While we're on the subject of debt

Marcy Kaptur rocks!

Hey Washington!

Are you going to buy my debt next? What's a couple of thousand dollars in student loans compared to $700 billion?

Score one for Disability Rights

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day and finally Congress did something right. (Well the Senate anyway.)

On September 11th the Senate passed S. 3406, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. This is a big fucking deal for people with disabilities. Now I'm gonna ask you to send a short email to you reps and ask them to vote for it (it had 77 cosponsors in the Senate (including my own, Patty Murray, who I love, and Hillary Clinton) so hopefully that's some indication that it will easily be passed in the House as well). What is so great about this? It changes the language, it removes some of the worse paragraphs, it gives people with disabilites (more) legal recourse if discriminated against, and it changes the definition of disability as well as putting in writing (thank god-this is something that means a lot to me personally as someone *on* disability who is mostly functional on medication) that the determination of whether or not one has a disability is made without taking into account things that aid in helping the person to lead a "normal" life. Observe:

'(E)(i) The determination of whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity shall be made without regard to the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures such as--

'(I) medication, medical supplies, equipment, or appliances, low-vision devices (which do not include ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses), prosthetics including limbs and devices, hearing aids and cochlear implants or other implantable hearing devices, mobility devices, or oxygen therapy equipment and supplies;

This is important because the courts ruled in the past that there have been rulings that have said that if such assistive devices improve your life then, viola! you are no longer disabled as in the 1999 case Sutton v. United Airlines. My life is 10x better on medication and I'm continually scared of being kicked off of disability as a result which means no Medicaid and no medication. Whee. What a catch-22. I become almost fully functional with medication and then I am kicked off because I am only fully functional to fall back into my less then desirable state of functioning just to go back on SSI-D and medication. Whee again. And I'm not the only one who lives with this fear.

Back to the legal recourse. Many different types of disabilities were not included and were being discriminated against and not recognised by the courts under the current laws. Non-physical disabilities, i.e. the ones that most people think of when they hear the term 'disability' were generally discriminated against, because, well, if you can't see it it doesn't exist, right? Wrong. And this Bill is changing the laws to make sure that people like me are covered. If the government pays me disability why then am I not included in the ADA? Hmmmm.

In a statement, Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, praised the bill's introduction: "The ADA Amendments Act is the most significant civil rights bill of the 110th Congress. This act will correct narrow court interpretations that have restricted ADA coverage in the workplace, and taken away coverage for people with diabetes, epilepsy, serious heart conditions, mental disabilities, and even cancer."

I am writing first as a HURRAH that this was passed for the 43 million people in the US living with a disability, but also to ask that you do contact your reps (whether you actually vote or not-I don't care and they don't know) because this bill needs to pass the House. This amendment needs to happen. For me. For the 43 million others and all those undiagnosed. For the people who are usually left behind when talk of civil rights is brought up.

(Oh and while you're at it you should add something about HR 676 single payer healthcare-then no one would have to worry about going without medical care or medication.)

Also, currently there are Disability Rights Activists blocking all the doors at McCain's Campaign Headquarters (follow the happenings through Twitter) What are they asking for? Housing! Call McCain headquarters at 703-297-8900 to tell them to get the housing platform to McCain!

IVAW pictures are now up.

no words
Originally uploaded by union_clown

I stopped trying to think of titles for the pictures, they speak for themselves. Even titling this one "no words" seems to be taking away from it a little. Find the rest of the photos here.

There's also another set with all the miscellaneous stuff I saw around the DNC that I didn't have any other home for. You can find it here.

2 photo sets up from DNC

Storm stirring shit up
Originally uploaded by union_clown

But not the IVAW since that's huge. I'm going to be doing that tomorrow so it will should be up by tomorrow evening.

Green and Black march

and

18 Million Voices 88th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment/Hillary's Speech Celebration

RNC Updates

**SUPER IMPORTANT**: Undercovers/provacatuers consistently wearing ipod earphones and shiny black shoes. DO NOT ENGAGE, but don't get paranoid.

Dump trucks and snow plows between marchers and Xcel Center.

John Doe who has been water striking has been bonded out. It is believed that no more John Does remain in jail.

Cops are still dropping protesters off in random locations after release. Keep number for rides on you: 651.356.8635

100+ people on Marion Bridge detained and handcuffed face down @ 19:38.

27 arrested at 12th & Cedar, march leadership targeted; one reporter arrested: Susan from Uptake.

Cops again using pepper spray, tear gas, percussion grenades/flash bombs on protesters.

Curfew rumours false; city employees advised to evacuate downtown.

Ramsey County Jail phone #651.292.3698

I wonder (RNC post)

If they're doing what the cops did in Denver where they had their badge numbers embroidered in black on their uniforms so that they technically were identifiable, but god damn if anyone could actually make out what the hell their badge numbers were.



Also, police are trading pepper spray for the offer of flowers. Because flowers are apparently weapons of mass destruction and terrorism.

For more news check out Twin Cities Indymedia and as I posted below, for up to the minute action text "Follow TCIMC" to 40404 (their twitter feed, which is a fucking brilliant idea and makes me want to run to all these places that people are needed even though I can't.)

Day 1 of uploading

Starts tomorrow.

RNC real time update

1595 Selby, the I-witness office is being surrounded by police who are claiming that there are hostages inside.

I'll post more when I get updated. Anyone you know in the area please tell them to go, observers are needed.

If you are in Minne, the way to get updates is to text "Follow TCIMC" to 40404.

Still working on missing posts

Chew on this:
The End is Not For a While



When you scroll over it it says "I THINK EVERYONE INVOLVED HERE IS CUTE."

Where have all the posts gone?

Well, that's a good question. I will try to get them back up in the next few days, I have quite some time to spend sitting in front of the negative scanner to get my pics online (from the DNC). But in the meantime, check out what's happening at the RNC (I will be putting up links and stuff....it's more likely to happen since I'm not actually there) on Minneapolis/St. Paul Indymedia and watch this clip of Amy Goodman and the producers of Democracy Now getting arrested while covering the RNC protests.