
      BRAILLE MONITOR
Vol. 51, No. 3   March 2008
      Barbara Pierce, editor


      Published in inkprint, in Braille, and on cassette by

      THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

      Marc Maurer, president


      National Office
      1800 Johnson Street
      Baltimore, Maryland  21230
      telephone: (410) 659-9314
      email address: nfb@nfb.org
      Website address: http://www.nfb.org
      NFBnet.org: http://www.nfbnet.org
      NFB-NEWSLINE information: (866) 504-7300


      Letters to the president, address changes,
      subscription requests, and orders for NFB literature
      should be sent to the National Office.
      Articles for the Monitor and letters to the editor may also
      be sent to the National Office or may be emailed to bpierce@nfb.org.




Monitor subscriptions cost the  Federation  about  twenty-five  dollars  per
year. Members are invited,  and  nonmembers  are  requested,  to  cover  the
subscription cost. Donations should be made payable to  National  Federation
of the Blind and sent to:


      National Federation of the Blind
      1800 Johnson Street
      Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998


         THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION
       SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES


ISSN 0006-8829

      Dallas Site of 2008 NFB Convention
      **********
      The 2008 convention of the National Federation of the Blind will take
place in Dallas, Texas, June 29-July 5, at the Hilton Anatole Hotel at 2201
Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, Texas 75207. Make your room reservation as soon
as possible with the Hilton Anatole staff only. Call (214) 761-7500 to
reach the hotel or (800) 955-4281 to reach the Dallas reservation center.
Do not call any other Hilton reservation number.
      The 2008 room rates are singles, doubles, and twins $61 and triples
and quads $66 a night, plus a 15 percent sales tax. The hotel is accepting
reservations now. A $60-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, 2008. The other 50
percent is not refundable.
      Rooms will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Reservations may be made before June 1, 2008, assuming that rooms are still
available. After that time the hotel will not hold our block of rooms for
the convention. In other words, you should get your reservation in soon.
      Guestroom amenities include cable television, coffee pot, iron and
ironing board, hair dryer, and for a charge high-speed Internet access. The
Hilton Anatole has six excellent restaurants, twenty-four-hour-a-day room
service, first-rate meeting space, and other top-notch facilities. It is in
downtown Dallas with shuttle service to both the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport
and Love Field.
      The schedule for the 2008 convention will depart from what many think
of as our usual schedule:
Sunday , June 29 Seminar Day
                 Monday, June 30  Registration Day
                 Tuesday, July 1  Board Meeting and Division Day
                 Wednesday, July 2      March for Independence and Opening
                 Session
                 Thursday, July 3       Tour Day
                 Friday, July 4         Banquet Day
                 Saturday, July 5 Business Session

2008 National Convention Preregistration Form
Please register online at <www.nfb.org> or print legibly on this form or
provide all the requested information and mail to the address below.
Registrant Name ___________________________________________________
Address _________________________________________________________
City ____________________________________________________________
State ___________________________________ Zip ____________________
Phone __________________________________________________________

___ I will pick up my registration packet at convention.
___ The following person will pick up my registration packet:
Pickup Name ______________________________________
           Please register only one person per registration form.
         One check or money order may cover multiple registrations.
     Check or money order (sorry, no credit cards) must be enclosed with
                            registration form(s).

Number of preregistrations x $15 = ____________
Prepurchased banquet tickets x $35 = ____________
Total ______________

All preconvention registration and banquet sales are final (no refunds).
Mail to: National Federation of the Blind
Attn: Convention Registration
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
Registrations must be postmarked by May 31, 2008.



Vol. 51, No. 3                               March 2008

      Contents

Touring Texas
by Tommy Craig

The 2008 Washington Seminar
by Barbara Pierce

Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans:
Priorities for the 110th Congress, Second Session

Enhancing Pedestrian Safety:
Ensuring the Blind Can Continue to Travel Safely And Independently

Preserving Talking Books
For the Blind and Physically Handicapped

Increasing the Earnings Limit:
A Common Sense Work Incentive for Blind Social Security Beneficiaries

Celebrating a Life of Imagination, Inspiration, and Influence:
Remembering Betsy Zaborowski
by Daniel B. Frye

Remarks about the Problems Caused by Quiet Cars
by Gary Wunder

Songs Inspired by the Quiet Car Crisis

Jacobus tenBroek: Letters to Berkeley
by Lou Ann Blake

Attitude Is Everything
by Barbara Loos

Leveling the Playing Field for Students with Disabilities
by Jim Fruchterman

A Child's View of Blindness
by Judy Jones

Identity Theft and You Update
by Jim Babb

Convention Scholarships Available
by Allen Harris

Recipes

Monitor Miniatures

 2008 by the National Federation of the Blind
Lead Photo Spread:
 [PHOTO/CAPTION: On January 15, 2008, the National Federation of the Blind
hosted an event to celebrate the publication of Touch the Invisible Sky,
another in the series of tactile astronomy books written by Noreen Grice
using photos supplied by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA).]
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Noreen Grice displays two pages of tactile photos in the
book she authored with Simon Steel and Doris Daou, both affiliated with
NASA.
[PHOTO/CAPTION: A reporter examines one of the tactile photos in Touch the
Invisible Sky.]
[PHOTO/CAPTION: A number of young people were present at the event. Here,
two of them listen to an audible report of magnetic field interaction on
the solar system planetary distance comparison machine on loan that day
from the Goddard Space Flight Center.]
                                Touring Texas
                               by Tommy Craig
                                ************
>From the Editor: Tommy Craig is president of the NFB of Texas. He has been
working with a tour operator to organize interesting tours during our
national convention. Here is the information you will need to make your
tour reservations:
                                ************
As everyone knows, things are bigger and of course better in Texas. During
the 2008 national convention in Dallas the members of the NFB of Texas
would like you to have a chance to sample a little bit of what Texas has to
offer. In order to do this we have arranged a number of tours to suit
everyone's interest. As you will see, there are a number of tour choices.
If you see one you like, please make your reservations early. The deadline
for tour reservations is June 13. If there isn't enough interest in a
particular tour, it will be dropped, and your money will be refunded. So if
you see something you like, make sure you get those reservations in early
so your tour doesn't get canceled.
As you can see, there's a lot to choose from. All tours will take place on
Thursday afternoon, July 3, except for the comedy club tour, which is
scheduled for Saturday night, July 5.
                                ************
Tour 1. Dallas Highlights Tour and JFK Museum
1:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
                                ************
Tour members will leave for a Dallas Highlights Tour featuring sights such
as the Old Red Courthouse, Dealey Plaza, the Grassy Knoll, and the JFK
assassination site, the JFK Memorial, a tour of the Sixth Floor Museum
(explores the life and legacy of John F. Kennedy), West End Historic
District, Dallas City Hall, Pioneer Plaza (forty bronze longhorns), Arts
District, Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Hall, McKinney Avenue, homes in
Highland Park, and much more.
Tour includes:
1. A knowledgeable tour guide
2. Deluxe motorcoach transportation
3. Bottled ice cold water
4. Admission to Sixth Floor Museum
                                ************
Cost: $41.50 a person
                                ************
Tour 2. Fort Worth Stockyards and Shopping
2:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
                                ************
Tour members will board the Trinity Rail Express double-decker train and
leave for Fort Worth, affectionately known as Cowtown. You will be wowed
with Fort Worth's lively cowboy and cowgirl heritage and culture on a
guided city tour featuring sights such as the Water Gardens, Sundance
Square, the commanding angels gracing the grand new multi-million-dollar
Bass Performance Hall, the cultural district, and a tour through Billy
Bob's of Texas (the world's largest honky tonk).
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Cattle drive of longhorns down  Exchange  Boulevard  in  Ft.
Worth]
The group will experience a cattle drive of longhorns that parade right
down Exchange Boulevard. The tour will conclude in the historic Stockyards,
where you will have time to browse the western shops or belly up to the bar
on saddle bar stools and dine on your own. All participants will receive a
souvenir Fort Worth bandana.
                                ************
Tour includes:
1. A knowledgeable tour guide
2. Train ride to Ft. Worth
3. Deluxe motorcoach transportation
4. Tour admission to Billy Bob's (a chance to put your hands in the prints
   of famous artists).
5. Bottled ice cold water
6. Souvenir bandana
                                ************
Cost: $42.50 a person
                                ************
Tour 3. Wine Tasting and Tour of Grapevine's Old Town Main Street
1:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
On this tour enjoy tasting the wines of Texas at two of Grapevine's finest
wineries. Afterwards tour members will uncover the delights of distinctive
shops offering antiques and collectibles in Old Town Grapevine on a guided
tour.
                                ************
Tour includes:
1. A knowledgeable tour guide
2. Deluxe motorcoach transportation
3. Bottled ice cold water
4. Texas wine tasting at two Grapevine wineries
                                ************
Cost : $72 a person
                                ************
Tour 4. Six Flags over Texas Amusement Park
1:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
                                ************
Six Flags over Texas--it's playtime and the ultimate family or group
experience. With over one hundred rides, shows, and adventures, the
entertainment capital of Texas has something to appeal to all.
                                ************
Tour includes:
1. Admission to Six Flags
2. Deluxe motorcoach transportation
3. Bottled ice cold water
                                ************
Cost: $57.50 a person
                                ************
Tour 5. The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde Tour
1:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
                                ************
Uncover the lives of those famous outlaw lovers from Dallas, Bonnie Parker
and Clyde Barrow. This action-packed adventure includes stops in West
Dallas, Oak Cliff, Dallas, and (now modern) ambush highways of Irving. See
the last remaining building in Dallas where Bonnie worked as a young,
porcelain-skinned waitress. See where Clyde was hustled away daily by the
law and the location of an attempted ambush of Bonnie and Clyde at Esters
Road and Highway 183. Participants will also visit a safe house where a
gunfight broke out between Clyde Barrow and six officers in 1933, the site
of the Barrow's Star Service station as well as the graves of both Bonnie
and Clyde. The tour is led by the author of several Bonnie and Clyde books.
                                ************
Tour includes:
1. A knowledgeable tour guide
2. Deluxe motorcoach transportation
3. Bottled ice cold water
                                ************
Cost: $35 a person
                                ************
Tour 6. Museum of Nature and Science and Women's Museum Tours
1:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
                                ************
The Museum of Nature and Science is one of the most compelling, perhaps
unique, museums in the Southwest. It features interactive and educational
experiences with hands-on exhibits and an IMAX. Group will learn about
dinosaurs, fossils, gems and minerals, dental gallery, a lagoon nature
walk, and hands-on physics.
      Next, located in Fair Park, is yet another one of the Southwest's
best museums, the Women's Museum, which focuses on the accomplishments of
women in history. There are several interactive exhibits for guests to
enjoy.
                                ************
Tour includes:
1. A knowledgeable tour guide
2. Admission to the Museum of Nature and Science
3. Admission to the Women's Museum of Dallas
4. Deluxe motorcoach transportation
5. Bottled ice cold water
                                ************
Cost: $45 a person
                                ************
Tour 7. Saturday Night, July 5, 2008, Comedy Club and Dinner
7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
                                ************
Laughter is the best medicine for the soul. You'll enjoy a delicious dinner
with all of the trimmings and then be entertained by the best comedians in
Dallas. It's good clean fun, or so we are told.
                                ************
Tour includes:
1. A knowledgeable tour guide
2. Dinner and comedy show
3. Deluxe motorcoach transportation
4. Bottled ice cold water

Cost: $71 a person
                                ************
As you can see, there are a lot of things to do in Dallas. So make your
plans now to join us for the best convention ever.

Tour Registration Form:

Name:

Address:

City, State, Zip:

Phone: (H)                   (Cell)                      (Fax)



|Tour Name          |Number of     |Cost per     |Total Cost       |
|                   |Attendees     |Person       |                 |
|Tour 1. Dallas     |              |             |                 |
|Highlights and JFK |              |$ 41.50      |$__________      |
|Museum             |              |             |                 |
|Tour 2.            |              |             |                 |
|Fort Worth         |              |             |$__________      |
|Stockyards and     |              |$ 42.50      |                 |
|Shopping           |              |             |                 |
|Tour 3.            |              |             |                 |
|Wine Tasting and   |              |$ 72.00      |$__________      |
|Tour of Grapevine  |              |             |                 |
|Tour 4.            |              |             |                 |
|Six Flags Over     |              |             |$__________      |
|Texas Amusement    |              |$ 57.50      |                 |
|Park               |              |             |                 |
|Tour 5.            |              |             |                 |
|The Legend of      |              |$ 35.00      |$__________      |
|Bonnie and Clyde   |              |             |                 |
|Tour 6.            |              |             |                 |
|Museum of Nature   |              |             |                 |
|and Science and    |              |$ 45.00      |$__________      |
|Women's Museum     |              |             |                 |
|Tour 7.            |              |             |                 |
|Saturday, July 5   |              |             |                 |
|Comedy Club and    |              |$ 71.00      |$__________      |
|Dinner             |              |             |                 |
|Prices include all |              |             |Total for Tours  |
|taxes and          |              |             |                 |
|gratuities where   |              |             |$__________      |
|meals are served.  |              |             |                 |

|Make checks payable and remit    |Questions or to register by      |
|payment to:                      |phone:                           |
|All In One Tour Services         |(800) 756-1233 toll-free USA     |
|145 World Trade Center           |(214) 698-0332 phone             |
|P. O. Box 421461                 |(214) 698-0302 fax               |
|Dallas, Texas 75342              |                                 |
|Attention: Alice Riggins         |                                 |

Email <alltours@swbell.net>
Website: <www.allinonetourservices.com>
Final payment must be received by June 13, 2008.
                                ------------
[PHOTO/CAPTION: The knfbReader Mobile held in a man's hand]
                         The 2008 Washington Seminar
                              by Barbara Pierce
                                ************
      In years to come we may well look back on the 2008 Washington Seminar
with particular nostalgia, for it was both exciting and powerfully moving.
Many of us are especially fond of the Holiday Inn Capitol because of the
simplicity of its layout and its proximity to Capitol Hill. We managed
somehow yet again to squeeze hundreds of Federationists into the meeting
rooms, and we were happy to discover that additional fast-food restaurants
have sprung up in the area.
      Sunday, January 27, and Monday the 28th were overflowing with
meetings and seminars. Here is at least a partial list, actually beginning
on Saturday, January 26:
1. A leadership seminar for 2007 NFB scholarship winners and their student
   mentors. This meeting took place at the National Center, and the students
   then traveled to the Holiday Inn Sunday morning in time for the general
   student seminar.
2. The Research and Development Committee met at the National Center
   Saturday evening, Sunday, and Monday.
3. The National Association of Blind Students conducted its annual
   midwinter seminar Sunday morning at the Holiday Inn.
4. The National Organization of Parents of Blind Children conducted an
   intensive two-day leadership seminar for parents committed to organizing
   or strengthening their state parent divisions.
5. A rehabilitation and orientation and mobility conference, complete with
   a luncheon and keynote address, took place at the hotel until
   midafternoon Monday.
6. The National Association of Blind Merchants conducted an afternoon
   seminar on building better businesses.
The Governmental Affairs and Affiliate Action Departments collaborated to
present the 2008 legislative seminar, including advice on making effective
presentations, mastering the facts of the legislative agenda, and
presenting our position and arguments effectively.
      A weekend agenda with such diverse offerings would naturally attract
hundreds of people, but at the heart of this one and dominating everyone's
thoughts was the Sunday afternoon memorial celebration of the life of Dr.
Betsy Zaborowski, the executive director of the NFB Jernigan Institute from
its opening to last summer. A full report of this event appears elsewhere
in this issue.
      On Monday morning at ten a.m. we called a press conference to make an
electrifying announcement. Everyone attending the Washington Seminar was
invited, though members of the press were up front. Columbia-the largest
meeting room in the hotel-was crowded when President Maurer and Ray
Kurzweil stepped forward to unveil the knfbReader Mobile. The Kurzweil-
National Federation of the Blind Reader, introduced to great acclaim less
than two years ago, has now been replaced by its powerful software loaded
into a cell phone with a digital camera. Compact as the original K-NFB
Reader was, this is truly a reader that will fit into a shirt pocket.
      Jim Gashel demonstrated this amazing technology to an incredulous
audience. The controls have been simplified and speeded up. The camera can
take photos closer to the page than sixteen inches. The speech is as clear
as in the larger unit, and the currency identifier is very accurate.
      The cell phone required by this reading software is a Nokia N82,
which retails for somewhat under $600 if you shop carefully. Jim Gashel
assured the audience that both the Talks and MobileSpeak software programs
make this cell phone quite accessible. It can accept or send calls even
while the Reader is operating. Users can also purchase a global positioning
system that works well with both access programs. The cost of the Reader
software is $1,595, a significant reduction in price from the original KNFB
Reader, even adding in the cost of the cell phone.
      The knfbReader Mobile went on sale February 15. To find the vendor
nearest you, go to <www.knfbreader.com> for a complete list. Kurzweil-
National Federation of the Blind Reader users will find generous terms for
upgrading to the knfbReader Mobile.
[PHOTO/CAPTION: At the head table of the great gathering-in meeting are
(left to right) President Maurer at the microphone, Lord Colin Low, John
Par, James Gashel, and Ann Marie Laney.]
      The five p.m. briefing was, as usual, standing room only, even though
many Federationists went straight to the overflow room to hear the
proceedings relayed to them through the public address system. Well over
five hundred people attended the great gathering-in meeting. Lord Colin Low
of Dalston, CEO of the Royal National Institute of Blind People in the
United Kingdom, came to Washington this year to observe our efforts to
educate the Congress. During the briefing he addressed the crowd in his
usual charmingly understated way. President Maurer announced that fifty of
the fifty-two affiliates were present this year. Before Jim McCarthy and
Jesse Hartle discussed this year's legislative issues with the group,
Congressman Edward Markey, representing the seventh district of
Massachusetts, stopped by to encourage us in our efforts to deal
effectively with quiet cars and described his efforts to increase video
description on television programming. He called special attention to the
need to voice the print crawls across the bottom of the TV screen.
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Congressman Ed Markey addresses the gathering.]
      Our legislative agenda this year included three items of pressing
importance: building Congressional support for legislation to require the
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration to formulate
regulations insuring that hybrid and electric vehicles can be heard in
traffic; restoring the lost funding from last year and protecting the full
$19.1 million needed this year and in the three successive years to
complete the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped's transition from cassette books to digital media and provide
the equipment needed to play them; and passage of H.R. 3834 and S. 2559,
raising the earnings limit for blind Social Security Disability Insurance
recipients ultimately to that of working retirees who have not yet reached
full retirement age. The full text of the legislative agenda and the three
fact sheets appears elsewhere in this issue. Please note that the Senate
bill number does not appear in the fact sheet because Senators Chris Dodd
and John McCain only introduced the bill on Friday, January 25.
      Federationists fanned out across Capitol Hill Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday to discuss these issues with every member of the House and Senate
and their staffs. When the Nevada delegation met with Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reed, the senator came into the room talking about having
heard that morning about a reading machine the size of a cell phone. He was
sure that his blind constituents would be interested to hear about this new
invention. When he stopped for breath, NFB Executive Director for Strategic
Initiatives John Par stepped forward and showed Senator Reed the only
knfbReader Mobile in Washington that day. He then successfully demonstrated
its features, much to the senator's delight. That may have been our most
dramatic encounter on Capitol Hill January 29 to 31, but important contacts
were made and conversations held in offices all over the Hill.
      Now that we have returned home from Washington, the hard work begins.
We must follow up with the staffers responsible for the issues we
discussed. We must urge members of Congress to sign on as cosponsors to
H.R. 3834 and S. 2559 and to introduce the quiet car legislation we need.
We must keep the pressure on the Appropriations Committee in the House to
protect the funding for the transition to digital playback machines and
books. The strength of the relationships we forge with our legislators and
their staffs in the weeks and months ahead will determine our success on
Capitol Hill during this election year. We have made a start; now the work
begins.
                                ------------
                   Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans:
              Priorities for the 110th Congress, Second Session
                                ************
      The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the voice of the
nation's blind. We present the collective views of blind people throughout
society. All of our leaders and the vast majority of our members are blind,
but anyone can participate in our movement. Every year approximately 75,000
Americans become blind, and there are an estimated 1.3 million blind people
in the United States. The social and economic consequences of blindness
affect not only blind people, but also our families, our friends, and our
coworkers.
      Three legislative initiatives demand the immediate attention of the
110th Congress in its second session. These urgent action items include:
      1. We urge Congress to ensure the safety of the blind and other
pedestrians by passing legislation requiring the U.S. Department of
Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, to adopt
regulations establishing a minimum sound level standard for all new
automobiles sold in the United States. The regulations need not prescribe
the method automobile manufacturers must use to achieve the minimum sound
standard, but the standard should have the following characteristics:
1. In all phases of operation, including times when the vehicle is at a
   full stop, vehicles should be required to emit an omni-directional sound
   with similar spectral characteristics to those of a modern internal
   combustion engine.
2. The sound should vary in a way that is consistent with the sound of
   vehicles with combustion engines to indicate whether the vehicle is
   idling, maintaining a constant speed, accelerating, or decelerating.
      2. We urge Congress to fully fund the program of the National Library
Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress
to convert the analog cassette collection of Talking Books to a digital
format and to procure the equipment to play the digital Talking Books.
Failure to provide this funding will result in the disruption of library
service to all blind Americans, creating a devastating set of circumstances
preventing the blind from equal opportunity for literacy.
      Congress should fully fund the digital Talking Book project by
allocating $19.1 million for this purpose in fiscal year 2009, as well as
restoring the $6.6 million left out of the fiscal year 2008 request. This
appropriation of $25.7 million will allow the NLS to remain on course for a
successful conversion to ensure that blind users of the Talking Book
program do not find themselves without access to books and magazines.
      3. We urge Congress to amend Title II of the Social Security Act to
mandate a schedule of increases in the level of earnings allowed for blind
individuals before applying a work penalty, as follows:
1. For 2008 $21,600
2. For 2009 $26,400
3. For 2010 $30,000
4. For 2011 $34,200
5. For 2012 the amount applicable to individuals who attain Full Retirement
   Age in that year.
      For more information about these priorities, please consult the
attached fact sheets.
                                ************
      Other priorities that offer opportunities for legislative action in
the second session of Congress include:
1. As a part of legislation reauthorizing federal higher education
   programs, adopting language establishing the Advisory Commission on
   Accessible Instructional Materials in Postsecondary Education for
   Students with Disabilities and providing for the support of model
   demonstration programs to encourage the development of systems to improve
   the timely delivery and quality of postsecondary instructional materials
   in specialized formats to students with print disabilities contained in
   Sections 766A and 766B of H.R. 4137.
2. Assuring that blindness cannot be a factor to justify payment of less
   than minimum wage under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
3. Reauthorizing the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, as part of the
   Workforce Investment Act to increase consumer empowerment and enhance
   informed choice.
4. Preserving and enhancing opportunities available under the Randolph-
   Sheppard Act for blind men and women to operate vending businesses on
   federal property.
5. Ensuring that legislation amending the Help America Vote Act (HAVA)
   affirms the right of blind Americans to vote privately and independently,
   by requiring that any new verification mechanisms necessary because of
   such legislation must be accessible to the blind.
      For more information on any of these priorities, please contact James
McCarthy or Jesse Hartle of the National Federation of the Blind, or visit
us online at <www.nfb.org>.
      Blind Americans need your help to achieve our goals of economic
security, increased opportunity, and full integration into American society
on a basis of equality. Enactment of these legislative proposals will
represent important steps toward reaching these goals. We need the help and
support of each member of Congress. Our success benefits not only us, but
the whole of America as well.
                                ------------
                        Enhancing Pedestrian Safety:
      Ensuring the Blind Can Continue to Travel Safely And Independently
                                ************
Purpose: To require gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles and other vehicles
using silent power sources to emit a minimum level of sound which can alert
blind people and other pedestrians to their presence.
                                ************
Background: Until recently independent travel for the blind has been a
relatively simple matter, once a blind person has been trained in travel
techniques and has learned to use a white cane or to travel with a guide
dog. Blind people listen to the sounds of automobile engines to determine
the direction, speed, and pattern of traffic. Sounds from traffic tell
blind pedestrians how many vehicles are near them and how fast they are
moving; whether the vehicles are accelerating or decelerating; and whether
the vehicles are traveling toward, away from, or parallel to them. With all
of this information, blind people can accurately determine when it is safe
to proceed into an intersection or across a driveway or parking lot. The
information obtained from listening to traffic sounds allows blind people
to travel with complete confidence and without assistance. Over the past
few years, however, vehicles that are completely silent in certain modes of
operation have come on the market, and more such vehicles are expected to
be produced in the near future. These vehicles are designed to produce
lower emissions in order to protect the environment from harmful
pollutants, but the vehicles do not need to be silent in order to achieve
the intended positive environmental effects. Currently the most popular of
these vehicles are gasoline-electric hybrids (which alternate between
running on a gasoline engine and on battery power), although a few electric
automobiles are already on America's roads and new all-electric models are
planned. The blind of America do not oppose the proliferation of vehicles
intended to reduce damage to the environment, but these vehicles must meet
a minimum sound standard for safety.
                                ************
Need for Congressional Action: The silence of gasoline-electric hybrid cars
poses an immediate and growing threat to the safety of blind and other
pedestrians and jeopardizes the ability of blind people to travel
independently. In order to address this threat, these vehicles must emit a
sound detectable by the human ear. Not only will such a sound allow the
blind to continue to travel in safety, but it will also protect cyclists,
runners, other pedestrians, and small children, all of whom rely on the
sounds of traffic to varying degrees.
      The National Federation of the Blind has been concerned about the
proliferation of silent vehicles for several years. Thus far, however, our
concerns have not been heeded. Automobile manufacturers view the silence of
their vehicles as a marketing advantage, and federal regulators have
indicated that, in the absence of statistics on injuries or deaths caused
by hybrid vehicles, nothing can be done. No one disputes that pedestrians
cannot hear these vehicles (even their manufacturers concede this fact),
and we believe it is preferable that the problem be addressed before the
inevitable avalanche of tragedies involving blind people, cyclists, and
children shocks the nation.
                                ************
Proposed Legislation: Legislation requiring the U.S. Department of
Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, to
establish and promulgate a national standard for a minimum sound to be
emitted by all new automobiles sold in the United States, based on
appropriate scientific research and consultation with blind Americans and
other affected groups, is urgently needed. This national minimum sound
standard should have the following characteristics:
1. In all phases of operation, including times when the vehicle is at a
   full stop, vehicles should be required to emit an omni-directional sound
   with similar spectral characteristics to those of a modern internal
   combustion engine.
2. The sound should vary in a way that is consistent with the sound of
   vehicles with combustion engines to indicate whether the vehicle is
   idling, maintaining a constant speed, accelerating, or decelerating.
      The standard need not prescribe the apparatus, technology, or method
to be used by vehicle manufacturers to achieve the required minimum sound
level. This approach will encourage manufacturers to use innovative and
cost-effective techniques to achieve the minimum sound standard.
      The addition of components that will emit a minimum sound discernible
to blind people and other pedestrians will not adversely affect the
environmental benefits of gasoline-electric hybrids and other automobiles
running on alternate power sources, nor need the sound be loud enough to
contribute to noise pollution. Automobiles that operate in complete
silence, however, endanger the safety of everyone; silent operation should
be seen as a design flaw similar to the lack of seat belts or air bags.
Requested Action: Please support blind Americans by sponsoring or
cosponsoring legislation authorizing the U.S. Department of Transportation
to establish and promulgate regulations specifying a minimum sound standard
for all new automobiles sold in the United States.
                                ------------
                          Preserving Talking Books
                  For the Blind and Physically Handicapped
                                ************
Purpose: To prevent devastating disruption in the distribution of books and
magazines by the Talking Book program of the Library of Congress.
                                ************
Background: In 1931 Congress passed the Pratt-Smoot Act, which authorized
the distribution of books to blind and physically handicapped people in the
United States through what is now known as the National Library Service for
the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress (NLS).
Talking Books began to be produced in 1934 and were originally recorded on
phonograph records; cassette books were produced beginning in 1971. Today
recorded books and the equipment to play them are distributed through a
network of cooperating libraries throughout the country. Books on all
subjects and representing all literary genres, as well as a selection of
popular magazines, are available to NLS patrons. From its inception the
Talking Books program has used the most cost-effective technology that is
accessible by its users and protects the rights of copyright holders. The
program is universally praised for the quality of the Talking Books and for
its efficient distribution to patrons across the country. The Talking Book
service is the single most effective and popular program serving blind
Americans, for whom it is often the only source of reading material.
      Currently the service uses analog cassette tapes recorded at half
speed to prevent copyright infringement, but cassette technology is now
obsolete. Realizing that the days of the cassette tape were numbered, NLS
developed a plan to transition from analog to digital technology. A digital
Talking Book player was designed that can be used by patrons of all ages,
abilities, and physical limitations, and digital flash cartridges have been
developed to store the books. Just as NLS is about to put the digital
transition plan into effect, however, Congress has withdrawn critically
needed funds from the project, placing the Talking Book program in peril.
Without the restoration of full funding to the program, NLS will not be
able to deliver digital Talking Books and players to its patrons in
accordance with the schedule originally planned. The last analog cassette
machine to play the specially formatted tapes was manufactured over a year
ago, leaving NLS with only a very limited supply of new and refurbished
players to serve its patrons who are still using the cassettes. Parts for
these players are no longer available, and the machines are maintained
primarily by volunteers. As these cassette machines reach the end of their
useful life, and with the distribution of digital books and equipment
slowed by the lack of funding, many NLS patrons will see their library
service come to an abrupt halt.
                                ************
Need for Congressional Action: The National Library Service for the Blind
and Physically Handicapped determined that it would take $76,400,000 to
complete the conversion from analog cassettes to a digital format. Their
goal was to obtain this funding over four fiscal years, $19.1 million per
year, in order to ensure that the conversion project was completed before
analog cassettes became completely obsolete and unavailable. In its fiscal
year 2008 budget request, the Library of Congress asked for the first of
these $19.1 million installments to begin the digital conversion. Because
of budget concerns, the Legislative Branch subcommittees in both the House
and the Senate did not provide the needed funds to keep this project on the
four-year conversion schedule established by the NLS. Both House and Senate
included only $12.5 million for this project, leaving $6.6 million
unfunded.
      Congress should fully fund the digital Talking Book project by
allocating $19.1 million for this purpose in fiscal year 2009, as well as
restoring the $6.6 million left out of the fiscal year 2008 request. This
appropriation of $25.7 million will allow the NLS to remain on course for a
successful conversion to ensure that blind users of the Talking Book
program do not find themselves without access to books and magazines.
Requested Action: Please support blind Americans by voting for an
appropriation of $25.7 million in fiscal year 2009 for the Library of
Congress Talking Book program.
                                ------------
                       Increasing the Earnings Limit:
    A Common Sense Work Incentive for Blind Social Security Beneficiaries
                                ************
Legislation: H.R. 3834, the Blind Persons Earnings Fairness Act of 2007
introduced by Congressman John Lewis.
                                ************
Purpose: To amend Title II of the Social Security Act by mandating five
annual increases in the level of earnings allowed for blind individuals
before applying a work penalty.
                                ************
Background: By increasing the Social Security earnings limit in 1996,
Congress gave seniors a powerful incentive to work. Advocates stressed that
seniors would continue to work, earn, and pay taxes because they could do
so with no fear of losing income from Social Security.
      The need for a higher earnings limit for the blind is much more
compelling because of an all-or-nothing penalty for exceeding the limit.
Nevertheless, the earnings limit for blind individuals has not been
increased beyond the annual rate of wage growth, though historically this
limit was tied to the applicable limit for seniors. In 2008 the earnings
limit applicable to seniors in the year they reach Full Retirement Age
(FRA) is $36,120. This limit is adjusted annually. For blind individuals
gross earnings exceeding $1,570 monthly ($18,840 annually) cause complete
loss of benefits until attainment of FRA.
                                ************
Existing Law: Like "retirement age," "blindness" is specifically defined in
the Social Security Act and can be readily determined. By contrast,
evaluating "disability" is far more subjective. Although blindness is
specifically defined, not all blind people receive monthly benefits. Only
those not working or whose work earnings are below an annually adjusted
statutory earnings limit are eligible. Personal wealth derived from all
sources other than work is subject to no penalty at all. However, income in
excess of the earnings limit generated from work results in a complete loss
of cash benefits for blind beneficiaries. Recognizing the negative impact
of the earnings limit on seniors, Congress changed the law in 1996 and
later entirely eliminated their earnings limit. The situation confronting
blind people today is identical to that seniors faced before 1996.
                                ************
Examples: For the blind who find employment, earnings almost never replace
lost benefits once taxes and work expenses are paid. Therefore few
beneficiaries can truly afford to attempt significant work, and those who
do often sacrifice income and the security of a monthly check. The
following examples illustrate the penalty for working.
1. A single blind person with no dependents having annual cash benefits of
   approximately $12,000 or $1,000 per month (an average benefit), with no
   other income, receives this amount tax-free. Gross pay to replace
   benefits must be approximately $20,500, taking into account taxes and
   work expenses (including transportation and purchase of work-appropriate
   clothing). This is $1,660 above the amount blind people are allowed.
   Annual earnings less than $20,500 clearly result in a net loss of income.
   While some blind people nevertheless choose to work, many do not because
   they cannot afford the lost income.
2. For a blind beneficiary with dependents, the situation is more
   desperate. With two dependents the family's total benefit averages
   $17,870 tax-free annually, and earnings greater than $18,840 (the annual
   earnings limit for blind recipients) will terminate benefits. Using
   conservative assumptions, including combined state and federal taxes of
   twenty-five percent of gross pay and childcare for two children at $500
   per month, replacing $17,870 in benefits would require over $32,000 in
   gross pay. When dependents are involved, the choice whether or not to
   work is profoundly restricted, and the amount necessary to replace
   combined family benefits vastly exceeds the blind person's earnings
   limit.
                                ************
Need for Legislation: Steadily increasing the earnings limit for blind
people over five years, thereby linking it to the limit applicable in the
year of FRA, will allow blind people to work without facing an overwhelming
financial penalty for their effort. This would provide more than 100,000
blind beneficiaries with an effective work incentive. In 2008 a blind
individual's earnings cannot exceed a rigid monthly limit of $1,570.
Earnings over this threshold lead to immediate withdrawal of the total sum
paid to a primary beneficiary and all dependents following completion of a
trial work period. The economic risk occurring to a blind head of household
negates any possible economic benefit.
      An increase in the earnings limit would be cost-beneficial. With an
estimated 74 percent unemployment rate, an overwhelming majority of working-
age blind people are already beneficiaries. With this meaningful work
incentive proposal, many would also become taxpayers. The chance to work,
earn, and pay taxes is a constructive and valid goal for senior citizens
and blind Americans alike.
                                ************
Requested Action: Congress should enact annual increases in the statutory
earnings limit for blind individuals over five years, ultimately linking it
to that applicable to individuals in the year they attain full retirement
age as follows:
                                ************
1. For 2008 $21,600
2. For 2009 $26,400
3. For 2010 $30,000
4. For 2011 $34,200
5. For 2012 the amount applicable to individuals who attain Full Retirement
   Age in that year.
                                ************
      Please support blind Americans by cosponsoring the Blind Persons
Earnings Fairness Act of 2007, H.R. 3834.
      Senators, please support companion legislation when introduced.
                                ------------
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Hundreds of Federationists watch a video presentation
celebrating Betsy Zaborowski's accomplishments.]
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley]
 [PHOTO/CAPTION: Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski speaks at the podium.]
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Mary Ellen Jernigan describes the charcoal drawing of
Betsy.]
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Jessica Bashicha, accompanied by Curtis Chong, sings
gloriously.]
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Standing at the podium in Members Hall, Jim Gashel pays
loving tribute to his late wife. A beautiful floral arrangement is massed
in front of the podium.]

       Celebrating a Life of Imagination, Inspiration, and Influence:
                        Remembering Betsy Zaborowski
                              by Daniel B. Frye
                                ************
      Hundreds of Federationists and other friends conducted a memorial
celebration in honor of Betsy Zaborowski, late executive director of the
NFB Jernigan Institute, on Sunday, January 27, 2008, in Members Hall of the
Jernigan Institute. Over six hundred of Betsy's friends, family members,
and admirers, many of whom were on the East Coast in anticipation of the
2008 Washington Seminar, assembled to pay tribute to her life and legacy.
Kevan Worley, chairman of the NFB Imagination Fund, served as master of
ceremonies. His humor and heartfelt emotion recalled Betsy's contributions
and captured her spirit. The crowd laughed and cheered as Kevan sprinkled
his introductions of the speakers with a few newly learned Polish words in
honor of Betsy's heritage.
      An arrangement of burgundy lillies, white pompoms, and pink and white
dogwood covered the front of the podium. A large screen accommodated long-
distance viewing of the speakers, and guests sat at tables throughout the
room. Each table setting included a memorial program featuring highlights
of Betsy's life and a blue and white Imagination pin.
      Following the moving two-hour program, guests celebrated Betsy's life
accomplishments and our memories of her over a catered feast featuring
Polish sausages, pirogues, potatoes, and others of Betsy's favorite Polish
dishes. As people mingled and reminisced about Betsy's spirit and
determination, many stepped across the hall to visit the newly dedicated
Betsy Zaborowski Conference Room (formerly the Jernigan Institute
Conference Room) to see the newly commissioned charcoal portrait of Betsy,
drawn by Ashleigh Meusel, that dominates the west wall of the room.
According to NFB Executive Director for Operations Mary Ellen Jernigan,
this rendering "captures a vigorous, charming, challenging, and joyous
Betsy."
      The memorial celebration program offered a variety of perspectives
from personal friends and professional colleagues, representing the many
facets of Betsy's life. Without reprinting word for word the remarks of
each presenter, an article like this cannot do justice to the depth of
feeling, profound respect, poignant remembrances, and funny anecdotes
offered by the speakers in their effort to recall and reclaim the essence
of Betsy's fully lived life as they had known her. Collectively, though,
the presentations paid tribute to an accomplished professional, visionary
administrator, hard-hitting blindness and gender advocate, politically and
civically engaged activist, and compassionate friend and spouse. Together
the speakers evoked the image of a one-of-a-kind woman whose life has
influenced thousands and helped to revolutionize opportunities for blind
people across America.
      Father William Murphy of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Betsy's
spiritual advisor and friend for seven years, began the program with a
blessing. Mark Riccobono, newly appointed executive director of the
Jernigan Institute, spoke of the professional mentoring that Betsy had
provided him, and he promised to work hard to continue the legacy she left
us, motivated by her perseverance and unquenchable spirit. Mark then
introduced an NFB-produced video that chronicled Betsy's professional
career, emphasizing in particular her influence on the development of the
Jernigan Institute.
      Describing Betsy's strength and love of professional networking,
Barbara Perrier-Dreyer, president of Connections Academy, spoke of their
friendship and mutual involvement in Network 2000, a circle of
businesswomen working and living in Baltimore. Barbara explained that, when
Betsy learned that Barbara too had cancer, she sent her one of her
collection of hats along with a note urging her to be strong and
admonishing that "Chemo's not for sissies." Floraine Applefeld, a long-time
friend of Betsy's, joined Barbara in offering her heart-felt condolences at
Betsy's death. 
      Two international dignitaries then came to the podium to remember
Betsy's border-transcending contributions to the blindness community. Penny
Hartin, chief executive officer of the World Blind Union (WBU), said that
Betsy exemplified the WBU slogan adopted from Kenneth Jernigan and the NFB,
"changing what it means to be blind," and she extended condolences on
behalf of WBU President William Roland and the one hundred and fifty
million blind people represented by the organization. Lord Colin Low of
Dalston, chairman of the Royal National Institute of Blind People, next
charmed the gathering by observing that a strong correlation between the
type of cancer Betsy had and superior intelligence seems to exist. On a
more somber note Lord Low spoke of Betsy's personal qualities, love of
philosophy and academics, memorable style, and passion for her work. Lord
Low concluded by saying that Betsy would always be remembered and regarded
as "a treasure in the pantheon of Federation greats."
      Raymond Kurzweil, cofounder, chairman, and chief executive officer of
knfb Reading Technology, Incorporated, characterized Betsy as a woman of
warmth, wit, compassion, sense of purpose, and imagination. Mr. Kurzweil
mentioned the knfb Reading Technology, Incorporated, joint venture with the
NFB during his remarks, but only to announce that the slated Monday,
January 28, 2008, unveiling of the knfbReader Mobile reading unit would be
dedicated to Betsy's honor and memory.
      NFB President Marc Maurer next offered a touching eulogy of Betsy,
reflecting on her professional competence, tough-minded spirit, and
visionary outlook, each in evidence starting when she first joined the
staff of the Federation and assumed the roles first of director of special
programs and then executive director of the Jernigan Institute. President
Maurer concluded his remarks by urging everybody to "imagine Betsy
Zaborowski."
      A testament to Betsy's reputation and the esteem in which she was
held was made clear by the fact that both Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley
and U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski offered sincere tributes to Betsy's
devotion to public policy that advanced opportunities for America's blind
community.
      As the program drew to a close, Jessica Bachicha, an NFB scholarship
winner, leader in the student division, and graduate student in vocal
performance at the New England Conservatory of Music, deeply moved the
audience with her performance of "On Eagles' Wings," one of Betsy's
favorite songs. Curtis Chong of Des Moines, Iowa, accompanied Jessica on
the piano.
      James Gashel, Betsy's spouse of eighteen years, was the final speaker
of the day. The memorial celebration program characterized Mr. Gashel as
Betsy's soul mate, a leader and member of the NFB since 1965, and the vice
president of marketing for knfb Reading Technology, Incorporated. Jim spoke
fervently of his love for Betsy, the void that her absence has left in his
life, and his affectionate memories of her sassy style and commanding
personality. In personal tribute to Betsy, Jim introduced a second video-
one that he had personally compiled and produced-that featured a series of
personal photographs of the two of them living a fun-filled life. Pictures
of their wide-ranging travels, their skiing adventures, and their families
flashed across a monitor, accompanied by the popular song "You Raise Me
Up." This montage was a fitting benediction to Betsy's memorial celebration-
an event in equal measure full of laughter, love, and loss.
      What follows is the biographical sketch and statement about Betsy
Zaborowski taken from the program of her memorial celebration. It
summarizes who she was and what she achieved. Here it is:
                                ************
      Dr. Betsy A. Zaborowski was the first executive director of the NFB
Jernigan Institute. It was her imagination, leadership, and dynamic
personality that turned a dream, a one-of-a-kind research and training
institute developed and directed by blind people, into reality-a reality
that presents a future full of opportunities and previously unimagined
accomplishments.
      Dr. Zaborowski first became a member of the NFB in 1979. She served
the organization in a number of volunteer leadership roles including
treasurer of the Colorado affiliate and president of the NFB Human Services
Division. She joined the NFB staff in 1995 as director of special programs.
Her work in that position focused on building a bridge between the
community and the blind. She brought energy and vision to this role, and
she built new programs harnessing the collective experience of the blind.
      With tireless dedication she took on the leadership of a twenty-
million-dollar capital campaign to build a new one-hundred-and-seventy-
thousand-square foot facility adjacent to the National Center for the
Blind. More than a building, this research and training institute was a
dream, a hope for the future, the next innovation in the progress the blind
have been making for ourselves since we organized in 1940 to establish the
NFB.
      In 2001 her leadership, along with the parallel leadership of her
partner and husband James Gashel, was honored when the couple was presented
with the Jacobus tenBroek Award, the NFB's highest national recognition of
exemplary service. With her leadership in the capital campaign and her
imagination in crafting the early vision for the Institute, it was only
fitting that on December 1, 2003, the NFB named Dr. Zaborowski as the first
executive director of the Jernigan Institute. For three and one-half years
Dr. Zaborowski built the Institute by establishing outstanding programs and
partnerships that had not been previously imagined.
      During the eight years prior to joining the staff of the NFB, she
worked as a clinical psychologist in Baltimore. Along with a successful
private practice, she taught in the School of Continuing Studies graduate
education counseling program at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and lectured
at the JHU School of Medicine and the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Before her
move from Colorado to Baltimore in 1987, she practiced in the field of
health psychology for Kaiser Permanente, served as a mental health and
university-based counselor, and worked for six years as a grade six to
twelve guidance counselor.
      Dr. Zaborowski received her doctorate in psychology from the
University of Denver and her bachelor's and master's degrees from the
University of Wisconsin, Menomonie. As a psychologist she served on and
chaired the American Psychological Association's Committee on Disability
Issues in Psychology, and she was chair of the Women's Committee and
delegate-at-large for the Maryland Psychological Association (MPA)
executive council.
      In 1997 the Governor of Maryland appointed Dr. Zaborowski to the
Maryland Information Technology Board. She was the first chair of the
Mayor's Commission on Disabilities and was appointed to two terms on the
Baltimore City Women's Commission. She also served for several years on the
Governor's Advisory Board on People with Disabilities and consulted for
numerous organizations and companies in areas such as time management,
stress management, sexual harassment, leadership skills, and disability
issues.
      The Daily Record chose Dr. Zaborowski as one of Maryland's top one
hundred women in 1998 and 2000. In 2003 she was recognized again with this
award and was among a select group of previous honorees inducted into the
Circle of Excellence of Maryland's Top One Hundred Women. In 2004 Smart
Woman Magazine featured her on its cover, and in 2005 Smart CEO Magazine
featured Dr. Zaborowski as one of twenty-five admired Maryland leaders.
      A native of Wisconsin, Betsy had a boundless love of life that
included pride in her Polish heritage and unwavering support for the Green
Bay Packers. Deeply religious, Dr. Zaborowski was a member of the Catholic
Church. In addition to her active professional life, she enjoyed skiing and
the camaraderie of a good soiree. Top among her favorites was hosting the
Polish Christmas party at her home in Baltimore.
      On November 29, 2007, Dr. Z, as she was affectionately known, lost a
nine-month battle with cancer. Yet her spirit, determination, vision, and
faith in the work of the blind are evidenced by the Institute's
accomplishments today and those of the future.
                                ------------
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Gary Wunder]
               Remarks about the Problems Caused by Quiet Cars
                               by Gary Wunder
                                ************
      From the Editor: Gary Wunder is the secretary of the National
Federation of the Blind and vice chair of the NFB's Committee for
Automobile and Pedestrian Safety. On January 24, 2008, in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, he addressed a technical subgroup of the World Forum for
Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations-Working Party 29 of the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe. The entire Working Party 29 will meet this
month in Geneva, Switzerland. This is what he said:
                                ************
      On behalf of the National Federation of the Blind, our nation's
oldest and largest organization of blind people, I want to thank you for
this opportunity to address an issue critical to blind pedestrians. Who are
blind people? The totally blind, who like me see nothing at all; people who
see at twenty feet what you see with the same clarity at two hundred; and
people who may see well straight ahead but have little or no peripheral
vision. The National Federation of the Blind is composed of volunteer
members who have any of these visual acuities, and we welcome and have
sighted members who share in making lives better for blind people.
      A cornerstone of our philosophy is that we ask from society only what
we need, take as much responsibility for ourselves as we can, and learn
through training how to do as blind people what others do with sight. How
do blind people travel? Canes or dogs tell us about obstacles, steps,
curbs, drop-offs, and open manholes. For navigating traffic, we use our
ears; we know audibly whether vehicles are stationary or moving, their
direction and speed, and whether they are speeding up or slowing down.
Using the movement of parallel and perpendicular traffic, we can determine
the color of traffic lights and when it is safe for us to cross.
      All of these cues rely on a minimal level of sound--not noise but
usable audible information. If the sound is too loud, the noise of other
vehicles is masked; if too low, vehicles become invisible to us. Most of
the sound we depend on comes from vehicles moving at less than twenty MPH,
and at this speed it is very likely most hybrid vehicles will be in the
electric or silent mode.
      For pedestrians, and particularly blind pedestrians, this is a life
and death issue, physically and spiritually. No hype or spin is intended in
this bold statement. If good blind travelers can't get needed information
from our ears, then there are no good blind travelers. The physical threat
is that we end up on the wrong side of a car bumper. The spiritual threat
is that reasonable people will consider it no longer safe to travel
independently, so, instead of becoming working, contributing members in the
world, we will become prisoners without the need of an electronic shackle.
      Mobility is necessary for almost everything we do: go to school or
work, go on a walk to relieve stress, enjoy the spring, take our children
to the park, or go to visit their school. What we need, and what all
pedestrians need, is for vehicles to have some level of audibility. The
mantra that cars must be made quieter must at some point give way to a new
paradigm--that cars must be quiet, but be sufficiently audible that
pedestrians are warned of their presence. Consider from a visual
perspective how attractive the world would be if vehicles were invisible,
then consider the catastrophe if this were achievable.
      We don't have our hearts set on one acceptable sound, but we do
suggest that current automobiles make a noise which is recognizable by all
pedestrians. No car has to sound like a souped up fifty-five Chevy with
pipes to help the blind, but neither should it sound as quiet as a coasting
bicycle. In all phases of operation, including times when the vehicles are
at a full stop, vehicles should be required to emit an omni-directional
sound with similar spectral characteristics to those of a modern internal
combustion engine. The sound should vary in a way that indicates whether
the vehicle is idling, maintaining a constant speed, accelerating, or
decelerating.
      It is important that we decide on one standard sound applied across
the board. We do not want cars whose sounds vary as much as the ringers one
can buy for a cell phone. A vehicle needs to sound like a vehicle, and that
sound needs to communicate the presence of an object which outweighs a
pedestrian by at least twenty to one.
      Some have argued that pedestrians, and especially blind pedestrians,
should carry a device to indicate the presence of a hybrid or electric
vehicle and tell us when it is safe to cross the street. At some time in
the future this may be a viable option, but currently it is as impractical
as you surrendering the driving of your car to a computer. When that day
comes, I'll join you in the driver's seat, but until then we must both rely
on the senses we have and on the best computer we know for making
complicated life-saving decisions--the computer which sits atop our
shoulders.
      The National Federation of the Blind shares the goal of keeping cars
affordable, living in a cleaner environment, reducing noise pollution,
curbing our use of oil, and reducing the pollution that is generated by
automobiles and other vehicles. What we are asking is readily achievable
both technologically and economically. It is the right thing to do, not
only for blind people, but for all who would travel safely on foot, be they
young children on their way to school, senior citizens on their way to the
store, or people like you and me on our way to a meeting to decide how to
ensure future safe travel for all pedestrians.
                                ------------
                   Songs Inspired by the Quiet Car Crisis
                                ************
      From the Editor: In recent months at least two Federationists have
been inspired to commit to paper the frustration felt by blind pedestrians
facing hybrid and electric cars. Sandy Halverson is a Federation leader in
Virginia. She frequently leads the singing of Federation songs at national
gatherings. Mary Ellen Gabias now lives in Canada, but she is also a deeply
committed Federationist. Those reading the recorded edition will be
listening to these songs. The first was sung by a group of young people
from Virginia who visited the National Center last fall. The second is sung
by Tom Bickford, who was accompanied by Chris Danielsen on the piano.
                                ************
                             The Quiet Car Song
                      (To the tune of "Found a Peanut")
                         Written by Sandy Halverson
                                ************
I was walking down the sidewalk
Thinking of what I would eat
When I got up to the restaurant
And the friends I was to meet.
                                ************
I was so close I could smell it.
Didn't have to go that far
When my life was quickly altered
By that sneaky quiet car.
                                ************
I approached my destination
When my cane broke at my feet.
Never heard the car approaching--
I was lying in the street.
                                ************
Heard the siren of the ambulance
As it carried me away.
Lost my hunger in the ER.
Guess we'll meet another day.
                                ************
                             The Hybrid Car Song
              (To the tune of "Surrey with the Fringe on Top")
                        Written by Mary Ellen Gabias
                2007 by the National Federation of the Blind
                                ************
Kids and dogs won't know when to scurry.
Silent death arrives in a hurry.
All who walk have reason to worry
'Bout the hybrid car.
                                ************
We all want to stop the polluting,
Save a lot of gas while commuting.
If they made sound there'd be no disputing
With the hybrid car.
                                ************
Saving the planet we all hold dear,
Nobody wants to destroy it.
Please make cars pedestrians can hear
'Cause we want to be 'round to enjoy it.
                                ************
We don't need a noisy vrum-vrumming,
Just a simple audible humming,
So that we can know when you're coming
In a hybrid car.
Then we all can walk with safety on the street
Without fear that we will accident'lly meet
A hybrid car.
                                ------------
                         Consider a Charitable Gift

      Making a charitable gift can be one of the most satisfying
experiences in life. Each year millions of people contribute their time,
talent, and treasure to charitable organizations. When you plan for a gift
to the National Federation of the Blind, you are not just making a
donation; you are leaving a legacy that insures a future for blind people
throughout the country. Special giving programs are available through the
National Federation of the Blind (NFB).


Points to Consider When Making a Gift to the National Federation of the
Blind

Will my gift serve to advance the mission of the NFB?
Am I giving the most appropriate asset?
Have I selected the best way to make my gift?
Have I considered the tax consequences of my gift?
Have I sought counsel from a competent advisor?
Have I talked to the planned giving officer about my gift?

Benefits of Making a Gift to the NFB
   1. Helping the NFB fulfill its mission
   2. Receiving income tax savings through a charitable deduction
   3. Making capital gain tax savings on contribution of some appreciated
      gifts
   4. Providing retained payments for the life of a donor or other
      beneficiaries
   5. Eliminating federal estate tax in certain situations
   6. Reducing estate settlement cost

Your Gift Will Help Us
Make the study of science and math a real possibility for blind children
Provide hope for seniors losing vision
Promote state and chapter programs and provide information that will
educate blind people
Advance technology helpful to the blind
Create a state-of-the-art library on blindness
Train and inspire professionals working with the blind
Provide critical information to parents of blind children
Mentor blind people trying to find jobs
Your gift makes you a part of the NFB dream!
                                ------------
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Jacobus tenBroek at Harvard in 1939
Courtesy of Special Collections Department, Harvard Law School Library]
                    Jacobus tenBroek: Letters to Berkeley
                              by Lou Ann Blake
                                ************
      From the Editor: Periodically Lou Ann Blake, research specialist in
the Jacobus tenBroek Library in the Jernigan Institute, gathers interesting
material from the tenBroek papers and offers it to us. Here is her latest
collection of snippets from letters that shed light on the young Jacobus
tenBroek, his personal struggles, and his whimsical sense of humor:
                                ************
      Upon completion of the course work for his doctorate in the science
of jurisprudence from Boalt Hall Law School at the University of California
at Berkeley in 1939, Jacobus tenBroek, with his wife Hazel, embarked on a
journey in search of a university teaching position that took him to
Harvard Law School and the University of Chicago Law School before
returning to his beloved alma mater in 1942. During this three-year hiatus
he wrote frequent letters to his Berkeley mentors, Dr. Charles Aikin,
professor of political science, and Dr. Gerry Marsh, chairman of the public
speaking department. These letters are full of observations and commentary
about his work at the two law schools, life in Cambridge and Chicago, and
his desire to return to California. They also reveal Dr. tenBroek's sense
of humor, joy of life, and dogged determination to obtain a permanent
university teaching position.
      The letters upon which this article is based are part of the
accumulated papers of Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, founder and president of the
National Federation of the Blind from 1940 to 1961 and from 1966 until his
death in 1968. As part of the collection of the Jacobus tenBroek Library in
the NFB Jernigan Institute, the tenBroek papers are a significant source of
information about the early history of and the people behind the
development and growth of the NFB and the blind civil rights movement.

                                ************


Letters from Harvard

                                ************
      While Dr. tenBroek was still a law school student at Boalt Hall, he
wrote five articles analyzing the use of extrinsic aids by the United
States Supreme Court in constitutional construction. These articles were
published in the California Law Review in 1938 and 1939. The originality of
the legal analysis contained in these articles earned Dr. tenBroek a
Brandeis Research Fellowship at Harvard Law School from September 1939 to
July 1940. During this time he continued his research on extrinsic aids and
took additional classes. In an October 12, 1939, letter to Gerry Marsh, Dr.
tenBroek wrote from Harvard:
                                ************
            There is now no doubt that my articles were what got me the
      Brandeis Research Fellowship. I had a talk with Dean Landis . . . and
      he evidenced considerable knowledge as to their content.
            Things are now proceeding quite smoothly at the law school. The
      Dean has spotted me and is giving me a hell of a work out in his
      seminar. As a matter of fact the burden of the whole seminar is
      practically being carried by another Californian and myself. Naturally
      I am glad of this because the Dean is the man who is really in a
      position to do something for me if I can make him enough of a believer
      to take affirmative action.
            After being around here for this short time, I have tentatively
      concluded that Harvard is not what it is cracked up to be; at least
      its preponderance as a law school is undeserved. There are plenty of
      mediocre boys here although along with them there is a larger number
      of first rate students.
                                ************
      By October 26, 1939, Dr. tenBroek was already missing California, as
evidenced by the following excerpt from a letter to Charles Aikin in which
he also describes Harvard's renowned Constitutional Law Professor Thomas
Reed Powell:
                                ************
      Thanks for your note. It set my mind at rest both by its promise of a
      letter and by re-awakening me to the fact that Cal is still in
      existence. You have no idea how remote in space and time Cal U. now
      seems to me.
            T.R. Powell is quite the eccentric old devil if ever there was
      one. He is crotchety and crusty and absolutely indifferent to and
      uninterested in his students. He has quite a reputation for boozing.
      He likes nothing more than to shock the staid Harvardians with
      frequent classroom bursts of blasphemy. Yet Powell really has the
      stuff. On some days his analysis are [sic] nothing short of brilliant,
      and on other days he doddles along as if he had been drunk the night
      before, which he probably was.
                                ************
      Late in 1939 Dr. tenBroek and Hazel took a trip to New York City to
visit her relatives, do some sightseeing, and meet with Professor Edward
Corwin at Princeton University Law School. Dr. tenBroek's December 21,
1939, letter to Dr. Marsh and his wife Estelle describes how he responded
to an invitation to lunch from Professor Corwin:
                                ************
      One of the things I had in mind in going to New York was to see E.S.
      Corwin at Princeton. He is one of the big boys in the field of
      constitutional law, and I had an entree to him by reason of the fact
      that he had read and favorably commented upon my [extrinsic aids]
      articles. Before going to New York I wrote him a letter telling him
      that I would be in New York and asking for an appointment. After a few
      days of silence . . ., I received a wire inviting me to lunch. This
      created a dilemma of no mean proportions-did Corwin know I was
      married, and did he know I was blind? If neither, which seemed to me
      likely, I thought that he would probably be somewhat embarrassed as to
      what to do with a blind man at lunch. On the other hand, would this
      embarrassment to him be so great as the embarrassment to me by taking
      Hazel along? We resolved this dilemma by wiring that my wife and I
      would be happy to accept.
                                ************
      Practically all of Dr. tenBroek's letters to both of his mentors
discussed his search for a permanent teaching position at a university.
This search began only a few months after his arrival at Harvard when, as
described in a January 12, 1940, letter to Charles Aikin, Dr. tenBroek had
a candid discussion with Dean Landis to solicit his support and to make the
dean aware of the stereotypical attitudes about blindness that must be
overcome:
                                ************
      I just had a talk with the Dean. I told him that I was in the market
      for a teaching job and asked him bluntly what his attitude was re
      recommending a blind man. He said he would have no hesitancy
      whatsoever about recommending me. He gave plenty of evidence of being
      thoroughly satisfied with my work. He had no notion whatsoever about
      the difficulties involved, and I thought I had better set him straight
      on that score. He wanted to know if there were people at Cal who would
      be willing to affirmatively assert that my teaching experience there
      demonstrated that I could teach. He questioned me rather closely as to
      my method of handling a class, but his questions carried no
      implementation of doubt. He assured me that he would do all that he
      could and that he would press my case on its merits. He didn't seem at
      all convinced that the going would be as rough as I indicated, but I
      think a little experience with the problem will only stir him to
      greater activity.
                                ************
      The early start of Dr. tenBroek's job search was required by the fact
that the Brandeis Fellowship was for only one year. In a January 25, 1940,
letter Dr. tenBroek wrote: "This being January, the annually recurring
search for somebody who is willing and able to support me during the
following academic year must be begun. Renewals here are almost never
granted, and people aren't exactly rushing to give me a job." However, the
rare renewal was granted as he triumphantly proclaimed in a letter to Dr.
Marsh dated March 15, 1940:
                                ************
      [T]he god professors have promised to replenish the supply of manna.
      The fellowship renewal was on even more favorable terms than last
      year's grant, although it was a hundred dollars less since the expense
      of traveling from the West Coast is not involved this time.
      This would seem to mean another year of Bostonian provincialism.
      Barring further unexpected events, return to Berkeley is out. However,
      my acceptance of the renewal doesn't mean that I'm still not looking
      for a job or that I would be unable to take one at any time that it
      was available, or that I would not return to Berkeley for less money
      on a relatively more permanent arrangement.
                                ************
      Also included in the March 15, 1940, letter to Dr. Marsh is the first
of many humorous commentaries by Dr. tenBroek about the winter weather he
endured during his three-year absence from Berkeley:
                                ************
            The deposit of the St. Valentine's Day blizzard is still very
      much with us and has even been increased by later snows. Boston has
      paid a million dollars for snow removal, which is a misapplication of
      term. It should be snow redistribution; all they seem to do is take it
      out of one place you want to walk and put it on another, which is also
      where you want to walk. At least the stage where I had to pack the
      short-legged Hazel through the deeper drifts is passed. In the middle
      of the day the temperature gets above freezing and melts some of the
      snow. Most of the drains are clogged up, and the water stands on the
      sidewalk until it freezes over again at night. It will be a fine thing
      when the spring comes again and a man can once more walk upright
      without sliding on his tail. By the way, last November I invested in
      an overcoat, a hat, and a pair of gloves. I have worn all of these
      every damn day since.
                                ************
      Dr. tenBroek's letters also discuss specific instances in which
stereotypes about blindness affected his job search. When Charles Aiken
revealed that Thomas Reed Powell had expressed the opinion to officials at
Boalt Hall Law School that Dr. tenBroek could teach political science but
could not teach law, he responded in a March 28, 1940, letter to Dr. Aikin:
                                ************
      His is a familiar reaction among those who have been brought to
      believe that a blind man can [not] do anything. The steps in the
      process take an inevitable pattern: Initially blindness is regarded as
      a completely disabling defect; gradually the notion penetrates to some
      that it is only partially disabling, and in this stage the view always
      is that the something which a blind man can do is different from the
      particular something that the believer does.
                                ************
      While his letters make no mention of the fact, it is likely that Dr.
tenBroek took steps to enlighten Professor Powell further, for history
indicates that Powell's attitude about Dr. tenBroek's ability to teach law
changed. This is evidenced by the fact that, with the backing of Professor
Powell, Dr. tenBroek received an offer for the position of tutorial fellow
from the University of Chicago Law School. His June 11, 1940, letter to
Gerry Marsh announces with both relief and trepidation Dr. tenBroek's
acceptance of the offer and describes a "wet" Boston spring:
                                ************
      The might of mighty Harvard has at last cracked through. I have been
      offered and have accepted a job at the University of Chicago Law
      School. It pays $1800; it is a half-time job and only lasts for one
      year. Notwithstanding, it is a job, and the sensation of having it
      offered was certainly novel, not to say startling. The job consists in
      supervising the research of the first- and second-year-law men. It
      involves no classroom teaching except as acts of providence and
      professional impropriety create occasions for an emergency substitute.
      This was the fifth and the least of the jobs for which Harvard has
      pushed me, which indicates the extent of the difficulties and causes
      me to warn you that after next year I shall probably be pressing you
      to place me upon your departmental charity list.
            I have heard that in some parts of the world the sap begins to
      run in the spring. I can now testify that Cambridge is not one of
      those parts of the world. It has been muggy and sunless with scarcely
      a handful of clear days in the last two-and-a-half months. Sap may run
      somewhere under those conditions, but it certainly isn't in human
      beings in this godawful country. In fact the reaction is quite the
      converse. All the boys about the law school complain about general
      lassitude and mental and physical inertia.
            The lack of springtime rejuvination [sic] has not been attended
      with a recent lack of rejuvinating [sic] fluids. It is perhaps not a
      strange thing that the common element among these diverse grads is a
      common taste for good scotch. I haven't yet run across anybody who is
      willing to buy or even drink anything like cheap liquor or anything
      less than a damn good grade of scotch. A wild Irishman from South
      Dakota and an Iowan who has been teaching law in Washington
      University, together with the Dean's secretary, have made common cause
      with me upon frequent occasions lately. First of all, of course, there
      was the occasion of the orals, the Iowan and I both took them. Then
      there was the occasion of our Administrative Law exam. Then there was
      that created by the Iowan having obtained a new job at West Virginia.
      And then just the occasion. So on and more of it. In more than a
      meteorological sense it is turning out to be a wet spring.
                                ************
                   Letters From the University of Chicago
                                ************
      Dr. and Mrs. tenBroek moved to Chicago in July 1940 to begin his
position as a tutorial fellow at the University of Chicago Law School. In a
September 7, 1940, letter to Estelle and Gerry Marsh, Dr. tenBroek
described their first days in Chicago, his new workplace, and the receipt
of his SJD from Berkeley:
                                ************
      Well here we are in Chicago and after many trials and tribulations are
      finally settled both in our office and living quarters. Our office
      accommodations here are meagre [sic] after the luxury Harvard
      squandered on us. After walking for a day and a half, we finally found
      a satisfactory apartment that was within our price range. In the
      course of all that exploration we found only three apartments below
      $45 that had a private bath. Bathing seems to be a Western custom that
      has only partly penetrated to the Midwest and hasn't got through to
      New England at all.
      The first-year students, in addition to their regular courses, are
      required to do research. For this purpose they are divided into groups
      numbering from seven to ten and allocated to tutorial fellows and
      interested faculty members. After the initial assignment, the job
      apparently consists in suggesting and requiring revisions until a
      comparatively creditable piece of work is presented.
            The members of the faculty and everybody else, except the Dean's
      secretary, around the law school are extremely friendly, and we are
      treated very much as if we were in full status on the staff. After ten
      months of New England frigidity we had forgotten that Westerners were
      like that.
            Before leaving Cambridge, I was given notice that I passed my
      S.J.D. orals, that I received A's on the written exams, and that the
      University of California had conferred upon me the degree of Doctor of
      the Science of Jurisprudence. If you ever doubted my sanity, this
      should be the final evidence as to the error of my ways; that upon the
      completion of my Harvard thesis, I shall be twice a doctor.
                                ************
      Once he was settled in Chicago, it did not take long for Dr.
tenBroek's letters to reflect the reality that his position at the
University of Chicago was only temporary and that the need, once again, to
take up the search for a permanent teaching position was upon him. Dr.
tenBroek's November 4, 1940, letter to Gerry Marsh, head of the public
speaking department at Berkeley, is direct:
                                ************
      Bluntly put, the question is this: Will you give me a job in the
      Public Speaking Department next year?
            When I talked to you about this matter a year and a half ago, I
      got the impression that your opinion was mildly negative but not
      conclusive. Since that time a lot of hay has been pitched and a lot of
      barns cleaned. To date the great god professors of Harvard have
      pitched me for not less than eight openings. Except for my present,
      temporary, part-time position at Chicago, their failure was as
      complete as the reason for it was evident. Moreover, I can scarcely
      expect their affirmative interest to continue indefinitely: every time
      they urge my claims, they are losing an appointment that might
      otherwise be obtained for a Harvard man. With little chance of a
      renewal at Chicago, and with little hope of breaking in elsewhere, the
      time has come to test the availability of other alternatives.
            You will find me at twenty-nine a man of moderation, given to
      considerable abdominal distention and full of confidence, that, by
      training and inclination, I am better equipped than the average to
      handle any of the analytical courses in your department.
            This is the squeeze Gerry; put it to me straight!
                                ************
      In spite of the almost constant pressure to find a more permanent
position, the letters that Dr. tenBroek wrote to both Charles Aikin and
Gerry Marsh while he was at the University of Chicago reveal that he very
much enjoyed his work and the intellectual environment at the law school.
They also reveal that he was continuing to cope with winter weather with as
much good humor as a transplanted Californian could muster. The following
excerpt from a December 24, 1940, letter to Estelle and Gerry Marsh is
typical:
                                ************
      So it hasn't been much colder here than it was in Cambridge. But the
      fact that we have to walk a mile to school makes a considerable
      difference in our opinions about the weather. In hilly Cambridge I
      went through a whole winter keeping the posterior portions of my
      anatomy above the ground. In perfectly flat Chicago I have already
      sprawled full length upon the ice once, and the year is just
      beginning. In this country a man spends half his time putting on and
      taking off excess clothing that is designed to keep a man dry and warm
      but doesn't seem to do much of either. Practically every day I wear a
      scarf, overcoat, rubbers, a hat, gloves and sometimes even earmuffs
      and wish I either had a nose muff or no nose.
            I am getting a considerable kick out of my work at the
      University of Chicago. [W]e are given complete faculty status with a
      rank comparable to instructor in the academic departments. But in fact
      we are what at Cal would be called glorified readers with the power of
      making assignments. For the most part I spend my time digging up
      research problems and reading and analyzing what the students do with
      them. This is not unpleasant work with the brighter students, but it
      gets to be awfully tedious with some of them.
                                ************
A later letter to Gerry Marsh about life at the University of Chicago
stated:
                                ************
      Compared with Harvard, this place has been a wormless apple. As
      against Harvard's formalism, there is here a stimulating intellectual
      flexibility and freedom; and, as against Harvard's abusive
      indifference, a wonderful friendliness. They have even treated us
      tutorial fellows as if we weren't flunkies. Picked up and flopped down
      in a decent climate, this U. of C. would be a place for an old man to
      live out his years without vegetating-and almost without vegetation.
      Another U. of C. that I know of would not require this physical
      transposition.
                                ************
      In January 1941, with no permanent position in sight, Dr. tenBroek's
thoughts, once again, became preoccupied with the question of his
employment for the following academic year. However, as Dr. tenBroek notes,
with a touch of humor, in the following excerpt from a January 15, 1941,
letter to Dr. Aikin, this annual occurrence was starting to become routine:
                                ************
      Just now there is a considerable disturbance among the tutorial
      fellows. [Dean] Katz returned from a visit to New York to report that
      Carnegie is in a disinheriting mood--Carnegie supplied the dough for
      two of the five tutors this year. Moreover, it is apparently a
      question whether the money will be forthcoming from the university to
      maintain all of the other three. You can see from the foregoing that I
      am now going through a repetition of my experience last year at this
      time. It discourages me much less this year. It may be that in the
      course of another decade at it, I will become completely immune.
                                ************
      Dr. tenBroek's life at the University of Chicago was not focused
entirely on his work as a tutor and the search for a permanent teaching
position. His letters from Chicago indicate that law school faculty members
frequently invited him to social events such as faculty dinners. One such
notable occasion occurred, as described by Dr. tenBroek in a February 9,
1941, letter to Charles Aikin, when Thomas Reed Powell, Dr. tenBroek's
constitutional law professor at Harvard, came to town:
                                ************
      Thomas Reed Powell was in town last week to deliver a lecture for the
      Walgreen Foundation on "Conscience and the Constitution." The Dean
      arranged a dinner for him to which he invited me, to the exclusion of
      some other regular members of the faculty. The Dean has also told me
      that reports about my work have indicated that it is "highly
      satisfactory" although in terms of renewal that undoubtedly doesn't
      mean very much and may even be a way of saying no. T.R.P. went out of
      his way to be cordial to me. He also went out of his way to insult
      everybody else, to the great annoyance of the judges and theological
      people present and to the great resentment of the law faculty. From
      the Master's point of view it must have been a very successful
      evening.
                                ************
      While he was at the University of Chicago, Dr. tenBroek, along with
his mentor Dr. Newel Perry and seventeen blind men and women from seven
states, laid the foundation for a national blind civil rights movement by
founding the National Federation of the Blind in November 1940. Soon
thereafter carrying out the business of the NFB became a topic of
discussion in Dr. tenBroek's letters from Chicago. As president of the
first nationwide democratic organization of blind people, Dr. tenBroek
recounted duties in a March 18, 1941, letter to Charles Aikin that included
traveling to Washington, D.C., to meet with government leaders and express
opposition to government actions that adversely affected blind people:
                                ************
      I have been in Washington for the past week and a half pulling the
      legs of Congressmen and insulting the administrators. Spring vacation
      plus a little time off for good behavior have permitted me to be away
      from the law school for this length of time, and the treasury of the
      National Federation of the Blind has permitted me to get this far
      away. As you might guess, I am down here concerning the ruling of the
      Social Security Board which will result in a withdrawal of the Federal
      contribution from California's plan for aid to the blind and also aid
      to the aged.
                                ************
      By April 1941 the recruitment of young American men to fight World
War II was starting to have an impact on enrollment at the University of
Chicago Law School. As a result, the tenure of the law school tutorial
fellows, as noted by Dr. tenBroek in an April 15, 1941, letter to Charles
Aikin, became even more uncertain:
                                ************
      The state of confusion here with respect to tutorial fellows is
      continuing, if anything, in an intensified form. Even now conscription
      and the war are raising hob with the enrollment and it is expected
      that next year the beginning class will be considerably less than half
      of its normal size. Of course this will mean a proportionate cut in
      the number of tutorial fellows.
                                ************
      In spite of the increasing impact of World War II on enrollment, the
University of Chicago awarded Dr. tenBroek a renewal of his tutorial
fellowship for the 1941-1942 academic year. The renewal included additional
teaching duties when he became a lecturer in English constitutional
history. With little hope of a second renewal, Dr. tenBroek, in a November
30, 1941, letter to Gerry Marsh, makes a bold suggestion on the way
materials he prepared for teaching this class could be incorporated into a
public speaking class:
                                ************
      Uncle Sam took less of the Law School boys than expected-an overall
      drop of 18 percent--but the freshman class if [sic] smaller by about
      one-third. The Dean put me on again as tutor and as a temporary stop-
      gap in English Constitutional History. He has made it painfully clear
      that the policy against renewing tutorial contracts will not again be
      breached. I'm getting a considerable boot out of the English History:
      in this place I am not regarded as queer because I teach it up-side-
      down, that is, moving backwards from the present; but the reverse
      procedure has made it necessary to prepare special materials. I am
      sending you a copy of these. You are under no obligation to be
      interested in the content, but you may wish to weigh them. The idea
      has occurred to me that a collection of this type of the great English
      political documents which were delivered as speeches might be a proper
      subject of interest and even action of public speaking teachers.
                                ************
      As the American war effort continued to accelerate into 1942, the
continuing decline in student enrollment and the resulting relaxation of
academic standards affected faculty morale at the University of Chicago Law
School. Dr. tenBroek wrote to Charles Aikin on February 4, 1942:
                                ************
      The morale of the faculty has degenerated considerably. War changes--
      reducing the length of time required to graduate from law school,
      granting degrees to students having a half-a-year to go, numerous
      special arrangements and exemptions, and the recent Hutchins plan to
      grant a bachelor's degree after two normal years of college--have been
      accomplished only after numerous hot faculty meetings and have been
      accompanied by growing faculty personality problems.
                                ************
      In mid-February 1942, however, the somber tone of Dr. tenBroek's
letters to his mentors had changed as, once again, he was offered the rare
opportunity of a second renewal of his fellowship. In a February 19, 1942,
letter to Dr. Aikin he announced:
                                ************
      The law school faculty has just voted to keep me on for another year
      at the same salary, $2500 and with the same status, tutorial fellow
      and lecturer in English history. The Dean renewed his warning that I
      should expect my connection with the University of Chicago to be
      terminated at the end of next year. This time however, he did it with
      two significant qualifications: One was that this would be the case
      unless the war ended and enrollment returned to normal; the other was
      implicit in a comment that the ideal solution of my problem would be a
      joint law school and political science job and that he was doing his
      best to persuade the poli. sci. people.
                                ************
      The efforts of Dr. tenBroek, Dr. Aikin, and Dr. Marsh to secure Dr.
tenBroek a permanent teaching position at Berkeley began to bear fruit in
late winter of 1942. As indicated by Dr. tenBroek in his March 3, 1942,
letter to Charles Aikin, discussions were underway regarding a position in
either Berkeley's public speaking department or the political science
department:
                                ************
      An instructorship in public speaking sounds good to me--good, at
      least, as against a tenure here which surely must end in a year if the
      war keeps going. I am relatively satisfied in my own mind that but for
      the dropping enrollment I would have been given a regular faculty
      position, but I can scarcely gamble on the war ending in time to do me
      much good here. My notion is that it would be well for you to push
      full steam ahead on the public speaking angle. If it turns out that
      you can't swing a full-time deal in poli. sci., the possibility of
      part time in both departments might then be more easily workable; and
      if even that proves impossible, long range shifts in the poli. sci.
      department might gradually be turned to my advantage.
                                ************
      The discussions about a permanent position for Dr. tenBroek in the
Berkeley public speaking department became more specific with a hastily
handwritten note postmarked March 20, 1942, from Gerry Marsh to Dr.
tenBroek. The note inquires if Dr. tenBroek would be interested in a
possible opening in 1943 in the public speaking department at $2,000 per
year to teach Intercollegiate Debate (2 credits), Use of the Library (3
credits), History of British and American Public Address (3 credits), and
Speech 1A-1B (3 credits). A draft of the reply from Dr. tenBroek states, "I
am not only interested but anxious" and ends in a more playful tone with,
"I think the whole thing is a scheme by which you will avoid pangs of
conscience when you take my money at poker."
      On April 13, 1942, Dr. tenBroek wrote to Gerry Marsh:
                                ************
      Wired an acceptance to [Dean] Deutch and will follow up with a
      confirming letter. The [University of Chicago] law school was so
      shocked by the thought that somebody else might want me that they
      immediately set about trying to cook up a deal here. I had given a few
      lectures in the College in the Social Science Survey course for Lawes,
      who is on leave. The people in the College have since been angling to
      get me tied up with the course. At one time they were on the verge of
      offering me about $3,000, but in the end the College administration
      withdrew altogether. The Law School, however, stuck with its offer of
      a more or less indefinite continuation of my present salary and
      status.
      This was great sport while it lasted! I pulled the cow's tail for all
      it was worth, not expecting and in the end not receiving anything
      remotely resembling milk, and always realizing that a cow's tail is
      dangerously close to other parts of the anatomy which yield products
      entirely not as sustaining and probably not as savory, although as to
      the latter--query.
                                ************
      With his return to Berkeley only awaiting confirmation from
university officials, Dr. tenBroek wrote his final letter to Charles Aikin
from Chicago on April 30, 1942. The letter is full of anticipation for the
tenBroeks' return to Berkeley and ends with the hope that the
transportation of troops headed for battle does not interfere with their
travel plans:
                                ************
      I have heard nothing from Cal as yet. The last thing I had was Gerry's
      note, which I received considerably over a month ago. I have assumed
      from your silence that the matter moved through the committee without
      any hitches, and I infer from your inquiry appended to Ogg's last
      letter that the committee made its report to the president some time
      ago.
      Hazel and I are still laying on the line for the Doctor's. My
      gastritis is gradually getting better, but last Friday the dental
      surgeon got hold of me for the second time in a month and a half to
      chisel out an impacted wisdom tooth. Hazel is undergoing a series of
      treatments allegedly designed to cure her migraines. I don't know what
      we're going to do when we return to Cal and have to lay out real money
      for this sort of thing.
      Yesterday and today we have had our first warm spell of the season,
      and as usual when the temperature and humidity begin to rise, Hazel
      and I are brushing up on our plans to return to Berkeley. I hope
      civilian travel doesn't get choked off just about the time we're ready
      to jump on the train.
                                ************
      Three months later Dr. tenBroek described the return trip to Berkeley
in an August 5, 1942, letter as follows:
                                ************
      We have finally landed back in Berkeley! [N]either we nor the town
      seems to have changed much. We had a pretty hectic trip out, what with
      trying to catch trains that don't give a hang about schedules and what
      with trying to find seats after you catch them. We spent eight days
      with my sister Lill, who is stationed at the Fitzsimmons Hospital near
      Denver. She had every minute planned and a sufficient number of
      drinking partners assembled. These latter were all army officers, and
      my experience with them has caused me to amend my previously held
      conviction that there are no drinkers like those of the Harvard Law
      School faculty.
                                ************
      With his new job as an instructor in the public speaking department
during the 1942-1943 academic year, Dr. tenBroek had returned home to the
University of California, Berkeley, and his search for a permanent
university teaching position was over. He would go on to become a full
professor in 1953 and was chairman of the public speaking department from
1955 to 1961. Dr. tenBroek moved to the Berkeley political science
department in 1961 and remained there as professor until his death on March
27, 1968.
                                ------------
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Barbara and Brad Loos]
                           Attitude Is Everything
                               by Barbara Loos
                                 ************
      From the Editor: Barbara Loos is a longtime leader of the National
Federation of the Blind. Happily for us, she frequently commits her common-
sense reflections to paper and shares them with Monitor readers. Here is
one such essay:
                                ************
      As an AmeriCorps member working for the National Federation of the
Blind of Nebraska, one of my assignments has been mentoring blind youth. On
June 29, 2007, two mentees who had never before flown anywhere boarded a
plane with my husband and me to attend the annual convention of the
National Federation of the Blind in Atlanta. Though we had briefed them
about some of the things that occasionally happen to blind people in air
travel, there's nothing like firsthand experience to bring a point home.
      In the air all went well on all four legs of our journey. On the
ground in Chicago, however, there was an incident that I believe made a
lasting impression on both mentees, but especially on the one to whom it
happened. There are multiple ways for blind folks to get from one gate to
another in airports. I prefer walking either with an airline official or on
my own, asking directions from time to time to verify my progress. On this
occasion we had chosen to be accompanied by someone from the airline.
Apparently one person felt overwhelmed by four blind people traveling
together because she said over her radio in our hearing that she didn't
know how anyone expected her to "handle four of them at once." We assured
her that, if she walked in front of us and let us know whenever she turned,
we would be fine.
      As often happens, she ignored our suggestion. But since we had a
plane to catch and not a lot of time in which to negotiate, we agreed to
set out with two escorts. Before long one of the young people was lagging
behind. One of our assistants dropped back and began coaxing her to ride in
a wheelchair. I wanted to intercede, knowing how frustrating such
experiences can be. But I concentrated instead on reminding myself that the
whole purpose of this trip was to give my mentee real-life experience and
opportunities to grow. I heard her protest a little and then yield. When we
came to an elevator, the three of us were told there wasn't room for us to
board with the wheelchair. I began to question the wisdom of my decision
not to intervene. Did she realize that I knew what was happening, or did
she feel abandoned? Was she wishing she hadn't come? What would she say to
her mother?
      When we were reunited at the gate, she was indignant. She told us
that she had let the woman know that she wanted to walk, but she had been
bodily turned and pressed to sit in the wheelchair. "It wasn't the chair
itself," she said, noting that it's perfectly respectable to use a
wheelchair when actually necessary. It was the manhandling, the being
disregarded, and treated as though she had no right to choose, that had
bothered her. And when the elevator door had closed and we weren't there,
she had become concerned, saying, "I can't hear my group," and then asking,
"Where is my group?" She received no response from her self-appointed
caretaker.
      She had known we wouldn't abandon her and knew we would soon be back
together, but she had felt embarrassed and humiliated. Could she have
avoided the experience? What could she do to keep such a thing from
happening again? Why had it happened only to her and not to us?
      Her questions were urgent, probing, and familiar. Hugging her, I said
that I was sorry things like that happen to any of us. I assured her that
the National Federation of the Blind exists partly to give us strategies
for developing the confidence within ourselves to change what it means to
be blind in positive ways so that we can rid our society of the
misconceptions about blindness that lead to such treatment. As I talked, my
mind raced through incidents, big and small, from my thirty-three years of
flying. I know very well both the shame of succumbing to intimidation
tactics and the indignation of being written up as a non-cooperative
passenger for refusing to do so. "Lack of experience," I ultimately said in
response to her questions, "made you vulnerable this time. If you use this
incident as a stepping stone, you won't be caught off guard as easily next
time."
      After a week of deliberating about blindness issues, marching for
independence, and sharing fellowship with one another, we boarded an
airplane on July 7 for the last two legs of our journey. In Chicago we
again found ourselves hurrying to make our connection. Again my mentee
began to fall behind the group. Not wanting to cap our productive week with
a repeat of our experience the week before, I turned and urged, "Step it
up, please." I listened with immense satisfaction to the confident tap-tap
of her cane as she moved up beside and then in front of me.
      She was obviously as determined as I to end our trip better than it
had begun. I believe the key to the difference can be summed up in a phrase
I often hear my husband say: "Attitude is everything." And when it's
positive, as hers is, even the sky need not be the limit.
                                ------------
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Jim Fruchterman]
          Leveling the Playing Field for Students with Disabilities
                             by Jim Fruchterman
                                ************
      From the Editor: The following article first appeared in the Fall
2007 Blind Citizen, a publication of the National Federation of the Blind
of California. Jim Fruchterman is president and CEO of Benetech
Initiatives, located in Palo Alto, California. His company is the parent of
Bookshare, a service widely used by Federationists. In this article he
describes Bookshare's services and his plans for the continuing development
of the Bookshare program.
                                ************
      In a classroom somewhere in California today, a blind student is
telling a teacher that he or she cannot fulfill a reading assignment
already completed by sighted classmates. This is not because students are
failing to apply themselves. It is because a book assigned to the class is
not available in a format that the student can read, or the assistive
technology needed to read that book is too expensive. Despite the best
efforts of the teacher, the class moves forward, and the disabled student
falls behind.
      This struggle to provide accessible books to disabled students and
ensure that they receive a first-rate education is taking place in schools
throughout the U.S. Organizations that serve the disabled estimate that two
million students in the United States require alternative formats for print
materials. While policy makers have expanded their efforts to provide high-
quality education for disabled students, there is still a profound lack of
accessible educational materials, including textbooks. The No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001 and the reforms mandated in the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) required educators to
accommodate disabled students with accessible materials and assistive
technologies. Despite mandated standardized file formats and central
repositories for accessible materials, publishers have been slow to provide
accessible files. System inefficiencies, continued laborious duplication of
effort, and the high cost of assistive technologies have all made it
difficult for educators to provide books for disabled students.
      We feel a real urgency to help get books into the hands of disabled
students and their teachers here in the U.S. and around the world. It is
estimated that only five percent of printed materials worldwide are
produced in formats that are accessible to those who cannot read a
traditional book. If students with print disabilities cannot access books
at the same time as their peers in the same classroom, how can they have
confidence in their ability to succeed fully in school and in the
workplace?
      Accessible content and assistive technology are also needed to
support educational services beyond elementary and secondary schools. The
U.S. Department of Education estimated in 2005 that over the past fifteen
years the number of students with disabilities who are continuing their
education through postsecondary schools has doubled. Disabled students in
medical training, law school, and other professional degree programs need
up-to-date textbooks to compete with their sighted classmates.
      As an engineer I have always believed that technology could be used
efficiently to provide accessible books to disabled students. Benetech, the
nonprofit technology company that I founded, set out to prove this could be
done. In 2002 Benetech launched the Bookshare.org service that is now the
largest online digital library of accessible books in the United States.
Bookshare.org began as a subscription-based library built by its users,
including people who are blind or have low vision, dyslexia, or a mobility
impairment that prevents them from reading a traditional book.
      There is a special provision in U.S. copyright law that explicitly
gives qualified nonprofit organizations such as Benetech the right to
distribute copyrighted materials in a specialized format for use by print-
disabled people, without requiring permission. To meet the requirements of
copyright law and agreements with publishers and authors, Bookshare.org
users must provide proof of a print disability such as blindness, low
vision, a reading disability, or a mobility impairment that makes it
difficult or impossible to read standard print. Over the past five years
Bookshare.org has evolved into a worldwide online community that lets
people with these print disabilities scan books and exchange them legally
through the Website. These electronic books can be accessed through
Braille, large print, or synthesized voice technology. You can think of
Bookshare.org as Amazon.com meets Napster meets Talking Books for the Blind-
-but legal!
      The collection of books in the Bookshare.org library has been shaped
primarily by members and volunteers who submit books they have scanned.
Among the titles are bestselling popular books including all of the current
New York Times bestseller list and the Harry Potter series. Bookshare.org
currently offers more than 35,000 books, magazines, and newspapers
available 24/7 in the DAISY (Digital Audio Information System) and BRF
digital Braille formats. Bookshare.org now serves approximately 12,000
members. Our members have historically read an average of twenty-one books
a year from our service. Due to the commitment of about 1,000 volunteers
around the U.S. and a few paid staffers, more than 5,700 new digital books
were published on Bookshare.org in 2006. Over 150 newspapers and magazines
are also available daily through Bookshare.org in partnership with the
National Federation of the Blind through its NFB-NEWSLINE service.
      Subscribers are permitted to use Bookshare.org books for their own
personal use. The service uses Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology
and contractual agreements with members to maximize personal access to
books and minimize abuse of this privilege. Bookshare.org-copyrighted books
are not available to the non-print-disabled public. You can, however,
search for a Bookshare.org title without being a Bookshare.org member. The
Bookshare.org library also offers public domain books available to anyone
in the world, with or without a disability.
      While Bookshare.org is reaching a growing number of qualified users,
we know that barriers still exist for providing books to disabled students
and the teachers and schools that serve them. When accessible educational
materials are available, they are often very expensive for schools to
provide. For example, the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired spends
over $250,000 on accessible books each year, yet school administrators
report that they are still unable to fulfill their students' education
needs completely.
      These problems are compounded by the cost of specialized assistive
technology that makes it difficult for students to access what little
accessible material exists. Disabled students from low-income families are
doubly disadvantaged since they are far less likely to access technologies
that their better-off peers take for granted. The Bookshare.org service
costs each subscriber a modest $25 sign-up fee plus $50 annually for an
unlimited number of books. We provide free assistive technology tools to
access these books. To help make the service affordable, we've received
funding from strategic partners and donors including Adobe Systems, Inc.,
the NEC Foundation of America, the Microsoft Corporation, the Skoll
Foundations, the Omidyar Network, and the Bernard A. Newcomb Fund at the
Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
      After years of financing Bookshare.org on a shoestring with grants
and subscription fees, we were delighted to have the federal government
step in last year to make the service even more accessible. In October of
2007 the U.S. Department of Education awarded Benetech a $32 million, five-
year contract to expand the Bookshare.org collection and provide each U.S.
student with a print disability free access to the service. I believe that
this funding is an unprecedented opportunity quickly and economically to
ramp up the number of accessible books for disabled students. There is no
reason that disabled students in the U.S. should have any less access to
books than their sighted classmates, and Bookshare.org is showing that
technology can level the academic playing field.
      Back when I was an engineering student in college, I realized that I
could develop a reading machine using a font-independent character-
recognition system. At that time pattern recognition systems were being
used to guide smart bombs. It occurred to me that we could use this
technology instead to help create accessible books. Benetech's predecessor
nonprofit organization, Arkenstone, which was founded in 1989, produced
tens of thousands of affordable reading machines that used PCs, scanners,
and other off-the-shelf technology. Unfortunately, users of the Arkenstone
reading machines had to scan the same book over and over. Bookshare.org,
which is a direct outgrowth of Arkenstone, allows Arkenstone users and
others to share scanned books legally so everyone can benefit.
Bookshare.org was created to stop the labor-intensive duplication of work
that occurs when people need to scan the same title over and over again.
Our motto is: scan once, share many.
      Benetech has also developed a technical conversion process that
transforms scanned book files into the worldwide DAISY/NISO digital Talking
Book standard and the digital Braille (BRF) format. The DAISY/NISO standard
allows the distribution of digital books with powerful indexing and
bookmarking features. This allows print-disabled readers to navigate
quickly from one part of a book to another.
      For the past five years Bookshare.org has shown that efficient
technology makes it possible for those who serve disabled students to
complement and partner with each other to provide accessible books.
Bookshare.org's existing technology infrastructure allows us to expand our
collection and services while keeping costs down for students and
educators. Bookshare.org's accessible books in the DAISY format can be read
in a standard Web browser. This allows students with PC- or Mac-based
assistive technology to read Bookshare.org books with the same tools they
use to browse Web pages with their screen reader, screen magnifier,
dyslexia reading software, or Braille display.
      Bookshare.org provides its subscribers with free dedicated DAISY book
reader software that has built-in accessibility features that allow the
user to read books aloud without other assistive technology. The service
also makes it simple to use assistive technology that can convert
Bookshare.org files into forms best suited to an individual student's
particular needs, including large print, Braille, synthesized speech, CD,
DVD, or MP3 digital audio. Braille readers enjoy using Bookshare.org with a
portable Braille display because it makes Braille much more practical. For
example, a portable Braille reader can easily hold one thousand digital
books from Bookshare.org, putting an entire Braille library into a small
portable device. Bookshare.org books can also be ordered in embossed
Braille by members or nonmembers, through our partnership with the Braille
Institute.
      The Bookshare.org for Education project supported by the U.S.
Department of Education award also provides each teacher of disabled
students or educational agency staff member with a free Bookshare.org
account that allows him or her to search the catalog of immediately
available titles. Teachers can also download desired books, request that
new educational content be added to the library, and register students for
individual Bookshare.org accounts. These individual student accounts are
like an unlimited library card for accessible books for postsecondary
students and authorized K-12 students. Disabled students need access to the
world of books, and we are determined to provide this opportunity.
      Of course it is important for publishers to make sure their texts are
available to disabled students. Benetech has expanded its partnerships with
publishers by accepting books directly in digital formats that we convert
to DAISY. This is the fastest way to grow the Bookshare.org collection
significantly and improve the quality of its books. Benetech has now
established agreements with a number of publishers, including the leading
technology book publisher, O'Reilly Media, and Scholastic. We are
continuing to pursue these direct relationships with publishers for digital
content acquisition. To the extent possible, we expect to use books
provided by publishers in the National Instructional Materials
Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) format, and convert these into DAISY digital
talking book and digital Braille formats. Thanks to a recent federal law,
Bookshare.org is working to make K-12 textbooks accessible to all students
with print disabilities in the United States.
      Benetech expects to add more than 100,000 educational books to its
collection in the next five years and deliver millions of books free to
disabled students. We are currently adding 150 to 200 new books each week
to our online library. Benetech is working with publishers, authors, and
technology companies such as Adobe, Microsoft, and Google to gain access to
digital content and to encourage them to make their products accessible to
the print-disabled.
      Currently only those residing in the United States may access the
entire Bookshare.org collection. My dream is continually to expand the
Bookshare.org library to serve readers around the world. Bookshare.org now
has permission to distribute roughly 3,000 copyrighted titles to people
with print disabilities worldwide and offers texts in both English and
Spanish. Publishers and authors have voluntarily made their books available
for international Bookshare.org members.
      No disabled student in the U.S. or anywhere else around the world
should receive a second-rate education because he or she lacks accessible
books. Benetech will keep working to help make sure that accessible books
and the technology to read them are available to everyone.
                                ------------
                         A Child's View of Blindness
                                by Judy Jones
                                ************
      From the Editor: Judy Jones and her husband Chris are leaders in the
NFB of Washington. They have raised their two daughters to share the NFB's
philosophy about blindness. In the article that follows, Judy tells the
story of an early example of the benefits of this healthy attitude about
blindness. This is what she says:
                                ************
      My husband Chris and I are both blind, and, when our eldest daughter
was three years old, an incident occurred that gave both of us an
interesting perspective we have shared with many since then. One evening we
had a couple over for dinner who are longtime friends and who are both
sighted. After dinner, as I headed toward the kitchen, our daughter,
noticing this couple had arrived dogless, pointed out this fact to me in a
whisper. I explained that they didn't need to use guide dogs the way Mommy
and Daddy did. "Then where are their canes?" she asked, thinking that must
be their travel solution. I again explained that, like her, they didn't use
white canes. "Then how do they get around?" she asked. She was honestly
curious.
      It was then that I realized she saw our tools for mobility as a means
of independence. We had always taken her everywhere--shopping, parties,
church, kid activities, etc. She knew that, while kids didn't need to use
dogs or canes, adults had better have either one or the other to round out
their independence.
      This was our first indication that she never has viewed blindness as
a hindrance to our lifestyle or activities. This happened some years ago
now, and she and her younger sister continue to get all the questions we
get. Peers want to know if it's really true they have blind parents and how
we accomplish the daily tasks of life. The girls are always quick to tell
kids that Chris works for a well-known technical college in our area and
that I have a small Braille transcribing service. The reaction is, "Cool!"
Both girls get tired of the same questions from new acquaintances, but
realize, as we do, that it's all part of the ongoing public education blind
people must engage in every day.
      We are all grateful to the National Federation of the Blind for the
way it has supported and upheld us. Through the years the Federation spirit
and philosophy have rubbed off on our daughters and helped in building
their self-worth. They too believe in security, equality, and opportunity
for themselves as young women. They speak out when they think something is
unfair or wrong and believe in working to make a positive difference in
every situation they face.
                                ------------
                        Identity Theft and You Update
                                 by Jim Babb
                                ************
      From the Editor: Jim Babb is a leader of the NFB of New Mexico. He
has also become something of an expert on credit protection for the average
citizen. This is his latest advice:
                                ************
      Since I wrote the October 2006 Monitor article on identity theft, a
lot has happened, both good and bad. The pace of identity theft has vastly
increased, and the estimated number of victims a year in the U.S. is about
15,000,000. You have heard the news: MasterCard, Bank of America, TJ Maxx,
your university, or your health care provider has lost your personal
information, or it was stolen. Mine was lost/stolen from two places I used
to work. I was offered a one-year protection program, but what about the
rest of my life? The information is out there for future use by criminals.
As blind people we are probably more vulnerable to thieves raiding our
mailboxes for credit card offers, our print orders for personal checks,
etc. The thieves establish new cards, checks, ID cards, etc with a new
address. Then they spend thousands of dollars on services and products at
your expense. Another form of this practice is called "shoulder surfing,"
peeking over your shoulder at check-out or even using a camera phone to
take a photo of your credit card or check. The thief then orders expensive
items online in your name but using his or her address.
      As I mentioned in the previous article, trying to reinstate your good
name and credit can be a nightmare and a job you don't want. This job
doesn't pay; in fact it will cost you or your bank on average $6,000.
      Now for the good news: For the last several years Congress has tried
to pass ID-theft and credit-protection legislation. They have failed
because of intense lobbying by the business community and the three major
credit bureaus. The business community doesn't want any legislation that
would choke off instant credit, fearing that impulse buying would decline.
The three major credit bureaus make big money on trading your personal
information to banks and other businesses, who in turn use this information
to make new credit offers to you. Since Congress would not pass national
identity theft and credit protection laws, the states began to do it. In
fact about thirty states have enacted various forms of a credit-freeze
system.
      Recently the three major credit bureaus, seeing the handwriting on
the wall, have partially capitulated. They now allow credit freeze in all
fifty states. This is more convenient for them than dealing with fifty
different freeze programs.
      Although all U.S. residents can now freeze their credit with all
three bureaus, the process is not easy. Remember they would prefer that you
not do it because they make money by selling your information. Here is what
you need to do: The cost is $10 per bureau. The total to freeze all three
credit reports would be $30. Each bureau also charges $10 each time you
want to unfreeze (thaw) your records to apply for new credit.
      Full instructions for requesting your credit freeze are available at
<www.transunion.com>, <www.experian.com>, and <www.equifax.com>. Follow
these instructions exactly. Don't leave anything out. You will be sending
three separate letters with copies of personal information such as your
state identification card, your Social Security card, a recent utility
bill, etc. Take these three mailings to the post office to mail along with
a check for $10 to each bureau. I suggest using certified mail, return
receipt requested. For a one-time charge of $30, nobody can take out new
credit in your name. If you wish to establish a new credit line, you will
need to pay from $10 to $30 to thaw your credit freeze temporarily.
      The credit-freeze process is the single most effective way to stop
identity theft. Widely advertised identity protection services, such as
Trusted ID and Life Lock, cost up to $150 a year and are far less effective
than the credit freeze.
                                ------------
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Allen Harris]
                      Convention Scholarships Available
                               by Allen Harris
                                ************
      From the Editor: Allen Harris chairs the Kenneth Jernigan Convention
Scholarship Fund Committee. He has an important announcement for those who
would like to attend this year's national convention but find themselves
short of funds. This is what he says:
                                ************
      The Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund is looking for
individuals who can use some financial assistance to attend our national
convention in Dallas, Texas. In 2008 our convention will begin on Sunday,
June 29, and run through Saturday, July 5. This is one day off from the
typical convention week. However, each year we manage to figure out the
pattern even when the days change.

Who is eligible to receive a Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship?
      If you are a member of the National Federation of the Blind, you are
eligible to apply. However, preference will be given to first-time
convention attendees. The scholarship selection committee is able to make
an occasional exception, but first-time convention participants are the
target group.

What do I have to do to apply for a Kenneth Jernigan Convention
Scholarship?
      You must do the following and are responsible for these application
requirements:
1. Find out who your state NFB president is and get him or her to write a
letter of recommendation for you, or you may have a chapter president or
other officer write a letter of recommendation, but we must have a letter
from a Federation leader who is familiar with you.
2. You must write a letter to the Kenneth Jernigan Fund Committee
expressing the reasons why you want a scholarship. Describe your
participation in the Federation and what you think you would get and give
to the convention. Please send all information to Allen Harris, 524 4th
Street 502B, Des Moines, Iowa 50309, or email the information to
<allen.harris@dwx.com>.
3. You must register for and attend the entire convention, including the
banquet.

How do I get my Scholarship funds?
      You will get cash at the convention. The times and locations will be
listed in the notice you receive if you are a scholarship winner. The
committee is not able to provide funds before the convention, so work with
your chapter and state affiliate to assist by advancing funds you can pay
back when you receive your scholarship.

When will I know if I have been selected as a Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship
winner?
      The committee makes every effort to notify scholarship winners by May
1, but you must do several things to be prepared to attend if you are
chosen:
1. You must make your own hotel reservation. If something prevents you from
attending, you can cancel your reservation.
2. You will receive a letter with the convention details which should
answer many of your questions. It is also helpful to find a mentor from
your chapter or affiliate to act as a friend and advisor during the
convention. Although you will not know officially whether or not you have
been selected until early May, you must make plans to attend and then
adjust your plans accordingly.
      This past summer in Atlanta the Jernigan Fund scholarship committee
awarded fifty-six Kenneth Jernigan Scholarships. The average grant was
$500. You can include in your letter to the committee any extenuating
circumstances which the committee may choose to take into consideration.
Above all, please use this opportunity to attend your first convention and
join several thousand other blind Federationists in the most important
meeting of the blind in the world.
      If you have questions or need additional information, call Allen
Harris at (515) 274-2256 or email him at <allen.harris@dwx.com>. You may
also email Joy Harris at <joy.harris@dwx.com>. We look forward to seeing
you in Dallas and enjoying convention with you and all of our fellow
Federationists.
                                ------------
                                   Recipes
                                ************
      This month's recipes come from members of the National Federation of
the Blind of New Mexico.
                                ************
                                  Dump Cake
                               by Elise Haley
                                ************
      Elise Haley is a retired teacher who taught in Texas and New Jersey
before moving to Alamogordo, New Mexico. She taught seventh-grade math for
twenty-five years. Then she started working part-time at New Mexico State
University at Alamogordo, where she tutored in the Math Learning Center and
taught some of the developmental math classes. While working there, she
tutored several vision-impaired students. She and her husband currently try
to provide transportation when the local transit system is not available.
                                ************
Ingredients:
1 box cake mix (yellow works best, but white is all right.)
1 can pie filling (cherry is particularly tasty)
1 can chopped pineapple
Chocolate chips, shredded coconut, or chopped pecans (optional)
1 or 2 sticks of butter (optional)
                                ************
      Method: Drain the pineapple and reserve the juice. Dump the pie
filling into a glass 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Then combine the drained
pineapple with the pie filling. If you wish to add chocolate chips,
coconut, or pecans, this is the time to dump them in. Then sprinkle the dry
cake mix over the fruit. Pour the reserved pineapple juice over the cake
mix. Older versions of this recipe call for pouring melted butter over the
cake mix. Some of us discovered that using fruit juice instead of butter
works well. Bake at 350 degrees until the cake mix feels solid. Depending
on the amount of fruit, this will take thirty-five to forty-five minutes.
If you still feel dry spots in the cake mix, drizzle water over them.
      Other fruits from fresh apricots to apple pie filling work fairly
well. If you use fresh apricots, you will need some additional sweetening
to keep the cake from being too tart. This cake can be served warm or
chilled. Do not use a dark juice such as grape on the top. It makes the
surface look dark, so some people may think it is burned.
                                ------------
                                 Oat Scones
                                 by Jim Babb
                                ************
      Jim Babb has now lived in New Mexico for the past seven years after
retiring from the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission. Jim really isn't
retired; he does lots of volunteer work. He is president of the Friends of
the New Mexico Library for the Blind, is a board member of the New Mexico
Goodwill, is second vice president of the Albuquerque Chapter, and is a
board member of the New Mexico affiliate.
                                ************
Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups old fashioned Quaker oats (or 1 1/4 cups quick Quaker oats)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins or currants
                                ************
      Method: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl combine all dry
ingredients. Combine butter, milk, and egg and add them to the dry
ingredients; mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in raisins.
Shape dough to form ball; pat out on lightly floured surface to form an
eight-inch circle. Cut into eight wedges. Transfer to a greased cookie
sheet and bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for twelve to fifteen minutes
or until scones are light golden brown. Serve with butter and preserves or
honey as desired.
                                ------------
                         Fat-Free Chocolate Truffles
                              by Veronica Smith
                                ************
      Veronica Smith is a volunteer in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. She
volunteers several times a week in the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary
School reading program. In addition she makes presentations on blindness at
other elementary schools. She is also learning a lot about eating wisely at
Weight Watchers. She reports that last year she lost fifty-one pounds and
now feels great.
                                ************
Ingredients:
1 8-ounce package fat-free cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
                                ************
      Method: Cream together all ingredients except two tablespoons cocoa
powder. Sprinkle the remaining two tablespoons of cocoa on a sheet of wax
paper. Form twenty-four balls of candy from the cream cheese mixture and
roll them one at a time in the powdered cocoa. Place on a cookie sheet and
refrigerate overnight. Transfer to store in an air-tight container. If you
are counting calories, you should know that these scrumptious little treats
are only fifty calories each.
                                ------------
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Nancy and Don Burns]
                              Strawberry Bread
                               by Nancy Burns
                                ************
      Nancy Burns, immediate past president of the NFB of California,
recently moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. She spent most of her life in
California and served six years as the affiliate president. She has always
enjoyed baking, and now that she is retired, she has more time to be
creative in the kitchen. This is an original bread recipe.
                                ************
Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups strawberries, chopped
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1 teaspoon strawberry flavoring
                                ************
      Method: Combine oil, sugar, and eggs. Then add flavoring and chopped
strawberries. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Add this mixture and
chopped nuts to sugar mixture. Mix thoroughly. Pour batter into a 9-by-5-
inch loaf pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees
for fifty-five to sixty minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center
comes out clean. Cool on rack and enjoy with a cup of coffee.
                                ------------
                       Fudge Brownies with an Attitude
                                by Don Burns
                                ************
      After serving as legislative representative for the National
Federation of the Blind of California, Don retired in late 2006. Don and
his wife Nancy moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Don spends the
summer months working in his garden.
                                ************
Ingredients:
1 box of your favorite fudge brownie mix
1 tablespoon red chili powder (or more if your taste buds desire)
1 scoop of vanilla ice cream
                                ************
      Method: Prepare brownies according to package directions, but add
chili powder to dry mixture at the beginning. Bake brownies as directed and
cool on rack. Place a scoop of ice cream on top of warm brownie and enjoy.
                                ------------
      Monitor Miniatures
                                ************
      News from the Federation Family
                                ************
Ground-Breaking Program for Elementary Students from NFB Jernigan
Institute:
The Jernigan Institute is pleased to announce the latest addition to its
Science Academy-the 2008 NFB Junior Science Academy. This program, the
first NFB Science Academy for elementary students and their parents, will
be held July 23 to 27, 2008, in Baltimore, Maryland, at the National
Center. The program will accept thirty participants in grades three through
six, or ages eight to twelve, and one parent or guardian for each.
Modeled after the NFB's previous successful Science Academies for teens,
this four-day session will expose blind and low-vision children to the
excitement of science in real-life applications. The students will learn
that science can be fun through hands-on instruction, field trips, and
interactive activities as they learn about how different aspects of the
environment work together to create the world around them. In addition to
sparking their interest in science, technology, engineering, and math
(STEM) subjects, the program aims to teach students how alternative
techniques can help make STEM subjects accessible and more engaging.
Workshops for parents of blind children will take place in conjunction with
the children's activities for the adults accompanying their children. The
Education Department is also looking for blind adults over eighteen who are
interested in serving as mentors to help facilitate the children's
activities.
Interested families or blind adults who would like to serve as mentors can
learn more about the program and submit an application online at
<www.blindscience.org>. Applications are due by March 31, 2008. For more
information, contact Mary Jo Thorpe, education programs specialist at the
Jernigan Institute at (410) 659-9314, ext. 2407, or at <mthorpe@nfb.org>.
                                ************
The Braille Book Flea Market Is Coming:
      Donate your gently used but no longer needed Braille books to the
2008 Braille Book Flea Market sponsored by the National Organization of
Parents of Blind Children and the National Association to Promote the Use
of Braille. Books should be in good condition. Cookbooks, Twin-Vision
books and books suitable for children are badly needed. Last year, even
though we had many generous donations of books, we were almost out of books
after the first hour of the flea market. Blind children hunger for books to
have by their beds at home like their siblings.
      In a few months we will have an address in Dallas where you can send
the Braille books you wish to donate. Begin searching through the boxes in
your basement and spare room and get your books ready for shipping. If you
have any questions, contact Peggy Chong at (515) 277-1288, or email her at
<peggychong@earthlink.net>. Look for a Braille Book Flea Market update in
the Braille Monitor very soon.
                                ************
Elected:
      The Inland Empire Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of
Washington recently held elections for 2008. The results are as follows:
Maria Bradford, president; Paul Whipple, first vice president; Dolorous
Keyser, second vice president; Judy Croy, treasurer; John Croy secretary;
Susan Lincoln, card secretary; Gloria Whipple, corresponding secretary; and
board members Jeanne Whipple and Cody Christianson.
                                ************
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Wayne Rivera, January 21, 1963, to January 15, 2008]
In Memoriam:
      With profound sadness Carl Jacobsen, president of the NFB of New
York, wrote to report the death of Wayne Rivera, a personal friend and a
Federationist, which he comments is, of course, a fine combination. He
passed along a warm recollection of Wayne by Christine Faltz Grassman:
                                ************
      Wayne joined the Federation in 1994. He contributed to the
construction of our Jernigan Institute and has given significant resources
to our organization as well as to agencies and schools for the blind in the
Dominican Republic, the birthplace of his wife Mary. Wayne was a very
successful vendor in the Randolph-Sheppard program in New York for more
than a dozen years. He was an active member of the state Vendors Committee.
      Wayne will be remembered by family, friends, and acquaintances as a
man who did not mince words. While this was not always appreciated, it was
definitely respected and often admired. Wayne also had a delightful sense
of humor. My two children, who met Wayne only once, delight in the telling
and retelling of Wayne Rivera tales, particularly those regarding would-be
shoplifters at Wayne's facilities. Wayne Rivera is deeply mourned and will
be sorely missed.
                                ************
Elected:
      At its January meeting the Seattle Chapter of the National Federation
of the Blind of Washington held elections. Results are as follows: Kris
Lawrence, president; Rita Szantay, first vice president; Kay Burrows,
second vice president; Andrea Travis, secretary; Doug Johnson, treasurer;
and Mike Mello and Bo Donahoe, board members.
                                ************
Elected:
      The Omaha Chapter of the NFB of Nebraska just held elections, and the
following officers were elected: president, Darrell Walla; first vice
president, Bob Burns; second vice president, Hank Vetter; treasurer, Amy
Sweigard; secretary, Sandra Boone; and board members, Sandy Alvarado, Al
Boone, Lonnie Merritt, and Atty Svendsen.
                                ************
[PHOTO/CAPTION: John Parker, June 22, 1939, to January 27, 2008]
In Memoriam:
      We are deeply sorry to report the death on January 27, 2008, of John
Parker, a longtime leader of the NFB of New Hampshire. John frequently
served as president of the Lakes Region Chapter and for six years as
president of the New Hampshire affiliate. When his health permitted, he was
also a frequent participant in the Washington Seminar. He served on the New
Hampshire Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired Advisory Committee
and the Governor's Commission on Disability. John was engaged, energetic,
and dogged in doing what he knew to be right for blind people.
      He was recovering from surgery for cancer when he suffered a fatal
heart attack. During a hospital visit from NFB of New Hampshire President
Marie Johnson shortly before his death, he complained that his surgery
would prevent him from taking part in the Washington Seminar this year.
Otherwise he was in good spirits. John Parker and his kind are the bedrock
of the Federation, and he will be deeply missed.
                                ************
New Chapter:
      The NFB of Iowa got off to a great start in 2008 with the formation
of its newest chapter, in Burlington, Iowa, a medium-sized town in the
southeastern part of the state. At its first meeting the group adopted a
constitution and elected officers. The new chapter president is Miranda
Brown, who is very ambitious. Jerry Jackson, her vice president, is also
eager to get the chapter moving. Eight members joined the chapter in
January.
      In just two weeks the chapter has accomplished a lot. They have set
times and places for their meetings, they continue to contact potential new
members, but their biggest effort has been the public education they have
conducted before and after the organizational meeting. In late January both
Miranda and Jerry were interviewed by the local paper, and the story ran on
February 2. Jerry and Miranda are working hard to spread the NFB message.
Congratulations to this new chapter.
                                ************
                                ************
      In Brief
                                ************
      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.
                                ************
Attention Alumni of the New York State School for the Blind:
      The Alumni Association of the New York State School for the Blind
will hold its annual reunion at the Holiday Inn in Batavia, New York, from
June 6 through June 8, 2008. Rooms will be available on Thursday, June 5,
and an extra excursion on Sunday afternoon may be run, if there is
sufficient interest. Room rates are $70 per night for regular rooms and $90
per night for suites. Reservations made before May 1 will not include room
tax.
      There is a grant of $200 available to one person who has never
attended the reunion or who has not attended in many years and who has
economic need. This grant must be applied for by April 1, 2008. To get a
reading of the entire weekend schedule, including detailed costs, contact
information for people in charge of various activities, the $200 grant, or
more information about activities and meals, phone Tim Hendel at (256) 650-
5212. To pay your dues or make other payments, phone Sukosh Fearon at (315)
363-4460.
                                ************
Anthology Available:
      Behind Our Eyes: Stories, Poems and Essays by Writers with
Disabilities is an anthology showcasing work by twenty-seven disabled
authors, many of whom are blind. This hopeful, funny, and educational book
bridges the gap between the way society sees people with disabilities and
the way disabled people really live. It also explores longings, struggles,
and triumphs we all have in common. The book's eight sections range from
advice to medical professionals to travel dos and don'ts, to writing tips,
to nature haiku, to a talking snake and a world where blindness is the
norm. Reviews and portions of the book are available online. Google the
Behind Our Eyes disabilities book for more information. Behind Our Eyes is
available from Amazon; iUniverse; major bookstores; and, for the print-
impaired, Bookshare in text or DAISY format. A recorded version of Behind
Our Eyes is also planned.
                                ************
New Tactile Astronomy Book Available:
      At a January 14, 2008, ceremony at the National Federation of the
Blind, NASA unveiled a new book that brings majestic images taken by its
great observatories to the fingertips of the blind. Touch the Invisible Sky
is a sixty-page book with color images of nebulae, stars, galaxies, and
some of the telescopes that captured the original pictures. Each image is
embossed with lines, dots, and other textures. These raised patterns
translate colors, shapes, and other intricate details of the cosmic
objects, allowing visually impaired people to experience them. Braille and
large-print descriptions accompany each of the book's twenty-eight
photographs, making the book's design accessible to readers of all visual
abilities.
      The book contains spectacular images from the Hubble Space Telescope,
Chandra X-ray Observatory, Spitzer Space Telescope, and powerful ground-
based telescopes. The celestial objects are presented as they appear
through visible-light telescopes and different spectral regions invisible
to the naked eye, from radio to infrared, visible, ultraviolet and X-ray
light.
      The book introduces the concept of light and the spectrum and
explains the way the different observatories complement each others'
findings. Readers take a cosmic journey beginning with images of the sun,
and travel out into the galaxy to visit relics of exploding and dying
stars, as well as the Whirlpool galaxy and colliding Antennae galaxies.
      Touch the Invisible Sky was written by astronomy educator and
accessibility specialist Noreen Grice of You Can Do Astronomy LLC and the
Museum of Science, Boston, with authors Simon Steel, an astronomer with the
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
and Doris Daou, an astronomer at NASA Headquarters, Washington. "About 10
million visually impaired people live in the United States," Grice said. "I
hope this book will be a unique resource for people who are sighted or
blind to understand better the part of the universe that is invisible to
all of us."
      The book will be available to the public through a wide variety of
sources, including NASA libraries, the National Federation of the Blind,
Library of Congress repositories, schools for the blind, libraries,
museums, science centers, and Ozone Publishing. "We wanted to show that the
beauty and complexity of the universe go far beyond what we can see with
our eyes!" Daou said.
      "The study of the universe is a detective story, a cosmic 'CSI,'
where clues to the inner workings of the universe are revealed by the
amazing technology of modern telescopes," Steel said. "This book invites
everyone to join in the quest to unlock the secrets of the cosmos."
      "One of the greatest challenges faced by blind students who are
interested in scientific study is that certain kinds of information are not
available to them in a nonvisual form," said Marc Maurer, president of the
National Federation of the Blind. "Books like this one are an invaluable
resource because they allow the blind access to information that is
normally presented through visual observation and media. Given access to
this information, blind students can study and compete in scientific fields
as well as their sighted peers."
      The prototype for this book was funded by an education grant from the
Chandra mission, and production was a collaborative effort by the NASA
space science missions, which provided the images, and other agency
sources.
                                ************
New Service Available:
      Access News is a service provided by the Sacramento Society for the
Blind in conjunction with the California Braille and Talking Book Library.
Find information and resources by dialing one easy number: (800) 665-4667.
Browse national weekly and monthly publications, enjoy our growing
entertainment sections, and hold important business meetings with
colleagues across the country using our teleconferencing center. Signing up
is free and easy. For more information about Access News or to sign up for
this free service, contact Joseph Hamilton, (916) 732-4010.
                                ************
Humanware Reorganizes Its Operations:
      We recently received the following press release:
      HumanWare, the leading provider of information-access products for
blind, visually impaired, and learning-disabled customers, announced today
that it would be reorganizing its activities. HumanWare is integrating its
research and development, marketing, and production operations under a
single line of responsibility for each department. Sales activities are
also integrated under three new geographical regions: the Americas, Europe
(including the Middle East and Africa), and Australasia.
      Three new vice presidents for marketing, research and development,
and operations have been appointed and will be responsible for both New
Zealand and Canadian activities. The business managers for the United
States, Europe, and Australia business divisions will see their
responsibilities extended into new geographical markets. This
reorganization results from the appointment of Mr. Gilles Pepin as the new
CEO of the HumanWare Group in November 2007. His objective is to build a
strong management structure to support HumanWare's growth in its activities
in the visually impaired segment and across new markets.
      "We are creating a stronger, more efficient and more dynamic
operational structure to better support our existing customers and
products, but also to introduce new initiatives such as enhanced customer
focus, superior product quality, and a wider range of product solutions,"
Pepin said. "To achieve this, we need to streamline our operations and
better integrate our activities, some of which are overextended across the
globe."
      HumanWare expects to reap major benefits for its customers as a
result of this reorganization, such as reduced product development cycle,
lower product costs, and higher product quality. HumanWare will keep
introducing new exciting products in 2008 following several major product
introductions in 2007, including Victor Reader Stream, ClassMate Reader,
myReader 2, and a math tutorial for the BrailleNote, mPower.
                                ************
Brailler Repair:
      Knick Johnson, owner of Brailler Depot, says the following:
      The Brailler Depot is the country's premier facility for the repair
of Perkins Braillers. We have over a decade of experience in repairing
Braillers. In-house stock parts allow for a quick turnaround time. Phone
(973) 272-7667, email <info@braillerdepot.com>, Website
<www.braillerdepot.com>.
                                ************
Blind Children in Need of Adoptive Homes:
      Family Finders is a nonprofit adoption agency that helps blind and
visually impaired orphans find families. We also have significant financial
aid available. Without any obligation, people can ask for more information
about these children by contacting <Familyfinders@wacap.org>.
                                ************
      W. Five-and-a-half-year-old girl from Asia. She is at a boarding
school for the blind. This happy, responsive little girl enjoys special
attention from a nanny on nights and weekends. She is blind and follows
sounds, conversations, and directions attentively. She is described as very
clever; she attends classes for blind children and receives speech therapy.
We would love to share her information with interested families. Reference
number 2275. No adoption fees. Her country wants couples to have been
married for at least two years and to be between twenty-five and forty-five
years of age. There's a strong preference for families with no more than
three children already in their home.
                                ************
      R. Five-and-a-half-year-old boy from Asia. The affectionate nickname
for this boy translates as "elephant." He has been in orphanage care all
his life. His caregivers say he focuses well on tasks and conversations and
can feed and dress himself. A family with good resources for educating a
blind child will bring out the best in this attentive little gentleman.
Reference number 2272. No adoption fees. His country is looking for couples
to have been married for at least two years and to be between twenty-five
and forty-five years of age. There's a strong preference for families with
no more than three children already in their home.
                                ************
      R. One-and-a-half-year-old girl from Asia is a doll-like beauty born
without sight. She also has some deafness, but we do not know the extent.
This attractive baby girl is ready to be scooped up and cherished today.
Call the Family Finders team to learn the story of this dear infant.
Reference number 2330. Her country is looking for adoptive couples who have
been married at least three years. Single applicants, families with many
children, and couples up to age fifty can also apply.
                                ************
      T. Four-and-a-half-year-old boy. T from Asia is happy to play on his
own, although he has many playmates at his orphanage. He has been blind
since birth. Cosmetic surgery is planned for one of his eyes to help this
little guy feel better and look even more handsome. Ask us for a copy of
T's complete file to read. Adoption fees have already been paid by a donor.
Reference number 2264. To adopt from this child's country, couples must
have been married at least three years. Single applicants, families with
many children, and couples up to age fifty can also apply.
      If you don't fit these countries' requirements, ask us about other
countries you are eligible for. For faster service, include your full name
and regular mailing address to fulfill eligibility rules. Adoption fees,
application fees, and post-placement fees have already been paid by a
generous donor. A no-interest loan of $4,500 is available for expenses, and
you may be eligible for $10,000 adoption federal tax credit.
                                ************
Educational Essentials for the Blind-a High School Diploma:
      Chuck Young is president of the well-known Hadley School for the
Blind, which offers a number of educational programs including many
correspondence courses for blind learners. Here Chuck provides information
about a program that will be of interest to many:
      Obtaining an education in our society is key to success as an adult-
for the blind and the sighted alike, yet our nation's dropout rate is
approximately 27 percent. Unfortunately, due to the often low expectations
of educators and inaccessible curricula, many blind students are among
those dropping out without the basic high school diploma.
      Do you know a blind person who wants a second chance to graduate from
high school? Do you know someone who would like to complete a high school
education using a self-paced program and earn a high school diploma while
studying from home? The Hadley School for the Blind provides such an
accredited program. Hadley will help students identify a free, customized
program leading to graduation and will support each student individually
with an accessible curriculum. Our teachers are available through toll-free
numbers, mail, and email. Students who receive such personalized
instruction are more likely to succeed, resulting in a great boost in self-
esteem.
      Hadley rewards successful graduates with a trip to the Chicago area
to participate in our high school graduation ceremony, or students can
consider transferring Hadley credits to their local high school for
graduation. This flexibility holds opportunity for those choosing home
schooling to receive support from Hadley, as well. Each year I witness the
pride of our graduates as they receive their well-deserved diplomas and
note the growth in self-worth that results. Hadley has many successful
former students, such as Dr. James Nyman of Nebraska, who used Hadley
courses to graduate from high school before continuing to excel at several
universities. Joe Cordova, director of the Hawaii Vocational Rehabilitation
and Services for the Blind, took our accessible course in science to ensure
that he graduated with his high school class. These are only two of
thousands of Hadley high school success stories.
      Contact the Hadley School for the Blind for more details and learn
how someone you know can get a second chance to earn a high school diploma.
Visit <www.hadley.edu> or call (800) 323-4238.
                                ************
BlindSight Opens in U.S.:
      BlindSight is the movie about Erik Weihenmayer and Sabiye Tenberken's
climb with six blind Tibetan teenagers to 21,500 feet on a peak on the
north face of Mt. Everest. Once vilified, spat on, and considered possessed
by evil spirits, these young people stood higher than any other group of
the blind in history. They returned to their villages as heroes, able to
make a difference in the lives of their people. The teens were all students
at the school Tenberken founded, Braille without Borders. As a result of
her dedicated teaching and her tireless advocacy for her students, they
have learned to read, write, and speak three or more languages, and they
are mastering trades. The 104 minutes of this unforgettable video-described
film trace the challenge these young people faced and the transformation
they have experienced as a result.
      BlindSight has been the audience choice at the two largest film
festivals in the world, Los Angeles and Berlin, and was shortlisted for an
Academy Award nomination. It is being released to U.S. theaters in March
with premiere events organized around the country. It was released in Japan
with the participation of the Imperial Family at the Tokyo premiere and
recently in Germany, Switzerland, Holland, and Belgium. The Australian
opening was in February in conjunction with Erik's mini-BlindSight climb
down under with blind and sighted teenagers. The U.K. premiere will be
later this year with the likely participation of the royal family.
      The U.S. premieres take place in New York on March 4; Washington,
D.C., on March 5; Boston on March 10; Denver on March 13; and Phoenix on
March 19. <www.blindsightthemovie.com> has much more information about the
movie.
                                ************
Jobs Available:
      Envision has immediate openings in manufacturing, retail sales,
printing, and administration in Kansas and throughout the United States. If
you haven't worked in a while, we can help you with job skills training.
And through education assistance you can create new opportunities and
realize greater independence.
      At Envision we focus on ability, not disability. We know that people
who are blind or low vision can make a positive contribution. At our
facilities they do it every day. And our business has grown with this
talented workforce. Today we're the largest employer of blind and low-
vision workers in Kansas.
      Envision employees enjoy some of the best benefits in the industry.
You'll earn competitive pay plus health and dental benefits, paid vacation,
personal time off, a retirement plan, and even life insurance. If you're
moving in order to accept a job at Envision, you may qualify for relocation
assistance. We can help you get settled in your new life with personal
assistance to secure suitable housing, transportation, necessary social
services, and independent living needs. Employees can also take advantage
of our vision rehabilitation services, including assistive technology,
resource referrals, and other services.
      Envision is a Kansas-based private, not-for-profit agency. Revenue
from the sale of our manufactured products and our base service stores
helps fund vision rehabilitation services for people who are blind or low
vision. It's a good feeling knowing that your work helps others become more
independent. To learn more, visit our Website at <www.envisionus.com> or
email Mark Benson at <goodjobs@envisionus.com>. You can also call toll-free
(888) 425-7072 or fax (316) 267-4312.
                                ************
WGBH DVDs Available:
      WGBH Boston Video helps aspiring athletes through the training
process for the world famous Boston Marathon with a new DVD entitled
Marathon Challenge. Audiences will learn that, with enough preparation,
inner strength, and unyielding dedication, the average person can build up
the stamina and physical conditioning to conquer twenty-six miles. The
video-described DVD of Marathon Challenge became available for $19.95 on
February 12, 2008.
      Every year thousands of athletes from across the globe flock to
Boston to run the city's marathon, known worldwide as the ultimate test of
stamina and endurance. But how do you run twenty-six miles if you have
trouble making it around the block? With good coaching, discipline, and
lots of group support, as NOVA shows when it follows thirteen sedentary
people through a nine-month regimen designed to prepare them for the
grueling Boston Marathon.
      Filled with personal drama and featuring the inspirational Uta
Pippig, the first woman to win three consecutive Boston Marathons, Marathon
Challenge also takes viewers on a scientific adventure inside the human
body. What happens to our muscles and hearts when couch potatoes become
endurance runners? And what are the hidden risks? NOVA's behind-the-scenes
portrait of the trials, tribulations, and joys of marathon training reaches
a climax at the 2007 Boston Marathon. Here our thirteen rookie athletes put
all their hopes and hard work to the final test, experiencing hidden
rewards and floods of emotion at the finish line.
      To order any DVD or VHS release from WGBH Boston Video, including
Marathon Challenge, call (800) 949-8670 or visit <shop.wgbh.org>.
      Since its launch WGBH Boston Video has released many critically
acclaimed public television programs on DVD and video, including Yoga for
the Rest of Us, Walking the Bible, Emmy Award-winning The Miracle of Life,
as well as bestsellers, including The Elegant Universe (NOVA), Jane Eyre
(Masterpiece Theatre), The French Chef with Julia Child, Commanding
Heights: The Battle for the World Economy, Evolution, and Africans in
America. Recent releases include the Rx for Survival series, The Inspector
Lynley Mysteries (Mystery!), Origins (NOVA), Degrassi Junior High, Peep and
the Big Wide World, Between the Lions, and Postcards from Buster.
                                ************
Tactile Diagrams Available:
      VIEW International Foundation (VIEW) is pleased to make available a
large number of tactile diagrams developed for use by college students.
Initially this collection will be available on CDs only. Schools may
purchase all or part of the collection, depending on their needs. To use
the files in this collection, a school must have the free Adobe Acrobat
Reader and a means for printing on and processing capsule paper. Schools
and individuals can download Adobe Reader with the following link:
<http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html>.
      The complete collection includes 11,280 files on ten CDs and sells
for $259. Each individual CD sells for $59. These prices include shipping
and handling.
      The CDs are designed to run as a CD-based product, and no
installation is needed. To use these diagrams, they must be printed on
capsule paper, which is then processed with a machine that activates the
paper, producing a raised image. The list below shows the CDs available and
the number of images on each CD.
CD 1 Aeronautics and Astronautics-Fluid Sciences, 1,056 files
CD 2 Aeronautics and Astronautics-Fluid and Thermal Sciences, 749 files
CD 3 Aeronautics and Astronautics Control Systems, Flow Charts, Graphs, and
Unix Systems, 1,443 files
CD 4 Aeronautics and Astronautics-Structures, 1,308 files
CD 5 Biochemistry, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth, and Atmospheric
Science, 977 files
CD 6 Graphs and Shapes-Part One, 945 files
CD 7 Graphs and Shapes-Part Two, 718 files
CD 8 Mathematics and Statistics, 1,428 files
CD 9 Physics, 1,222 files
CD 10 Economics, Languages, Life Sciences, Physical Education, and
Psychology, 1,465 files
      For more information visit
<http://www.viewinternational.org/diagrams.htm>. If you have questions or
comments, contact VIEW International Foundation, 230 Peach Tree Drive, West
Monroe, Louisiana 71291-8653; phone (318) 396-1853; email
<ttsinfo@earthlink.net>. Please start the subject line with the words
"tactile diagrams." The Web page is <http://www.viewinternational.org>.
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      Monitor Mart
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      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.
                                ************
For Sale:
      Victor Player, Model 800CP. Plays MP3 CDs as well as DAISY and
traditional audio CD's. Asking $100 plus shipping. Contact Hal by phone at
(727) 735-0797 or email <w1lob@tampabay.rr.com>.
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                                 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.



