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Vol. 58, No. 2 February 2015
Gary Wunder, Editor
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The 2015 room rates are singles, doubles, and twins, $82; and triples and quads, $89. In addition to the room rates there will be a tax, which at present is 13.5 percent. No charge will be made for children under seventeen in the room with parents as long as no extra bed is requested. The hotel is accepting reservations now. A $95-per-room deposit is required to make a reservation. Fifty percent of the deposit will be refunded if notice is given to the hotel of a reservation cancellation before June 1, 2015. The other 50 percent is not refundable.
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The schedule for the 2015 convention is: Sunday, July 5 Seminar Day Monday, July 6 Registration Day Tuesday, July 7 Board Meeting and Division Day Wednesday, July 8 Opening Session Thursday, July 9 Business Session Friday, July 10 Banquet Day and Adjournment
Vol. 58, No. 2 February 2015
Illustration: Training the Trainers Who Bring Braille to the Blind
Calibrate
by Jennifer Dunnam
Responses to “What Is the Cost of a Free Product?”
by Gary Wunder
A Fine State President Steps Back: Michael Barber, the End of an Era
by Jim Omvig
Digital Braille Versus Paper Braille
by Christian Coudert
Mentioning Ol’ Reliable
by Grace Warn
Blind Voters in New Mexico Forced to Take a Step Backward
by Curtis Chong
Seeing Is Believing, or Is It?
By David Cohen
Ebook Legal Restrictions Are Screwing Over Blind People
by Kyle Wiens
The Battle for ATM Accessibility Continues
The San Fernando Valley Chapter Reviews a Year of Progress
by Racquel Decipeda
The Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund
by Allen Harris
Recipes
Monitor Miniatures
Copyright 2015 by the National Federation of the Blind
On December 11 fifty members of the National Federation of the Blind traveled to Baltimore to plan, brainstorm, and dream about the NFB BELL program in the summer of 2015, which will be held in twenty-four states around the country. Six states—Connecticut, Rhode Island, Nebraska, Minnesota, Hawaii, and Kentucky—will host the NFB BELL program for the first time in the summer of 2015. At the seminar participants shared their knowledge about how to manage the various logistics of the program so that it runs smoothly for the students. Participants also spent time familiarizing themselves with the robust curriculum and trading ideas about how to implement different aspects of the lessons for students of varying abilities. Brainstorming sessions focused on how to incorporate the transition to UEB into the program as well as how to bolster the content related to nonvisual graphic literacy. And, of course, participants had to try out some of the new games and activities incorporated into the newest version of the curriculum; our NFB BELL coordinators are all kids at heart! Everyone had a great time and left energized and ready to plan another summer of Braille fun.
by Jennifer Dunnam
From the Editor: Jennifer Dunnam is the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota, and this article is taken from the Minnesota Bulletin, the newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota. I find many observations to be close to home, and I believe this article is likely to become one of our classic pieces of literature. Here’s what she says:
Many benefits flow from being a member of the National Federation of the Blind. Some of these are the mutual support and encouragement we give each other, the ability to make things happen together that we could not do alone, the sense of community we possess, and the useful information and resources we are able to share. The collective experience we can call upon is deeper with more of us in the mix, and the more of us there are, ready and willing to participate, the more we can do. There is one aspect, however, that is a bit more complicated to describe, but it can apply to all of us individually—whether we grew up as a blind person or lost sight later in life. Participating in the National Federation of the Blind can help us “calibrate.”
The word “calibrate” has numerous definitions, but here is the one that I (nerd though I may be) find relevant: “To check, adjust, or determine the graduations of a quantitative measuring instrument by comparison with a standard.” Certainly this is not a precisely relevant definition, since we’re talking about humans, but perhaps I can illustrate with a bit of personal history, which is no doubt similar in some ways to the experiences of many others.
My parents are the best anyone could ask for. They worked hard to ensure that I, their daughter who has always been blind, would live a normal life, able to take care of myself and to get along and do my fair share in the world. They knew that sometimes toughness was necessary from them in order to achieve these goals. However, they were not with me everywhere I went, could not always influence the way others treated me, and, with a few rarely-encountered exceptions, did not have exposure to other blind people who could show by example how to live a successful life as a blind person.
There were many other people in my early life, also with the best of intentions, who had little exposure to the truth about blindness and also did not have the same incentive to consider my future as my parents did. Many felt sorry for me or constantly told me what an inspiration I was. Most wanted to do all they could to make life easier for me. Therefore, although I was fortunate to receive a good education at public school, I also received many strong messages that I was not like other people and that the rules were not the same for me as for others.
For most of my school years I always sat in the very front of the class (or sometimes at the very back), in a different type of desk from everyone else. I was often allowed to leave class just a little before the end so that the fellow student who helped me get to my next class would have time to get me there and then to get herself to her own class (no independent cane travel training for me until I was twelve, and even then it was very limited).
It isn’t that no one ever insisted that I come up to the mark and meet standards like everyone else. I remember how grouchy I was when suddenly I was expected to start doing more chores. I was offended when a teacher said, “You’re responsible for cleaning out that desk just like everyone else.” These were important lessons, but they were harder to take because the messages were not consistent, and I was so often treated differently from others.
One time there was an article in the town’s newspaper about me—all about my good grades in school, my climbing on the playground equipment, my school friends, and on and on. Certainly it can be argued that there is merit in such an article showing a positive image of blindness, but none of this would have been newsworthy at all if I were not blind. However, as a young child I was not mature enough to keep it in the correct perspective, so I fear I took it all to heart a bit overmuch, thinking that maybe it meant I really was as amazing as everyone said I was.
The other side of the coin of being “different” started to rear its ugly head more as I became a teenager. People my age often did not want to hang around with me much. My younger sisters got driver’s licenses and could drive off wherever they wanted, but I could not have even told you the name of the next street over from where we lived, much less navigated around the city. My sisters and friends spent as much time as they could walking around the mall, but it was a struggle for me just to walk around my own school building independently. And, if I did go to the mall with them, I spent a lot of time waiting because, unless I could talk them into going somewhere, they set the course. The feeling of powerlessness is hard to convey to one who may not have experienced it, but I imagine many readers here know what I am talking about. I and everyone else assumed this was how it had to be and would likely be so for my whole life. To survive, I simply began to adjust to this way of being—the waiting, the loneliness—and began to stop hoping for better. Because of the mixed messages and relative powerlessness, I did not have a good grasp of how to view myself as just a regular person, not more and not less—even though at the time I might even have been able to say the right words about it. It was all very confusing—to be “special” but also somehow inferior—amazing but also to be pitied and shunned.
During high school one summer I attended the school for the blind. In some ways the experience was helpful in that in this setting I was not so special, weird, or different from the rest of the crowd. However, most of the crowd was made up of kids with similar struggles—not being judged by normal expectations and not knowing how to deal with it, or even quite realizing it. Besides which, there was a strong sense that how much sight one had was a primary predictor of how much responsibility one could be expected to take. The experience, although it was not all bad, did not generally present much hope to me.
Fortunately I soon met the National Federation of the Blind and was astonished to discover that my own expectations were actually far too low. For example, I got to know people who not only walked independently around their cities, but took control of things by hiring drivers rather than waiting and hoping people would be willing to drive them somewhere. Not only that, I witnessed blind people taking charge of navigation when riding with a directionally-challenged sighted driver and knowing precisely where specific locations were, even in a mall. After recovering from the shock, I got to work on improving my skills and learning all I could from my new role models.
No less important than the skills, and probably more so in the scheme of things, were the adjustments I was able to make to my approach and attitude. Learning new skills went a long way to helping me understand that I was not somehow a lesser person than others. However, it was in some ways a rude awakening to figure out for sure that I was not actually the least bit amazing either. There were many blind people smarter than I was, more talented than I was, and with better social skills. In this group one helped with the cleanup regardless of one’s level of sight—no excuses or special treatment for me. People assumed, respectfully, that I was capable of doing a given thing and would ask if I needed help, rather than immediately scurrying to the rescue at the first sign of questions. If I didn’t know how to do something, people would teach me rather than just doing it for me, and they kindly but frankly let me know if I did or did not do things that would be detrimental to general life success. I learned, directly and by example, how to fit in in the larger community and to do my share. The messages were consistent in this environment, so it was possible to learn how to put the views of the larger society into perspective. I have now been a Federationist for many years, and the help of this organization in this respect remains invaluable.
This experience is not unique to people who grow up blind. Many who lose their vision later in life may start out maintaining the independent spirit that they had when they were sighted, but, as time goes on without a supportive community and without strategies to deal with the constant barrage of well-intentioned low expectations from others, it becomes just easier to give in—to stop trying to live the life we want, which can make us dependent and disabled in ways that are not really necessary. The Federation can help us get that spirit back and to get the five ingredients of freedom that Jim Omvig so aptly enumerates in his book Freedom for the Blind: The Secret Is Empowerment:
by Gary Wunder
In the November 2014 issue of the Braille Monitor, we ran an article entitled “What Is the Cost of a Free Product?” It was written by Tim Connell, and I dare say that it was sent to me because I had been trying to get major screen reader developers to tell their side of the story by explaining the struggles faced by for-profit companies in an ever-changing market, one which offers far fewer consumers than most businesses hope to find for their products. I thought it important to discuss the case that can be made for the for-profit screen reader development that has long been the way those of us who are blind have gotten screen access and many other blindness-related technologies, especially since we have devoted considerable space to low-cost or free screen reading solutions. My hope was that the article we ran would stimulate discussion, and, after some gentle prodding from me, this it did. That gentle prodding took the form of a question: If access to technology is so important to us, why hasn’t there been more discussion about the models of screen reader development reviewed in Tim Connell’s article?
Most who commented did not attempt to address the three major funding models currently used for screen reader development and reviewed by Connell. Instead, they responded to what they saw as an attack on NVDA, the Nonvisual Desktop Access program developed and maintained by NV Access. While the Braille Monitor cannot hope to print each of the responses generated, there are two that are particularly thought-provoking and add significantly to the discussion of how we will continue to have access to information that appears on the screens of computers, tablets, and telephones. Here, with slight editing, our responses are taken from the National Federation of the Blind in Computer Science mailing list. The first is from Aaron Cannon, who apologizes for not being articulate and then proceeds to acquit himself very well in putting forward his point of view. Here is what he says:
I think the reason we haven’t seen more arguments with Tim’s article is that, frankly, his main points are hard to track. I can’t complain too much, though, since I suspect that he writes much more clearly than I do. But let me let Tim speak for himself:
The work that the developers of NVDA have done is exceptional. On a small budget they have developed a really good product and have provided a free screen reader to many thousands of people around the world who couldn’t previously afford one, especially in developing countries. Their technical skills and dedication are to be applauded; however, I have a problem with the funding model they have chosen. Philanthropic funding is at best a fragile beast, and it often doesn’t extend to covering services like training and support, which can be the most important components of accessibility (especially in education). The bigger issue of equity and why we accept such a fundamental right as access to a computer to be at the whim of philanthropic generosity should be of tremendous concern. Do we welcome it simply because the recipients are people with a disability? Why is this particular group of people not worthy of a business model that guarantees standards of support, service, and viability? The developers of NVDA need investors, not handouts.
Perhaps my brain just isn’t working right this morning, but I am having a hard time following his objections to NVDA. If I understand it right, he is saying that the funding model for NVDA is fragile, so we shouldn’t trust it. He also seems to be arguing that it’s based on charity, and so beneath us, and besides, it doesn’t allow for user support and training. If my reading is correct, I remain unconvinced. NVDA support is available from various organizations for a fee. JAWS users, on the other hand, end up also paying for support, but they do so up-front, whether they need it or not. Training is also available for a fee, but that’s certainly not unique to NVDA. JAWS does come with some training materials, but similar materials are also available for free for NVDA.
I agree that NVDA funding is more fragile than we should like, but much of what we who are blind rely on is philanthropic in nature. And, if one source of funding dries up, another one is found. Anyway, I don’t see traditional sources of investment funding being substantially more reliable than philanthropic ones. Investors/donors come, investors/donors go, and organizations either find new ones, figure out a way to do without, or fail. So far NV Access seems to have been able to find new donors when needed.
Consider what would happen if FS [Freedom Scientific, the developer of JAWS] and NV Access both went under, and all the developers moved on to bigger and better things (or at least things that would provide them with a paycheck). JAWS would be gone. Your already-installed copies would probably work, but there would be no way to install the full version on new machines. NVDA, on the other hand, would still be available. Not only would it still be available to install, but it would be available to improve, fix, and whatever else someone wanted to do with it, within the bounds of the GPL [general public license]. It’s even possible that a new group of developers would come along and keep the project going.
In short, JAWS belongs to FS. NVDA belongs, in a very literal sense, to everyone. I’d much rather see money invested into something I own than into something I don’t. That’s all for now.
Aaron Cannon
So there you have a thoughtful and articulate response to one of the concerns in Connell’s article. This was followed by several posts, the one which follows being by Steve Jacobson. He currently serves as the vice president of the NFB in Computer Science and holds the same office in the affiliate of the NFB of Minnesota. He has been employed by the 3M company as a programmer for many years and is currently a Lead Data Quality Analyst. Here is what he says:
This article and the issues it raises are very important in my opinion. I think we have a somewhat false sense of security regarding our ability to use computers and access software in many ways.
First, I did not interpret anything Tim said in his article as minimizing the efforts of those working on NVDA. I certainly keep a copy on my computer as a means to help me out when my main screen reader hangs up, and NVDA has a lot of power. My interpretation of his point was more like this: How would it go over if sighted people on the job had to depend upon volunteers to build and support their computer monitors? That just wouldn’t be accepted. Our screen readers are our computer monitors, and I think he was asking why we should expect anything less for something that is so important.
Those of you who are working for someone else are likely very aware of how terribly fragile our accessibility is. If you are in full control over the software you use, the picture is a good bit better because you can control what you use and could, for example, pick software that works with NVDA. Where I work, I regularly use two programs that work fairly well with JFW [JAWS for Windows] and Window-Eyes and do not work with NVDA. I am not blaming NVDA since these are both older pieces of software, but both JAWS and Window-Eyes are a little more robust and offer some ability for a user to stretch their functionality more easily than is the case with NVDA. Since efficient access means money in my pocket, paying the price for a commercial screen reader is worth it to me. However, that doesn’t mean I would not donate to NVDA, and NVDA has often been better at implementing modern approaches to accessibility. That is a valuable contribution that cannot be overstated.
The Wikipedia model for funding was mentioned in another note, and while I use that resource some, I don’t see that as an effective approach to screen reader development that needs to exist in employment settings where there is security involved. A screen reader is not a collection of information that you can crosscheck for accuracy; it is closer to a computer monitor that bridges software to hardware. I am not arguing that there are not other funding models to support NVDA that we could consider. Discussing alternatives is the point to all of this after all.
The commercial screen reader model isn’t perfect either. As I see it, screen readers, including NVDA, are so busy trying to keep up with new versions of Windows and Microsoft Office that they don’t have a lot of resources to try to innovate. Software and webpages have changed dramatically over the past ten years, but how information is presented to the blind has not changed all that much. Even the efforts of screen readers to take advantage of ARIA [Accessible Rich Internet Applications, a tool used to tell screen readers how information should be presented when its presentation is visually obvious but is ambiguous to screen-reading software] seems to be painful. Large companies like Google and Microsoft make sweeping changes to their software, provide very basic accessibility by exposing the information in their changes, and then leave it to the screen reader developers to make it all work for you and me. The time and money that they have to spend just to keep up is not insignificant, and a lot of the money that we pay for upgrades goes to just staying even with what particularly the large companies change. I have personally witnessed the time it can take to figure out why something doesn’t work right, and it can be extreme. We expect our screen readers to know when a menu pops up and to track menu selections as they have been doing for twenty years. If finances were unlimited—a dream, I know—shouldn’t there be a way to automatically tell us what is important on a webpage in a similar manner? There are tools we can use, but thinking about what is really important on a webpage isn’t something screen readers really have time to research, and they have concentrated on what they can get from HTML. But, one has to wonder, could useful analysis of appearance help us? How about a command to jump to the text with the largest fonts or analyze text color for example?
What about the third model discussed in Connell’s article: building a screen reader into the operating system? From a technical point of view this is probably the most sound approach. However, I have the same reservations that were expressed in the article. I know that there have been bugs with accessibility both in Microsoft Office and Windows for a few years that are known to Microsoft. Microsoft sends us updates all the time to their software and operating system. How often do you run Windows or Office Update? But some accessibility bugs have to wait for the “next major release” whatever that means. We have also seen Microsoft leave out or complicate keystroke access to Office 2013 that can only have happened because making keystrokes work well isn’t a real priority. This is within their own software, so they have control. While keyboard access is something some sighted people still use, it still gets what appears to be casual consideration at best. How can I feel confident that they would maintain a screen reader over time, and what priority would they give bugs that might be present in handling competing products? What priority would a Microsoft screen reader give to Open Office support, for example? Similar concerns could be asked about Apple, although the environment is somewhat different. The point is that there are some real drawbacks to all of the current models. Add to that the fact that software and web development are extremely dynamic right now and probably will be for some time to come. Now look at our market size, which is relatively small. Also look at the laws that require accessibility, which apply mostly to state governments and to the federal government. These laws have limited applicability in the private sector, and even in those areas they clearly cover, access is too often substandard or not available at all. It isn’t that efforts are not being made, but the number of webpages is huge, and the pressure to continually evolve is great.
As consumers we really need to think about all of this as we move forward. It is one thing to evaluate all of this in terms of our leisure activities. Inefficient access can be frustrating, but it is mostly manageable because we have some control over our environment. But in particular, how do we deal with websites and software used within parts of the private sector, where even ADA may not apply completely, and where “undue burden” may accurately describe the changes that would need to be made in some cases? These are real challenges that go beyond insulting one’s favorite screen reader or web browser, and this is what we really need to try to address.
When I attended the first Microsoft Accessibility Summit in 1995 and when I participated in discussions of the accessibility of JAVA in 1998, I never dreamed we would still be fighting for accessibility as we must in 2014. There needs to be serious thought as to how we can do better in the future, and we need to discuss it thoroughly and reasonably.
Best regards,
Steve Jacobson
by Jim Omvig
From the Editor: Jim Omvig is a distinguished member who has been an active member of the National Federation of the Blind for almost fifty years. He has moved around the country to fulfill a number of Federation assignments, and he and his wife Sharon have returned to Iowa, where he continues to be active in the affiliate.
Jim is the author of several published works and a frequent contributor in these pages. In this article he offers a much-deserved thank you to Michael Barber, our immediate past president in Iowa. What Jim does not mention was the concern expressed by some about Michael serving as the president of our NFB affiliate, while simultaneously working as a staff member at the Iowa Department for the Blind. While it is essential that organizations of the blind maintain their independence from the agencies that exercise extraordinary power over our lives, this should not preclude Federationists from taking leadership roles in our chapters, affiliates, or in the private and state agencies created to serve the blind. Michael Barber proved once again that a person of character and strength can serve in both roles. Here is what Jim writes as his tribute to a fine man who has worked tirelessly for blind Iowans and blind people throughout the country:
In our younger days we humans frequently speak glowingly of the “Golden Years,” and we anticipate wonderful things as our time on this earth passes. For many of us, of course, these marvelous dreams come true, but for others, the gold can become more or less tarnished by the health issues which often accompany the aging process.
Such has been the case for retiring NFB of Iowa state president, Michael Barber of Des Moines. Mike is only sixty-five years old, but this past year has been extremely difficult for him. The gold truly has become tarnished.
His major health troubles began right after the 2013 National Convention in Orlando, when he passed out in a Gainesville, Florida, restaurant and had to be given CPR to survive. Testing and treatments over the next several months revealed that he suffers from a lung problem called Pulmonary Fibrosis, along with some heart issues.
Despite his illness, Mike has put his heart and soul into his presidential duties during this past year. But, as the October 2014 NFB of Iowa state convention approached, he and his wife Kim reasoned that, for his own well-being, as well as for the good of our Iowa affiliate, he should step down as state president, and we should find another high-quality Iowan to assume those rigorous presidential duties. He did so, and Donna Prime of Iowa City, Iowa, is our new state president. She assumed her duties on Sunday, October 19, 2014. Donna works for the Veterans Administration in Iowa City. She has been a medical secretary in the Iowa Regional Histocompatibility & Immunogenetics Laboratory for twenty-three years and has also been president of our Iowa City chapter for several years.
Like so many other Jernigan-trained blind Iowans, Michael Barber has a fascinating background. He was a student at the Iowa Commission for the Blind in 1967 and 1968. And if my speculation holds, he will be the very last Federation state president to have been personally trained and empowered by Dr. Kenneth Jernigan. It may well be that this is “the end of an era.”
Mike, along with many other very proud Iowans, had the distinct pleasure of being present in the spring of 1968 when, as Kenneth Jernigan was being presented with a presidential citation from Lyndon Johnson, the president’s representative proclaimed wisely, “If a person must be blind, it is better to be blind in Iowa than in any other place in the nation or the world!”
Like so many other blind Iowans from the sixties and seventies, Mike truly became empowered at that Jernigan “attitude factory” in Des Moines! He has had an interesting and varied career. He first worked for four-and-a-half years at the Iowa Department of Transportation as a transcriptionist. He then changed careers and worked as a manager in the Iowa vending program for fifteen years. He changed directions again and worked as the first totally blind banking service representative for the Norwest Company for about five-and-a-half years.
Finally, like so many of Kenneth Jernigan’s students, he began to feel the need to give back. He joined the staff of the Iowa Department for the Blind in 1996, and he worked there helping other blind people with sophisticated blindness technology for the next eighteen years. One of his proudest accomplishments while there is that he worked with Project Assist to produce tutorials for blind people.
During the twenty years Dr. Jernigan was in Iowa, the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa (NFBI) flourished. But, after he left in 1978, troubles arose, and those problems continued in one way or another for many years. By 2006 Mike Barber decided to run for the presidency in the earnest hope that he could restore order and bring the organization back to something like the proud heritage it had enjoyed since the glory days of the sixties.
As I said above, Mike has put his heart and soul into the task, and he has done a terrific job. The NFB of Iowa has truly flourished during the eight years of Mike’s presidency. He re-established good relations with the Iowa press, and he accomplished the same with the Iowa governor and legislature. In fact, in 2012, when the Iowa Department for the Blind could not get the state funding it needed from the legislature, Mike rallied NFBI members, along with members of the Iowa Council of the United Blind, to go to the legislature every day for weeks to work on funding. We were successful, and the department received even more state dollars than it had requested.
Mike also worked vigorously on activities inside the Federation. Through those eight years he got large numbers of blind Iowans to go to Baltimore to attend leadership seminars at the National Center. He also worked hard each year to encourage many Iowans to go to DC to participate in the Washington Seminar.
One of the fun things which happened during Mike’s presidency had to do with retiring Iowa US Senator Tom Harkin. Senator Harkin was one of those strongly opposed to the Federation’s effort in Congress to eliminate the payment of subminimum wages to people who are blind or otherwise disabled. In an effort to help change his thinking, Mike got twenty-six blind Iowans to picket one of Harkin’s Iowa offices. Harkin became so angry that he personally called then-president Marc Maurer to complain.
Then we dare not omit Mike’s efforts to guarantee the right of blind people to carry guns and to receive permits. Mike’s activities on this issue brought worldwide attention to the issue and to the Federation.
Finally, what a way to end a Federation presidency: Mike bought seriously into the Federation’s effort to establish seventy-five new chapters this year in recognition of our seventy-five years as a movement. His last official act, before giving up his office, was to finalize the establishment of a new chapter in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Mike, thank you for your many years of service to the blind of Iowa and America. We know you’ll continue to be around and involved to the extent which your health permits. In the meantime, thank you, God bless you, and be well! And to our new NFBI president, Donna Prime, welcome, and the best of luck to you, too. You have large shoes to fill, and, like those before you, we are confident you will.
by Christian Coudert
From the Editor: Christian Coudert is the editor in chief of the Louis Braille magazine (Paris, France). He has done some interesting research about the reading of Braille from paper and from refreshable Braille displays. Some of the findings from his study are surprising and may provide helpful guidance for those considering whether to purchase a refreshable display or a Braille notetaker and how many cells it should have. We have removed parts of the article that describe how to simulate the tests done in reaching these results and have tried to smooth a few rough edges that resulted from translation of this article from French to English. Here is what he says:
Let me recount how I came up with the idea of writing this article: since I have had a Braille notetaker, I have gradually given up reading on paper, preferring electronic Braille. However, without taking the trouble to check it, I have always been convinced that reading on paper must unquestionably be much more effective. Indeed, whereas both hands can be used for reading on paper (the left hand reading the next line while the right hand ends the current line), this method cannot be applied to paperless Braille because you have to press a navigation button on the device to display the text below once you have finished reading the content of the Braille display. Another preconception has always led me to think that the more Braille cells we have (up to a point), the faster our reading speed will be.
In order to check the validity of these assumptions, I decided to perform an experiment with a panel of volunteer readers. This study does not claim to be scientific. To have true scientific validity, it would have been necessary to select a group of readers and have each of them read the same texts during several timed sessions, assign everyone the same electronic equipment, and refine the results, taking into account each reader’s age and length of Braille experience. However, the number of readers involved and the number of reading sessions undertaken enable us to draw what we believe to be objective conclusions that would likely be confirmed by other studies.
Before getting into the details of the study, let me make it clear that I do not write with the purpose of promoting one reading mode over another. All reading systems are complementary; each person chooses the system that suits him or her, based on factors such as fixed location or travelling, the availability of various formats for a given title, budgetary constraints, and so on. It is also true that a large majority of sighted readers who use digital tablets do not use them exclusively, seeing no need to give up paper and generally seeing no need to decide which method is better—they let the content and other factors determine how they will read.
There is no doubt that a Braille reader must first master reading on paper to understand fully the concepts of pages and paragraphs and enjoy the benefits of the various layouts used in this medium (title centering, line breaks, paragraphs, lists, and poetry layout). On a Braille display, where text blocks of eighteen, twenty, or thirty-two cells follow each other, most of these markers disappear. Hence, learning Braille, like learning to write, is best done with a solid background in paper Braille.
For our tests we chose to use Braille notetakers rather than standalone Braille displays because the notetakers are designed for reading text, whereas standalone Braille displays are designed for displaying the contents of computer screens and contain more Braille cells. Readers used their own equipment, and, when they wished, equipment was lent to them.
When we crunched the numbers after each reader went through several sessions reading from paper, an eighteen-cell display, and a thirty-two-cell display, we were a little surprised by what the numbers revealed. Half of the readers had a slightly faster reading speed on paper than on a Braille display, but the difference was very small, almost to the point of insignificance. The difference in reading speed for each individual reader between his or her fastest and slowest speed was rather low, with the exception of one reader, who had a difference of thirty-four words per minute between his fastest and slowest speeds. This indicates that the reading pace is not fundamentally altered by using a device instead of paper Braille.
One achieves a high reading speed and comprehension when reading with both hands because of the ability to begin reading the next line. Blank lines can be easily skipped, and knowing the boundaries of a page is easy. The spatial representation of the page communicates the layout and the importance of empty lines, indented lists, and other formatting is easily understood.
With paper Braille, fragility (dots get deleted over time) can become a barrier to rapid reading. The bulkiness of paper requires significant space for storage. Size can also make finding a large enough reading space difficult, especially while traveling.
Braille in a digital format means the reader has a large number of works available, whether through books prepared for digital Braille or books with letter-for-letter presentation which are translated by the notetaker. The notetaker provides a text-search facility, which partially offsets the difficulty in skipping multiple pages or finding a page by its number. Of course one also has the advantage of being able to search for a wanted word or phrase. The compact size of the notetaker means it can be used where space is limited, and, since books are stored digitally, the unit can hold many titles. Our readers made the point that these devices allow one to read anywhere, including standing in the tube [the mass transit trains in France].
One can waste time reading if the text is not properly formatted for Braille or converted by the translation and formatting programs inside the display. Reading can be hampered when lines are formatted specifically for print, contain hyphens to indicate the end of print lines where no such hyphenation is required on the Braille display, and by the presence of print page numbers that serve little purpose. Some of the information conveyed in the printed or the paper Braille is lost when using a Braille display and can interfere with both reading speed and comprehension. The Braille display can eliminate information essential in the reading of tables and Braille music, but for literature these formatting considerations are less critical.
This study shows that the average reading speed on paper is equivalent to that obtained on eighteen-cell notetakers (120 words/minute). It is slightly higher than that on thirty-two-cell devices (4 percent). The perception we have of our reading speed is distorted by a set of factors we were not aware of but which were disclosed by this experiment: the dot quality on piezoelectric displays largely offsets the disadvantages of a reading process of real two-handed reading on paper. In addition, electronic Braille frees the reader from the need to turn paper pages, the problem that arises when Braille is close to the fold of a magazine or soft-bound book, and the problem that results when having so little reading space means one has no place for the opposing page.
In order for reading with a Braille display to be comfortable and efficient, it is important to be sitting comfortably and find the position that lessens or eliminates wrist, upper limb, and back fatigue. Placing the device flat on a table is not always the best solution. It is also important to set one's Braille notetaker to maximize its ability to display given types of information. If knowing about blank lines is not important, turn on the function which suppresses them. If multiple spaces between words are not required for understanding the document, turn on the feature to compress the information and make the most of the cells on the display. We observe that devices with front panel buttons provide the best ergonomic experience since scrolling the text with the thumbs is more natural than pressing a button at the end of a display.
Our study shows that using a display with a larger number of cells does not necessarily increase the reading speed: fatigue is usually greater on thirty-two-cell equipment than on those with eighteen or twenty cells because of the greater movement of the hands which is required.
We have not yet mentioned the observations made by those attempting to use automatic reading. This function, available on all notetakers, automatically scrolls the display at a speed determined by the user. We found that the use of this feature significantly decreases reading speed because scrolling of the display is based on time rather than on the number of characters displayed. In cases where the display contains a small amount of text, perhaps as little as one or two words, much time is wasted waiting for the next forward movement through the text. Manufacturers should consider improving this function by seeing that each line contains as much text as it can accommodate and by speeding up the pace of the forward movement when fewer characters are displayed.
I would like to thank all the readers who agreed to take part in this experiment. The results speak for themselves and should encourage Braille producers to offer more digital books in Braille. Braille readers who currently use paper should consider adopting refreshable Braille displays because they offer so much access to the written word, ease of transport, instant access (no delay waiting for parcels to be delivered), easy navigation when searching a digitized document, the ability to add markers for bookmarks on places where one needs to return, and archiving books and magazines without any deterioration over time and without the significant amount of space required by their bulk. We sincerely hope the price of equipment will fall significantly so that more readers around the world can benefit from them.
I extend my warm thanks to Alain and Brian, who made the translation from French.
by Grace Warn
From the Editor: At chapter meetings, state conventions, and at our national convention, we work hard to make the content of our meetings both interesting and informative. We must decide how much of our agenda will focus on history, how much on current events, and how much on future planning.
Grace Warn assists me in putting together each issue of the Braille Monitor. She has written a piece that encourages us to listen to those who know about our history, learn it, and be in a position to pass it on. Here is what she says:
Disney's Lady and the Tramp happens to be my mother's all-time favorite Disney movie, and it's in my top five, so we've watched it frequently over the years. When I was younger, I laughed at the way Trusty would several times say, "It's like my grandpappy Ol' Reliable used to say—don't recollect if I've ever mentioned Ol' Reliable before?" And Jock, with long-suffering patience, would reply, "Aye, you have—repeatedly," thereby stopping Trusty from telling this story (for what may have been the four millionth time). Then there is that final scene in which Trusty brings up Ol' Reliable, only this time Lady and Tramp's pups say, "No you haven't, Uncle Trusty." And Trusty is so thrilled—finally, someone who wants to hear his story. Except that, when Trusty starts to tell the pups this wonderful bit of wisdom that his grandpappy told him, he can't. It's been so long since he got to tell someone what Ol' Reliable used to say that Trusty has forgotten what it was. As a kid, I found it funny. As an adult, I find it sad.
Now I'm sure you're wondering what the heck a running gag in an old Disney movie has to do with the NFB, blindness, or anything else that would make this article belong in the Monitor. Simply put, it's because I want our people to let Trusty tell us what Ol' Reliable said once in a while. In every group there's a Trusty: be it a family, an NFB chapter, a church congregation, or what have you. There's that one person, usually older, (whether by age or by years as a member) who is ready and willing to tell the stories at the drop of a hat. And often that person has two or three or five favorite stories to tell about experiences in the group. Some of these stories they tell so frequently that, after a year or so, you and other members can repeat them word for word. Now you love this person, but you come to recognize when Trusty is about to start in on one of these stories, and you've heard it often enough that you'll do just about anything to keep from having to hear it again. Perfectly understandable: there's a limit to how many times you can hear the same thing over and over and keep your sanity. Ask any parent about that movie that somehow "got lost" or the cassette tape that "got stretched" so it wouldn't play anymore.
I've only been a member of the NFB for a few years. One of the best parts of working with Gary to put together the Monitor is how interesting it is. I've learned more about civil rights, legislation being considered in Congress, technology, and any number of topics than I ever did in high school, all because of articles I've helped edit. But several times I've had to ask Gary about an issue or an organization that was referenced in passing in an article because, while it's perfectly obvious to someone who was reading the Monitor in the 90s when the issue was huge in the work of the NFB, in 2015 I'm clueless. And I'm not the only one. My best friend has been a member of the NFB for over twenty years, but when I've asked her about a couple of these topics, she didn't know either. Because, after all, she's my age. At the time when whatever it was was a hot topic of discussion, she was ten, or twelve, or fifteen, and she wasn't interested in that. She was talking to me about whether NSync was better than the Backstreet Boys, or whether our Girl Scout troop would go roller skating or bowling next month.
My point is that the story that you're tired of hearing—perhaps we haven't heard it, but we'd like to. This year there's a lot of focus on history with this being the National Federation of the Blind's seventy-fifth anniversary. This is the time when the old stories about the amount of work Dr. tenBroek did in founding the NFB, or how Dr. Jernigan inspired one of the current leaders of the NFB, or how Dr. Maurer brought the Federation into the new millennium should be told again and again. Some of you were lucky enough to have met one of these men, gotten to know them, been encouraged or inspired by what they had to say to you. But, for me and countless other younger members of the Federation, these men are names on an award or a voice heard once a month at chapter meetings when the Presidential Release is played. It is hearing someone else talk about meeting Dr. Jernigan at a convention or that letter that Dr. Maurer wrote to them when they were sixteen—that's how we're going to connect to these leaders.
It's a balancing act that all organizations must negotiate. You have to have eyes on the future, have goals that will take you there, and ways of getting members interested in moving that direction. Otherwise the organization becomes stale, irrelevant, and ultimately, it falls apart. But at the same time, we have to maintain the organizational memory of who we are as a group, where we have come from, how far we have come, and how we made the journey, because that maintains the core of the organization's identity. Those old-timers who remember all those stories—they won't be around forever. They can choose to stop being a member for any number of reasons, or they can be taken from us by age or illness. And with them go memories that can't be replaced.
So next time you're at a chapter meeting or a state convention and your local Trusty starts winding up to that story you've heard twenty times too many, let them tell it just one more time. Do it for that person who joined last year who hasn't learned the story by heart or for the veteran Federationist who heard it as a kid but who didn't have the attention span to hear it the whole way through the last time Trusty told it. When one of our younger members is called upon to relate that story, maybe in a decade or two, you'll be very glad you did.
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by Curtis Chong
From the Editor: This article appeared in the fall issue of Que Pasa, the newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico. It is written by Curtis Chong, a man who began voting long before there were any kind of civil rights laws addressing the voting rights of blind people: before one was allowed to bring a person of his or her choice to the voting booth, before one could come to the polling place alone and be assisted by a judge from each party, and before the time when machines would allow for the casting of a truly secret ballot.
For all the progress we have made in assuring that blind people have the right to cast a secret ballot, this article shows that we still have some distance to go. In the March issue of this publication we will hear from Lou Ann Blake, the staff member and fellow Federationist who works so hard to see that provisions of the Help America Vote Act are enforced and the technology available to us is enhanced. Here is what Curtis has to say:
Members of the National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico will recall Resolution 2014-04, passed at our 2014 convention, which expressed "extreme disappointment with Secretary of State Dianna Duran for the failure of her office to involve and consult with the blind community during the evaluation and certification of the Dominion ImageCapture Evolution (ICE) voting machine" (This resolution was printed in the June 2014 issue of Que Pasa).
Some of our members had tried the new Dominion ICE voting machine during a "mock" election held in Albuquerque in late March, and others had taken advantage of the opportunity to examine the new machine when representatives from Bernalillo County brought it to our 2014 convention. For the most part, as reflected in the resolution, we were unimpressed with what was supposed to be the latest and greatest in nonvisual voting technology, and we were extremely displeased by the failure of the Secretary of State to involve the blind community during the early stages of the evaluation and selection process.
Since the time of our convention, blind voters in New Mexico have had the chance to use the Dominion ICE in both the primary and midterm elections. I regret to say that, with very few exceptions, our experience using the Dominion ICE in a real election was even worse than anything we might have imagined when we passed Resolution 2014-04.
I don't know what speech synthesis engine is being used in the Dominion ICE. What I do know is that the quality of the voice used on the Dominion ICE is significantly worse than the voices we hear when we run our computers with the latest screen reader or our iPhones with VoiceOver. Anyone who has used the AutoMARK to vote in a previous election will marvel at the consistency and quality of the speech on that system—especially as compared to the muffled speech and poorly pronounced words on the Dominion ICE.
Some voters have reported that the volume of the speech on the Dominion ICE tends to go up and down even while one happens to be reading a proposed amendment or bond measure. It has been reported that because of this, lengthy proposals are very difficult to understand.
Perhaps more significant is the deplorable fashion in which candidate names are pronounced. The Dominion ICE massacres Hispanic names; this problem was far less noticeable with the AutoMARK. In many cases, candidate names, as spoken by the Dominion ICE, sound much different from the way they are spoken on radio or television.
Since the Dominion ICE is supposed to be the latest and greatest in voting technology, you would think that it should out-perform older access technologies that have been used for years by the blind. Not so with the speaking rate controls.
When speech is first turned on in the Dominion ICE, the speaking rate is slower than a normal speaking rate. Some blind voters might be tempted to speed things up. Fortunately, the Dominion ICE does have a button which does this. Unfortunately, when the speech is made to talk faster, words are actually chopped off. For example, "party" becomes "part," and "voting" becomes "vote."
Slowing the speech down presents a different problem: an echo effect seems to be introduced, and syllables are long and drawn out, making some words impossible to understand.
The way in which a blind voter must operate the Dominion ICE does not demonstrate an understanding of how we use our computers and iPhones today. Nor does it reflect any appreciation or awareness of how the nonvisual user navigates through lists and lengthy passages of text.
The first problem is that when you are navigating through the list of candidates in a particular contest (often a list with only one entry), you are thrown out of the contest when you move past the last name in the list.
When this happens, you have to press a left arrow key to move back to the contest and a down arrow key to get back into the list of candidates for that contest. This is frustrating, especially if the list is short (i.e., contains only one or two names). The problem is even worse when you are trying to vote the last contest on the ballot. In this case, if you should move past the last name in the list, you cannot simply press the left arrow and the down arrow to return to this last contest. No. The software thinks that you are finished voting and takes you right to the summary function, which means that you then have to traverse the ballot, contest by contest (two key presses per contest), until you reach the last one. Good nonvisual interface design would avoid this problem by keeping you in the contest when the bottom of the list is reached and enabling you to move back up to the top of the list so that a selection could be made.
The second problem is that, after you have selected one or more candidates for a particular contest, the Dominion ICE insists on repeating your selection—not once but twice—before you are permitted to move to the next contest. Good nonvisual user interface design might repeat your selection once, but certainly never more than once.
The third problem relates to long passages of text such as the text contained in a proposed bond issue or constitutional amendment. The blind user is forced to listen to the entire text of the passage. There is no opportunity to back up one word, line, sentence, or paragraph. If you miss something, you have to listen to the entire passage again—all in all, an unnecessary waste of time.
As Resolution 2014-04 indicates, Secretary of State Dianna Duran never reached out to the blind community during the time that her office was evaluating and selecting a replacement for the AutoMARK. If we had been as involved in the evaluation of the Dominion ICE as we were in the selection of the AutoMARK, we would have told the Secretary of State in no uncertain terms that the Dominion ICE was not a good voting system for us.
I am sure that the secretary of state will maintain that the Dominion ICE is the best nonvisual voting system on the market and that there is no competing product which would better meet the needs of blind voters. However, I have had a chance to examine at least one competing voting system, and I can say with certainty that blind voters in New Mexico would have been a lot happier with this machine had it been selected.
Despite our tremendous unhappiness with the shabby treatment meted out to the blind community by Secretary of State Dianna Duran and her office, and regardless of how much we find fault with the Dominion ImageCapture Evolution (ICE), the bottom line is that New Mexico is not going to abandon the Dominion ICE voting system any time soon. On the plus side there is a very good chance that over time the Dominion ICE will get better. But the improvements will surely not happen unless we continue our efforts to identify the problems and offer detailed suggestions for improvement.
by David Cohen
From the Editor: How many times have we heard the expression that finds itself the title of this article? It is said so often that we come to believe it as true, but is seeing really believing?
I remember presiding at a state convention and being approached while on stage by someone who needed change for a twenty dollar bill. We handled the transaction quietly, and I was relieved to turn my attention once again to the presenter. About an hour later I was again approached, this time during a presentation by our rehabilitation agency's director. This time I was told that someone had left the restaurant without paying, and the hotel staff was angry. The person who had eaten and left was developmentally disabled and did not understand what she had done, so again I reached for my wallet.
Later in the day we had a contest in which our chapters compete to raise the most money for the affiliate. The chapter that won had about twenty dollars more than the second place winner, and the argument began to be made that some of us in a position to know the totals helped the first-place chapter beat out the second-place chapter. I was accused directly of giving money to change the results, and when I denied that I had made a contribution to either chapter, I was told, "Gary, you have to realize that not everyone in this room is blind. Some of our people can see, and we saw you—right there on the stage—exchanging money." Now it is one thing to expect fairness in a contest and to ask if the state president, who should presumably be impartial, had donated to one chapter in favor of another, but the thrust of the argument was that my denial that I was giving money in the contest was provably untrue because I was seen pulling money from my wallet. Seeing is believing; seeing is truth; seeing is knowing, but I hadn’t contributed a dime to either the first- or second-place contestants and certainly had not tried to change the outcome of the contest. Many of us have experiences in which those around us gently or not so gently remind us that seeing is believing. Here is David Cohen’s account of one such encounter in his life:
If ever there was a loaded statement, "seeing is believing" packs the equivalent of the funniest Looney Tunes gags. I'm thinking of Yosemite Sam in the episode about the singing sword, where he finds himself, along with the loveably innocent resident dragon, inside the castle turret, surrounded with explosives and the dragon's desperate need to sneeze fire. (To see this episode, go to <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUCUQJBmpdQ>.)
Seeing is believing—it is seemingly obvious, easy to say, easy to remember. But observing and allowing the facts to be revealed takes time and patience, and very often that which is revealed needs no words of explanation, for the truth of it is a feeling of knowing. If any words at all are spoken, the result is an "Oh my God" moment, or what is otherwise referred to as an epiphany.
Those of us who work hard at changing public attitudes about blindness are often left to wonder, "How many times have my attempts at public education about blindness resulted in an epiphany?" Probably we wish that experience was more common than it is, but we do our best to soldier on.
I have two black dogs which I walk routinely. The elder is Maggie, and she is 100 percent Labrador. The younger male is Snerdley, and he is at least half Labrador and possibly more—he is always mistaken for Labrador, but his crescent-curve tail, his pinched-short ears, and his twin elongated canine teeth, which bow inwards to his mouth, lead me to think he's got something else in his bloodline…possibly Burmese Python or perhaps the vampire Lestat. So, when I am asked about the dogs, I like to say that I have 1.5 servings of the recommended daily allowance of Labrador.
The three of us go walking at least twice each day. On the day of the incident I'm about to describe, it was late afternoon on Labor Day, and there had been a parade earlier in the day. Because today is a holiday, the traffic on State Route 48 passes at a reduced volume—like a Sunday evening as opposed to the normal weekday ever-present and rushing volume one can expect from the most heavily-traveled road in the state of Ohio's second largest suburb.
The sidewalk on which we are walking is blocked by twin aluminum bleachers positioned outside the board of education building two blocks north of my home, and additionally the city has stationed portable toilets intermittently a few yards from the corners of select blocks both north and south along the one-mile stretch of the parade's route. Years ago when I was passing one such port-o-john and struck the backside of the molded plastic enclosure with my cane a bit too forcefully, a surprised voice called out from within, "Just a minute. Occupied!" The smile that spread across my face had a life of its own as I recalled how many times I had accidentally knocked on the doors of hotel rooms, apartments, and cubicle walls at work before I thought to apply a softer touch in such situations.
On this day we circumnavigate the portable toilet stationed on the sidewalk near my driveway. I knock on and identify with my cane the wooden sawhorse barriers placed in the crosswalk of this street to block any through traffic from entering the parade procession. My cane tap echoes the location of the upcoming curb, and I sweep for the wheelchair ramp on the other side. We three step up onto the next block, and Maggie stops after a few yards to sniff at a familiar spot. Ahead of me I hear a voice and with it several sets of footsteps. As the voice draws closer I realize that it is the voice of a man, and walking along beside and behind him are young people.
"Stay to the side everybody. Those dogs are working," he says. As the group passes, I exchange neighborly greetings perfunctorily because it's important that my primary focus remain on Maggie, who on occasion relieves herself at this spot and forces me to attend to my civic duty and pick up.
"Hi. Hello. How are ya?” they call.
As the young people pass, I smile, but do not take my attention away from Maggie. She is rooting in the grass at the end of her leash, like an Iowa hog, and snorting just as loudly. This informs me that she is not thinking of relieving but searching for edibles left over from the parade. If you have a Labrador of your own or have ever lived with such a dog, you know that no other appetite on earth compares to that of the Lab—not even that of professional athletes injected with HGH and steroids. I do believe that, if I ever spilled mustard or ketchup on her, she'd consume herself into nothingness and find a way of communicating with me spiritually to beg for something else to eat.
I give Maggie a cursory leash tug, signaling her to come along, and the three of us are walking northwards again. I have the twin leashes in my left hand, my cane in my right. I always keep the dogs on my left, which has taken some patience and a lot of repetition to train into them. Obviously I cannot have one or both of them crossing in front of me to my right side to sniff, but sometimes they cannot resist. “Two legs or four, you cannot beat the arc of the cane,” I like to say, and many times I've tickled the pad of a dog foot. Dog feet are so cool, and especially Labrador duck-style feet.
The way I manage walking two dogs is to use common stainless steel choker chains so that I can heel them both quickly with a catch-and-release tug/signal, and shorten the length of leash or leashes as necessary. Most of the time the walk is smooth, but sometimes one dog or the other will try to stop or go too fast. Maggie is most often the culprit, but sometimes Snerdley sees a rabbit or cat, and he rockets ahead and will cross to my right side. But, when this happens, I simply stop, reattach my shoulder to its socket joint, and try to think of something other than the guilt I feel at restraining Snerdley from acting on his nature. I try to tell myself that I have equally disappointing experiences in my life, one being that Chipotle does not deliver to my house.
"I know, Snerdley. I know. You missed the rabbit. I love fast food too but can't always have it," I tell him, and he chuffs at me disgustedly. A twin portal blow through his dog nostrils is his way of dismissing me, I'm sure.
The three of us have been walking together for five years now. Prior to engaging in this twin walk, I would walk one dog and return home to walk the other, but after months of their competitive bickering and my hearing, "She always gets to go first," and "That's my leash! Why doesn't he get his own?" I'd had enough and made the change to walking them simultaneously.
At present both dogs are pulling ahead strongly, both competing to be the first to capture the freshest inhalation of oxygen, and I pick up my own pace. The sidewalk beneath my feet soon begins to slope downward and informs me that we're approaching the end of this block. I mentally throw my ears forward to the cross-street, the crosswalk, and I include the passing traffic on State Route 48 to my left as I shorten their leashes to bring them closer to me. Hearing nothing ahead of me, we cross this street without stopping and maintain our pace. It's a perfectly executed crossing; even the Olympic orientation and mobility Russian judges are pleased, and their scorecard displays a 9.7 rating for my performance. For me it is just one of those days when alignment is Zen-like, no other people approach with dogs, and no remnant of parade food has been discarded in the crosswalk to distract my pack.
In this next block are the aluminum bleachers. They block the entire sidewalk, which is at least twice the width of your average suburban sidewalk path because it accommodates a very nicely cobbled-brick area surrounding a city bus stop and shelter. I am quite familiar with the parade bleacher setup because at least twice in the early years of my residency here I took a five foot nine-inch bleacher seat to my forehead, with my cane sweeping beneath and my ears and mind elsewhere. I was either dreaming about Diane Sawyer's voice in my computer's next-generation synthesizer or perhaps thinking of eating a Frisbee-sized Wendy's double burger with everything.
But today, in contrast to previous years when I took those headshots, I have stepped off the sidewalk well before the bleachers, and, along with the dogs, I walk up the sloping grass of the board of education lawn to go around the blockade.
"Hello. I like your dogs," a woman's voice speaks. Maggie, Snerdley, and I are heading directly for her until Maggie stops short to root at what I can only imagine is food droppings from parade-attendees.
"Oh I'm sorry," the woman says, as I tug on Maggie's leash, giving Maggie a smart leash correction of the sort I learned how to administer when in guide dog school twenty years ago. The correction is not a harsh one—a mental check at best—and the equivalent of a tap on the shoulder.
“I'm sorry," the woman repeats. "I know they're working... I shouldn't have distracted them." She says this apologetically, but I can hear that she's smiling because—well—dogs have this effect on people.
"No problem," I say, loosening my hold on Maggie. She's now sweep-sniffing and no longer rooting, which tells me she's not eating or about to eat.
"I know you're not supposed to pet working dogs, but can I..." the woman asks me.
I worked with a black Labrador guide dog for many years and never did get used to this request. In it is both the acknowledgement that the dog must not be distracted and the dismissal of the admonition. I sometimes wonder if these people might just as easily say, "I know you're not supposed to smoke in the maternity ward, but can I?"
"I know the sign reads twelve items or less, but I have three boxes of cereal—isn't that one cereal?"
"I know it's a school zone and the cautionary light is flashing, but, come on man, this is a Porsche."
Alas, I give in. "Sure," I say, and ask if she attended the parade. I am attempting to avoid another guide dog conversation which, as dog guide users can tell you, is not an easy thing to do. Guide dogs attract interest and questions. Never mind that these are not guide dogs. Seeing is believing, and to this woman I have two canine assistants. I cannot imagine how, with me clearly using my cane, the assumption is so often that these dogs are guides. Isn't it just as likely that I am out collecting dogs, just four short of a sled-dog team? But my experience as a blind man has taught me that we see what we know, and that knowing is not the same as understanding. Knowing is good for multiple-choice tests and Jeopardy, but understanding has very little to do with memorization.
In response to my question about whether she has been here for the parade, she says, "Yes. We're cleaning up and are waiting for the trucks to remove the bleachers. Were you here for the parade?" she asks.
"Yes and no," I tell her. "I live just two blocks south of here and the parade…well, it passes in front of my house. It's like having a marching band playing in your living room," I say to her and feel chills on the nape of my neck as I recall the scene I've just inadvertently described from The Amityville Horror movie.
"Oh I know you," she says. "You're the guy with the dogs," and I desperately hope she's saying that I am the white cane guy with the dogs. But to her I am not the white cane user but the blind guy with two guide dogs, working dogs or service dogs…whatever.
"Yes, that is me," I reply.
"I think these dogs are so amazing…I mean what they do for you," she says, bending over to pet one and then the other.
What do I say? Do I tell her the truth: that my dogs are regular walking, trashcan-sniffing, rabbit-chasing, and obviously harnessless dogs, with no formal training? This is a uniquely dissonant situation, for everything in plain view contradicts the woman's belief. "God, why are you doing this to me?” I ask internally. "Why am I doing this to myself? Please turn my head into a plasma flat screen so I might be seen for who I am and what I am doing," I muse patiently. "Give me the radio voice of Art Schreiber, Rush Limbaugh, or Terry Gross so I might be heard."
"Now where did you get them?" she asks, still petting and cooing to them.
"Maggie is from a breeder in Tampa, and Snerdley comes from the Tampa Humane Society, where he was doing three to six for civil disobedience," I reply.
"Whaaat," she said, laughing at me, but I know she's sincere and believes the twain are working.
"The truth is that neither dog is a working dog," and this I relate seriously. "I sort of rescued them, and they are from Tampa, Florida."
"But they work for you, right?" she states more than asks.
"Nope. This works with me," I say, offering her a soft but sincere smile and holding my cane upright above the recently shorn front lawn I feel beneath my feet. I know my cane's simple utilitarian power, but most folk know it only as an accessory to the DMV driver exam picture and functionally like a candy-striped barber pole mounted on the wall outside the shop.
"They're not working for you... They're not service animals?" she replies, and I can hear the disbelief in her voice.
"No, they're served animals," I reply. "They get served meals in the morning and in the afternoon, dog snacks from Who Laid the Rail, and routine walks with me to the pet store, where they are served treats and God only knows how many discounts that I am unaware of which they steal from the store's lower shelves."
The woman is laughing. I am laughing. I think she's definitely a dog-person. This mistake has occurred so many times since I began walking the dogs I've cared for in the past ten years since my former guide died. Who knows—maybe I've educated someone. Even better, maybe she'll want two dogs of her own.
But the thought that she may have been listening and now understands is soon dislodged. "I don't understand. I always thought they guided you. I've seen them take you across the street," she says.
Take me across the street—I incredulously consider this. Chinese emperors are taken places by rickshaw inside the Imperial City. The New York Yankees are taken by floats or convertibles through the streets of Brooklyn in parades celebrating victory, but the last time I was taken across a street was by my mother in the early seventies.
"Do you have a dog?" I asked in a mild tone. I don't want to communicate my frustration at her not getting that I am just a man out walking his dogs.
“Yes, a Beagle mix," she says and, hearing Beagle, I so want to reply "BeagleJuice, BeagleJuice, BeagleJuice," but even I know now is the time for seriousness.
"When you walk the Beagle, the Beagle sometimes walks ahead of you and sometimes at your side. Beagle turns at all the routine corners and after certain street crossings. Beagle marks territory at the usual places and walks down curbs and up wheelchair ramps along with you." I am explaining, and she is understanding. This I know because she is now speaking to me engagingly, and, truth be told, she is laughing at herself, which I can appreciate because I've walked into bleachers in broad daylight.
"Oh my God. You're just walking these dogs. You're blind, though, right?" she asks, and she is most definitely in need of confirmation. If ever there was an opportune time for me to walk into a tree or bleachers, it is now. This would be called taking one for the team.
"This is true,” I say. You who work to change public attitudes know how it is, that moment when you are engaged by a person unfamiliar with blindness but who gets it because of something you’ve said. Elation! Now the person who was once ignorant simply wants you to confirm the obvious—hurray. It’s the experience one has when trying to convince someone about the usefulness of Braille and then having the light come on for them when you press the right button on the elevator and begin heading for your floor.
"Yes," I reply, now uncomfortably looking directly at her for only a second or two.
"Ohhhh," she exclaims, and she's cool in her understanding and not at all uncomfortable with the word "blind," which I really appreciate.
"Sweet!" I'm elated. She's comfortable with her new understanding—I can get on with my walk.
But, not so fast. I'm hearing the dismantling of square one of this understanding I have helped to build—the foundation is not as strong as I had hoped.
"But how...You just walk…alone…with that," she states a bit incredulously, pointing at my cane as if I'm holding a soiled diaper.
I have a choice to make. I can prolong the exchange, which has turned into a whole bunch of everything regarding blindness, and maybe dispel her disbelief. Or I can make another joke and tell her that yes I do use the cane, it works for free, I incur no health insurance costs, it requires no room and board, does not cheat at cards, and also functions as a sweeping tool for the identification and retrieval of all the single socks that have gone AWOL beneath beds and behind the washing machine and dryer in my home. I could answer yes, excuse myself, continue my walk—or I could give it one last try.
“My name is David," I say, holding out my hand to her and we shake. "This cane is a literal extension of my arm and hand, with five fingers each and an eyeball for a fingerprint. It informs me of everything I need to know sixty-five inches ahead of my scheduled arrival. It really works wonderfully in its simplicity."
"Oh I guess so," she replied, in a tone of challenged consideration. "I never really thought…but…but…just that cane…don't you need a service dog?"
by Kyle Wiens
From the Editor: Kyle Wiens is the co-founder and CEO of iFixit, an online repair community and parts retailer internationally renowned for their open source repair manuals and product teardowns. His opinion piece originally appeared on December 15, 2014, on WIRED.com. He graciously gave his permission for us to reprint it. As you can tell, he gets it. Here is what he says:
In late 2012 a fourteen-year-old high school student stood in front of a camera and began to read. Chris Nusbaum’s voice was calm and steady. And so were his hands, which ran smoothly over lines of Braille as he made a personal appeal to Amazon—maker of the most widely-used e-reader in the world.
“My class has just been assigned a project for which we must use information in the class’s textbook. Every student has a Kindle, which has the textbook loaded on to it. All of the sighted students can easily read the material and complete the assignment independently,” Nusbaum read. “I, on the other hand, cannot read the book without the assistance of a sighted reader. Therefore, I am put at a severe disadvantage in completing the project when compared with my sighted classmates... All of this because of a problem which can easily and inexpensively be solved by integrating text-to-speech software into your readers and making sure that your apps and information are accessible with that software.”
For the nearly eight million people in the US with some degree of vision impairment, the advent of ebooks and e-readers has been both a blessing and a burden: a blessing because a digital library—everything from academic textbooks to venerated classics to romance novels—is never further away than your fingertips; a burden because the explosion of ebooks has served as a reminder of how inaccessible technology really can be.
For more than a decade the visually impaired have been locked in an excruciatingly slow and circuitous battle against US copyright laws. And it’s left the visually impaired with few options but to hack their way around digital barriers—just for the simple pleasure of reading a book.
There’s no Library of Alexandria out there for visually-impaired readers. Only 1 percent of published books are available in Braille. And, while audiobooks are widely available through online platforms like Audible, the selection is relatively narrow. Audible boasts more than 150,000 titles, but that’s only 4 percent of the estimated 3.4 million books that are available through Amazon. If you’re looking for an independent author, or the collected stories of a minor, long-dead novelist, or a biography on anyone less celebrated than a celebrity or a world leader—you’re probably out of luck.
Still, many popular books are available on venues like Audible, so we asked Blake Reid—head of the Samuelson Glushko Technology Law & Policy Clinic—whether that was enough. Reid’s team works on media and accessibility issues; they explained: “Yes, audiobooks are already on the market. But there are not very many of them and virtually none for technical or academic subjects.”
That’s why ebooks and e-readers are especially promising for people with disabilities. There are well over a million ebooks in the Kindle’s Store alone—everything from cookbooks to magazines to how-to books. A lot of e-readers come prepackaged with a Text-to-Speech (TTS) feature, which converts the words on an e-reader’s screen into a synthesized, human voice. Essentially, TTS reads a purchased ebook aloud—and that’s been an incredible tool for making the collective digital library more accessible and more inclusive.
That is, until the copyright hounds got out.
When the Kindle 2 was released in 2009, it came with TTS functions that could be used across all Kindle ebooks. Publishers balked. They argued that TTS would negatively impact the audiobook market, and that a computer reading an ebook aloud constituted a violation of copyright.
Amazon conceded, and it gave publishers the option to opt-out of TTS. Publishers took advantage of this and removed this feature from a huge swath of books. And so, the doors to the collective digital library slammed shut on the blind and print impaired once again.
“Blind people, when we ask for accessibility, we’re not doing it because we want anyone’s charity,” Chris told us. “We want equal access to the same information that anyone else could have access to. We have the mental capacity to compete on equal terms in education and in the workforce and in any other areas of life with our sighted counterparts. In order to do that, we are just asking for a very simple request from developers and engineers and institutions of higher education: and that is make sure that we have access to information that we need. We’ll take care of the rest.”
The situation has improved since Chris made his appeal to Amazon two years ago. TTS features have gotten more prevalent—but there are still critical accessibility gaps that need filling.
“Among the three main ebook distributors—Apple, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble, text-to-speech support is limited. While Apple’s iPad has built-in text-to-speech functionality that works well with most formats of ebooks, including Apple’s own iBooks format, most Kindle devices do not,” Reid’s team explained. “Only the Kindle Fire has text-to-speech functionality, which can be (and often is) blocked by individual ebook publishers using DRM. Also, it is often difficult for readers who are visually impaired to determine which Kindle books have text-to-speech functionality disabled before purchase.”
DRM, or digital rights management, is a genteel term for digital handcuffs; it’s used to control access to copyrighted material. In ebooks DRM stops pirates and profiteers from making thousands of copies of something like Tina Fey’s autobiography and then selling them for cents on the dollar. Fair enough. But, when it comes to accessibility, DRM becomes a barrier that can stop a reader with disabilities from listening to a good book.
That’s not to say that locks can’t be picked. Over the years the print impaired have found viable workarounds—hacks to pry open the doors to their digital library.
If a tablet doesn’t have a text-to-speech feature, you can modify it: root the tablet and install a TTS app not sanctioned by the manufacturer. More commonly, though, people just strip the DRM off ebooks they buy. Then the ebook can be uploaded to and read through an e-reader’s existing TTS feature. The problem is that both those workarounds are technically illegal under an esoteric clause in US copyright law.
Here’s why: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a 1998 law designed to protect digital content from infringement. Under Section 1201 it’s illegal to break a technological lock that protects copyrighted content—like an encryption over a tablet or DRM over an ebook. So, it’s not just a voided warranty that would-be readers have to worry about: Web-connected e-readers are essentially tablets, and you can’t legally root or jailbreak a tablet—even if you just want to trick it out with a cool app that extends the device’s accessibility or functionality.
Breaking the DRM on an ebook is also technically a violation—but the Librarian of Congress granted an exemption for people who are visually impaired or have a print impairment. But the ruling is interestingly idiosyncratic: it’s legal for someone with a disability to strip DRM from ebooks, but it’s not legal for developers to create programs or apps that strip DRM.
And the exemption isn’t permanent. Every three years advocates have to request the Librarian of Congress to extend his previous exemptions. Which means that people with disabilities are, essentially, legally mandated to ask for permission to read a book once every three years, which is what they’ve done for more than a decade.
And now it’s time to ask again. Reid’s team at the University of Colorado submitted, in conjunction with the American Foundation for the Blind and the American Council of the Blind, the petition to renew the current exemption.
“In a seemingly endless loop that calls to mind the dilemma of Bill Murray’s character in the movie Groundhog Day, we, our colleagues, and our pro bono counsel have poured hundreds of hours of work into a lengthy bureaucratic process that requires us to document and re-document the accessibility of copyrighted works,” said Mark Richert of the American Foundation for the Blind during a congressional hearing into the DMCA, “and argue and re-argue the rarely-disputed premise that making books and movies accessible to people with disabilities does not infringe or even remotely threaten the rights of copyright holders.”
Advocates narrowly procured the exemption for ebook DRM over the objection of the register of copyright when they applied in 2010. This year it’s anyone’s guess—and that’s part of the problem.
Copyright law is taking away our rights. It means that developers are afraid of writing applications to help the blind. It means that consumers are afraid of repairing and tinkering with their things. And it means people with visual impairments like Chris don’t know if they’ll be able to keep listening to some of their books.
“For me if I could describe text-to-speech in one word, it would be liberating,” said Chris, now sixteen and a junior in high school. “It’s a kind of freedom. I, as a blind person, don’t have access always to most kinds of information that sighted people have access to. It’s a kind of freedom when I know that I have access to that information.”
Reading is a basic human right, and no one—not the Library of Congress and not corporate copyright lobbyists—should have the power to take that away.
From the Editor: We have been working for most of a dozen years to get Cardtronics to make its machines independently usable by blind people. We have had advances, setbacks, promises, missed deadlines, and sanctions by the court against the company for a failure to comply with previous agreements. Hopefully we are nearing the end of this battle.
Below is a document which we are reprinting because it offers blind people a chance to weigh in on this matter. While the contents lack the punch of a good legal thriller, we believe the text is sufficiently clear to speak for itself. Here is the proposed settlement:
TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE NATIONWIDE CLASS CERTIFIED BY THIS COURT TO INCLUDE BLIND PATRONS OF AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINES (“ATMs”) OWNED OR OPERATED BY EITHER CARDTRONICS, INC. OR CARDTRONICS USA, INC.:
On December 4, 2007, this Court granted final approval of a class action settlement agreement (“Settlement Agreement”) entered into between Plaintiffs, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the National Federation of the Blind (“NFB”), and several individual blind persons, and Defendants, Cardtronics, Inc. and Cardtronics USA, Inc. (collectively “Cardtronics”), concerning, among other things, the accessibility of ATMs owned or operated by Cardtronics to blind patrons under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Massachusetts state law. The class certified by the Court consists of patrons of ATMs owned or operated by Cardtronics who have total blindness or central vision acuity not to exceed 20/200 in the better eye, with corrective lenses, as measured by the Snellen test, or visual acuity greater than 20/200, but with a limitation in the field of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle of not greater than 20 degrees (the “Class Members”).
The parties subsequently had a number of disputes concerning performance of the Settlement Agreement by Cardtronics. The parties ultimately resolved these disputes through a revised agreement called a Remediation Plan, which was granted final approval by the Court on November 3, 2010. The Remediation Plan extended some of the deadlines in the Settlement Agreement and also obligated Cardtronics to install customized voice-guidance software on the vast majority of its owned machines by December 31, 2010.
On July 29, 2011, and again in August 2012, Plaintiffs moved for contempt sanctions, alleging that Cardtronics was not in compliance with the Settlement Agreement and Remediation Plan. On March 21, 2013, the Court issued an Order finding that contempt sanctions against Cardtronics were warranted, but stating further that the extent of Cardtronics’ violations remained to be ascertained. After extensive negotiations, and with the assistance of a Court-appointed Special Master, the parties have now entered into an Amended and Restated Class Action Settlement Agreement (“Amended Agreement”) to resolve all remaining disputes concerning Cardtronics’ alleged noncompliance with the Settlement Agreement and Remediation Plan. This Amended Agreement is subject to approval by this Court.
THE PARTIES BELIEVE THAT THE AMENDED AGREEMENT WILL GIVE THE MEMBERS OF THE CLASS EVEN GREATER ACCESS TO CARDTRONICS’ EXPANDING NATIONWIDE FLEET OF ATMs.
As a general summary of the Amended Agreement, Cardtronics has agreed to develop and install enhanced voice-guidance software for its fleet of ATMs—both owned and operated—on or before March 31, 2017. The parties have also agreed to new, NFB-approved Braille signage. The Amended Agreement also provides for a robust field inspection and testing program, as well as comprehensive compliance reporting. The Court-appointed Special Master will serve as “Arbiter” during the term of the Amended Agreement to determine, through a rigorous software approval process that will include testing by a NFB-approved blind consultant, whether the enhanced software satisfies the parties’ agreed-upon voice-guidance standards and to certify Cardtronics’ compliance with those standards. Cardtronics has agreed to pay the reasonable fees and expenses incurred by the Arbiter and the consultant during the software testing and approval process. Cardtronics has also agreed to pay $1,250,000 to the NFB and $250,000 to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to be used to promote or to fund other programs or initiatives that promote equal access for Blind persons. Cardtronics has further agreed to pay the reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred by class counsel in connection with negotiating the Amended Agreement and obtaining final approval of the Amended Agreement by the Court. The attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred by class counsel through October 31, 2014, total $307,093.80. These payments will not detract from Cardtronics’ obligations to provide accessible ATMs to the class.
Under the Amended Agreement, Class Members will release Cardtronics from all claims concerning Cardtronics’ compliance with the Settlement Agreement and Remediation Plan. Class Members (other than the named Plaintiffs) will not release claims for monetary damages except for those related to Cardtronics’ alleged noncompliance with the Settlement Agreement, Remediation Plan or prior Court orders. A full copy of the Amended Agreement is available on Cardtronics’ website: <http://www.cardtronics.com/about/legal.asp> and the website of the National Federation of the Blind, Inc.: <https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/pdf/cardtronics_settlement_agreement.pdf>.
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and an Order of this Court dated December 2, 2014, and as thereafter amended, that a Final Approval Hearing will be held on May 7, 2015, at 2:00 PM, before this Court in the United States Courthouse, One Courthouse Way, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. The purpose of this Final Approval Hearing is to determine whether the proposed Amended Agreement should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable and adequate, whether class counsel’s application for attorneys’ fees and costs and the payments to the NFB and the Commonwealth should be approved, and whether the contempt proceedings should be dismissed on the merits and with prejudice. The date of the Final Approval Hearing may change without further notice to the class. Class Members are advised to check the Court’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system at <https://ecf.mad.uscourts.gov> to confirm that the date of the Final Approval Hearing has not been changed.
Class Members who wish to object to the proposed settlement must provide notice of and explanation of their objection in writing to the Court at the address above, with copies to Counsel at the addresses below, no later than April 2, 2015. Only Class Members filing timely objections may request to present their objections at the Final Approval Hearing.
Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General
Attn: Genevieve Nadeau, Esq.
Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 727-2200
<[email protected]>
Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP
Attn: Sharon Krevor-Weisbaum, Esq.
120 E. Baltimore Street
Suite 1700
Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 962-1030
<[email protected]>
Cooley LLP
Attn: Douglas P. Lobel, Esq.
One Freedom Square/Reston Town Center
11951 Freedom Drive
Reston, VA 20190
(703) 720-7000
<[email protected]>
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, VISIT <http://www.cardtronics.com/about/legal.asp> OR CONTACT COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFFS:
Office of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, (617) 727-2200, <www.mass.gov/ago>
OR
Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, (410) 962-1030, <www.browngold.com>
EXCEPT AS INSTRUCTED IN THIS NOTICE, PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT.
Dated: December 8, 2014 By Order of the
United States District Court
for the District of Massachusetts
by Racquel Decipeda
From the Editor: Admittedly, February is not usually a month in which we are still talking about Christmas, but this item was submitted at the end of December and was too late to be included in the January issue. Congratulations to the San Fernando Valley Chapter, not only for the projects they mention here, but for taking the time to share this nationally:
The San Fernando Valley Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of California is celebrating another wonderful year, particularly two of our most successful events: the Best in Tech Conference and the Adopt A Child Project. Our chapter, in collaboration with the Center for the Partially Sighted in Los Angeles, put together the Best in Tech Conference in 2009 with the intent to provide a much-needed service to our community, as well as to help increase awareness about our respective organizations. We just had our sixth annual event on November 22, 2014, which was bigger and better than ever. Best in Tech offers a great opportunity to those who are interested in learning about the latest innovations in assistive technology for the blind and partially sighted. It is a free, annual event for our community, where some of the biggest and most well-known manufacturers and vendors of assistive technology gather with about three hundred blind and low-vision attendees including students, teachers, department of rehab counselors, and ordinary folks who are interested in learning about the best and most helpful assistive technology solutions of the year.
In December we hold our annual chapter holiday party, where our chapter members and their families and friends gather together to share and enjoy the spirit of the holidays. In 2012 the SFV chapter decided to enhance our holiday party by embarking on a new project, the Adopt a Child program. Our chapter members felt that Christmas is the time to give back and share the blessings we have received throughout the year and throughout our journey as blind and low-vision individuals. Once again we reached out to our local community and partnered with the Therapeutic Living Centers for the Blind in Reseda, California (TLC), to help us find families of blind children who could use a little holiday cheer. We were all so touched and overwhelmed with joy at the outcome that this has now become a highly-anticipated yearly tradition.
That first year we adopted a child named Hizela, and in 2013 we had Kobe and Alejandra. These children and their siblings were showered with gifts from all of our chapter members, and they joined us in our annual holiday dinner party, along with the staff from TLC. In 2014 the chapter decided to adopt David Sandoval, who is a thirteen-year-old blind child with microphthalmia/anophthalmia. David is a student at Irving Middle School. He is gifted with a love of music and attends the Primary Academy of Music. David performed for us before dinner and played a Christmas carol with his flute and sang “Treasure,” a song popularized by Bruno Mars. Of course, the highlight of the evening was surprising David with his gifts. The chapter made it possible for David to get one of the things on his wish list: an electric guitar. All of us were happy seeing the big smile on David’s face as he eagerly unwrapped his shiny new guitar, including everything that came along with it: the carrying case, amplifier, and accessories. It was such a pleasure to see and hear David’s mother, Maria Acosta, joyfully experiencing her child’s excitement, happy and thankful for the blessings they’ve received this Christmas.
It is a true blessing and pleasure to give and share with others. This is one project we will continue in future years, and we hope that other chapters will be similarly inspired. We also see this as a great opportunity to convey an important message: that being blind is not a hindrance in achieving your hopes and dreams. You can live the life you want with the proper tools, education, resources, and information. In other words, we are committed to extending a warm welcome to the Federationists of the future.
Editor’s Note: Along with this article we were sent a copy of the letter written by Ms. Acosta to thank the chapter for the gift it gave to her son. Here are a few gems from what she said:
I just want to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for making my son David so happy. We had so much fun this year. You all made us feel like we were part of your NFB family and that you really wanted to get to know David.
He loved, loved, loved his guitar. He has been asking me for one for a long time, and fortunately the National Federation of the Blind was able to help with this gift. The smile on his face is unforgettable. You are all amazing people who understand the need of a child. As soon as he got home, David couldn’t wait any longer, and he started playing the electric guitar. I am pretty sure our neighbors will enjoy the music!
Once again, thank you so much for my son’s guitar and for inviting us to your holiday party. I hope this will not be the end of our journey with the NFB and that we will be part of this family for a long time.
Maria Acosta
David Sandoval’s mom
From the Editor: Allen Harris is the chairman of the Kenneth Jernigan Fund Committee and was one of the people who came up with the idea of honoring our former president and longtime leader by establishing a program to promote attendance at the national convention, where so much inspiration and learning occur. Here is Allen’s announcement about the 2015 Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund Program:
Have you always wanted to attend an NFB annual convention but have not done so because of the lack of funds? The Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund invites you to make an application for a scholarship grant. Perhaps this July you too can be in the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Florida, enjoying the many pleasures and learning opportunities at the largest and most important yearly convention of blind people in the world.
The three biggest ticket items you need to cover when attending an NFB national convention are the roundtrip transportation, the hotel room for a week, and the food (which tends to be higher priced than at home). We attempt to award additional funds to families, but, whether a family or an individual is granted a scholarship, this fund can only help; it won’t pay all the costs. Last year most of the sixty grants were in the range of $400 to $500 per individual.
We recommend that you find an NFB member as your personal convention mentor, someone who has been to many national conventions and is able to share money-saving tips with you and tips on navigating the extensive agenda in the big hotel. Your mentor will help you get the most out of the amazing experience that is convention week.
Who is eligible?
Active NFB members, blind or sighted, who have not yet attended an NFB national convention because of lack of funding are eligible to apply.
How do I apply for funding assistance?
Your letter to Chairperson Allen Harris must cover these points:
Explain how much money you need from this fund to make this trip possible for you. We suggest you consult with other members to make a rough budget for yourself.
The body of your letter should answer these questions:
How do you currently participate in the Federation?
Why do you want to attend a national convention?
What would you receive; what can you share or give?
You can include in your letter to the committee any special circumstances you hope they will take into consideration.
When will I be notified that I am a winner?
If you are chosen to receive this scholarship, you will receive a letter with convention details which should answer most of your questions. The committee makes every effort to notify scholarship winners by May 15, but you must do several things before that to be prepared to attend if you are chosen.
How will I receive my convention scholarship?
At convention you will be given a debit card or credit card loaded with the amount of your award. The times and locations to pick up your card will be listed in the letter we sent you. The committee is not able to provide funds before the convention, so work with your chapter and state affiliate to assist you by obtaining an agreement to advance funds if you win a scholarship and to pay your treasury back after you receive your debit or credit card.
What if I have more questions? For additional information email the chairman, Allen Harris, at <[email protected]> or call his Baltimore, Maryland, office at (410) 659-9314, x2415.
Above all, please use this opportunity to attend your first convention on the national level and join several thousand active Federationists in the most important meeting of the blind in the world. We hope to see you in Orlando.
This month’s recipes have been submitted by the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina.
Sausage Cheese Dip
by Kim Diggs
Kim Diggs is the wife of Parnell Diggs, the president of the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina.
Ingredients:
1 pound hot sausage
1 large jar of thick and chunky salsa
16 ounces cream cheese
Method: Brown sausage. Remove grease. Keep on low heat. Mix in cream cheese and salsa. Serve hot on chips of your choice.
Potato Casserole
by Kim Diggs
Ingredients:
1 32-ounce package frozen hash brown potatoes
2 cans of cream of potato soup
2 8-ounce packages sour cream
2 cups grated sharp cheese
1 1/4 cups Parmesan cheese
Method: Thaw potatoes. Mix all together. Put in greased 9 x 13-inch dish. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.
Dirt Dessert
by Kim Diggs
Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter or margarine, softened
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
4 cups milk
2 large packages instant vanilla pudding
1 12-ounce container frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 20-ounce packages Oreos
Method: Cream butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar in large bowl. In another bowl mix milk, pudding, and whipped topping. Combine mixtures. Crush Oreos (not too fine). Put 1/3 of crushed Oreos in bottom of foil-lined clay pot or plastic sand pail. Add 1/2 pudding mixture. Layer 1/3 crushed Oreos and remaining filling. Top with remaining crumbs. Can garnish with plastic greens, flowers, or gummy worms to serve.
Orange Fluff Jell-O Salad
by Kim Diggs
Ingredients:
1 large package Cook and Serve vanilla pudding (4.6 ounces)
1 large package orange Jell-O (6 ounces)
2 cups water
16 ounce container Cool Whip
1/2 bag mini-marshmallows
20 ounce can pineapple tidbits (drained)
22 ounces mandarin oranges (drained)
2 or 3 bananas, sliced (optional)
Method: Mix together pudding, Jell-O, and water over medium heat until it boils. Remove from heat and pour into a large mixing bowl. Refrigerate until mixture has thickened (about an hour). Beat until creamy. Fold in Cool Whip, marshmallows, and fruit. Chill for about an hour before serving. If desired, top with sliced bananas just before serving.
Salmon Pâté
by Shelley Coppel
Shelley is the president of the NFB of SC Blind Seniors Division and the wife of NFB of SC first vice president, Frank Coppel.
Ingredients:
1 can salmon, drained
1/2 small pkg. frozen salad shrimp, thawed and drained (approximately 1 cup)
1 12-ounce bottle seafood cocktail sauce
1 small bunch green onions, finely chopped
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup bacon bits (real ones preferred)
5 to 6 Ritz crackers, crushed
Method: In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Stir well to thoroughly mix in the cocktail sauce and cream cheese. Put into a container and refrigerate. Can divide up and save it for later; this recipe freezes well. Serve with raw vegetables or on crackers. Serves a bunch!
Impossible Quiche
by Shelley Coppel
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cooked breakfast meat, chopped
1 cup shredded cheese
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup margarine, melted
3 eggs
1/2 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
Method: Place the breakfast meat in the bottom of an 8-by-8 baking dish or a pie plate and cover this meat with the shredded cheese. Combine melted butter, milk, eggs, and Bisquick in a mixing bowl. Pour this egg mixture over the meat and cheese in the baking dish. Bake for about 35 minutes at 350 degrees. No need to grease the dish because of the butter in the mixture.
Notes: You can use eight cooked slices of bacon or some kielbasa as the breakfast meat. I have also used raisins instead of meat and cheese. I eat gluten free and have substituted gluten free Bisquick and had it work just as well as the original.
Tortilla Rollups
by Shelley Coppel
Ingredients:
1 package eight-inch flour tortillas
8 ounces pre-made dip (any of the type found in the dairy case of your grocery store)
8 ounces grated cheese
1 small can chopped black olives
4 green onions, chopped
Method: Mix all of the ingredients except the tortillas. Spread the mixture onto the center of the tortillas. Roll up the edges of the tortillas. Refrigerate them until they set up. Cut them into one-inch circles and serve. This mixture can also be used as a chip dip.
Crock Pot Smothered Steak
by Shelley Coppel
Ingredients:
2 pounds round steak, cut into strips
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 large onion, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 1-pound can tomatoes
4 ounces mushrooms, drained
2 tablespoons molasses (optional)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
16 ounces French-cut frozen green beans
Method: In bowl, stir together flour, salt, and pepper. Dip the steak strips into this mixture and place into the crock pot. Add the rest of the ingredients into crock pot. Cook on high four to five hours, or on low for eight hours.
Collard Greens
by Darlene Houck
Darlene Houck is the wife of David Houck, the director of the Federation Center of the Blind in Columbia, South Carolina.
It is better to get your collard greens from a farmer’s market or a local produce stand. Make sure each bunch is a good size and that the leaves are fresh, not discolored or bug-eaten.
First, cut the leaves off the stems and wash them in water. Then place a few leaves flat on a clean surface and cut them into small pieces (two to three inches square). Place the cut leaves into a saucepan with melted butter and sauté until softened. Then place them in a pot.
Once you have completed the process, you can place the pot on the stove and boil the greens in water for about thirty minutes; then they are ready to serve. The leaves should not taste bitter.
If you have more than you expect to use after they are sautéed, you can place the extra in one gallon freezer bags and freeze until needed. When frozen, place into water and let boil for thirty minutes before serving.
This goes well with black-eyed peas and cornbread, especially for New Year’s Day!
Dawnelle D. Cruze Passes:
Dawnelle D. Cruze, sixty-one, of Virginia Beach, went to be with the Lord on Wednesday, December 17, 2014. She was the daughter of the late Doris D. Cruze.
Dawnelle was an excellent advocate for the blind in many areas. She was a longtime member of the advisory committee for the state library for the blind. She was a founding member of the Tidewater chapter of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and served as its president for several years. Dawnelle graduated from Mary Washington University, where she received a BA in sociology and also received a master’s degree in sociology from VCU. She was a supervisor at the Norfolk Red Cross working for military families division and retired there after twenty seven years. Dawnelle also served as a field instructor at Norfolk State University, School of Social Work. She served many years on the board of directors for the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia and was a member of the National Association of Social Workers. She was active in the NFB on both the state and national levels. She served as the second vice president on the state level, and was president of the affiliate's diabetic division. The NFB gives thirty college scholarships annually, and Dawnelle has served on the national committee to choose the recipients of these. Dawnelle was a loving and caring sister, aunt, and a loyal friend. She always put the needs of others before her own and was always the person with the biggest smile in the room. She was a faithful member of St. Benedict's Parish Catholic Church for many years.
New Guide Dog App Warmly Received:
When the National Association of Guide Dog Users launched the NAGDU Guide & Service Dog Information & Advocacy mobile app on September 17, 2014, our goal was to have the app downloaded at least one thousand times by the end of 2014. It was an ambitious goal; however, the NFB is known for its ambition to ensure every blind person has the opportunity to live the life he/she wants! We are pleased and excited to announce that we have not only met our goal, but exceeded it!
As of midnight on December 31, 2014, the NAGDU app has been downloaded by 1,039 users. And we are not finished! The app is continuing to be downloaded, demonstrating the value of the information we are providing to guide and service dog users, as well as to the general public. We are working to enhance the app with new features suggested by our users, including location tracking, sharing options, more streamlined access to the information, guidance for other industries, and an Android version.
If you or someone you know has not yet downloaded the app, please help us continue our progress by going to the App Store, searching for “NAGDU,” and downloading this incredible free app. Doing so will help the National Association of Guide Dog Users improve the app and enhance the other work we do on behalf of guide dog users. Once you download the app, please browse through the information, and send us your feedback. You can do this directly from the app by using the “send an email” feature. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you to raise the expectations of the blind in the United States so we can live the lives we want.
Performing Arts Scholarship Available:
In remembrance of one of our leaders, Mary Ann Parks, who served as the secretary of the Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind, a scholarship program was established in 2008. She was first elected in 2005 and helped oversee the division as it experienced great expansion. As one of the leaders of the division, she worked to manage the summer conventions, kept valuable records, and assisted in promoting and producing our first “Sound in Sight” album, which was released in 2007. In addition to working with the Performing Arts Division, Mary Ann also held the post of secretary of the National Federation of the Blind of Georgia.
On August 25, 2007, due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident, Mary Ann passed away. She will always be remembered as a positive, upbeat, and strong-willed person, and she is greatly missed by all who knew her.
At the 75th anniversary convention of the National Federation of the Blind in July of 2015, the division will award a scholarship to recognize achievement and offer support to a legally blind individual interested in pursuing a degree in the performing arts. The scholarship will be available for high school seniors through grad students who are currently pursuing or planning to pursue a full-time post-secondary course of study in a degree program related to the performing arts at an accredited institution in the United States. Each applicant will be considered based upon performing arts-related achievements, aspirations, and goals; academic excellence; and community service endeavors.
The scholarship winner will attend the National Federation of the Blind’s seventy-fifth anniversary convention to be held in Orlando, Florida. The scholarship will be presented at the annual talent competition on Thursday, July 9, 2015.
In addition to our scholarship program, we have also established a subsidy program which will, through a short application process, assist legally blind individuals with funding for performing arts projects, travel-related expenses incurred as a result of performing arts projects, and other related needs that may arise. Each application will be carefully reviewed, and stipends will be awarded based upon demonstrated need.
Please consider making a donation to the Mary Ann Parks Performing Arts Scholarship program as well as our new subsidy program; all donations are tax-deductible. You can make a check payable to the National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division and send it to:
8259 Harcourt Road, Suite 127, Indianapolis, IN 46260. Please write Scholarship Program or Subsidy Program in the memo line as appropriate. No amount is too large or too small. Each donation will be greatly appreciated.
If you need more information, please call us at (317) 643-1890, or send us an email at <[email protected]>.
Division Looking for New Members:
Greetings Fellow Federationists: Time has a way of really flying by, and before we know it we will be attending our seventy-fifth convention of the National Federation of the Blind. I am in search of new members for our National Association of Blind Automobile Enthusiasts Division, formally known as the CARS Division. Dues are only five dollars, and you can have a lot of fun being part of a division where you can learn about cars, build them, and display your car at a show. You don't have to know how to drive; lots of blind people work on cars, and they also own them for show. If you have a love for the automobile, come on down, join us, and have lots of fun.
For more information, please call Dave Hutchins at (816) 942-3233. See you in Orlando.
Notices and information in this section may be of interest to Monitor readers. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the information; we have edited only for space and clarity.
Acclaimed Narrator to be Honored:
Mitzi Friedlander, a Talking Book narrator at the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), is retiring. During her extraordinary career, which spans over a half century, she has recorded more books than any other Talking Book narrator in the nation.
The Talking Book program, administered by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress, provides recorded literature to 500,000 blind, visually impaired, and physically impaired Americans. The National Library Service (NLS) contracts with the American Printing House for the Blind to prepare these Talking Books.
Her fans, locally and nationally, will celebrate her accomplishments at a retirement ceremony that will take place February 5, 2015, from 5:30 to 7:00 PM at APH. Those who want to share their thoughts with Mitzi may send them to APH, c/o Roberta Williams, 1839 Frankfort Ave., Louisville, KY 40206 or email them to <[email protected]>.
A well-known figure in Louisville's theatrical world, Mitzi earned the first master’s degree in theater arts given by the University of Louisville. She has performed with Actor's Theatre of Louisville, the Louisville Ballet, the Kentucky Opera Association, and the Louisville Children's Theatre. She has also taught theatre arts at the University of Louisville and at Indiana University Southeast. The versatile actress, who has recorded over two thousand titles during her fifty-plus years at APH, has lent her voice to nonfiction pieces, works of fiction, scientific publications, and children's literature.
Through her work as a narrator in the APH studio, Mitzi became the first recipient of the Didymus Award for narration of one thousand Talking Books for the Library of Congress. She is familiar to over half a million people in the listening audience as the voice of such classics as Gone with the Wind, Charlotte's Web, and several of Sue Grafton’s “alphabet” series of detective novels. In 1993 this nationwide audience selected her as one of their favorite Talking Book voices, honoring her with the Alexander Scourby Award for excellence in the narration of nonfiction titles.
To hear a sample of Mitzi Friedlander’s work, visit:
<http://www.aph.org/museum/Narrator-Jukebox/Mitzi-Friedlander.html>.
Free Service Animal Eye Exams:
American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO) is gearing up for the 8th Annual ACVO/StokesRx National Service Animal Eye Exam Event this May. The goal of this event is to provide as many free screening exams as possible to eligible service animals across the U.S. and Canada throughout the month of May. Service animals include guide, handicapped assistance, detection, military, search and rescue, and certified-current registered therapy animals that all selflessly serve the public.
This year’s event is sponsored by ACVO® and Stokes Pharmacy, as well as several generous industry sponsors, volunteer ophthalmologists, and staff. Participating doctors volunteer their services, staff, and facilities at no charge to participate in the event.
To qualify, service animals must be “active working animals” that were certified by a formal training program or organization, or are currently enrolled in a formal training program. The certifying organization could be national, regional, or local in nature. Owners/agents for the animal(s) must first register the animal using an online registration form beginning April 1 at <www.ACVOeyeexam.org>. Registration ends April 30. Once registered online, the owner/agent will receive a registration number and will be allowed access to a list of participating ophthalmologists in their area. Then they may contact a specialist to schedule an appointment, which will take place during the month of May. Times may vary depending on the facility and are filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so clients should try to register and make appointments early.
Distinctive Greeting Cards Available:
The many styles, materials, and textures used set our cards apart from all of the rest! These uniquely original and tactile cards come with options for your customized Braille messages, with the first forty-two cells being free. Whether you simply need one to say “Hello!” or want a five-pack of all occasion cards, invitations, other special orders, or you choose any of our “greener” options, the recipients will certainly be delighted, no matter their age or gender. We can also integrate your gift card (in a pocket/envelope) into the design of the card and mail it directly for you when completed. The cards come in two sizes: 5.5 inches by 4.25 inches (A2) and 4 inches by 6 inches (A6), and are put in a plastic sleeve for protection and display. They range in price from $3 to $8. The “greener” option is like a postcard, with one decorated side instead of a photo. The other side will have a designed area where we can Braille or write your personal message. In this way we can create two cards rather than one from the same piece of paper! Please contact us using email at <[email protected]> and use the subject “Cards.” Alternatively, you may call A Touch of Thoughts at (419) 283-9000 between the hours of 2 and 6 PM, Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday, and from 1 to 4 PM on Saturday. The cards are created in a smoke-free environment. Our mascot, Bubby the English bulldog, helps keep us on track, as well as bringing plenty of comic relief, so we are not canine-free. We look forward to creating something special just for you and would be grateful for any and all feedback about our products!
The notices in this section have been edited for clarity, but we can pass along only the information we were given. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the statements made or the quality of the products for sale.
Four-Track Tape Recorder Wanted:
I am looking to purchase a working four-track tape recorder that can read books produced by the National Library Service. I am also interested in learning about services that still exist to repair such units. If you have one to sell or information about where older recorders can be repaired, please contact David using email at <[email protected]> or by calling (337) 264-3785.
NFB Pledge
I pledge to participate actively in the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.
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