Tuesday Topics

This week we are going to explore a word we hear a lot but what does it actually mean. That word is advocacy! How does it apply to people who are blind? What are issues we should be advocating for these days? Are there issues we should not be advocating for these days? How should we approach advocacy for an issue? We will identify one in the first hour and spend part of the second hour deciding ho...

This time we are going to spend some time exploring relationships. There is a good deal of controversy as to whether relationships work best if both parties are blind or if one of the two folks involved can see! What do you think! Where do people who have partial vision fit in? Is a relationship between a blind person and a person with partial vision the best of all? It's not good enough for you t...

In many respects, we are the most fortunate generation ever. We have access to more information than we can possibly use and we are at the beginning of a revolution that will make the data we can acquire now seem infinitely tiny and paltry. Before you turn away in disgust, this is not another exploration of AI though we are more than a year since we last spent time on it and lots has changed. It i...

It is common for Tuesday Topics to start something we don't finish and our last program was no exception. We were able to define many issues, provide some hypotheses for why they happen and confirm that some things need to be done. However, we did not get to the place where we could finalize actions that can be taken or decide for, sure if actions should be taken. So our program next week will exp...

Last week we asked you to come up with topics we could consider for future programs. I have to say that the participation of our regular listeners was just a mite limited. Let me thank those who were there and who participated in our show. Brian Charlson actually came up with the idea for our next Topic and I think it is an interesting one. Initially, the topic emerged because Brian was concerned...

You are crucial for Tuesday Topics tonight! Usually by Wednesday mornings our podcast is available from your usual sources. So far this year our crew has tackled serious subjects like history, employment, awards and leadership building. We all decided two things after the show this week. First we decided that we would take a break from earthshaking matters of moment and focus instead on you! What...

We will be exploring two topics that are related. We will finally complete our history of the relationship between ACB and NFB and then we will begin to explore what the philosophy of ACB is and how we can make it better known. A former President of ACB and a former Federationist, Mitch Pomerantz, will join us as a panelist. How have the changes we have observed in the Presidents of the NFB impact...

Earlier this year Tuesday Topics did a program on the history of blind advocacy. As is very common on our show, we did not finish. We got past the formation of the American Council of the Blind but that still leave us with over half a century to cover. Sheltered workshops, NAC, the ADA, the independent living movement, affiliate rights and responsibilities, the growth of special interest affiliate...

Remember to join Tuesday Topics as we explore how ACB encourages new leaders! More than that there is a mentoring program which is now in its second year of operation. I was a part of the first year and I look forward to guests who will tell us how year two is going. Tuesday Topics hopes that former fellows, first timers and some of the cohort of the first year of the mentoring program will come a...

This may be one of the most significant Tuesday Topics in our history. We will once more welcome guests from our ACB Employment Committee and will extend invitations to two other people who may or may not join us. I will tell you as this message proceeds who they are. Two components of our program will involve looking at data that the Employment Committee has put together from a recent survey. Sec...

Next Tuesday is Valentine's Day Eve. We thought it would be a good time to explore relationships. How have folks with visual impairments fared with internet dating sites? Which have you tried? How have they worked? If you don't use the internet, how do you start relationships? Are there tricks you can share with us? Are you looking to date people who are blind or people who are sighted or either w...

One of the joys of being a part of the American Council of the Blind is that, in addition to having state affiliates as members, the organization has welcomed the formation of more than a score of organizations formed based on an interest or a set of skills. Over the past couple of months there is no question that the affiliate most often garnering our attention was BITS. Blind Information Technol...

Not so occasionally, Paul Edwards makes commitments that he completely forgets to put on his calendar. That is what happened several weeks ago when the Awards Committee asked for an opportunity to present on Tuesday Topics. Instead of continuing our session on the history of blindness and services to the blind, we will be joined by members of the Awards Committee of the American Council of the Bli...

Occasionally it's a good thing to look back at where we have been. Acb began in 1961; the NFB began in 1940; there were blindness organizations as long ago as the 1880s. As we approach Martin Luther King Day let's spend a little time looking at some of the history of work for and programs for the people who are blind in the United States and, perhaps, in other parts of the world as well. What were...

A new year will be with us by the time Tuesday Topics returns to ACB Media One at 7 PM on January 2 2024. As we suggested on our last presentation the topic this time is 2024. What will the year be like? How will it differ from 2023? How will it be the same? Are there particular things we are looking forward to seeing? As with our last presentation we will begin with the big picture and look at th...

As we suggested on our last presentation the topic this time is 2024. What will the year be like? How will it differ from 2023? How will it be the same? Are there particular things we are looking forward to seeing? As with our last presentation we will begin with the big picture and look at the country, the world and, if appropriate, beyond our planet. Then we will focus on blindness issues. AFB h...

This week we will be doing the first of two programs surrounding the new year. We will not be holding Tuesday Topics on Boxing Day because that is a part of the Christmas holiday when many of our listeners will have better things to do than listen to us. We have a kind of tradition on Tuesday Topics though which we will follow again this year. We do one show where we explore the year that is endin...

One of Tuesday Topics's frequent contributors is DeAnna Quietwater Noriega. I have had the privilege of knowing this fine lady for over thirty years and am proud to call her a friend. DeAnna has just released her second book which is about growing up as a Native American. Here is a little of the blurb about her book. DOGWOOD BLOSSOM: GROWING UP NATIVE AMERICAN "In Dogwood Blossom, DeAnna Nori...

There are lots of laws that are passed that have created accessible traffic signals, accessible voting machines, the availability of braille materials from counties or the state and announcements on buses. These are just some of the accessibility elements that we have "demanded" or, at the very least, come to expect. More and more municipalities are saying that they don't know why they b...

Our first topic will explore how people who are blind feel about the patronizing attitudes of other people. We have all had it happen! Who helps you dress? Isn't your daughter lovely to take care of you! You actually work????? Clearly we don't love these situations but how should we handle them! Are those with us partly responsible? Should we expect them to stand up for us? Should we argue and get...

Our topic will explore how people who are blind feel about the patronizing attitudes of other people. We have all had it happen! Who helps you dress? Isn't your daughter lovely to take care of you! You actually work????? Clearly we don't love these situations but how should we handle them! Are those with us partly responsible? Should we expect them to stand up for us? Should we argue and get the p...

Tuesday Topics will once more consider questions raised by the Voter Task Force. There will be representatives from Resolutions, the Constitution and Bylaws group and the Voter Task Force. At the beginning of our first meeting with this group on October 24 we read a document that the Task Force is using for a number of community calls. We have looked at some of them but still have lots to look at....

Tuesday Topics will consider fear on ACB Media One. It isn't often that Tuesday Topics actually occurs on Halloween. As a result we thought it might be fun to explore some questions we think operate around Halloween for people who are blind. Have you had Halloween experiences that were cool? Have you had experiences that were awful? Were there things at Halloween that scared you? Halloween aside,...

We will be joined by the voting task force to explore where ACB needs to go from here. For the last few years ACB has had a system where every member in good standing, whether at a convention or not, can cast his or, her or their vote when ACB is trying to make decisions. We have also maintained the ongoing validity of affiliate voting. It is perhaps true that affiliate voting is fairer than it ha...

Tuesday Topics invites folks from our Audio Description Project to tell us about what is happening with ADP and our upcoming festivities! We will be live on ACB Media One and there is information below on joining us via Zoom or from Clubhouse. We will once more have the privilege of welcoming back the co-chairs of our Audio Description Project Carl Richardson and Kim Charlson. In the past they hav...