Never a Bad time to make a financial contribution to Quaker Voice on WA Public Policy

The fundraising email verbatim:

 Friends,

Not only do we have a new Legislative Advocate, but our new fiscal year begins October 1. If you have been planning to donate to Quaker Voice, but just haven’t gotten around to it, don’t let this wait for your attention any longer—donate now and we will start the new year strong financially as well strong as legislatively.  We gladly accept donations using PayPal or a major credit card at http://www.QuakerVoiceWa.org. If you would rather every dollar goes toward our work, send a check to:  

Quaker Voice Treasurer

612 S. Warner St.

Tacoma, WA 98405

Although Quaker Voice is not for profit, because it is a lobbying organization, contributions are NOT tax-deductible.

Terry Thorsos

Financing and Fundraising, Clerk

PS

If you did not receive a letter reporting on this year’s remarkable legislative session, please take a look at the 2021 Legislative Report (452 KB PDF file). The support you have provided over the years enables the persistence that results in successes like this year’s accomplishments once the time becomes right. Thank you!

Further RantWoman Testimonials

1. RantWoman will be happy to babble at any moment about the value of just being on conference calls and typing minutes as part of RantWoman's particular zigs and zags of Vocational Rehabilitation after DNA lotto reared its head in midlife.

2. No RantWoman did not receive a letter containing the legislative report, or if she did she has not gotten around to reading it on paper. Having it online is WONDERFUL and this truly is an impressive realization of much work over time. 

3. Young Quaker Voices. Young Quaker Voices. Young Quaker Voices.

4. Quaker Voice has been great about supporting measures to improve accessibility, both the Disability Mobility Initiative and a request to continue to make it easy to offer legislative testimony remotely. 

Do readers need any more reasons to contribute?

20th anniversary of September 11th on Planet RantWoman

RantWoman's most solemn meditations for the 20th Anniversary of the 9//11 attacks on the World Trade Center:

RantWoman honors the more than half a 9/11 body count of people in the US dying of COVID every day.

RantWoman hallows the names of health care workers who have had more than enough of everything to do with COVID; RantWoman honors a now-blind nurse who presently doesn't have enough surgery discharge planning to be because all the surgery capacity has been displaced by COVID patients. Now-blind nurse lived on the East coast during 9/11. Her hospital and hospitals all along the east coast were told to prepare for mass casualties--until all their potential patients died in the attacks This comment includes no consideration of all the rescue workers who died as a result of work around Ground Zero. RantWoman honors the point that now-blind nurse currently has time to work on a different path for improving our health care system.

RantWoman honors Rep. Barbara Lee, D-CA for being the only member of Congress to vote against the open-ended Authorization for the use of Military Force, AUMF. It is more than time to end the AUMF. Pass it on.

RantWoman honors the lives of the millions of Iraqi civilians who died as a result of sanctions imposed by the US. Likewise the millions of Afghanis killed by US drone strikes.

Trevor Noah on Never Forget Afghanistan

Samantha Bee Asks some Afghanis how to help




RantWoman blesses Former President George W Bush and his speechwriter. There are almost enough moments RantWoman resonates with to cause her to repent of support from Service Python Friend's suggestion that the US offer to give TX back to Mexico if they take this President Bush with it. Almost enough, until it is NOT.

Right now between COVID and abortion rights issues, it most definitely is not obvious to RantWoman that Mexico would want TX, but...

And to round out the meditations:

VP Harris speech at Shanksville.

with considerations to where the two speeches converge and where they diverge

The World's EMT?

The 30th anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union is in some people's consciousness.

The 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks can certainly stir up residual trauma.

People all over the planet are cringing as the Taliban again takes over Afghanistan.

So for a funky change of pace, please enjoy these two forays into Defense Doctrine

From the Quaker Cloud: Easton Day 2021 - Building a Healthy Multicultural Community Sept. 12, 10 am PDT

Announcement of this event first came to RantWoman in the form of an announcement where the word "scalped" yielded an objection and the mention of Tomahawks. As a Friend from west of the Mississippi RantWoman definitely does not feel well-versed in the history of Meetings in other parts of the country. RantWoman appreciates admonishment of the racism in the  word "scalped."

This is waht RantWoman found when looking herself for Easton Friends Meeting.

Easton Day is our annual commemoration of what is known as the "Feather of Peace" event—a time in 1777 when a party of Burgoyne's Indians set aside hostilities and joined Easton Friends in worship.

Our speakers, Liseli Haines and Buffy Curtis, are activists who have worked with Quakers in reaching out to indigenous groups. They have written articles and facilitated many workshops on right relationships with Native Americans. They paddled 150 Miles down the Hudson River as part of a commemoration of the Two-Row Wampum treaty (see photo above). They were also at Standing Rock to oppose the Dakota Access Pipeline. We feel very fortunate in having these two speakers. Their experiences will help them guide us as we consider how to move toward a community that embraces everyone.

At this virtual event, the "Feather of Peace" story will be told by Margaret Waterson. Music will be provided by Charlie Lapinski and others.

Those wishing to attend this on-line event should register by sending an email to eastonday2021@gmail.com or by calling 518-321-1356.

From the Quaker Cloud: Easton Day 2021 - Building a Healthy Multicultural Community

For examples, not from Quakerdom

 

RantWoman, WHY are you posting the examples below?

--Because phenomena vexing RantWoman are not unique to Quakers?

--Because RantWoman's efforts to digest long meditations on Disability Justice need to go through the Excessively plain English to Quakerese filter a couple more times?

--Because RantWoman does not have enough to do thinking about accessible meetings, safe continuous travel networks for and between all modes?

--Because RantWoman does not have enough to talk about when it comes to accessible telehealth, accessible prescription labels and other themes in RantWoman's quest for world domination or at least adept self-advocacy, fuller experience of Divine presences in individual lives and society ?

Never mind. Out with it, it being resolutions which are like Minutes except they are cultivated under Roberts Rules of Order  Think Window into RantWoman's state of Mind. Think, are there similar situations RantWoman might be trying to make points about. Are the points RantWoman is making here relevant to other situations? 

RantWoman recently sat in on a longboard meeting and exercise in Resolutions for a national body RantWoman is part of. RantWoman sat in because she helped craft one of the resolutions being discussed and because, being a good meeting nerd, she decided just to listen to all of them. It didn't hurt that RantWoman's resolution was toward the bottom of the agenda.

One resolution is about making sure Paralympians from the US have the same reasonable accommodations overseas as they would in the US. Board members spent considerable time discussing whether even to mention the Americans with Disabilities Act. If RantWoman had been allowed to unmute or to post in the chat, RantWoman would have blurted out something like "the athlete needs the same accommodations whether the ADA applies or not and one would HOPE that people negotiating about international events could start with that standard. Alas, RantWoman could neither unmute nor post in the chat SO RantWoman will be making this point in multiple social media and hoping it sticks when further negotiations occur.

The resolution where RantWoman was allowed to talk is part of polite but very firm efforts to get the largest accessibility conference in the country to get its act together about making conference materials such as presentation slide decks available in formats more accessible to blind people than the suggestion" just take a photo of the screen." "Polite and firm" also means do things on a timeline that can make a difference for presenters of the next conference.

RantWoman's Speak Truth to Power reflex kicked in. RantWoman decided to let go of a clause that would have made the resolution a template that could be used for other conferences with inaccessible materials. Oh well. Blind people tunnel vision reigns for now.

The First Vice President wanted to delete a clause asking the internal organization to live up to the same standards as are being asked of the outside organization. Madam first Vice President wanted to delete this clause because she said the internal organization is already doing it. Okay, delete the clause and the board will approve. 

Fine, but now RantWoman must go all Trust but Verify on the situation. RantWoman did in fact find slide decks for 4 presentations--out of many sessions on a multiday conference--in the website in a format RantWoman could mostly digest. By mostly RantWoman means next level accessibility would also include text descritpions of of images because it matters for instance if the pictures on a Vision Zero traffic safety presentation include only white people or reflect the full diversity of our communities. 

Okay. Leave it at that. Offer both exhortations for the internal organization to comply more fully next year and for efforts to promote voluntary compliance among presenters.

Leave it at that. And Come back next year. And try again. And again. And again either until both organizations get it right or  until the need of accessibility is somehow abolished. Did RantWoman mention Try again? Are readers already exhausted. Too bad. Try again. Because solving LIFE is so much more positive than just memorials.

L'shana Tovah to all who observe the high holy days

Avinu Malkeinu (Janowski) by Park Avenue Synagogue's Cantors

RantWoman is posting this with thanks to a Jewish member of the WA Council of the blind. RantWoman had not previously heard of the Avenu Malkeinu. Others had not heard of more basic points about Rosh Hoshanah. But such is the state of accessibility technology, access to tools, and knowledge of how to operate the tools that in this year of celebration 5782, RantWoman was able to find several lovely versions of Avenu Malkeinu on Youtube

RantWoman imagines that many many people are observing Rosh Hoshanah inconsiderably humbler circumstances. RantWoman also commends the practice of settling into the music and not worrying too much about either the text or the form of worship.

Should readers want lyrics

Text in Hebrew and English

RantWoman has honored a request to ask permission from Chabad.org to use a page of lyrics where it is much easier to find and read the English text than the page here. RantWoman also decided to use the site above in spite of a sort of gauche seeming ad: a peculiar blessing is that RantWoman's screen reader does noyautomatically find the annoying ad RantWoman has enough vision to be able to tell it's there.

Again l'shana Tovah

Today in ...unrepentant ...? Hold a soap opera, the entire cast in the Light

Today in beads to be strung meditations:

It's long past time for Crepe Myrtle
and this isn't the South, but the post needs
an energizing visual

Beatification

 RantWoman is taking a break from trying to fill the shoes of a deceased member of her pantheon of angelic troublemakers. RantWoman appreciates this item which came in email from another angelic troublemaker whose faithfulness RantWoman deeply esteems.

Blind Polish Noblewoman who founded order to be beatified

and because it seems in a needed spirit, today's quote from FCNL's Witness Wednesday worship

Prompt for Reflection
“I must confess that, on human judgement, the world tasks we face are appalling – well-nigh hopeless. Only the inner vision of God, only the God-blindness of unreservedly dedicated souls, only the utterly humble ones can bow and break the raging pride of a power-mad world.”

• Thomas Kelly, A Testament of Devotion
• 
  

Wants to?

"RantWoman, no one wants to work with you."

"WANTS TO is not the point! No one WANTS to work with midlife vision loss, especially if one might be just a little charm-challenged to begin with. "Wants to" is not the point, not the point about that OR about another "doesn't want to" conversation that needs to happen.

But terms like vocational rehabilitation and reasonable accommodation keep also needing to come up. In fact today one RantWoman twitch left over from a recent Zoom-a-thon is about people who need the same "reasonable accommodation" whether laws apply or not. The context was the negotiations that sustain international athletic competition as in paralympics, but the same point applies to Quakers, quakers and powerpoint, quakers and reading material, quakers and...

But speaking of Powerpoint and Friends who maybe just maybe need help widening their horizons, RantWoman is meditating about whose names she saw and whose names she did NOT see on sign ups at NPYM Annual Session about Quaker approaches to pastoral care. RantWoman has one did not see gatekeper name in mind, but RantWoman is clear that that Friend needs help and that there are some other names it would have been good to see as well.

Unrepentant?

RantWoman is reflecting on a Zoom breakout room conversation after the word "US" emerged from RantWoman's lips during a Meeting for Worship. The word "us" caused GREAT consternation in context and afterward there was conversation featuring a certain amount, to RantWoman's ear, of mansplaning followed by comments about RantWoman's example being used to deal with another Difficult Friend. RantWoman remembers thinking "DO NOT tell me about marginalizing another person with a disability." 

But before the breakout room went poof the word "unrepentant" also came up. Look people, RantWoman CANNOT repent of vision loss. Things don't work that way. As for things RantWoman might indeed deeply regret, Conflict is a Gift of God Friend is wont often to remark that he cannot detect this or that attitude he might desire from RantWoman. Lately RantWoman's view: just because YOU can't detect something does not mean it's not there." Again, the point applies in more than one context. But if the conversation can't deal with vision loss, we ain't never gonna get to...

An ELDER. My kingdom for an elder.

Has RantWoman mentioned how much the energy of young Friends organizing recente FLGBTQC midwinter gatherings has meant? Has RantWoman mentioned all the things that Zoom and not having to travel for Quaker fellowship have meant to RantWoman? Now RantWoman has mentioned

It was a dark and stormy FLGBTQC midwinter gathering. Actually RantWoman does not remember whether it was dark and stormy. RantWoman does remember Zoom and "that name would not have occurred to me" about one name and one interest group. So RantWoman wrote the clerks of her concerns and was offered the presence of an elder. RantWoman has no idea about whether the older was self-designated or selected. RantWoman was grateful enough for presence. RantWoman's concern occurred as predicted with an extra fillip of the concerning Friend's perpetual struggles with the space time continuum. But, just as the session was concluding after wandering a good bit around the topic of disability, the Friend offered "But what do we mean by accessibility?" 

EPISTLES

FWCC Page: Epistles from around the world

There are MANY accessibility points to be celebrated in the fact that this page exists. There are also challenges and barriers not only for RantWoman.

One impediment RantWoman could most assuredly have lived without is Conflict is a Gift of God Friend proclaming himself elder and then endlessly mocking RantWoman over her need to use a screen reader or when RantWoman is typine badly a scream reader. It's not there there is no humor to be found, but doing it wrong is a really fast way to land on the wait list for RantWoman's chronically oversubscribed flogging bureau. RantWoman would further note that maybe she has been remiss in not pounding harder into Friends' heads all the different dimensions of accessibility for RantWoman and that RantWoman is aware of for others.

"Gatekeeping?"

RantWoman to another Friend: "so what's happening on the disability front?"

...something about physical disability that RantWoman does not precisely remember...

It had already been a long conversation so RantWoman did the best she could to keep her eyes from rolling out of her head but RantWoman was thinking some or all of the following things:

"GOOD LORD Friend. You are talking about physical accessibility--to a visually impaired person. Which part of "accessible documents" still BARELY registers in your brain?"

"Friend have you even stopped to think about the GIGANTIC delta between topics on RantWoman's mind when we did the survey and what actually made it into the survey? and we won't even talk about how a glossy generalized report erased absolutely critical details even before we take into account the vague mush of decisions presented at Meeting for Business?"

"I do not give a #$!@#* whether Business meeting thinks something is adequate. The person who gets to decide whether something is adequate is the person with the disability.( And right now things are not adequate on either process or content grounds.)"

"Friend, RantWoman is trying to hold tenderly your candor, but maybe THE WHOLE SOAP OPERA NEEDS HELP. If you say something like "I don't see how it can work..." it sounds like you are unwilling to try. 

RantWoman does not get to stop trying and if that means RantWoman blurts out family soap oepras all over the whole entire RSoF welp, we already have a big footprint and maybe everyone will have things to learn. The problem is not going to go away not matter how hard a certain mMeetig tries to give the problem away to everyone else. In any case RantWoman is going to give things to God.

RantWoman has another whole rant brewing about not wanting to overwhelm any one person but to spead out burderns and learning for everyone. This thread is all tangled with many concerns about families and children and people repeatedly turning down offers of help and then complaining about being overloaded. But RantWoman's keyboard is already smoking enough for one day.