
> > machines, fraud and enables me to be more independent.  How do other blind
> > people think about this?
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> > Behalf Of David Andrews
> > Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2006 3:53 PM
> > To: dtb-talk at nfbnet.org; dandrews at visi.com; diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org;
> > promotion-technology at nfbnet.org; " nabs-l"@nfbnet.org; "
>nfbcs"@nfbnet.org;
> > blindtlk at nfbnet.org; nfb-announce at nfbnet.org; " nfbmo"@nfbnet.org;
> > nfb-science at nfbnet.org; " journalists"@nfbnet.org; gui-talk at nfbnet.org;
> > blindkid at nfbnet.org; napub at nfbnet.org; nabop at nfbnet.org;
> > blparent at nfbnet.org; cabs-talk at nfbnet.org; " nfb-reno-l"@nfbnet.org;
> > nfb-river-city at nfbnet.org; " nfb-sf"@nfbnet.org; nfbc-info at nfbnet.org;
> > nfbofncp at nfbnet.org; trainer-talk at nfbnet.org;
> > " electronics-talk"@nfbnet.org; nfb-talk at nfbnet.org;
> > " tops-2005"@nfbnet.org; " rocketon"@nfbnet.org; nopbc-board at nfbnet.org;
> > nfb-newsline-sponsors at nfbnet.org; nfb-imagination-fund at nfbnet.org;
> > " new-horizons"@nfbnet.org; " ncbys"@nfbnet.org;
>nabs-presidents at nfbnet.org;
> > gama-summit at nfbnet.org; nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org; nfb-idaho at nfbnet.org;
> > mt-blind at nfbnet.org; " cabs"@nfbnet.org; colorado-talk at nfbnet.org;
> > " nfbaz-talk"@nfbnet.org; mabs at nfbnet.org; oabs at nfbnet.org;
> > greater-baltimore at nfbnet.org; " nfbf-l"@nfbnet.org; 4alabama at nfbnet.org;
> > " vabs"@nfbnet.org; " mn-abs"@nfbnet.org; nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org;
> > " mi-abs"@nfbnet.org; il-talk at nfbnet.org; iabs-talk at nfbnet.org;
> > " nebraska-students"@nfbnet.org; " tn-talk"@nfbnet.org;
>vendtalk at nfbnet.org;
> > " nagdu"@nfbnet.org; " nyagdu"@nfbnet.org; " ag-eq"@nfbnet.org;
> > arizona-students at nfbnet.org; " nfb-kzoo"@nfbnet.org;
> > " reader-users"@nfbnet.org; nabentre at nfbnet.org; " nfbj"@nfbnet.org;
> > " nfb-db"@nfbnet.org; nfb-fundraising at nfbnet.org; "
>faith-talk"@nfbnet.org;
> > " lions-ed"@nfbnet.org; nfb-lions at nfbnet.org; "
>ncme-mentoring"@nfbnet.org;
> > " nfbwv-talk"@nfbnet.org; blindlaw at nfbnet.org; nfb-editors at nfbnet.org;
> > " humanser"@nfbnet.org; rehab at nfbnet.org; nfbpnotk at nfbnet.org;
> > " musictlk"@nfbnet.org; " nosb"@nfbnet.org; stylist at nfbnet.org;
> > " sportsandrec"@nfbnet.org; " nobe-l"@nfbnet.org;
> > travelandtourism at nfbnet.org; " teachvib"@nfbnet.org; "
>nfb-web"@nfbnet.org;
> > ccb-alumni at nfbnet.org; " la-students"@nfbnet.org; " nfb-cars"@nfbnet.org;
> > nfb-hi at nfbnet.org; " nfbkabs"@nfbnet.org; " nfbkpbc"@nfbnet.org;
> > nfbofncp at nfbnet.org; " tabs"@nfbnet.org; dtb-talk at nfbnet.org
> > Subject: [gui-talk] National Federation of the Blind Comments on Federal
> > Court Ruling on U.S. Currency
> >
> >         National Federation of the Blind Comments
> >
> >
> > on Federal Court Ruling on U.S. Currency
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Views Effort as Dangerously Misguided
> >
> >
> >
> > Baltimore, Maryland (November 29, 2006): The
> > National Federation of the Blind, the largest
> > organization of blind persons in America and
> > known as the voice of the nation's blind,
> > criticized as dangerously misguided a federal
> > court ruling saying that the design of U.S.
> > currency discriminates against the blind.
> >
> >
> >
> > Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National
> > Federation of the Blind, said: "The blind need
> > jobs and real opportunities to earn money, not
> > feel-good gimmicks that misinform the public
> > about our capabilities.  Blind people transact
> > business with paper money every day.  This ruling
> > puts a roadblock in the way of solving the real
> > problem, which is the seventy percent
> > unemployment rate among working-age blind
> > Americans that severely limits our access to
> > cash.  The ruling will do nothing to alleviate
> > that situation; in fact, it seriously endangers
> > the ability of the blind to get jobs and
> > participate fully in society.  It argues that the
> > blind cannot handle currency or documents in the
> > workplace and that virtually everything must be
> > modified for the use of the blind.  An employer
> > who believes that every piece of printed material
> > in the workplace must be specially designed so
> > that the blind can read it will have a strong
> > incentive not to hire a blind person."
> >
> >
> >
> > Maurer went on to enumerate the real needs for
> > access to information by the blind and made a
> > distinction between those needs and the issue of
> > identifying currency.  "Access to information of
> > all kinds, such as that contained on Internet Web
> > sites and in the press, is certainly critical to
> > the ability of the blind to become productive
> > members of society.  Blind students need
> > educational materials in Braille and other
> > alternative formats so that they can prepare for
> > employment and ultimately earn an income for
> > themselves and their families.  Given the urgent
> > need for access to the kind of information that
> > is required for success in America's information
> > economy, the matter of identifying the
> > denominations of paper bills is of relatively little concern."
> >
> >
> >
> > Blind people traditionally identify paper
> > currency by folding bills of different
> > denominations in different ways.  "In reality,
> > blind people do not routinely find that we have
> > been short-changed," Maurer commented.  Machines
> > are readily available to identify paper money for
> > blind people who run businesses or handle large
> > amounts of cash.  "Essentially, the United States
> > Treasury has been ordered by the courts to come
> > up with a solution for a nonexistent problem," Maurer said.
> >
> >
> >
> > The National Federation of the Blind believes
> > that with training and opportunity, blind people
> > can compete in the world with only minor
> > modifications.  The American Council of the
> > Blind, which brought the lawsuit against the
> > United States Treasury, promotes the view that
> > the blind are unable to compete unless the world
> > is modified dramatically and specifically for
> > blind people, and that the blind must be made
> > objects of care and pity rather than equal participants in society.
> >
> >
> >
> > John G. Paré Jr.
> > Director of Public Relations
> > NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
> > 1800 Johnson Street
> > Baltimore, Maryland  21230
> > Telephone:  (410) 659-9314, ext. 2371
> > Cell phone:  (410) 913-3912
> > Fax:  (410) 685-5653
> > Email:  jpare at nfb.org
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > gui-talk mailing list
> > gui-talk at nfbnet.org
> > http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gui-talk
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > gui-talk mailing list
> > gui-talk at nfbnet.org
> > http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gui-talk
> >
>
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>----
>
>
> > _______________________________________________
> > gui-talk mailing list
> > gui-talk at nfbnet.org
> > http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gui-talk
> >
>
>_______________________________________________
>gui-talk mailing list
>gui-talk at nfbnet.org
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gui-talk