About four weeks to go

It's about four weeks until the election. There's a lot at stake this time
around and no one can afford to be on the sidelines. You need to make sure
you're informed and vote for the candidates youfeel will do the best for
this country,your state and or local area.

Our vote will influence the direction of the country for years to come.
Business is not investing due to uncertainty. They don't know what
regulations will be coming down the pipeline; they don't know what they will
be paying in taxews and they don't know how much their costs will rise as a
result of Obama Care. Business won't hire or invest until they know the
answers to these questions. To that end, who wins will say a lot about the
direction of the country.

If the Democrats win,it will be more of the same thing that we're getting
now. There will just be more regulation They willhave succeeded in taking
over health care by mandating what must be covered; who must be covered and
how much can be charged for said coverage. When private companies are
reduced to offering what the government mandates just to stay in business,
that's a takeover despite what the media would have yu believe. What will
be next? That's a scary thought.

If the Republicans win, we will see an effort to repeal the onerous
takeover of one-sixth of the economy. We will see regulations reduced and
taxes will be reduced which will allow for investment. Bailouts would end
and they need to as taxpayers should not be funding failng businesses. If
they have a bad business model, then they fail under capitalism.

The Democrats view business as evil and greedy. Just look at their
so-called financial regulatoryreform. It strangles business and regulates
what credit card companies and others can do. Granted some changes were
needed but not in the manner that the Democrats did it.

Republicans, on the other hand, see business as innovative and the creator
of jobs. It is the private sector who creates job, not the government.
Democrats believe just the opposite when it comes to who creates jobs in
this country.

The future is in our hands and we need to make sure we let everyone know
what direction we want to see things go. That's why it's important to get
out and vote as if your life depends on it because it does..

Taking the opportunity tocomment on cell phone access

Rarely are we given an opportunity to comment on such an important issue.
This is such an opportunity and it has been made so easy. I urge all who
read this to do so, encourage others to do so or help someone to do so.
These comments are due to the FCC by October 15 and were sent to
pam.gregory@fcc.gov. let her hear our voices.

Docket #10-145
Accessibility of cell phones
I appreciate the extension of the deadline for comments on this very
important topic.

While it is nice that Applle has made a phone that is accessible out of the
box,not everyone will want to use a touch screen. Some people,like me, will
not have the patience for such a device. I saw a friend's I-pod touch over
the weekend and know I am in that category.

This leads me to my next point, that being that there must be options out
there; and that's not the case unless one is willing to invest money over
and above the cost of the cell phone. I, as a blind hard of hearing person,
should not have to do that. Right now, I have to pay $300 additional for
the cost of a screen reader to make my phone accessible as I cannot read the
menus, text messages or anything else on the phone. I then must invest
money to keep that software current, something a sighted person does not
have to do. That puts the cost of access at right around $500 over and
above the cost of the phone itself. Sighted people don't have to pay this
extra cost and neither should I. I am happy with Verizon, my current
carrier, and I don't want to switch just to obtain accessibility out of the
box. I should, like anyone else, be able to choose the carrier from whom I
want to obtain service.

As I wear hearing aids, I also had to test the phone in the store to make
sure it was going to work for me. Thankfully it did and the representative
in the verizon store knew something about the ratings system for hearing aid
compatibility (HAC). In the past, I've had to use a loop which added
additional cost to the phone. However, I've not had to use such a device
since 2006 and I'm not going back.

In conclusion, Apple has shown that accessibility out of the box is
possible. However, the I-phone is the only phone for which this is true.
Other manufacturers need to follow Apple's lead. It's good for business and
the consumer.

Six weeks and counting

It's six weeks until the mid-term elections and it can't get here fast
enough. Six more weeks and hopefully Obama and his minions will be slowed
down dramtically, giving this country a chance to slow down the pace of
change and get us to 2012 without too much more damage. Heck we may even
have a shot at repeal of the government takeover of health care. I hope so
as I want to make my own health care decisions. I don't want them made by a
bureaucrat in Washington.

Businesses will be happy to see the elections come too as maybe the
uncertainty will end for them. They will get a clearer picture of where
issues of taxes, regulation and health care are headed. Only when business
is certain about these issues will they begin to create jobs once again.
Only when they know what they will be paying for health care for their
employees and what they will be paying in taxes will they then decide to
create jobs.

Unfortunately you have a President right now who has never worked in the
private sector so he doesn't know the first thing about how government
policy affects business. President Obama and his Democratic friends think
that government, not the private sector,creates jobs. This is, of course,
not the case. Government thinks right now that they are the only ones who
create jobs and that the private sector is evil. You see this here in
Illinois. All you have to do is read any news release from Gov. Quinn's
office to realize that Gov. Quinn spends money thinking it will create jobs.
That's what you see time and again as a justification for every project on
which there is a release. There are releases on broadband projects,
high-speed railroad service and highway interchanges just to name a few. Go
to www.Illinois.gov and click on news and then Governor's office and you
will see what I mean. What happens when these projects are finished? Where
are the jobs? Are these projections grounded in reality? Does anyone know?
I wonder why but won't speculate here.

You can look in other categories on the above-mentioned site to see what
else is going on. You will find out about regulations, appointments and the
like. There's not much in the area of budget fiscal, with nothing being
mentioned in this category since July. What are they doing to fix the
budget problems? Spending is obviously outpacing revenue and that can't be
sustained. We need long-term solutions that are not crisis-driven. We need
solutions that will stabilize the situation, not make it worse.

Six weeks until the mid-term elections and it can't get here fast enough.
Make sure you are registered and then that you vote for the candidates
youfeel will do the best job for the future of Illinois and the nation.

Ground Zero Mosque no way

I've been listening to all of the controversy surrounding the building of a
mosque/Islamic Cultural Center near Ground Zero. While those who own the
property on which this facility is to be built have the right to do what
they want with the property, does that mean they should? In this case the
answer to that question is a resounding NO!

They should have known that building a Mosque/Islamic Cultural Center so
close to Ground Zero would stir up some strong emotions, especially among
the families of those killed on September 11, 2001 by Islamic extremists.
Locating the facility where its backers want only serves to cause pain and
ill-will. These people should be more sensitive to the situation at hand.
There are other places further away from Ground Zero that this could be
built; and these options should be explored. This should have never gotten
this far due to the sensitive nature of this area.

As for the burning of the Quron to protest this Mosque/Cultural Center,
that's far out of bounds of free speech and is far beyond wrong and far
beyond being in extremely poor taste. It's extremely disgusting and should
never, ever happen. Disagreeing with a project is no reason for
dessicration of any religious symbol of any religion. Let's not inflame
the situation literally here.

I have not forgotten

Today is 9 years after 9-11, that horrible day when this country was
tragically and brutally attacked by terrorists using planes as weapons.
These 19 so-called human beings had no regard for human life and some 3,000
people lost their lives, many just going to work as they normally did. The
only thing different is that they never came home. Then there were the
heroes who died just doing what they do. (taken from Allan Jackson "Where
Were You When the World Stopped Turning?")

You also have those aboard United flight 93 who were determined that their
plane would not destroy another landmark. They were the first soldiers in
the war on terror. Tod Beamer and the rest died like heroes in that
Pennsylvania field. Then there are those who died at the Pentagon.

It's a day I'll never forget and a day we must never forget because if we
forget, then it will happen again. We must do everything we can to defeat
terrorism so that these deaths will not be in vain. We came together as a
country and we must continue to work together as a country.

Have you forgotten? No I haven't and never will. I still remember talking
to my husband that day and then turning on the radio to find that the
station was taking feed fromNYC. I called my husband and told himn to turn
on the radio. He did and thus began a day filled with terror and horror.

My hearts go out to the first responders who did their best to try and save
those trapped at the WTC, many of them dying in the process. It just shows
the sacrifice these people make every day, and especially on 9-11. They
paid a high price as did this country. May we never see another day like it
ever again.

When will liberals get it?

When it comes to almost anything these days, I must ask the question that is
the title of this blog post. When willliberals get it?

It's obvious they don't get it when it comes to jobs. They insist on
passing numerous laws that affect small business. This shows in legislation
that they enact such as the misguided financial reform measures which will
only serve to further tighten credit. What will the regulations for this
legislation require? Noone knows yet and that will further fuel uncertainty
by business which will in turn mean fewer jobs and les investment. Why
should business create jobs if they are not certain what will be coming down
the road in terms of regulation and taxes? As for taxes, there are a ton of
these in the health care legislation. Talk about more uncertainty, you have
it in a large piece of legislation which amounts to a government takeover of
health care. Don't forget what they did to the student load program either.
Talk about uncertainty. There is some for students as well. What will
those regulations look like? I don't think anyone knows.

You have liberals talking about energy independence. What this means is cap
and trade which would choke off industry and necessarily, by Obama's own
admission, raise electric rates. How is this a good thing for business or
the individual? One more example of where liberals don't get it.

Then there's uncertainty at the state level. Providers and others aren't
getting paid due to state financial problems. When will the Dems realize
the problem and begin working across the isle to help fix the problem? Who
knows.

Noone really knows what the future holds. The liberals don't seem to
understand that uncertainty is no friend of business. They just think that
business is evil and needs to be regulated. They think that the government
knows what is best rather than the individual. Whatever happened to free
enterprise? I don't know but we had better figure that out before we become
so like Europe that there's no turning back, something we're really fast
approaching.

November can't get here fast enough.

ADA 20 years later

We have an important anniversary to celebrate tomorrow. What is that
anniversary? It's the signing of the Americannnnns with Disabilities Act
(ADA) by then-President George H.W. bush. It gave those of us with
disabilities the right to be included in all aspects of society including
success and failure. It gave us access to the built environment, to state
and local government programs and services and places of public
accommodation. This meant stores, restaurants, bars, amusement
parks,festivals etc. We could go where everyone else goes. We have a right
to get material from city council meetings in accessible format.
Transportation became accessible so we could get out and go where we need
and want to go. This includes fixed route and paratransit service. These
are just a few things that the ADA has allowed us to do.

Is there still a ways to go? Yes there certainly is. There is the issue of
access to goods and services sold over the Internet. The Dept. of Justice
will be dealing with this issue very soon so that is a step in the right
direction. Are there still access issues when it comes to voting?
Absolutely there are but voting is something that we can do independnently
now thanks in part to the ADA and I for one am not going back.

Pedestrian access is something that still needs work but will improve.
Access to state and local government programs and services is better but
again could improve.

There is, however, one thing that legislation will not change no matter how
hard you try; and that is attitudes. There will continue to be problems
with employment when you have attitudes which say that PWD can't work or
live independently. These attitudinal barriers will come down much more
slowly than the physical barriers have come down. All of us have attitudes
that we have acquired since a veryh young age. It's hard to change those
attitudes but we must continue to try.

Does the ADA hold promise for equal rights? You bet it does, especially if
we make full use of its provisions. If we don't make full use of its
provisions, then we won't realize the true power that this law gives us.
Let's dedicate ourselves to realizing the full potential of this landmark
legislation.