Remembering a beloved teacher: Tina Tefft, 1951 - 2020

Tina Tefft, a beloved special education teacher at High Point School in Ann Arbor, died on September 28th, 2020. She was a natural teacher and a great friend. 

Both my sons were in her class at one time or another. She touched other staff members and families with her love for her students.

Tina had a double lung transplant in 2013 that allowed her to enjoy her retirement with her family and friends. Before a transplant became available, she worked very hard to stabilize her condition. I used to see her at M-Fit, the exercise room at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube (well-known to hockey and ice skating fans), dragging around her oxygen machine while she exercised. Every time I saw her, as she was pausing to catch her breath and smiling through the whole ordeal, I always felt that she lifted the spirits of everyone around her, rather than the other way around.

Tina died of a recently diagnosed cancer. Here is her obituary from the Ann Arbor News:

https://obits.mlive.com/obituaries/annarbor/obituary.aspx?n=christina-price-tefft&pid=19692033

Too much sadness! 

Michigan Election Shenanigans 2020, Part II

When Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel is not bringing state charges against would-be kidnappers of Governor Whitmer, she is following through on voter intimidation charges against the alleged perpetrators of racist robocalls to Michigan voters: 

“Political provocateurs accused of racist robocalls surrender in Michigan fraud case” by Dave Boucher, 10/8/20, The Detroit Free Press:

“Two alleged right wing provocateurs accused of orchestrating a racist and inaccurate robocall campaign to dissuade people from voting surrendered to Michigan authorities Thursday morning, the Michigan attorney general announced in a news release.

“Jacob Wohl, a 22-year-old Los Angeles resident, and Jack Burkman, a 54-year-old resident of Arlington, Virginia, were arraigned Thursday in the 36th District Court in Detroit. They pleaded not guilty on several felony charges related to allegations of voter intimidation and other election law violations.”

The article states that both men are known “to routinely stage fake events and purvey conspiracy theories that help far-right conservative causes and President Donald Trump.” They have pleaded not guilty to the charges and appear to see themselves as merry pranksters exercising their right to free speech. Their activities, however, are by no means harmless:

“The calls inaccurately stated law enforcement and debt collectors would use information provided by voters looking to cast an absentee ballot. The calls also said federal health officials would use the same personal information to track down people and forcibly administer vaccines. “

According to an earlier Detroit Free Press Article, Nessel’s Office determined that similar calls went to residents in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois. Investigators estimate that 85,000 robocalls were made.

Michigan: How to vote early with an absentee ballot

This is yet another post about voting in the November 3rd, 2020 election. 

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This is based on an article from Bridge Michigan, Michigan's nonpartisan, nonprofit news source, “How to vote early in the November election in Michigan”, by Riley Beggin, 9/22/20

Voting by absentee ballot is already underway in Michigan. Jocelyn Benson, the Michigan Secretary of State, estimates that nearly 3 million Michiganders will vote absentee for the November 3rd, 2020 election, due in part to the expansion of voting rights put in place by a 2018 constitutional amendment that gave all Michiganders the right to vote by mail.

President Trump has been railing against early voting and claiming that if he loses, it will be because of voter fraud caused by mail-in voting. There is no basis for this claim and no one should give up their voting rights because of it. Voting on Election Day (with or without an absentee ballot dropped off at your local clerk’s office) is also an option, although the Covid-19 pandemic has made absentee voting more appealing to vulnerable populations.

You can find out your current status as a Michigan voter at the Secretary of State’s Voter information Website.

Here are excerpts from the Michigan Bridge article:

Step 1: Check your voter registration.  

“…All Michigan residents over the age of 18, who are U.S. citizens, who aren’t currently serving a sentence in jail or prison, and who will have lived in the state for at least 30 days by Election Day are eligible to vote. If you have a misdemeanor or felony conviction and have finished your sentence or are being held in jail awaiting trial, you are still eligible to vote. “

[Check to see if you are currently registered. If you are not, you can register to vote on-line until October 19, 2020.] 

…“To vote absentee in person, check the hours your local clerk’s office is open and go in. You can apply for an absentee ballot, fill it out and submit it all in one visit until 4 p.m. on Nov. 2. 

“If you’re registering for the first time, you can register and cast an in-person absentee ballot on Election Day, Nov. 3” 

Step 2: Apply for an absentee ballot.  

“Apply online for an absentee ballot to be sent to you in the mail any time before 5 p.m. Oct. 30. You can also download an application, fill it out and return it to your clerk by email, mail, fax or in person. “

[There may be delays in mail delivery, so apply for an absentee ballot in person and hand deliver it to your clerk’s office.] 

Step 3: Choose your candidates. 

“You don’t have to wait until you get your ballot to begin learning about who is running. See a full list of candidates by entering your voter information here. “

[Another source of voter information comes from the non-partisan League of Women Voters, Vote411 election Information Website. Read the directions on your absentee ballot carefully and make sure you look at the back of the ballot for more election choices.] 

Step 4: Sign your ballot envelope. 

“Put your ballot inside the secrecy sleeve. Then put that inside the larger envelope. If you forget to include the secrecy sleeve, it’s OK. Election officials will put it in a secrecy sleeve when they take it out to begin processing ballots. 

“Be sure to sign the outside of the envelope in the big box indicated for signatures. “

[Follow the instructions carefully] 

Step 5: Return your ballot to your clerk. 

“There are three options for getting your ballot back to your clerk:

• Drop it in a ballot drop box
• Mail it back
• Take it to your clerk’s office

“To drop your ballot in a drop box, first check to see whether your city has them. Visit this website, choose 'who is my clerk?' and enter your address under 'search for your city/township clerk.' Only drop your ballot in drop boxes belonging to the city you received a ballot from. For example, if you’re voting in Ann Arbor, don’t drop your ballot in a Detroit drop box.”

[Avoid mail delays and hand-deliver your ballot to your clerk’s office.] 

Step 6: Make sure your clerk received your ballot.  

"You can check whether your clerk received your voter application, whether they sent it, and whether they received it online here." 

Step 7: If you change your mind or made a mistake, spoil and recast your ballot. 

“If you made a mistake, changed your mind, or your ballot looks like it won’t reach your clerk in time, you may want to 'spoil' your ballot and cast a new one. Spoiling a ballot is the same as canceling the old one. “

...”The latest you can spoil a ballot is 4 p.m. on Nov. 2, the day before the election. If you spoil your ballot at the last minute, ask your clerk what your options are to cast your vote. “

Step 8: Celebrate  

"If you’ve made it through all of the above steps, it’s time to celebrate — you’ve voted in the 2020 general election."

A founder of the National Council on Severe Autism perishes in an accidental house fire

I have been a follower and admirer of the people who founded  the National Council on Severe Autism  in May 2018. One of their founders, Feda Almaliti, died Saturday in a house fire with her beloved son Mu. This is a tribute to her and her son from her NCSA family.

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On the Passing of Feda Almaliti, 1977-2020

September 27, 2020

Yesterday was a day that rocked the autism community. Feda Almaliti, one of the founders of the National Council on Severe Autism and who was recognized nationally for her outspoken and often brash and hilarious advocacy for individuals and families impacted by autism, perished in an accidental house fire with her beloved son Muhammed. Feda was able to run out of the house along with her sister and niece but then went back in to bring out Mu. She could not carry him but kept fighting till she lost her breath due to heavy smoke. When the fire officials found the bodies, Feda was holding Muhammed.

Our hearts are broken....

...When we heard she had died trying to save Mu, a friend remarked, “Of course she did, she would not have been able to live with herself otherwise.”

Read the full post here.

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See also, Ways to Honor the Late Feda Almaliti and Her Son Muhammed

The NCSA Blog is full of posts that describe the hope and despair of severe autism and give voice to people who have been underrepresented and misrepresented by people presuming to speak for them.

VOR Remembers Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The following is a tribute from VOR, a Voice Of Reason, to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died last week at the age of eighty-seven. She was best known among disability advocates for her majority opinion in the 1999 ruling in Olmstead v. L.C.. The Court determined that under the Americans with Disabilities Act, states must move people with disabilities to community settings if treatment professionals determine that such a placement is appropriate, if the individual does not oppose such a move and if the placement can be “reasonably accommodated.” 

VOR is a national organization that represents people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families, including people with severe to profound IDD, many of whom live in Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, ICFs/IID. VOR played a key role in Olmstead by submitting an amicus brief that was quoted by Justice Ginsburg that made it clear that at times the "most integrated setting" for an individual may be an institution.

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VOR Remembers Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg 

“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” - Ruth Bader Ginsburg

It is with great sadness that VOR mourns the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and with great joy that we celebrate her life and the gift that she gave to our families and our loved ones with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

We wish to thank Justice Ginsburg for having heard our voice, and for having included an amicus brief submitted by VOR in her opinion attached to the Court’s landmark ruling in Olmstead: 

“Each disabled person is entitled to treatment in the most integrated setting possible for that person – recognizing that, on a case-by-case basis, that setting may be in an institution.” - Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581, 605 (1999)(quoting Brief of VOR et al., as Amici Curiae at 11)

The Olmstead decision is often misrepresented as an ‘integration mandate’, but that’s not true. By including the ideas of VOR and others in her opinion, Justice Ginsburg declared Olmstead a mandate for choice.

141 organizations and family groups signed on in support of VOR’s brief, which was written and submitted on our behalf by Attorney Bill Burke, with input and guidance from VOR's past presidents Polly Spare, Marilyn Straw, and Mary McTernan, Government Affairs Director Tamie Hopp, attorney Sam Golden, and other members.

Justice Ginsburg taught us that if we persist, and if we unite with others to strengthen our voice, our voice can be heard - from the homes of a few concerned families, all the way to the highest court in the land.

Justice Ginsburg left us with many memorable quotes. Here are two, both relevant to VOR's cause and our mission:

“You can disagree without being disagreeable."

"Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.”

For more information on the Olmstead Decision, please visit our website at:
https://www.vor.net/get-help/more-resources/item/olmstead-resources-2

"I would like to be remembered as someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability."
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 1933 - 2020

Michigan: Petition drive to repeal the Governor’s emergency powers hits another snag with shady signature collection company

Why is The DD Newsblog covering and taking sides on an issue so closely tied to partisan politics? I usually veer away from that in my blog, but sometimes there is no way to avoid the fact that party politics endanger people with disabilities and their families. I have two sons who live in a group home where all six residents are especially vulnerable to contracting Covid-19 and to its most dire effects, including adverse long-term health effects and death. My son Danny had aspiration pneumonia five times in 2017. He survived, but throw in a virus that amplifies heart and lung conditions and I'm not sure that he could survive that. As far as I am concerned, there is no messing around with party politics that threaten to increase the spread of the virus to the general public and to the people who work with my sons, who could then bring it into their group home. JRB

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According to an article in the Detroit Free Press, “In secret recording, trainer for Unlock Michigan advises on unlawful tactics” by Paul Egan, 9/22/2020,

“A company collecting signatures to strip Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of her emergency powers coached paid petition circulators on giving voters false information, illegally collecting signatures without witnessing them, trespassing on private property, and even lying under oath, a secretly recorded videotape shows"

...“The profanity-peppered training session provides an inside look at the world of paid signature gatherers and could potentially pose problems for Unlock Michigan's attempts to certify the close to 500,000 signatures the group hopes to collect. It is the second example of irregularities in the Unlock Michigan signature collection process the Free Press has highlighted.”

Unlock Michigan is collecting signatures to repeal the Emergency Powers of Governor Act of 1945, which Governor Whitmer is using to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Unlock Michigan is spearheading a petition drive that would allow the Michigan legislature to repeal the 1945 law without the threat of a veto from the governor.

Unlock Michigan, rather than being a grassroots organization, has ties to the Republican Party. Another group hired by Unlock Michigan to collect signatures [see The DD Newsblog, “Petitions: Read before you sign…”, 9/3/2020] was also found to employ shady tactics. According to the Detroit News, Unlock Michigan is “…primarily being funded by a nonprofit that doesn't have to disclose its donors."...“Michigan Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility, a Lansing-based organization with ties to Senate Republicans, gave $660,200 to Unlock Michigan from June 9 through July 20, according to a new campaign finance report.”

Read and think when you are asked to sign a petition and make sure you understand what you are signing.

Michigan: Legislators move to improve the counting of absentee ballots before the November election

While President Trump rails against the use of mail-in ballots by voters, claiming, despite evidence to the contrary, that mail-in voting leads to fraud, the dirty little secret is that mail-in or absentee voting is equally beloved by voters in both parties. Both Democrats and Republicans encourage voters to use this method of voting on their Websites. In Michigan, mail-in voting is exactly the same as absentee voting. Absentee ballots are sent to voters after they send in an application. No excuse is necessary.

In MIchigan, more than 2.1 million voters have already requested absentee ballots for the November 3rd election. The Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson anticipates that more than 3 million people will cast absentee ballots. With the current restrictions on processing and counting ballots, long delays in election results are inevitable. The good news is that the Republican-dominated legislature is working with Democrats to pass legislation before the election to speed up the process of counting votes.

An article in the Detroit Free Press, “Absentee ballots could be processed earlier under bill OK'd by Michigan Senate” by Dave Boucher, 9/15/20, describes proposals that should lessen the chances for Election Day chaos in an important swing state. Probably, delays in obtaining final election results will still occur, but the wait will not be as excruciating as it could be without some changes.

According the to The Detroit Free Press article:

“Right now, Michigan law prevents clerks from opening any absentee ballot until Election Day. Although the statute is one of several intended to maintain the integrity of votes cast through absentee ballots, it also creates even more work on a day that is already exceedingly stressful for clerks.

“That leads to long days and the potential for mistakes, as seen in Detroit after errors there caused hundreds of workers to remain at the TCF Center (formerly Cobo Center) well past midnight to count absentee ballots in the Aug. 4 primary election. “

Other impediments to counting votes include the requirement that only signed ballots received by the time polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day are valid. In the August 4th primary, many of the10,000 absentee ballots that were rejected, were rejected because they were received after Election Day, even those postmarked before Election Day. Although a bill passed by the Michigan Senate would allow clerks to start processing absentee ballots the day before the election, “[the Secretary of State] Benson wants lawmakers to take up measures that would allow clerks to count absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within 48 hours of polls closing and would require clerks follow up with voters if they forget to sign their ballot.”

“‘The Bipartisan Policy Center recommends clerks have at least seven days to process absentee ballots before Election Day. This bill allows only ten hours, only minimal processing, and includes a sunset provision that requires clerks to continue their advocacy in years to come,’ Benson said in an emailed statement."

Ruth Johnson, a former Republican Secretary of State, who sponsored the Senate bill allowing the processing of ballots to begin the day before Election Day, is also pushing for more reforms that would alleviate some of the administrative burdens on clerks and make the vote count more efficient.  

These are all encouraging signs that legislators are taking more responsibility for improving the voting process and acknowledging that this is good for the state and its citizens.