Hi Gang,

I spent the day yesterday in Sacramento, the developmental disability
groups were there to rally, and to speak about the issues pertinent to us
that the budget subcommittee was hearing testimony on yesterday.  I went up
to say my 2 cents worth. I said it is wrong to balance the budget on the
poor, the elderly and people with disabilities, (I know our gov. has
forfeited his salary, but I have not heard that our legislators are taking
a pay cut!) that our workers deserve more than minimum wages and they
deserve health benefits. and that the standardization of IPP's (individual
program plans) is bad because each person is a unique individual therefore
some need more hours and others need less, and I said it's a step
backwards.

I met a young man who is the father of a beautiful four year old who was
born with 60 percent of her brain missing, she has cp, retardation,
epilepsy, and blindness... I can't imagine the pain that young man and his
wife must have felt...my heart broke for them. (MY dad still feels bad
about my cp)  But in looking at him and he holding up the photo of his
child, it gave me more energy to fight for us all.  And her spirit is
beautiful, so I know she will be somebody special when she gets older.

Anyway, here's something we can do about the presidential election.

 Please read this important message from Paul Longmore.  The disablity
> community has much at stake in the next presidential election.
>
> If you can, please make a contribution through the channels Paul
describes.
> Every contribution will be counted as a support vote from the disability
> civil rights community.  So, it doesn't make any difference how much the
> contribution is, just that one is made.
> HolLynn
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Paul K. Longmore" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <Undisclosed recipients:>
> Sent: Monday, April 26, 2004 9:35 AM
> Subject: Disability Rights Activists for John Kerry
>
>
> > Hi,
> >
> > There's more at stake in this year's presidential election than any in
> > recent memory.  Four more years of George W. Bush as President would
lead
> to
> > further dismantling of disability rights laws, further drain on our
> economy,
> > and further cuts in programs on which our lives and well-being depend.
We
> > can't allow this to happen!
> >
> > We need to demonstrate that the disability community can be a major
force
> > in electing John Kerry the next president of the United States.  One way
> to
> > do that is to raise money for the Kerry campaign.  We've now set up a
> > mechanism that will track contributions and identify them as
contributions
> > from the disability community.  You can make a tracked contribution in
one
> > of two ways.
> >
> > 1.  Visit
> https://contribute2.johnkerry.com/index.html?source_code=00019720
> > and make your contribution online with a credit card.
> >
> > 2. Mail a check (payable to John Kerry for President, Inc.) to Curtis
> > Richards at the address below.  He'll ensure that your check is
delivered
> to
> > the campaign and factored into the disability community total
> contribution.
> >
> >      Curtis Richards
> >      The Advocrat Group
> >      1331 H St., NW
> >      Suite 301
> >      Washington, D.C. 20005
> >
> > Please note: unless you visit this particular contribution page or mail
> your
> > check to Curtis Richards, your contribution will NOT be linked to the
> > disability community.
> >
> > Please forward this email to your friends and family by replacing my
> > e-mail address with yours!  Anyone can choose to have his or her
> > contribution linked to the disability community.  No amount is too
small.
> > If appropriate you may want to contribute whatever you can on a monthly
> > basis.  Together, we can make a huge difference.
> >
> > If you have any questions about this effort please e-mail:
> > [log in to unmask]
> >
> > Yours in solidarity,
> >
> > Paul
> >
> >
>
>