IN SUMMARY OF 'KEEP THE UNPRODUCTIVE OUT OF SIGHT AND OUT OF MIND' LET US ALL AT LAST BE HEARD

In Summary, this week's Posts show the ultimate end Game for The Anti Americans With Disabilities Act wing of The Conservative Philosophy/Movement and The Republican Party. While this week's story itself is, as I said earlier, of course a work of fiction, if they have any kind of opportunity to do so, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT WHATSOEVER, PERIOD, that this is exactly what Republicans/Conservatives would do. In getting The Supreme Court to rule that The Americans With Disabilities Act should not apply to State and Locally Owned Public Buildings, Conservatives/Republicans showed beyond all doubt where they stand on Rights for People With Disabilities, and that stand is against us. The actions taken by The Texas State Legislature since this ruling leaves no room for any kind of doubt that they took this ruling as a license to restrict access as much as they possibly can, and that is a lot. If they had the votes in The National Legislature/Congress to totally repeal The Americans With Disabilities Acct, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT THAT THEY WOULD DO SO and that the events of this week's story would cease to be a work of fiction only. And once they had repealed the act itself, that they would then order all of the progress that it has brought about for People With Disabilities undone is also indisputable, especially those items that bring continued costs to maintain. To them, any kind of different treatment for some is an abomination of the very idea of liberty for all, and they do not care if everyone with any kind of disability at all dies as a result of undoing The Americans With Disabilities Act and all of its Protections for those of us with Disabilities, as the underlying Truth of this week's work of fiction proves beyond all doubt. So, now that we know the full extent that Conservatives are in fact prepared to go to in order to make everyone THE SAME, which is to keep everyone who is different, "OUT OF SIGHT AND OUT OF MIND" the question remains, what can be done about it? I have made many suggestions for this as well in many previous posts; letters to the editor and or elected representatives,, phone calls or even personal visits, as an individual or part of a group, to the latter, Rallies, and of course personal conversations with anti Rights for People With Disabilities people we know. My readers may have other ideas, probably even better ones, so by all means use them too. The important thing is to DO SOMETHING. If we do not act, and act now, after next year's elections, this week's fiction could be 2015's reality. So let us all take some action, whatever we each decide is Right for us, so that whoever controls Congress and State Legislatures after The 2014 Elections, they will have no doubt that PUSHING THOSE OF US WITH DISABILITIES BACK TO WHERE WE WERE BEFORE 1990 WILL NOT BE TOLERATED, EVER, so that they will not even think of doing so. LET US ALL BE HEARD!

WHAT TO DO.

So far, I have mainly focused on proving that Conservatives want to scale back The Protections of The Americans With Disabilities Act as much as possible, and in this week's story they even totally undid it. I have also focused on showing that they DO NOT care at all how many People With Disabilities are harmed or even killed as a result of this occurring. While all seven actual short stories are of course Works of Fiction, I believe that they accurately reflect what The Anti. A.D.A. wing of The Conservative Movement thinks, and of course in several of my commentaries I have sighted real world examples that supports my position that Conservatives do in fact want to reduce as much as possible the scope of The Americans With Disabilities Act, if not totally eliminate it. Obviously, in this week's story, they succeed in totally eliminating it and permanently confining everyone with any kind of Disability at all to their homes. I firmly believe that this is their eventual,ultimate, ideal Goal. So now, the question is, if this is the ultimate end game of all of the recent Republican anti Rights For People With Disabilities Action at The Federal and Red State, State level, what can those of us who either have or care about those who have Disabilities do about it? If we do nothing, and Republicans do as well in The 2014 Elections as some are predicting, by the middle of 2015, "KEEP THE UNPRODUCTIVE OUT OF SIGHT AND OUT OF MIND" WILL NOT be a work of fiction, it will be reality. I have, of course, made some suggestions for this in previous posts. Attending Rallies, writing letters, making phone calls and if possible actually meeting with Federal or State Senators and Representatives are of course all good ideas that should be pursued as much as possible. But there is something even more that we can all, or at least most of us, can do. Many of us have family and or friends that lean Republican, some very heavily so. Often, when we are with these people, we tend to steer away from politics in order to "keep the peace". The Truth, though, is that a peace based on lies is a false peace. I'm not saying that we should all start yelling at our Conservative Family and Friends that they are simply wrong about everything. But what I am saying is that we could in a calm and loving way explain to them how as People With Disabilities or even just those who care about People With Disabilities, this talk and these actions make us feel. In fact, we not only could have such talks, we should and if we do not want this week's story's world come mid 2015 MUST have such talks. There might not be an immediate result, but if we start planting the seeds now, by November 2014, something may have taken root and begun to grow that will change the Course of this Nation and of history with regard to People With Disabilities away from exclusion and towards inclusion, and this current trend could be permanently reversed. But we've got to actually talk with those that do not understand, not just hope they read our letters to the editor or see us at Rallies on TV. Not that we should not continue to do those as well, we absolutely should, but in addition we should and in fact MUST add the personal touch with those we know who oppose equal access and full equality, and then maybe we can even change the world. One voice can make a huge difference, but if no one speaks, we'll never have that chance and so never know if it could have been ours that made that difference. So let us keep up the letters and phone calls and rallies and all that many of us are already doing, but let us also be that one voice for those we know who do not understand. That is WHAT TO DO.

"UNPRODUCTIVE"? SO, NOW WE KNOW

So, now we know the full extent that Conservatives would go to against Those of Us With Disabilities, if given the chance. While yesterday's publication is, of course, a work fiction, anyone who thinks for a moment that, given half the chance, Conservatives would not jump at the chance to arrange a situation exactly like this in their mad quest to make everyone get treated exactly the same and call it equality is gravely mistaken. To them, giving anyone any kind of different treatment is somehow infringing on the liberty of those that do not need different treatment. And the really insane thing is, many of them have some kind of disability. Would Greg Abbott really confine himself to his own home? The insane thing is, if it advanced his Party's mad quest noted above, yes, without a doubt he would. Of course, he could just pay or even conscript people to carry him up and down stairs, but if it advanced The Conservative Philosophy's Agenda, he would gladly confine himself to his own home. So while yesterday's story is, at the moment, a work of fiction, it is what Conservatives deep in their hearts all really want, even those that have disabilities themselves. So, the question is, now that we know the full scope of their Agenda, what can those of us who either have or care about People Who have Disabilities and do not want to see this happen do about it? Those of us with writing skills can keep writings; short stories, letters, articles, facebook posts, longer works, etc., we can all attend rallies, go talk to our Representatives and Legislators personally, either as individuals or as part of group, phone calls are also a good idea, but anything in person in one sense or another, if it is possible, does have its plus side. Obviously, we can not all do all of these things, but the important thing is to DO SOMETHING. To make sure all of our elected Representatives never forget that Those of Us with Disabilities do exist, that we are Awake, that we are Alert, that we are paying Attention and that WE DO VOTE. SOMETHING they definitely want to keep in mind before voting for or even proposing such measures, particularly the last. And then, of course, there is one more thing that we all absolutely HAVE TO DO. WE HAVE TO ACTUALLY VOTE, and make sure our message that action against Those of Us With Disabilities WILL NOT BE TOLERATED, PERIOD, EVER. LET US AT LAST BE HEARD, WITH ONE VOICE, "NO MORE"!

KEEP THE UNPRODUCTIVE OUT OF SIGHT AND OUT OF MIND

KEEP THE UNPRODUCTIVE OUT OF SIGHT AND OUT OF MIND BY MATTHEW LUCAS BECKETT “MR. Speaker, I call for a vote on my bill to repeal The Americans With Disabilities Act,” said United States Representative Pauline Wigman. “After all, if you cannot be a productive member of society, you are subhuman and should not have equal access to public buildings. The Supreme Court has already said it should not apply to State and Locally owned Public Buildings. I say there should be no such requirement anywhere.” I was stunned as one by one a sweeping majority, including every single Republican and even several Democrats from rather Conservative States voted in favor of declaring those of us with disabilities, essentially subhuman, no, not 'essentially', entirely subhuman. MRS. Wigman had even said as much in her speech. The Senate had already passed the very same bill since after the 2012 Elections Republicans had gained a sixty plus vote majority of it as well. President Roberson had already pledged to sign it within the hour if it passed, which as I sat here contemplating, Speaker Bogmanboondoggle declared that it had. I wanted to stand up and shout 'So I'm just subhuman to you', but having been confined to a wheelchair most of my life, I had to settle for just shouting. “So, I and everyone else like me are just subhuman to you people?!” “Yes,” Michel Bogmanboondoggle shouted back. “And if you interrupt again, you shall be removed and miss the really good stuff.” I quieted down, horrified. What else were they planning? What more could they do to people like me than what this vote had already done? How could they possibly make it even worse for us? I had to ask. “Now that the 'Restoration of Liberty and Personal Responsibility' Bill is on its way to President Roberson's signature within the hour,” said Representative Conny Bonebreaker, standing. “I call for a vote on the 'Keeping Subhumans Where They Belong, Inside Their Homes' Bill.” They're going to lock us up permanently inside our homes, I thought, only my desire to learn the full horror of the matter keeping me from shouting again. It was, as it turned out, if possible, even worse than that. “Yes,” said another Republican Representative, I wasn't sure of his name. “Material used in wheelchair ramps is being just as unproductive as people in wheelchairs and with any other disability are. So every wheelchair ramp in the country should be smashed immediately and its materials turned to more productive uses, not that MORE productive is too hard, since at present that material is just as unproductive as the people who use those ramps, so any other use, in being at least somewhat productive, would be much more productive.” I COULD NOT believe what I was hearing. How could a party that called itself 'Pro Life' have that little regard for my life and the lives of others like me. I didn't have to worry about getting thrown out for another interruption, though, because I was too stunned and angry to say anything. As the vote was overwhelmingly for this measure as well, for a moment my heart stopped beating. Then it resumed, faster than ever, but I still could not speak. “Begin at once,” said The Speaker. “The Senate voted as we did at the same time we did, and the President has already said that he will sign it.” Suddenly, I and everyone around me was on the move, wanting to reach the doors and get down the ramps while they were still there. Some of the people in the very front made it, but most of us did not. Those already on the ramps when the hammers began to fall were flung screaming to the ground and most of them were buried in the debris and or trampled to mush by the people doing the smashing. When all of the ramps were beaten into rubble, the workers left without even a glance at those of us still trapped on the platform the capital is set upon. “What do we do now,John?” my friend Titania asked me. “I guess we just wait and hope some of The Democrats will help us down,” I replied. “For what, a life of total isolation?” she asked. “Completely cut off from everyone except when they choose to come to visit us? No, thank you.” Before I could say or do anything, she wheeled herself to and then off the edge of the platform. She did not even scream as she hit the ground and burst apart, so great, I guessed, was her despair at this turn of events that even dying in that way seemed less to be feared. Several others followed her example, but the rest of us waited for and eventually received help getting down. Not that our problems ended there, with this taking immediate effect nation wide. But by begging, bribing, crying and some luck, I eventually made it home. Since then, I've been here on my own, since I live alone, although once a week a friend does come by in secret at night with some food. This is how I have lived for the past two months, and I cannot stand it any longer. Titania was right. This is no way to live, human or subhuman. I have agonized over this for weeks, but I simply CANNOT go on living this way. So, having typed this account for whomever finds me, in the hopes that they will care, I load my gun, say a swift prayer imploring forgiveness since there is no other way, stick the gun in my mouth and eat a bullet. ANYONE WHO OPPOSES EVEN ONE COMMA OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT FOR ANY REASON AT ALL WHATSOEVER AND ITS APPLICATION TO ALL PUBLIC BUILDINGS, FEDERALLY, STATE AND LOCALLY OWNED, SUPPORTS THE COURSE THAT THE NARRATOR OF THIS STORY TAKES IN ITS ENTIRETY, PERIOD.

A TIME TO WAIT AND A TIME TO STAND(FIGURATIVELY OR LITERALLY)

As Ecclesiastes says "To everything there is a season, and a Time to every purpose under Heaven". There is, I would add to these verses, a time to wait for Justice and a time to stand up and Demand Justice. Fifty years ago this week, the latter had come for The African American Community. While that goal is still not totally fulfilled, there is another group of Minorities that are also under direct assault from The Conservative Philosophy and The Republican Party. I refer, of course, to Americans With Disabilities of any and all kinds. A few years ago all of The Republican Attorneys General of The States that have Republicans in this position sued The Federal Government to say that State and Locally Owned PUBLIC Buildings should not be subject to The Americans With Disabilities Act Mandate to make all Public Buildings Accessible to Americans With Disabilities. Of course a majority of The Supreme Court ultimately Ruled in their favor. Since then, I can tell you first hand that The State Government of Texas has taken many steps to restrict Public Access for Texans with Disabilities because I have been to many Rallies against these moves. I have heard that there have been similar moves by Legislatures and Governors of other Red States, although as I do not live there I do not have first hand knowledge. I'm sure there are those that are saying that those of us with Disabilities should wait,, maybe until there is what they feel is enough money in the coffers to accommodate those in our ranks that need these for physical access or maybe for something else. I say that while there is a time to wait, THAT TIME IS OVER. There is also a time to stand up (literally or figuratively, as we are able) and demand to be heard. I say THAT THE LATTER TIME HAS COME. Let everyone with a disability and everyone who cares about anyone with a disability tell every Conservative/ Republican they know to stop treating us like Second Class Human Beings. We are not asking for a hand out or "special" Rights as some like to call protections for People With Disabilities, we are merely asking for the chance to succeed or fail by our own abilities on a level playing field, because if people cannot even enter a building, what they could have accomplished inside it will never be known. Tomorrow's short story "Keep The Unproductive Out of Sight And Out of Mind" will show the urgency of this type of Action.

WE WILL NOT GO QUIETLY INTO THE NIGHT

People with Disabilities have as much Right to be out and about as everyone else. This morning in Church The Scripture was about a Religious Leader of The Time disapprving of Jesus healing a woman of a crippling condition on The Sabbath. Republicans' Desire to keep People With Disabilities "Out of Sight and Out of Mind", which this week's story will show happening, is not that different from The Religious Leader saying that Jesus should not have healed the woman on The Sabbathh. While the story is at the moment a work of fiction, Conservatives' Pervious Actions against The Rights of People With Disabilities, which the lawsuit mentionedseveral timesalrweadty over the past six weeks' worth of entries is among but hardly the only example of, proves that if given the chance Conservatives would confine everyone with any kind of Disability at all permanently to their homes. They may say pretty words about limiting equal access being the defending someone's liberty (I still do not knowwhose Liberty is harmed by a wheelchair ramp at The State Capttal), but Tyrants always paint themselves as Liberators at first. So, do not let their pretty words andlies of liberty deceive us. Let all who care about Justicce in its True Sense, THE BIBLICAL SENSE, stand up, or sit up, as each iss able, and tell our Texas Legislature and every other Republican/Conservative controlled Legislative Body across The Nation, including The United States House of Representaives, that all talk of limiting access for anyone with any kind of Disability at all ends NOW, FOREVER, because "We Will Not Go Quietly Into The Night," we WILL NOT go into the night at all, and you WILL stop trying to make us.

CONFINED TO THEIR HOMES BY THEIR OWN GOVERNMENT

If all accommodations for everyone with any kind of Disability at all are allowed to fall apart and lie in rubble piles and programs for helping people with mental disabilities are ended, of course, people with all of the disabilities portrayed in previous weeks' could of course die from all of the causes that my characters have died from. But, of course,, what Conservatives REALLY want is to end Equal Access, PERIOD. Make no mistake, if they had the numbers in Congress and a President to support it with a Signature, they would vote to repeal The Americans With Disabilities Act in its Entirety the day they get back from August Recess. If that happened, it would not only be State and Locally Owned Buildings and Programs that would cease to accommodate or exist, but even Federally Owned and Run Buildings and Programs. And then how would People With Disabilities feel. But, of course, the ultimate blow would be telling All People With Any Kind of Disability at all that Society does not even want to see them outside of their homes. And what will happen then? This week's story will answer that question.

IN SUMMARY OF AND A CHALLENGE FROM THE SCENT OF A WOMAN, THE MIND OF A CHLD.

In Summary, not all disabilities are as obvious as a walker or a wheelchair, but that does not mean that they are not just as real as these disabilities, nor that they will not also be armed when Republican Controlled Legislatures and City Councils start limiting access of all kinds to save State and City Budgets Money. And make no mistake, it is not a mater of if, but when. And cutting programs to help the mentally and emotionally disabled could be done much more quietly than limiting access for the physically disabled. While Conservative State and Local Governments could, as in previous stories, let ramps fall apart and not repair elevators, such things will be obvious to everyone, which could create public pressure to not leave these repairs undone. But unless someone personally knows someone whose mental and or emotional disability treatment is stopped, there would not be the awareness in the public eye of such cuts. Make no mistake, those of us have or know someone who has a physical disability should fight tooth and nail to the end to ensure continued equal access for them, and even those without a personal connection should still fight for this because it is RIGHT, but in doing so we should also remember that those whose disabilities are not as obvious still have needs that need to be met, and in some cases still need protections, and we should also keep fighting for real people like the fictional Melisa who have, in one way or another, altered as gender appropriate of course, "THE SCENT OF A WOMAN" but "THE MIND OF A CHILD".

EQUAL ACCESS, FOR THE MENTALLLY AND EMOTIONALLY, AS WEL AS THE PHYSICALLY, DISABLED, IS AS AMERICAN AS APPLE PIE, AND OPPOSING IT FOR ANY REASON DOWNRIGHT UNAMERICAN

Melisa is of course a fictional character in a work of fiction. But there are real people with mental and emotional disabilities all over the country. The Supreme Court Ruling a few years back that The Americans With Disabilities Act can not be enforced i relationship with State or Locally Owned Public Buildings has the potential to hurt them as much as much as it huts People With Physical Disabilities, because Equal Access is not just about Wheelchair Ramps, lowered curbs and elevators. It's about making sure that everyone has an Equal Opportunity to succeed, and without ways of learning to cope with Mental and or Emotional Disabilities, such as the Program that Melisa was in that was cancelled following The Ruling, People with such disabilities will not have an equal opportunity to succeed. But it's more than even that. The suit and The Ruling show a shift in our Nation's Attitude and Thinking. We Preach that this is The Land of Opportunity for all, but The Republican Attorneys General who brought The anti Americans With Disabilities Act Law Suit a few years back,, and ALL of The Supreme court Justices who Ruled in their favor clearly do not believe this. Instead, ALL of them clearly believe that this is only the land of opportunity for the able bodied, able minded and emotionally stable and at the correct maturity level. That is not The America that we Pledge Allegiance to The Flag of "With Liberty and Justice for ALL" and not The America that I want to leave to Future Generations. So, if we are truly The Land of Opportunity for all, then let all Americans who either have or care about somebody who has a disability tell those that want to limit access, standing or sitting or laying down, as each of us is able, in one voice, two simple words: "NO MORE", and let it ring across the Nation until the message is received so loud and clear that we must be obeyed.

CONSERVATIVES WOULD LET THE EMOTIONALLY AND MENTALLY DEFICIENT DIE. ISTHAT THEIR IDEA OF PRO LIFE?

Abortion Opponents often say that every child has a Right To Be Born. OK, what about people like Melisa. Obviously, Melisa was born and of course her parents did not know until later that she would never be able to understand relationships at an adult level. But, had Melisa not died at sixteen and were she a real person, since she would have required constant supervision her entire life and there would have eventually come a point at which her parents were no longer physically able to take care of her, she would eventually have become a ward of The State, since her family could not have afforded private life long care outside of the home since they could not even afford private therapy for her autism. Would those who oppose Abortion Rights have supported such an arrangement? Let me answer my own question. NO, OBVIOUSLY NOT since those same people oppose any kind of Rights or Protections for People With Disabilities. They say that a child has a right to be born, but if a child is unable to ever function in a totally independent manner, they do not say that child has a Right to the necessities of a Healthy, Productive Life unless their family has the financial means to ensure it all on their own. Conservatives in fact say that if a person is mentally disabled to the point of being unable to be totally independent and their family lacks the resources to provide lifelong care and or supervision, that that child had The Right to be born but does not have The Right to outlive her or his parents. How can anyone possibly call that Pro Life?

THE SCENT OF A WOMAN, THE MIND OF A CHIILD

THE SCENT OF A WOMAN, THE MIND OF A CHILD. BY MATTHEW LUCAS BECKETT. “Of course I want Chad, Ryan and Nathanial to come to my sixteenth Birthday Party,” screamed Melisa. “Why wouldn't I. They're my friends.” Her mother and I looked at one another, trying to think how to explain. Fortunately, our show returned at that moment and by the next commercial our daughter had calmed down but appeared not to want to talk about it anymore, so we dropped it for the evening. But,, of course, once our daughter was in bed, it was not something Sara and I could just drop, because we knew Melisa wouldn't drop it in the week that still remained before the party. “David,” said Sara. “I don't know what to do. I know she's been friends with them since she was five years old,, but. . .” she broke off hopelessly. “But she still looks at their relationship like she did when she was five, with her unusual form of mild autism, while they all three look at her as teenage boys look at attractive teenage girls, like I did at you when we were that age.” “Not that I don't still,” I quickly added. “I'm much too worried about our daughter to worry about that David,” Sara snapped. “Right, Sara,” I say, not knowing what else to say. “What are we going to do,though,?” asked Sara a bit more calmly. “She's not exactly a child any more, and we can't just say 'because we say so' and expect that to work on someone with her level intelligence. I mean, she is as sharp as a tack.” I laugh. “A tack doesn't even come close for a girl that was reading Tolkien in Kindergarten and doing Graduate Level Math by Second Grade. But you're right, without the treatment for her autism that the State will no longer pay for since The Supreme Court ruled that The Americans With Disabilities Act only applies to Federal Programs, and which we can't afford on our own, we can't have boys around her with no adult supervision, and I know she doesn't want us intruding on her big day.” However, no answers spring to mind, and we are both tired, so we table the matter for the night and go to bed. However, the next day Melisa has not dropped it, and since the invitations need to go out at least a few days in advance, the matter really must be resolved. “I want them at my Party,” she repeats. “Chad's my best friend, and the others are good friends too,” she says as we drive her to school. “Why do you want me to not have my friends to my big party?” “We'll discuss it tonight at dinner,” Sara finally said, earning a nod from Melisa and a sigh of relief from me. “That buys us a little time,” I said after we dropped off Melisa and headed for my office. However, by the time Sara dropped me off and headed for her own job, we still had not figured anything out. “So,”said Melisa that night as we sat down. “Are you going to tell me why I can't invite three of my closest friends to my biggest Birthday ever, or do I get to invite them?” I sigh. Sara and I have tried it every way we can think of, and we can't find a way to tell her know without having a talk we both know emotionally she is not ready for, despite her brilliant mind and quite developed body. I look at Sara, who returns my hopeless stare and then nods. “All right,” I finally say. “You can invite Chad, Ryan and Nathanial, but no other boys,” I finally said. She gave a joyous shout and leaped from her chair. “Yes. I'll go get the invitations ready right. . .” “Finish your dinner first, dear,” said Sara. Melisa sat back down and shoveled the food into her mouth until it was all gone, then dashed off to prepare and email her invitations. “One bright spot,” I said to Sara as we clean up the kitchen after finishing our own dinner. “There are really only two boys we need to worry about.” “How is that?” snapped Sara. “She's inviting three.” “Yes,” I admitted. “But I'm pretty sure that Ryan is gay. He's certainly never looked at her like Chad and Nathanial do.” Sara thought a moment, then nodded. “I think you're right, David, from other things as well as that. But Chad and Nathanial we'll have to find a way to watch closely.” I nodded, and then we started planning how we could surreptitiously do this. And now, the day of the party is at hand. Several of Melisa's female friends arrive first, then Chad, then some more girls, then Ryan, then three more girls, then Nathanial and then the last girls. I do not like the way that Chad and Nathanial look at Melisa, but I was right that Ryan looks at Chad and Nathanial more than any of the girls,whom he only seems to look at when he sees someone looking at him. Once everyone is in, I close and lock the font door and then, after a pointed look from Melisa, Sara and I go upstairs to give her some privacy. “Some privacy,” says Sara as we both keep our ears to the door, listening for anything amiss that could require quick action. Everything sounds normal at first, kids running around, laughing, playing typical party games, but then. . . “Let's play Spin The Bottle,” says Chad, and we hear a chorus of ascent. Sara and I groan. “Since it's her Party,” says Sara. “All of the other girls will make sure she gets it, thinking that that's doing her a favor, and she won't understand any of it.” “Our only hope,” I say. “Is that Ryan gets the other end.” “Nathanial, no, what are you doing,” we hear our daughter scream ten seconds later. “Apparently not,” says Sara, already at the door. Ten seconds later, we burst into the party room to find all of the other girls off to one side, as we expected, Chad and Ryan making out, ,which I at least had not expected, and Nathanial on top of Melisa, who is on the floor crying. Broken glass is everywhere. Sara and I both rush towards our daughter to pry Nathanial off of her, but before we can reach her, she screams. “I DON'T UNDERSTAND. What did I do wrong with the game, Nathanial? I didn't mean to cheat. I'm sorry. They never taught me this game in therapy, so I didn't know that I was supposed to move when the bottle started spinning. So stop punishing. . .” Nathanial silences her by forcing his lips onto hers, but right as they are about to make contact, Melisa sucks in a huge breath and holds it, a frequent response of hers to pain. Nathanial's lips, however, stay on her lips until I pry them off, and by then she has been holding her breath for more than a minute, and Melisa's skin is already starting to change color. Sara runs to call 911, and I start CPR, but it is too late, and at the hospital she is pronounced dead on arrival. Just before they seal her in the body bag, one last time I hold in my arms the daughter whose autism made her life not worth caring about, according to some on the political so called right.

THE CHOICE

When The Supreme Court ruled a few years back that The Americans With Disabilities Act could only be enforced at Federally Owned Public Buildings, they were of course saying that people with obvious physical or even some mental disabilities entered State, Locally or privately owned buildings at their own risk. But they were also saying that programs designed to help not only people with obvious disabilities but also those with less obvious disabilities were not necessary for States and or Cities to continue to fund and so if State or City Governments thought that their money could be better spent elsewhere, they could spend it elsewhere. Of course, every single State and City Government controlled by Republicans made this choice and thought it a good and right choice to make. Melisa's parents in tomorrow's short story might disagree, but I'll leave it to my readers to judge this choice and what if anything should be done about it for themselves.

RELATIONAL DISABILITIES ARE ALSO DISABILITIES AND ARE ALSO REAL

Mostly we tend to think of disabilities in terms of Physical and Mental. Physical Disabilities are often, although not always, fairly obvious at a first glance, as in most the stories on this blog with people in wheelchairs and walkers. Mental Disabilities are not always obvious to the eye but can often become obvious with just a brief interaction, as was the case for anyone who had a conversation of any length and or substance with Nick in "THE PRICE OF WHAT SOME CALL LIBERTY" in week two. But sometimes, disabilities are more subtle, although no less real. Sometimes, a person can be physically whole and mentally brilliant, but still have the disability of not being capable at an age most would consider close to if not a young adult of relating to people or even thinking of relationships in any terms other than how a young child would think of such things. This is also z form of disability that could get people in trouble, particularly if, as every Conservative/Republican in the country desires and seeks to make the case, there are no state, local or private protections for people with any kind of disability at all. If this happens, as this week's story will show, the consequences will be dire and tragic.

NOT ALL DISABILITIES ARE VISIBLE

Not every disability, of course, is as obvious to the eye as the main characters' of weeks one through five's disabilities. Some people are physically whole and can have average or even above average intelligence, but still be in some sense disabled in terms of relating to people. Most often this is an inability to relate at all, but there are other ways relationship disabilities can manifest themselves. If Republicans have their way and all but Federal Protections for People With Disabilities are all but if not totally eliminated, People with this kind of disability will also be in trouble, albeit a different kind of trouble, as this week's story, "THE SCENT OF A WOMAN, THE MIND OF A CHILD" will show.

IN SUMMARY OF THE WHEEL TURNS, IT IS TIME TO FIGHT

In summary, the wheel of time will turn forever, of course, but if Conservatives/ Republicans have their way, the wheels of wheelchairs and walkers will cease to turn. While their intent in suing to say that The Americans With Disabilities Act should not apply to State and Locally Owned Public Buildings may not have been to cause people such as Tomas to take their own lives, if they had stopped to think about it,, the conclusion that caused him to make that choice was a foreseeable outcome from such actions, and even if every person with an kind of disability in this country or even the world, mental or physical, did take their own lives, no Conservative/Republican would shed a single tear or care at all. The Wheel Turns, and time runs on. The question is, what are those of us who either have or care about someone who has a disability going to do about this? We must make sure that everyone we know who has a disability knows that their lives are valued. Obviously, personal conversations to say this are a first step. But that alone is not enough. Everyone in the country who has a disability and everyone in the country who cares at all about anyone with a disability, regardless of our differences on any other matters,political or otherwise, must stand up and tell Conservatives and The Republican Party, in one voice, WE WILL NOT GO QUIETLY INTO THE NIGHT. WE WILL NOT GIVE UP WITHOUT A FIGHT. WE WILL BE HEARD. WE WILL BE SEEN. AND YOU WILL RECOGNIZE AND TREAT US AS FULL HUMAN BEINGS, AND ALL EFFORTS TO RESTRICT OUR ACCESS ANYWHERE, EVER, WILL END, NOW, TODAY, IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE, IN THE NAME OF LIBERTY, AND IN THE NAME OF THE SUPREME JUDGE OF THE WORLD! LET IT BEGIN.

WHEN THE WHEEL TURNS ITS BACK ON THE BROKEN

Suicide is a permanent solution, it is true. But to Tomas the problem of a society that had turned its back on people with disabilities seemed permanent as well. When the woman at his new school called the means to give people with walking difficulties Equal Access "junk", if he were a real person, how do you think that would have made him feel? So, when The Supreme Court ruled that such accommodations were not required at State and Locally Owned Public Buildings, they gave permission for people at such buildings to call such additions "junk", and how are people who need these accommodations in reality supposed to feel? The fact that one of the plaintiffs in that case is himself in a wheelchair makes his involvement in it inexcusable, and I do not accept his excuse that he works for the state regardless of what his personal feelings may be nor share some people's hope that if he becomes governor things will improve in this state for people with disabilities. Faced with all of this, while I hope they will not, I could see why some People With Disabilities in this or other "RED" States might come to the conclusion that Tomas did. If this turns the stomach, increases the heart rate and boils the blood of any of my readers as much as it does mine, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. It is time to tell Conservatives and The Republican Party, once and for all, People With Disabilities are still PEOPLE first and foremost, and WE WILL BE TREATED with Dignity and respect and Basic Human Decency, which means all talk of The A.D.A. being intrusive or violating anybody's rights or liberties and all talk of limiting access ANYWHERE, EVER, END NOW, TODAY, PERIOD!

WHEN THE WHEEL TURNS TOO FAR

It has been said that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. While that may technically be true, for Tomas in this week's story, the problem had no end in sight. It wasn't just that his new school, a school sold as a school friendly to people with disabilities, like him, it turned out was not friendly to people with disabilities. Even the accommodations, limited as they were, that had existed at his old school, were going away. It was not just that though. The attitude of the whole country, within the story and it seems to me in reality as well, is turning against basic equal access for those with disabilities. There seemed no end in sight for the stripping away of his basic Humanity and basic Right to be treated with basic Human Decency, Dignity and Respect to Tomas, so he took what he felt like was the only action he could. It was a permanent solution, but it seemed to him like an unending problem. If we do not want the real world to come to have this problem, then those of us with and those of us who care about those of us with disabilities must fight Conservatives/Republicans on this whenever and wherever we can. And we must not back down, no ,matter what. Let The Voices of Those Long silenced, by physical or political means, at last be heard, listened to and justice done for them, in The Name of True Justice and for the sake of all Human Kind.

WHEN THE WHEEL CEASES TO TURN

The wheel of time will always turn , of course. But, if Conservatives have their way, it will cease to turn for those with disabilities, in Conservatives mad quest to make everyone treated exactly the same and call it equality. They are so focused on being anti-government, that they fail to see that the government does do some good things. One of these things is making sure that everyone has an equal shot and everyone's life is valued. Without assurances of equal access, some people with disabilities will feel that their lives are not valued and will come to the same conclusion that the main character of this week's short story did. The trouble is, even if they do, Conservatives/Republicans would not care. So,to my readers, ask The Conservatives and Republicans in your life how they can not care if the wheel ceases to turn for people with disabilities, 'The Broken' as my first short story in this series named us,and still call themselves "Pro Life"?

THE WHEEL TURNS, DO NOT LET IT RUN OVER THE BROKEN

So, they didn't want to waste money on all of that junk? This from a Party and a Philosophy that calls itself "Pro Life"? I think Tomas's mother and father and friends might disagree. Of course this particular story is a work of fiction, but every time any Conservative/Republican opens their mouth on the subject of Rights for People With Disabilities, even from those of them that themselves or close family HAVE disabilities, all you hear confirms that they do in fact have no problem with people with disabilities dying needlessly, as long as everyone is treated exactly the same. Such talk will inevitably lead some with disabilities to reach the conclusion and choose the course of action that Tomas did in yesterday's story. If Republicans are fine with that, let them openly and publicly say it so that all may know them as they truly are. BUT, let The Broken' also cease to be silenced. Let everyone with any kind of Disability at all stand up and be heard that THIS KIND OF TREATMENT, REGARDLESS OF ERRORED SUPREME COURT RULINGS, IS NOT ALL RIGHT, AND WE WILL BE HEARD AND COUNTED AS FULL HUMAN BEINGS. WE WILL NOT GO QUIETLY INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT. It is time to fight. Those of us with Disabilities did not seek or choose this fight, but Conservatives will keep pushing until we're all dead, either from external circumstances or because our lives feel like they are valued at zero and so by our hands, unless and until we push back. So, let us push back, push back so hard that they must yield, entirely. The wheel turns, let it not turn to the point that it rolls over everyone with a disability. Let us push back until it turns aside or even goes in reverse. For the sake of all Humanity, disabled and able bodied alike, since we are all one Human Family.

THE WHEEL TURNS, LET IT BE HEARD FROM SEA TO SEA

THE WHEEL TURNS. BY MATTHEW LUCAS BECKETT On the first day of the new school year, I came to the new school building with great anticipation. My old school had been, to put it mildly, less than accommodating in its construction for people like me. But eighty percent of the students at this new school had some form of disability, I had been told by my parents, so I hoped other students would be more tolerant and certainly that the construction of the actual building would be more accessible. I was wrong. “Where is the ramp?” I asked one of what I assumed were the teachers, an adult at any rate, as I struggled to find a way to enter the building with my walker. “There isn't one,” she said without any sympathy at all. “But, how are those of us with walking difficulties,” I gesture at other struggling students with walkers and even more at those in wheelchairs “supposed to get inside. I thought the majority of students at this school were supposed to have some kind of disability, so how can the very entrance to the building fail to accommodate us?” “Because,” she said. “Installing all of that junk would have dramatically increased construction costs, and since this is not a Federally owned public building, The Supreme Court has said that it does not have to be A.D.A. Compliant.” Before I can reply, she huffs and walks away. I am shocked. I thought the whole point of this new school was that it was supposed to be better for those of us with disabilities, since most of us at it have some kind of disability, but clearly I was wrong, if it doesn't even have walker and wheelchair ramps at the entrance. “Tomas,” I hear a familiar and friendly voice behind me. “Hey, Bud,,” my best friend Mark says as he comes up beside me. “What's going on?” I gesture at the staircase infested facade of the building. “Apparently the fact that at least two hundred students at this new school have walking difficulties is not enough to make them build a school building that accommodates us, since The Supreme Court has ruled that The A.D.A. only applies to Federally owned buildings, which this is apparently not” I reply. Mark looks even more outraged than I feel. “That's RIDICULOUS!” he cries. “This was sold as a handicapped friendly school. How can it be handicapped friendly if it's not even handicapped accessible.” I shrug, the same question going through my mind, but finding no answer. “Well,” Mark says after a moment. “There are three other guys from the football team over there. The four of us could just carry you and your chair in, at least.” For the sake of my pride and their backs, I hesitate a moment. If there was any other way, I would take it, but there is not, so I at last reluctantly nod my consent. “OK,” I say. “Do it.” He calls. “Hey Jack, Paul, Orlando, come over here and help get Tomas into the building.” I hear the strain from their mouths and their bodies as they lift my chair and I, step by step, into the building, and I wish above all that it were not needed, but there is no other way. I thank them profusely when we reach the top, and apologize for needing it, but they brush both aside with a “what are friends for?” and so I drop it. But, of course, they cannot be with me throughout the entire day, and so getting to classes on different floors proves. . .challenging. At the end of the day, I am ready to go back to my old school, because while it did have its problems, at least it was built when all public buildings had to be A.D.A. Compliant, so it was. But of course it is not that simple. “Getting you into that school took a lot of work, Tomas, and getting you out will take even more” says my mother. “Can you give it a little time, a week perhaps?” I agree, although I'm not sure I can last that long,. The next day I find new people to carry me places, but I still feel guilty about it. After a week I am still considering when I see on the news that a ramp at my old school collapsed and they are going to save money by not replacing it. When I hear that, I make up my mind about an idea that has been forming in my head for two or three days now. The next day, on the way to school, as we pull onto the freeway, I unbuckle my seat belt and reach for the door handle. “What are you doing, Tomas?” cries my mother. “Making it easy for those on the so called 'right,,'” I reply. “Tell our conservative family and so-called friends they're welcome.” Before I can open the door, however, my mom locks in control of the locks to the driver's seat. I sit back. “OK,” I say. “You're probably right.” “Of course I'm right,” she says briskly. “How can you even think of something like that, Tome?” I remain silent. The answer is quite simple, really. Because so much of the rest of the country thinks it, or at least that people like me should be dead, but I don't want to upset her further, so I keep still and silent for the remainder of the ride. When we reach the school, I am carried out and sat in my wheelchair, and then she pulls away and heads for work. When I am certain she is out of sight, I get out my I-pad, type and email a brief note to my family and friends, then wheel myself into oncoming traffic and my world shatters. ANYONE WHO THINKS THE A.D.A.SHOULD NOT APPLY TO STATE AND LOCALLY OWNED BUILDINGS THINKS THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH OR BAD ABOUT THE END OF THIS STORY, PERIOD.

IT IS TIME TO MAKE A STAND, THE WHEEL TURNS ON!

Time passes, things change, The Wheel of Time Turns. If Conservatives have their way,, however, things will definitely change for the worse for everyone in The Country if not The World for everyone with any kind of disability at all, Mental or Physical. They will be unable to protest anything the so-called "Right" does if they can not even vote, and then ramps, lifts and even just railings on staircases will go away, and people will die needlessly, as in two weeks' previous posts. Even if they do not die, there will be mortifying incidents like last week's short story. But, even if there are not outside major traumas such as previous weeks' work have featured, how will being told that their lives and needs do not count at all effect the emotional and psychological states of people with even strictly physical disabilities? Will not at least some of them feel that their lives are valued at zero in a society that comes to the logical Republican end of The Aforementioned Supreme Court Ruling? Do Republicans value the life of every person with a disability at absolutely nothing? And if so, how might some people with disabilities choose to respond to this and what might they choose to do? This week's story will explore at least some of these questions, and anyone who does not like the answer Tomas comes up with must tell all of their Conservative Family and Friends to get on the right side of this issue and force EVERYONE else in their Party to do the same, PERIOD, or there will be no further association. It is time to be heard, TO TAKE AND STAND AND MAKE A STAND.

IN SUMMARY OF CONSERVATIVE INJUSTICE IN THE RESTROOM; THE RIGHT TO BE, THE RIGHT TO PEE

In Summary, Every Person deserves the Right to Basic Human Decency and to be treated with Dignity and Respect. If People With Disabilities are unable to do something as basic and fundamental in State and Locally Owned Public Buildings as using the restroom, they will be denied all three of these Rights. If States and Localities controlled by those who value money more than Basic Human Decency, Dignity and Respect, as Republicans do, are not compelled either by law or by immense public pressure to maintain these facilities' handicapped accessibility, especially since doing so does cost money and Republicans hate spending money to help PEOPLE above all, they will not. If these facilities are not maintained in reality, then what happened to Frank (I do not know why I said Seth one day, because his name was Frank in the actual story) in this week's work of fiction, could at least partly happen in reality, even though I will admit something a bit less extreme is more likely. Also, if we let The Anti Americans With Disabilities Act Tyrants get their foot in the door with this most basic Human Activity, where will they then not try to end Equal Access? If we let them get their foot in the door here, there may be no way to stop them from completely gutting all of The Protections of The Americans With Disabilities Act and reducing every American With Any Kind of Disability At All to The Second Class Citizen and Second Class Human Being Conservatives/Republicans already believe they are. So, to any reader who cares about this issue at all, I say: DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Write letters, make phone calls, talk about it with Conservatives that you know personally, and, as I have said before, if you have any better ideas, by all means, do them. I have a few other ideas in previous posts, but whether you use mine or your own ideas is really not important. What is important is, if you care about this issue narrowly or in the broader sense, DO SOMETHING, or the imagined horrors of this week will become the real horrors of the not all that distant future.

EVERY TYRANT STARTS SOMEWHERE

There is a beginning to every Tyranny. Public Restrooms remaining accessible to people with disabilities may seem like a small matter to people without disabilities, but to those with disabilities IT IS NOT. However, there is more at stake than just bars in at least one toilet stall in every public restroom. If Conservatives can take away People With Disabilities' "Right To Pea", where will they stop? Making Pubic Restrooms inaccessible is just the beginning. If we as a society are prepared to say that People With Disabilities do not even have the right to use the restroom in public buildings, where are we going to draw the line where equal access can not be ended. And if there is no line, then Equal Access at all may soon disappear. Every tyrant starts somewhere, usually painting themselves as a defender of someone's liberty, but once they've got their foot in the door, they are difficult if not impossible to dislodge. If we let those who do not care if people with disabilities have Equal Access to ALL public restrooms have their way in this, they will keep pushing until Equal Access is gone altogether. If they can make something as basic as using the restroom impossible for People With Disabilities in State and Locally Owned Public Buildings, less basic matters will be soon to follow. And soon, they're Tyranny will be complete over Everyone With Any Kind of Disability At All, Period. As I have said, every Tyrant needs a place to start, to get their foot in the door. So, to all of my readers, I say, LET US NOT LET THE TYRANNY OF CONSERVATISM GET ITS FOOT IN THE DOOR HERE. Previous posts have some ideas for this, but if you have your own ideas, probably better ones, by all means, use them. The important thing is, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT BEFORE THIS HAPPENS.

KEEP THE PRESSURE ON, OR EVERYONE LOSES

If we can not even make sure that EVERY Public Restroom is accessible to EVERY person who may need to use it, what does that say about us as a society. I realize this may seem like a trivial matter to spend seven posts on, but to a person who needs a handicapped accessible toilet while in a Public Building, it is far from trivial. And of course,, it is not just the toilet itself, doors that are too narrow to get in and sinks that are all too high for someone in a wheelchair to wash their hands in are also a problem. So why do Republicans think that it is all right for Public Restrooms in State and Locally Owned Public Buildings to not be handicapped accessible. And make no mistake, if they are not required to by law, in buildings Republicans are in charge of, they will not be,, because that would cost money, and Republicans hate spending money on anything but the military. So, since we cannot compel The Supreme Court to reverse its ruling from a few years back, keep the pressure on all State and Local Republicans to keep all of their buildings facilities, including the restrooms, accessible to ALL of their Constituents,, because otherwise things like what happened in last Monday's Story WILL happen, and then we'll all be sorry.