Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers

From: Gene Fleeman 


Hi everyone,
I've started the petition "Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers: Incorporate voice technology, audio queues, and/or tactile buttons into your flat panel appliances to make them accessible to the blind and those with low vision." Thanks to 500 supporters, the petition is off to a good start. But to really make a statement to the Appliance Manufacturers of how important this issue is to those with sight impairment, I need your support to make the number of signatures to grow exponentially! Lets join together to make our voices heard.
Thank you,

Will you take 30 seconds to sign it right now? Here's the link:

http://www.change.org/petitions/association-of-home-appliance-manufacturers-incorporate-voice-technology-audio-queues-and-or-tactile-buttons-into-your-flat-panel-appliances-to-make-them-accessible-to-the-blind-and-those-with-low-vision

Here's why it's important:
I started this petition on Change.org, because of the perceived lack of demand, appliance manufacturers have been reluctant to build inexpensive voice/touch technology into their products, thereby making them inaccessible to the blind.  There are approximately seven million blind or low-vision people living in the United States today, and that number is growing every day, due to causes ranging from birth defects, diabetes, to combat injuries, etc.  We clean, do laundry, iron, sew, and travel independently. We are foodservice managers, attorneys, scientists and more.  And yet, when it comes to operating our touch panel home appliances we are practically helpless.  Why?, because appliance manufacturers refuse to incorporate inexpensive technology that already exists­such as those used in smartphones and iPads that make their flat panel appliances accessible to the blind.
By including audio cues, speech output, or tactile buttons, manufacturers will reduce the likelihood that a blind or sighted person will inadvertently touch a spot on a panel and turn on a burner without knowing it, potentially causing a fire or serious personal injury. Without accessible technology being offered to consumers, people who were once able to cook and clean independently could well find themselves unable to live alone in their own homes.
But it doesn’t have to be this way! If manufacturers incorporate inexpensive audio and/or tactile technology into their products, they will make a huge difference in the safety of the blind and others as well as the ability of the blind to continue to lead their lives independently, while simultaneously gaining thousands, if not millions, of newly satisfied customers. This is good for blind people who will remain independent; good for manufacturers who will sell products that the blind can use and that are safer for all who buy them; and good for society, which will not be asked to help normally competent human beings live in assisted living or nursing facilities simply because new appliances do not have displays they can read.
By signing our petition, you will be showing your support and telling the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers to work in collaboration with the National Federation of the Blind to get their manufacturer members to incorporate these immeasurable improvements in the quality of life, convenience, and safety of the blind and those who are losing their vision.
Again thank you for your support,
Gene Fleeman
Member,
National Federation of the Blind

Fw: Judge's Racist, Misogynist Email Targets Obama's Mom

The hate is getting ridiculous. There's no excuse for a statement like that. Makes me wonder what he thinks about the rest of us!

 ~K

A new message from your friends at People For the American Way. VIEW AS WEB PAGE  |  TELL A FRIEND  |  SUBSCRIBE Dear Kathy, UPDATE: Three right-wing state legislators in Montana have come to Judge Richard Cebull's defense, with one even ridiculously thanking Cebull for exercising his "freedom of speech." The judge's reckless and offensive email had nothing to do with free speech. A federal judge is free to hate the president and his policies, just as other Americans are. And he is free to privately tell his friends that, just as other Americans do. But Judge Cebull used his official government email address to make a statement that has now become very public. It is important that Americans see their judges as neutral arbiters, not as political figures. Therefore, it is imperative that Judge Cebull resign. Join the 60,000 activists who have already signed our petition demanding that Judge Cebull redesign -- please add you name now! If a football referee is known to have grossly insulted some of the teams, then acknowledges that he did so because he strongly dislikes them, would anyone want him refereeing a game they cared about? Would anyone trust his calls? Good referees are constrained in what they can say about the teams whose games they oversee, not because they don't have freedom of speech, but because they accept voluntary constraints as part of their job description. With Judge Cebull, we are talking not about the integrity of a sports league, but rather the integrity of the American justice system. Judge Cebull is unfit to judge. Speak out now. And then please help spread the word. Thank you for all that you do. -- Ben From: Ben Betz, People For the American Way Sent: Wednesday, March 7, 2012 Subject: Judge's Racist, Misogynist Email Targets Obama's Mom "The only reason I can explain it to you is I am not a fan of our president, but this goes beyond not being a fan. I didn't send it as racist, although that's what it is. Is sent it out because it's anti-Obama." -- Judge Cebull A Tea Party federal Judge was so blinded by his hate for President Obama that he used his official email to forward a disgusting "joke" attacking the president's deceased mother. Check out the email and sign our petition telling the judge to step down now. Dear Kathy, Have you heard about the Montana federal judge who got caught forwarding a disgusting racist, misogynist "joke" about President Obama's deceased mother? Sign our petition now telling him to do the right thing and RESIGN his post as chief judge of the Federal District Court for Montana. Judge Richard Cebull, the chief Federal District Court judge in Montana, admitted that sending the email to his personal contacts -- from his official email account on a government computer -- showed "terrible judgment" and that he was aware that the joke was racist, but that he did not send it because it was racist. He sent it because it was "anti-Obama." And, in his eyes, that made it okay. See the outrageous email he sent and sign our petition urging Judge Cebull to step down now. Judge Cebull submitted himself for disciplinary review to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Montana, and wrote a seemingly sincere apology to the president in which he said, "Honestly, I don't know what else I can do." Well that's easy -- he can and should resign. Last week, PFAW called for his resignation. This week, we were joined by editorial boards both in Montana and at the New York Times. Please add your voice to the call for Judge Cebull's resignation too. See Judge Cebull's shocking email and sign PFAW's petition now. Judge Cebull's hatred for the president is so extreme that he forwarded on a very personal attack that he KNEW was racist and tasteless. He did it because it was, in his words, "anti-Obama." Welcome to the Tea Party Era. The Far Right's hate rhetoric against this president has created an environment where even people who should know better consider racist, misogynist attacks ... even attacks on his deceased mother, fair game. Nothing is out of bounds if its purpose is to denigrate or hurt the president. You've heard the term "snow blind" -- Judge Cebull was "hate blind." And that hate blindness surely led to his transgression. Regardless of what led to it, his action clearly shows a severe lack of judgment, potential bias, and a temperament unbecoming of a federal judge. He needs to step down now. Sign our petition now urging Judge Cebull to resign. Thank you for standing up against Tea Party extremism and right-wing hate. -- Ben Betz, Online Strategy Manager P.S. Rep. John Conyers has now called for a congressional hearing "to consider the full ramifications of Judge Cebull's conduct on integrity of the federal judiciary," and to consider possible "further investigation or possible legislative action." Congressional attention is certainly warranted and welcome, but Judge Cebull should take it upon himself to do the right thing and step down. pfaw.org  |  privacy policy  |  subscribe   |  unsubscribe  |  contact us | Facebook  |  Twitter  |  YouTube 1101 15th Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005-5002, 202-467-4999

Reading Rights!!!!

Here is a quoted paragraph from the web site. Please go to this site at http://www.readingrights.org/ and sign the petition.

As technology advances and more books move from hard-copy print to electronic formats, people with print disabilities deserve the opportunity to enjoy access to books on an equal basis with those who can read print.

People with print disabilities cannot effectively read print because of a visual, physical, perceptual, developmental, cognitive, or learning disability.

No Need for Greed

We Want to Read!

We represent 15 million Americans who cannot read print because of blindness, dyslexia, spinal cord injury, and other print disabilities. We include school children, the elderly, professionals, college students, returning veterans, and your neighbors, family members and friends. We want to buy books. We have fought very hard for many years to have equal access to technology and information. For the first time, now that the Amazon Kindle 2 offers text-to-speech, which will read a book aloud, we can purchase and enjoy books like everybody else. Sadly, the Authors Guild does not support equal access for us. The Guild has told us that to read their books with text-to-speech we must either submit to a special registration system (that not all may qualify for and that would expose disability information to all future eBook reader manufacturers) and prove our disabilities -- or pay extra. The Guild’s position is contrary to the principle of equal opportunity for all and discriminates against millions of people with print disabilities.

Please support us by joining our informational protests and Sign the Petition: We Want to Read.