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Vol. 63, No. 4 April 2020
Gary Wunder, Editor
Distributed by email, in inkprint, in Braille, and on USB flash drive, by the
The National Federation of the Blind
Mark Riccobono, President
telephone: 410-659-9314
email address: [email protected]
website address: http://www.nfb.org
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Letters to the President, address changes, subscription requests, and orders for NFB literature should be sent to the national office. Articles for the Monitor and letters to the editor may also be sent to the national office or may be emailed to [email protected].
Monitor subscriptions cost the Federation about forty dollars per year. Members are invited,
and nonmembers are requested, to cover the subscription cost. Donations should be
made payable to National Federation of the Blind and sent to:
National Federation of the Blind
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998
THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND KNOWS THAT BLINDNESS IS NOT THE CHARACTERISTIC THAT DEFINES YOU OR YOUR FUTURE. EVERY DAY WE RAISE THE EXPECTATIONS OF BLIND PEOPLE, BECAUSE LOW EXPECTATIONS CREATE OBSTACLES BETWEEN BLIND PEOPLE AND OUR DREAMS. YOU CAN LIVE THE LIFE YOU WANT; BLINDNESS IS NOT WHAT HOLDS YOU BACK. THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES.
ISSN 0006-8829
The 2020 convention of the National Federation of the Blind will take place in Houston, Texas, July 14 to July 19, at the Hilton Americas—Houston hotel, 1600 Lamar Street, Houston, TX 77010. Make your room reservation as soon as possible with the Hilton Americas—Houston staff only. Call 1-800-236-2905 to reserve your room in the main hotel. If you wish to stay in our overflow hotel, the Marriott Marquis Houston, the number to call is 1-877-688-4323.
The 2020 room rate at our main hotel is $105.00 per night and applies to singles and doubles as well as triples and quads. Hotel and sales taxes are 13.38 percent and 8.25 percent, respectively. The rate for the overflow Marriott Marquis is slightly higher at $119 and includes Hotel and sales taxes of 13.38 percent and 8.25 percent, respectively. As with our main hotel, this rate is good for up to four in a room. Both hotels will take a deposit of the first night’s room rate for each room and will require a credit card or a personal check. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged against your card immediately. If a reservation is cancelled before Friday, June 1, 2020, half of the deposit will be returned. Otherwise refunds will not be made.
Rooms will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations may be made before June 1, 2020, assuming that rooms are still available. After that time the hotels will not hold our room block for the convention. In other words, you should get your reservation in soon.
The schedule for the 2020 convention is:
Tuesday, July 14 Seminar Day
Wednesday, July 15 Registration and Resolutions Day
Thursday, July 16 Board Meeting and Division Day
Friday, July 17 Opening Session
Saturday, July 18 Business Session
Sunday, July 19 Banquet Day and Adjournment
Each issue is recorded on a thumb drive (also called a memory stick or USB flash drive). You can read this audio edition using a computer or a National Library Service digital player. The NLS machine has two slots--the familiar book-cartridge slot just above the retractable carrying handle and a second slot located on the right side near the headphone jack. This smaller slot is used to play thumb drives. Remove the protective rubber pad covering this slot and insert the thumb drive. It will insert only in one position. If you encounter resistance, flip the drive over and try again. (Note: If the cartridge slot is not empty when you insert the thumb drive, the digital player will ignore the thumb drive.) Once the thumb drive is inserted, the player buttons will function as usual for reading digital materials. If you remove the thumb drive to use the player for cartridges, when you insert it again, reading should resume at the point you stopped.
You can transfer the recording of each issue from the thumb drive to your computer or preserve it on the thumb drive. However, because thumb drives can be used hundreds of times, we would appreciate their return in order to stretch our funding. Please use the return envelope enclosed with the drive when you return the device.
Vol. 63, No. 4 April 2020
The 2020 Washington Seminar (HTML)
The 2020 Washington Seminar (MP3)
by Gary Wunder
Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans: Priorities for the 116th Congress, Second Session (HTML)
Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans: Priorities for the 116th Congress, Second Session (MP3)
Access Technology Affordability Act (HTML)
Access Technology Affordability Act (MP3)
Greater Access and Independence through Nonvisual Access Technology (GAIN) Act (HTML)
Greater Access and Independence through Nonvisual Access Technology (GAIN) Act (MP3)
Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education (AIM HIGH) Act (HTML)
Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education (AIM HIGH) Act(MP3)
Remarks of Congressman Bobby Scott (HTML)
Remarks of Congressman Bobby Scott (MP3)
by Gary Wunder
Hearing on Autonomous Vehicles: Promises and Challenges of Evolving Automotive Technologies (HTML)
Hearing on Autonomous Vehicles: Promises and Challenges of Evolving Automotive Technologies (MP3)
by Mark Riccobono
Being Honest with Oneself Should Require No Debate (HTML)
Being Honest with Oneself Should Require No Debate (MP3)
by Ryan Strunk
On Privilege (HTML)
On Privilege (MP3)
by Geerat J. Vermeij
The Tours in Texas (HTML)
The Tours in Texas (MP3)
by Norma Crosby
I am a Federationist (HTML)
I am a Federationist (MP3)
by Jessica Reed
The Unknown (HTML)
The Unknown (MP3)
by Marc Maurer
Why Attend the 2020 NFB Career Fair? (HTML)
Why Attend the 2020 NFB Career Fair? (MP3)
by Dick Davis
The Blind Doctor of Rocanville (HTML)
The Blind Doctor of Rocanville (MP3)
by Eva-Lis Wuorio
Leave a Legacy (HTML)
Leave a Legacy (MP3)
Blindness: Is the Public Against Us? (HTML)
Blindness: Is the Public Against Us? (MP3)
by Kenneth Jernigan
Continuing the Recipe Column (HTML)
Continuing the Recipe Column (MP3)
by Gary Wunder
Monitor Miniatures (HTML)
Monitor Miniatures (MP3)
Complete Braille Monitor (Zipped Word Version)
Complete Braille Monitor (Braille Version, Volume 1 and Braille Version, Volume 2)
Complete Braille Monitor Audio File (Zipped MP3 Version)
Complete DAISY Audio File (Zipped MP3 Version)
Copyright 2020 by the National Federation of the Blind
The Braille Monitor is a magazine that the Federation has published since 1957. We call it our flagship publication. In terms not so tied to the Navy, this means that it should be the lead publication of our organization, the one which all of us follow and contribute to in order to share what is going on in our Federation family, the latest news about blindness-related activities, and the place we record the major milestones of the National Federation of the Blind’s progress.
For some time now we have been seeing Federationists—new Federationists in particular, we believe—who don’t seem to know about the Braille Monitor and who have not subscribed because of it. We have assembled a survey that will ask participants a number of things about the Monitor, including whether someone has offered to sign them up for it; whether they read it and why not if the answer is no; and what should change to make the Monitor more the kind of magazine they want to see as the flagship publication of our organization.
The Braille Monitor reflects many of our traditions, but it also must evolve enough to clearly be relevant in this decade and those to come. Please help us by telling us what you want, what you need, and what you will read. Together we will keep making history, and the Braille Monitor will continue to tell our story about defining a problem, talking it through, and doing what it takes to see that it gets solved. Thank you for helping the publication that states boldly “We are the Blind Speaking for Ourselves.”
How to Complete the Survey
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