I cannot agree with you more Dan.
Enough time wasted with  wining about cartoon characters.  Lets  move on to
issues of more substance.

Fernando Botelho


At 09:00 AM 11/17/97 -0500, you wrote:
>hello,
>
>there is no more important issue to all blind folk than the future of
>equal access to computers and the employment they can make possible.
>i have read with interest your messages about interaction with
>microsoft.   microsoft continues to follow a course of patronizing us
>with the "we arecommitted" and "we are concerned" and other such stone
>walling trash.   now that the government and the larger public has become
>more aware of the monopoly microsoft holds, i can see no better place for
>the nfb to lead the way in a organized effort of legal action and public
>demonstrations then right now.   ibm and sun are putting their efforts
>where their mouths are by building speech into java as an intergral part
>of development and not an after thought spin control band aid.   once
>more we will be shafted if microsoft is allowed to diffuse the java
>standards and pintch out that promising area of equal access.   the nfb
>should be trumpeting as loudly and as often it's support for the java
>effort and a clear, loud, very public, action of denouncing microsoft.
>additionally, the nfb should put the bulk of it's governmental effert
>into supporting regulation of microsoft and, more importantly, insistence
>that all branches of government purchase and/or continue to use only fully
>accessable software.   any effort short of these or equally public
>actions will place the nfb squarely on the trailing edge of advocacy for
>blind folk, more than anyother issue to this time.   i think we are at a
>critical cross roads with regard to the ada and other legal foundations
>for equal rights.   this is the only issue which can have the effect of
>tilting the question of access firmly in the direction it needs to go and
>the nfb will miss the boat and suffer the results of anything less than a
>full out effort.   if something so basic as employment rights are left to
>die on the vine, all other areas are equally in jepordy of death by
>inattention by the government.   i, and i think the majority of those
>following but not publicly speaking, anticipate with great interest; how the
>nfb will turn on this matter.
>
>sincerley,
>
>dan dunfee
>
>