Kelly,

Thank you for your insightful response.

I agree with you that the NFB membership should probably be
concerned with the issue of allocation of funds. I appreciate your
explanation of the inner-workings of the organization. All things
considered, it sounds like the general membership could play an
active role if they choose to do so.

I like what you said about technology making it easier for all of us
to voice our opinions on public issues. A government professor of
mine once talked about how few letters people actually write to
their representatives. You are so right that these personal
letters of support or non-support are potentially powerful, as you
said, in explaining the issues to the reps. as well as telling them
how we feel.

Personally, I don't make the time to write enough letters to the
appropriate representatives or committees. Maybe I should work on
that.

Gary


Kelly Pierce wrote:


On Wed, 11 Apr 2001, Gary Bowers wrote:

> I'd be interested to know if the majority of their members are
given
> a real chance to express their own feelings. Does anyone know if
> these lawsuits the result of NFB membership referenda?

A resolution was passed at a national NFB convention several years
ago
that cast doubt on audio description as an accommodations mandate.
The
resolution committed the organization to "oppose" attempts to
mandate
audio description for television or other media.  The resolution did
not
state what form this opposition should take or how far it should go.
For
example, those feeling comfortable with this philosophical position
likely
did not believe that they were committing the organization to
mounting a
sweeping court challenge of a regulation that could go all the way
to the
supreme court and cost many hundreds of thousands of
dollars.  Resolutions are voted on by the membership in attendance
at the
convention.  the last day of the convention is set aside for this,
which
most people skip.

it is one thing to be opposed.  It is another to spend considerable
resources fighting access that one doesn't like.  Attorneys such as
Dan
goldstein who works for the NFB typically charge $200 to $300 an
hour.  Even if the NFB gets a favorable rate as the organization
gives
him a lot of business, it still will amount to a serious sum of
money
challenging this regulation once it is all over.  At some point, it
is a
resource allocation issue.  Are members getting their money's worth
from
all of the fundraising, chili dinners, bake sales, and
walk-a-thons?  Should the hourly fees of a highly skilled attorney
be
spent on protracted court battles opposing access that many blind
people
support or should that money spent on the attorney be spent working
on
attaining access in public accomodation for the laws that exist
now?  Ultimately the members will decide if they are benefiting from
their
continued financial and personal support of an organization that is
spending tens of thousands on opposing video description and much
more
money on a blind sailor trying to cross the Atlantic or a blind
mountain
climber who wants to scale Everest and the highest mountain on every
continent.  Challenging issues and extraordinary people.  Important
things
to consider.  Are these important and necessary investments on the
road to
full independence and integration into society for the blind so the
goal
of equal status on terms of equality can be achieved?  that is a
question
each NFB member can answer.

If you disagree with the NFB, you can let the FCC know about your
position
on the regulation.  However, the FCC currently supports it and the
agency
plans to defend its regulation.  Today, e-mail makes it quite simple
to
file comments in these proceedings.  You may be surprised how few
people
actually file comments.  A few sentences or a small paragraph can
even be
useful for a government agency to get an understanding of important
issues
and level of interest.

today's technology allows me and you to participate in matters of
concern
to us, such as using technology to advance our lives, as easily as
the big
boys with their sighted secretary's, highly paid attorneys, and
fancy
offices.  Let's use this technology to let our voice be heard and
our
views considered.

kelly


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