The Sky Writes My Name, and Yours

The local weatherman calls the conditions “silvery skies” and why not if it gets people out the door? In fact it’s grey as my uncle’s undershirt; grey as a circus donkey; grey as John Paul Sartre’s bathrobe. “Silvery skies” is the true representation of the weight of your shell. I think you know what I’m talking about. Bring on the leafless trees. We have all the light we need. 

**

Watching the president’s speech last night was so demoralizing. Where was the discussion of a middle east peace process? The environment? It’s clear that the GOP has stolen the lexicon–it’s wrapped in a rug in the trunk of a Lexus.

** 

Today in my lyric poetry class I’m talking about Gregory Orr’s work. This makes me happy. There’s a pearl in a dream. We can touch it. We can hold it in our hands long after we’ve awakened. We have all the light we need.  

** 

Gregory Orr:

 

On the side of a bleak hill

we build our hut; windowless,

but filled with light.

 

 

JFK Tapes, Instructive on Income Inequality Today

JFK

 

"DURING THE last days of his presidency, John F. Kennedy had a number of concerns on his mind. In tapes being released today by the Kennedy Library, we hear, for example, the president focus on his reelection and issues of economic inequality. What can we do, he asks his political advisers, to make voters “decide that they want to vote for us, Democrats? What is it we have to sell ’em? We hope we have to sell them prosperity, but for the average guy the prosperity is nil. He’s not unprosperous, but he’s not very prosperous. He’s not . . . very well-off. And the people who really are well-off hate our guts.’’ As questions about growing social inequity increasingly dominate our current political dialogue, it may be instructive to look back at how these issues played out a half century ago."

See Tom Putnam's full OpEd in today's Boston Globe.

More Summer Programs in Washington for PWDs

012 Student Summer Programs at DOL

What:  The Department of Labor’s Student Summer Programs provide current students with experiential work experience as an integral part of the student’s course of study.  To ensure a productive experience for both the student intern or volunteer and the sponsoring agency, the Agency promotes an educational environment for the benefit of the student by offering substantive and developmental work, close and constant supervision and feedback, and sets clear expectations regarding the desired outcomes of the student’s internship or volunteer service.  The goal is to have at least 100 student summer interns and volunteers housed in the National Office and at least 80 student interns and volunteers in the regions during the 6-10 week summer program.
Websitewww.dol.gov

Deadline: Students must submit all application materials (resume, cover letter, and short writing sample) to students@dol.gov by COB on April 6, 2012.
Who can apply:  Candidates must be U.S. citizens currently enrolled in an accredited educational institution.    

 

Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities (WRP)
What: The WRP is a recruitment and referral program that connects federal and private sector employers nationwide with highly motivated college students and recent graduates with disabilities who are eager to prove their abilities in the workplace through summer or permanent jobs.
Websitehttps://wrp.gov 
Deadline: Interviews are conducted in the fall semester at participating campuses and the database is published each December. For the 2013 WRP release, interviews will be held in the fall of 2012.

Who can apply: Candidates must be U.S. citizens. In addition, candidates must be current, full-time undergraduate or graduate students with a disability, or have graduated within one year of the release of the database.

Pathways Programs for Students and Recent Graduates
What: The Pathways Programs are three clear program paths tailored to recruit, hire, develop, and retain students and recent graduates. It lays the groundwork to improve recruiting efforts; offers clear paths to Federal internships for students from high school through post-graduate school and to careers for recent graduates; and provides meaningful training and career development opportunities for individuals who are at the beginning of their Federal careers. The three program paths included in its framework are: an Internship Program, a Recent Graduates Program, and a reinvigorated Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program.  
Websitehttp://www.opm.gov/HiringReform/pathways/ and http://www.usajobs.gov/studentjobs 
Deadline: Varies by Federal agency
Who can apply: Programs will be launched in the spring of 2012. All the eligibility requirements will be provided on the websites above once the program regulations are implemented.

Presidential Management Fellows Program

What: The Presidential Management Fellows Program is the flagship leadership program for advanced degree candidates and is designed to develop potential government leaders. It also seeks to encourage lasting careers and dedication to public service and government.

Websitehttp://www.pmf.gov/

Deadline: Applications for the 2012 cycle were completed in September 2011 through usajobs.gov website. For the 2013 program, applications will be accepted in September 2012.

Who can apply: US citizens or in rare cases, non-US citizens appointed by Federal agencies or who will earn citizenship by fellowship completion. Applicant must be enrolled in a graduate degree program within one year of applying and complete their degree by August 31st in the year their fellowship begins.

United States Department of Agriculture Summer Internship Program
What: 
Student employees gain valuable professional experience as an assistant in scientific, professional, technical, and/or administrative areas. The "Student Internship Program" could be a paid or unpaid internship. The internship opportunity gives students insight into considering a future career with USDA. Annually USDA employs thousands of students nationwide throughout our 7 Mission Areas, 17 agencies and 14 offices. 
Website: 
http://www.dm.usda.gov/employ/SIPIntro.htm
Who can apply: 
Students aged 16 or older in high schools, community colleges, 4 year colleges/universities, trade schools, career/ technical education programs, graduate programs and other qualifying educational institutions and programs, as determined by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) are all qualified to apply. 

 

More Great Links

1.     Federal Internship Directory

This directory lists internship opportunities in many federal agencies

http://www.osec.doc.gov/ocr/2011/InternshipDirectory/Internship%20Directory%202011.pdf

  1. USAJobs
    Most federal vacancies are advertised on the USAJOBS Web site found at www.usajobs.gov.This is the Federal government’s official site for job information and includes over 16,000 job postings. Through this site, you can search for openings in a particular field, city, or agency, or all three
  2. Disability.gov 
    This website, managed by the Department of Labor, lists many employment resources. https://www.disability.gov/employment/finding_a_job/places_to_search_for_a_job
  3. Learn about Schedule A
    Schedule A is an excepted service hiring authority available to federal agencies to hire and/or to promote individuals with disabilities by avoiding the traditional, and sometimes lengthy, competitive hiring process. You are eligible for a Schedule A appointment if you are a person with a severe physical or mental disability, and meet the qualifications of the job in question. http://golearn.gov/HiringReform/applicant/hpd.htm

 

 

 

 

Presidential Appointments Process

 

What: President Obama has challenged Presidential Personnel to build an administration that reflects America. We work with all cabinet agencies to find qualified candidates for political appointments that can drive the kind of creativity, innovation and change that President Obama has brought to Washington. The President sees the disability community as part of our talent pool and we hope to give interested candidates a sense of what we do in PPO and offer tangible tips of how you can put your best foot forward in pursuit of a potential appointment.

Who can apply: Anyone

Website: https://app2.whitehouse.gov/ppo/

Email: presidentialpersonneloffice@who.eop.gov subject line: Public Engagement Call

 

Beauty is a Verb was just named a Notable Book for 2012 by the ALA–American Library Association. The only other poetry book on the list of 25 Notable Books was John Ashbery's translation of Rimbaud's Illuminations. I want to congratulate the editors, Sheila Black and Mike Northern and all the remarkable poets with disabilities whose work has made this such a memorable book.

Now It's Personal: Dad & Key Lawmaker To Introduce Measure To Halt Discrimination On Transplants


(Asbury Park Press)
January 20, 2012

TRENTON, NEW JERSEY– [Excerpt provided by Inclusion Daily Express] State Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney said Thursday he'll introduce a bill that would prevent hospitals from discriminating against developmentally disabled people who need organ transplants.

His action came after a South Jersey family allegedly was told their 3-year-old daughter would not be eligible for a kidney transplant at a Philadelphia hospital because of her disability.

Joe and Chrissy Rivera of Stratford plan to meet next week with officials at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where a physician allegedly ruled out a transplant for the girl. Their daughter, Amelia, has a genetic defect that can cause mental and physical disabilities.

In a statement, Sweeney said people with developmental disabilities "should not be treated as second-class citizens. Their disabilities do not make them any less human or worthy of respect and common decency."

In his statement, Sweeney noted the issue is a personal one for him. His daughter, Lauren, has Down syndrome.

Entire article:
Bill targets bias in transplant decisions

http://tinyurl.com/7bp345t
Related:
Sweeney wants to prevent hospitals from denying organ transplants to the disabled (Star-Ledger)

http://tinyurl.com/6wugm28
Young Girl Being Denied Transplant Because Her "Retardation" Doesn't Make Her "Worthy" (Not Dead Yet)
http://tinyurl.com/84g84n5

 

‘Dogs at Work’ U.S. postage stamps feature paintings by VPA’s John Thompson

From Inside Syracuse:

Friday, January 20, 2012 

By Erica Blust • (315) 443-5891

A new series of U.S. postage stamps celebrating canine coworkers feature paintings by a human artist who is also on the faculty of Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA).

dogs“Dogs at Work,” a series of four 65-cent stamps, is being issued Friday, Jan. 20. John Thompson, a renowned artist and professor of illustration in VPA’s Department of Art, created original paintings for the stamps, which were designed by art director Howard E. Paine. The set depicts four hard-working canines: a guide dog, a tracking dog, a therapy dog and a search-and-rescue dog. The 65-cent denomination is the price for single-piece retail first-class mail weighing more than one ounce and up to and including two ounces.

dogs2“This was my first assignment for the U.S. Postal Service,” says Thompson. “I had the privilege of working with an art director whom I’d long admired, Howard Paine. The whole process of coming up with the stamp designs was a thoroughly enjoyable project. All of the models for the paintings, both dogs and people, were from the surrounding [Central New York] area.”

Thompson has exhibited his work widely, including the recent solo show “India” at the Society of Illustrators’ Members Gallery in New York City. He has won numerous gold and silver medals for his illustrations, including the 2006 Hamilton King Award from the Society of Illustrators for the best illustration of the year. As a children’s book illustrator he has won several American Library Association Notable Book Awards. He is included in Walt Reed’s “The Illustrator in America: 1860-2000” (The Society of Illustrators, 2001).

 

World Down Syndrome Day at United Nations

World Down Syndrome Day at UN – 3/21 – “Building our Future”

The first official World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) will be celebrated at the UN Headquarters in NY, on March 21 2012 (3/21), with the Conference “Building Our Future”.

Inclusive education, political participation, independent living, how to work with the media and research are some of the topics that will be discussed.

The event is sponsored by the Missions of Brazil and Poland to the UN and organized byDown Syndrome International with the collaboration of the Brazilian Federation of Associations of Down Syndrome (FBASD)Down EspañaDown Syndrome Research and Treatment Foundation (DSRTF)National Down Syndrome Center (NDSC) and National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS).

Registration

Participants from all around the world are welcome, especialy those with Down syndrome.

There is no cost for registration. Confirmation to attend the event can be made by the email unconference@gmail.com.

Please inform name, email, age, nationality, relation to Down syndrome (self, parent, relative, professional, teacher, student, friend or other-specify), document number (passport, driver’s license, student´s ID), whether you have a disability and what kind and if you need a disability-related accommodation or service.

Only participants with their names on the list and an ID will be allowed in the building. Space is limited.

About Down syndrome

Down syndrome is a naturally occurring chromosomal arrangement that has always been a part of the human condition, being universally present across racial, gender or socio-economic lines, and affecting approximately 1 in 800 live births, although there is considerable variation worldwide. Down syndrome usually causes varying degrees of intellectual and physical disability and associated medical issues.

About World Down Syndrome Day

World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) has been established by Down Syndrome International and celebrated since 2006 and observer in over 60 countries in the world. It is held on March 21st (21/3) to signify the uniqueness of the triplication (trisomy) of chromosome 21 which causes this genetic ocurrence.

The aim of the day is to raise awareness and understanding about Down syndrome, and to promote the inherent rights of persons with Down syndrome to enjoy full and dignified lives and be active and valuable participants in their communities and society.

A resolution to designate 21/3 as “World Down Syndrome Day”, to be observed every year beginning in 2012, was adopted by consensus by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2011. The resolution was proposed and promoted by Brazil, and co-sponsored by 78 UN Member States. From 2012 onwards, the date will be celebrated by all 192 UN countries.

For information on Down Syndrome:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001992/

For more information on WDSD, visit DSi website.

To know about the resolution process at the UN, visit:

http://www.inclusive.org.br/?p=21550

3/21 – 10h – “Building our Future” – UN Headquarters in NY – Conference Room 2
Confirmations: undsconference@gmail.com