[nfb-talk] Notes about NFB News Line

Sun Jul 23 16:31:08 CDT 2006

Mr. Mills,

Before Newsline, you could not read *any* newspapers.  Now you have a choice 
of newspapers.  Whether you like it or not, someone has to pay for the 
service, which the vast majority of blind people, (NFB members or not), 
value.  That's why blind people, who are members of the NFB, have gone out 
and found funding for this service.

If you don't like it and don't want to help in funding it, then leave it and 
us alone.  What you're doing is not advocating for improvements.  You're 
simply bashing something of which you know very little.

Cindy Handel
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Mills" <tmills79 at bellsouth.net>
To: <4alabama at nfbnet.org>
Cc: <alabama at acb.org>; <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>; "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing 
List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>; <acb-chat at acb.org>; <rsva-l at acb.org>; 
<acb-l at acb.org>
Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2006 2:34 PM
Subject: [nfb-talk] Notes about NFB News Line

Excuse me!  regardless of what has been traditional practices for the NFB
News Line service such as bulletin boards for advocate groups like the
National Federation of the Blind, News Line should never be considered
anyone's own personal fiefdom or still worse yet just another domicile for
every
blind brown noser and NFB hack that comes along! The reason that I continue
to grace you with my presence is quite possibly because like you I believe
that continued persistence will bring about much needed reform.  The
intended purpose of News Line and its professed mandate to deliver
accessible News papers to the blind community simply rings hollow when
dominated by a biggest bully on the block attitude.  Sir: I beg your pardon!
Tens of millions dollars have been contributed by
many other government and private partnerships to News Line.  But even if
every single penny were donated by the many generous federation members I
still would have the right to raise my concerns about the operation and
administration of News Line.  I think the NFB News Line news paper service
has quite possibly over-reached
its intended purpose. I do not know of any other organization like NFB News
Line. It is apparent to me that information based on your Email that News
Line has become to big and powerful that is in need of a major down sizing.
I feel that my criticism of News Line is justified and Appreciated by the
National Office of the National Federation of the Blind.    ----- Original
Message -----
From: "David Andrews" <
dandrews at visi.com
>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <
nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
>
Sent: Saturday, July 22, 2006 10:29 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Blind people deserve a library experience
readingthenewspaper! NFB News Line Fails that!
> Tom:
>
> As usual you are trying to create a problem, th4en use it to beat on the
> NFB.  As William said, if we are so evil, why do you stick around.  You
> make yourself a nuisance on one list, get moderated, then move to another.
> Is NFB-talk your latest target?
>
> And, as for Newsline, each state has a local channel where a variety of
> publications can be put.  In MN for example we have newsletters from both
> NFB and acb state affiliates, the Library for the blind newsletter,
> transit news, and the schedule for our radio reading service.  We will add
> Minnesota Monthly soon.
>
> This is the only potential place on Newsline where stuff other then
> newspapers would be.  The only people politicizing Newsline are the ACB
> who use it, but oppose it at every turn because it is from the NFB.  If
> you take away opposition to the NFB from the ACB, little is left.
>
> Dave  For goodness sake since when did the members of the National
> Federation of
the Blind begin to use your rival blind group the American Council of the
Blind as a standard of comparison and excellence?  The NFB has not proven
itself worthy to be the sole organization in the world I know of
that Distributes over two hundred main stream daily and weekly news papers.
With
that responsibility comes an enormous need to remain above any suspicion of
fishing and grabbing subscribers from News Line for other purposes. The
National Federation has had a long history accusing other organizations in
the blind community of that!  Once upon a time, the American Foundation for
the Blind was with out
question the richest blind organization in existence.  They held a virtual
monopoly on the sale and distribution of aids and appliances for blind
people in the world. estimates of the AFB's wealth ranged upwards of 250
million 1970 dollars.  Many blind leaders of that time long ago believed
that AFB gained most of their wealth by charging usury prices for aids and
appliances for sale to blind people. Also the AFB and many other
organizations working on behalf of blind people used their considerable
prestige to obstruct fund raising efforts by the National Federation of the
Blind in particular. I happen to think that the Federation's  cocky attitude
toward those blind people who have learned from past experiences would
always remember to remind all of us the lessons
of history.
  The only information offered by the NFB News Line Service should be
limited to those news papers in the News Line Library. Remember that the
whole concept of NFB News Line is a most rarest of privilege granted to the
blind community by many contributing news organizations in the news paper
industry.  And the blind should respected as such.
  I too wonder where the blind community is when they turn their backs on
decency and respect for an unbiased library experience while reading the
Alabama NFB News Line Service. The Federation is more interested in
promoting its blind advocacy program; like filing frivolous law suits mostly
for the sake of publicity and all the while knowing that most government
agencies and big business concerns will quietly settle crappy law suits in
the legal settlement mill. Remember I am talking about the National
Federation of the Blind! The NFB News Line should never be used to promote
NFB's advocacy positions and federation policies. Also, the Alabama chapter
of the National Federation of the Blind should not be permitted to use the
NFB News Line Service to advance the reputation of Mister J. Michael Jones,
the Alabama affiliates state NFB president.  NFB President Doctor Marc
Maurer has said that the NFB News Line Service has "A Special relationship
with the news paper industry publishers participating on News Line." Let me
tell you something all you girls and guys, that frightens me!  I believe
that the NFB News Line Service should be held above any and all politics for
the sake of the blind community and most of all to provide         blind
news paper
Readers an honest library experience!  note unless otherwise specified all
of these remarks were written by
Tom Mills.  Thank you for allowing me to express my opinions about the NFB
News
Line Service

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