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The weather may be cooling down, but the
Presidential campaign season is heating up. Disability advocates around the
country are urging fifty-four million Americans with disabilities to flex their
political muscle and, in the words of the late Justin Dart, "vote like your
lives depend upon it."
Now is the time to educate yourselves about
the candidates and their positions. Visit their websites (listed here). Some of
these candidates have already issued statements about their disability agendas,
but others have not. Contact them and find out about their disability policies.
Ask if they would appoint Supreme Court
Justices who would uphold, not restrict, the ADA.
Ask if they support the passage of MiCassa
and the Family Opportunity Act. How about full federal funding for the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)? And learn about their
policies on other important issues facing our country, such as the war on
terrorism, since these will profoundly affect funding for disability
initiatives. |
REGISTER TO VOTE! You can do so at your
local Post Office or Motor Vehicles Office, online on the League of Women
Voters' website (www.lwv.org), or contact our office and we will be happy to
assist you.
For up-to-date information on MiCassa and IDEA, here are two
informative websites you might want to check out.
www.adapt.org
This is the website for ADAPT
(American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today), a national grassroots
disability rights organization. It provides updates on MiCassa, a bill that
would allow eligible individuals to receive services at home rather than in
nursing homes. Action alerts are also provided.
www.dredf.org
This is the website of the Disability Rights
Education and Defense Fund. With IDEA facing reorganization this year, visit
this site for action alerts and updates on the progress of the reauthorization.
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