Say No To SOPA

Lead Free?

While Christmas shopping at a department store, I was perusing the toy aisle when I saw a Disney Princess jewelry set that proudly announced on the package in bold, sparkling letters, "Lead Free!"

Wait a minute...

WTF?

I know there have been warnings about lead in toys for years, but seeing that little package of pink plastic, Sleeping Beauty inspired necklaces with the happy announcement that the contents were indeed "Lead Free" made me look around the rest of the toy aisle nervously. I stared at the Barbies in their party dresses and sequins, at the Dora the Explorer play-sets and the Play-School dollhouses with brightly colored plastic furniture, and then at the plastic model ponies. So many lovely, entertaining, fun things our children can play with.

Which ones are full of lead?

And if they are full of lead, why are they being sold to anyone?

Why is it okay for a business to create, import and distribute toys that are toxic to play with? Do the people who sign off on toxic toys as "safe" know they're approving potentially harmful items to kids? And if so, do they then allow their own children to play with them?

Okay, maybe I'm making a big leap here by assuming that just because a toy doesn't have a "lead free" sticker it must be full of lead. This is probably more a marketing gimmick than a statement of fact. But you gotta admit, it does raise a lot questions about the toys are kids are playing with.

Often I hear a politician or business leaders say on the news that stricter controls on lead and other toxins would be bad for business and could cause larger economic harm. They say if manufacturers had to test for hazards, or if those hazardous materials were banned from toys and other items, thousands of jobs would be lost because of the drop in profits for the business.

But I want to know, why should we have to trade the health of our children for jobs?

When I run the world, there will be no toxins, especially lead, in any toy or item of clothing or food or anything our kids might come in contact with. Period. No exceptions. And anyone who bitches about how taking toxins out of consumer goods is "bad for business" will be fined one million dollars. That money will go directly to children's health care.

It will be a great day when every single toy can have a label proclaiming "Lead Free." It will be an even better day when lead in toys will be such a thing of the past a "Lead Free" sticker will be considered quant and old-fashioned.

If you'd like more information about lead and products that may contain the toxin, check out the Environmental Protection Agency website at http://www.epa.gov/lead/

We are all the 99%

With the Occupy Camps being shut-down all over the country, the question is, "What now?" Is the movement over? What was the movement about, anyway?

The occupation camps have been a demonstration of a larger movement, not the movement itself. The demand for economic justice hasn't ended because the tents have been removed. Economic Justice is the point. The movement continues whether people are camping on Wall St. or not.

The simplest way we can show our elected officials that the demands of the people must be listened to is to hang a sign in our windows declaring "I am the 99%." Imagine what a statement that would be if every person in this country who has been effected by budget cuts and unemployment, medical hardship and foreclosure, the loss of their retirement and savings, put a sign in their front window stating that they are the 99%. And it doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or Republican, "red" or "blue", conservative or liberal or something in between. If every person who is angry about the way our economy has been impacted by  greed put a sign in their window, there would be millions of signs. You don't have to march or camp, you can simply hang a sign.

We're all in this together, people. We're all effected by economic injustice. Our leaders need to see that we're awake. Otherwise, nothing will improve.

I am the 99%

New Video from Heavy Load

"They call me retard.... they call me mental.... they call me special.... THAT's NOT MY NAME"

Paul Richard of Heavy Load is a contributor to the punk anthology I edited and published, Punk Rock Saved My Ass. This song off his band's new album, Wham, shows perfectly how they feel about being called "special," or anything else that labels them. You've got to see this, and pass it on

The Challenge of 2010: Don't Freak Out

I am an expert at panicking. Give me a headline that reads "Schwarzenegger to call for deep spending cuts", and I feel my heart rate jump. Then I hyperventilate when I read the article: The governor will call for $8 billion in aid from Washington. If the funds don't come through, he will propose the wholesale elimination of CalWorks, the state's main welfare program, as well as a program that provides in-home care to the elderly and disabled.

Last year, the California budget crisis was so bad it seemed like every single program to protect people with disabilities was being decimated. There were demonstrations and lawsuits to fight for the services that keep the elderly and disabled safely in their own homes, and with adequate medical care. School budgets were cut so badly thousands of teachers were laid off across the State. All of the supports my child needs to grow and thrive were threatened. By the end of the fiscal year I lost dental care, but she still had hearing aids, so I didn't mind. As long as she's cared for, who needs teeth?

Here we are again. It's a new year and the shouts of "fiscal crisis" are echoing through the State capitol, making every person with a disability and every person who loves them start preparing for battle. The weakest are already being thrown to the wolves. And from what I've been reading, it appears that the budget cuts are going to be even worse than last year's.

But I will not freak out. Last year I spent five months panicking, waiting for the ax to fall and the State to take my child's medical care away. What good did it do? The cuts came, we survived, and all I got for my efforts was an ulcer. Does freaking out really help anything?

I'm not saying we should bury our heads under our covers and just hope for the best. Far from it. Write letters, protest, shout and scream, but do not panic. Keep your head on straight, plan for the worst, and fight for the best.

Right....

We already know how terrible I am at keeping my head on straight. Just look how I reacted thinking about school. I was on the edge of a mental breakdown before the news started reporting on the California budget crisis. Now it's all I can do not to burst into tears and run around the house yelling "fire!"

That's what I did last year. This year, I won't give in. I am determined to control my fear. I haven't quite figured it out yet, but it seems the age-old mantra of one day at a time is a good place to start. I've been practicing mindfulness for several years now, so I understand it conceptually, and have even had some (brief) success at staying in the moment, especially around my daughter's disability. Focusing on today helps me focus on my child, rather than on her problems. Now it's time to take it to the next level.

The budget crisis frightens me because it feels like my child is under attack. She is a "burden on California," a burden the State can't afford anymore. So they want to cut her, and the thousands of people like her, in the hope that maybe she'll just go away and stop draining money from the rest of us. It infuriates me how easily the "weak" are tossed aside to fend for themselves while the "strong" circle their wagons to protect their own needs.

I'm sure the situation isn't that simplistic, but as the parent of a child with disabilities who depends on all those services they want to do away with, that's exactly how it feels.

I will not freak out this year. I will stay clear headed and informed. I will not give in to fear which only weakens me. I will navigate this year of hard work and uncertainty with clear purpose and calm. I am that strong.

At the very least, I will get through each day without screaming at the radio every time they interview that mutha-f... I mean our governer.

Or maybe doing that will make me feel better?

I feel like I'm on the Titanic and I've just realized there aren't enough life boats

The economy of California is a lot like the Titanic; it was big and beautiful and ahead of its time. Everybody wanted a ride and you felt very lucky to be one of her passengers, until the ship hit the iceberg.

California hit it 12 months ago, and we've been very slowly sinking into the depths of the black and icy sea. Those with resources get the life boats. Those without, the disabled and elderly, the poor and the people who depend on services, get a deck chair where they can listen to the band as they drown.

Am I taking this metaphor too far? I told you I feel like I'm on the Titanic. The worst part is that Queen Teen is on this damn ship too, and there's no way I'm going to let them steal all the life boats from her.

I don't know how to stop them, though.

State Could Run Out of Cash

How Golden State sank into budget morass

Governor's Last Stand: His Way, or IOU's

Califoria's budget cuts: deep to the bone

Protests Rock California State Capitol

This morning, I received this update from the CDCAN mailing list. It made me very, very happy.

I couldn't go to Sacramento to protest, but I want to send my thanks to all for fighting so hard for my child and others with disabilities.



Protests Rock State Capitol

OVER 2,000 MARCH AGAINST DISABLED CUTS HUNDREDS JAM HEARING ROOMS & HALLWAYS

Protestors Demonstrate on Capitol Sidewalk – Focus Against Cuts to Regional Centers, IHSS, Mental Health, SSI/SSP, Medi-Cal – Lawsuit To Stop IHSS Worker Wage State Funding Cut Announced During Protest

SACRAMENTO, CA (CDCAN) [Updated 04/22/09 10:30 PM (Pacific Time) ] - Over 2,000 marched from the Sacramento Convention Center to the State Capitol protesting against budget cuts to persons with disabilities, mental health needs, seniors, community organizations and workers who provide services Wednesday late morning in a loud demonstration that later filled the Capitol hearing rooms and hallways. Some estimates of the crowd exceeded well over 2,500 at its height around 12 noon, with the entire L street sidewalk and parts of the State Capitol grounds filled with people protesting and chanting “No More Cuts” for two solid city blocks. [CDCAN Note: all photos by Stephen Dale]

The protest march and sidewalk demonstration in front of the State Capitol drew a crowd larger than expected was linked to an Assembly Budget Subcommittee hearing on regional center and mental health budget cuts that was held at 1:30 PM. The protest was also linked to a Senate Budget Subcommittee #3 on Health and Human Services hearing on Medi-Cal budget cuts scheduled for Thursday morning (April 23) at 09:30 AM in the State Capitol in Room 4203 (the hearing could be delayed if the Senate floor session does not end by 09:30 AM).

The crowds that packed Wednesday’s Assembly budget subcommittee hearing rooms and hallways were easily the largest to date at the Capitol in the past year.

Persons marching and demonstrating came from all parts of California, and covered the range of persons with disabilities, mental health needs, seniors, families, IHSS and other support workers, community organizations including providers, regional centers, independent living centers and others.

The march began from the west entrance of the Sacramento Convention Center four blocks away from the State Capitol and ended with a sidewalk demonstration in front of the Capitol grounds. Earlier hundreds of the marchers had lined both sides of J Street near 13th Street holding signs protesting cuts to the disabled, blind, mental health and seniors and chanting “No More Cuts!”

Hundreds of regional center funded community-based providers and organizations, their workers, persons with developmental disabilities and their families and workers were on hand, many fearful of the impact of cuts already passed – and what many believe will be new massive cuts coming in late May or June.

Protestors demanded that cuts to In-Home Supportive Services, Medi-Cal optional benefits, SSI/SSP grants, CalWORKS grants, regional center services and other programs be rescinded and funding restored, chanting “find another way”.

The protest march and demonstration was organized by CDCAN working with other organizations and groups.

Capitol Security Concerned About Sheer Numbers of Protestors

Sacramento City Police and the California Highway Patrol were on both sides of the sidewalk to keep protestors off the street and off the Capitol grounds. The California Highway Patrol officers – including those mounted on horses, expressed concern about the sheer numbers of persons jammed on the sidewalk chanting.

One California Highway Patrol officer guarding the Capitol grounds warned that people could be subject to arrest if they entered the Capitol grounds holding any signs or chanting any slogan – a warning that was immediately retracted by his superior officer and other officers who came down to the sidewalk area.

Later around 12:30 PM, hundreds of persons protesting on the sidewalk began entering without incident, the Capitol grounds to enter the State Capitol building to attend the 1:30 PM hearing.

Lawsuit To Block State Funding Cut For IHSS Worker Wages Announced During Protest – Details Will Come Soon

During the protest on the sidewalk in front of the State Capitol. Lynn Carmen of the Medicaid Defense Fund, told the crowd that a federal lawsuit would be filed soon to block the budget cut passed in February and scheduled to take effect July 1, 2009 that would reduce the state’s portion of funding for In-Home Supportive Services worker wages to a maximum of $9.50 per hour (that cost is shared by the state, federal government and the counties).

The news by Carman was greeted by loud cheers from the huge crowd, who promised further details soon regarding the lawsuit. See CDCAN website soon for details on the lawsuit at www.cdcan.us