Extreme Low Blow to Giffords!

As the debate over new measures to prevent gun violence reached its apex, Republican lawmakers and conservative activists became surprisingly hostile towards the family members of those slain in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. If there's one group of people who would appear to be off-limits when it comes to political pushback, one might think it'd be Newtown families, but apparently not.

What's next, cheap shots at Gabrielle Giffords? Actually, yes.

The day after a Republican filibuster killed expanded background checks in the Senate, the former congresswoman had a scathing op-ed in the New York Times, condemning opponents' cowardice. It led one Republican pundit to take a very low road.

Wall Street Journal  columnist James Taranto questioned the authenticity of a New York Times op-ed authored by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords by claiming that the op-ed appeared online too quickly to have been written by someone "who has severe impairments of her motor and speech functions."

Taranto's comments occurred on the April 19 edition of the National Rifle Association's news show, Cam & Company, where he said it was "odd" that the Times ¬op-ed, which Taranto described as "Giffords' personal reaction as somebody who's been wounded by gun violence," was published approximately five hours after the Senate voted on background checks. Taranto cast doubt on the idea that Giffords had authored the piece, commenting, "So we are supposed to believe that somehow in less than five hours a woman who has severe impairments of her motor and speech functions was able to produce 900 publishable words and put in an appearance in the White House in the course of it."

First, it's worth noting that the outcome of the Senate vote was clear the day before the Toomey/Manchin measure was defeated by a Republican filibuster. Giffords didn't have "less than five hours"; she had a full day.

Second, I suppose it's possible that someone gave Giffords a hand literally, physically typing her thoughts, but I'd remind the right that the former congresswoman was shot in the head during an attempted assassination. As a rule, decent people everywhere realize that when something like this happens, we cut folks a little slack, instead of taking wildly unnecessary cheap shots at their "severe impairments."

Is a little class too much to ask?

Perhaps it is. A conservative blogger at PJ Media added this tweet about Giffords yesterday afternoon.

More updates on the ASDB situation

Supt Hill uses I. King Jordan's playbook:

ASBD Report Update - April 22, 2013 - 6:30 pm

* Hill Finally Issues Email & Shows He is Completely Out of Touch with Reality
* How Low Can He Go? 2013 ASDB ASL Literacy Summer Camp Cancelled
* ASDB Student Protest Leader Turns 18 Today, Admin Can't Ask If Parents Gave Her Permission to Protest Anymore

* Hill Finally Issues Email & Shows He is Completely Out of Touch with Reality

After two weeks of intense speculation about his whereabouts and apparent refusal to lead ASDB, Supt. Robert Hill finally issued a campus-wide email and commenters say that Hill's email is the proverbial "last nail in the coffin" for Hill as the email does NOT make a single reference to the student protests taking place at both Tucson and Phoenix campuses during the worst crisis ever faced by ASDB in its 100+ years of existence.

Instead, Hill used the bulk of the email to respond to absurd allegations and rumors that many already know to be false.

Hill also repeatedly claimed that he was the target and victim of "personal attacks" and referenced a "cause" and a "select group of individuals."

Many see these subtle references as an outrageous attempt by Hill to turn this crisis into a "Deaf vs. Hearing" issue when it is clearly and simply a matter of a group of students, staff, parents, and community members asking for the removal of an ineffective, unethical, and vindictive superinteddent as well as the removal of a corrupt board chairman who, with the active friendship and collusion of Hill, has clearly broken several conflict of interests provisions as required by State law and ASDB policy.

Hill's bizarre rambling "conspiracy theory" email, in which he refuses to even acknowledge the existence of the protests, clearly shows that he is no longer fit to lead this school and needs to go.

Text of the campus-wide email by Hill:

TO: ALL AGENCY STAFF
FROM: ROBERT HILL, SUPERINTENDENT
DATE: APRIL 22, 2013
SUBJECT: RECENT EVENTS

The Agency has been flooded with rumors, accusation and untruths in the last few weeks, which are being spread by a select group of individuals. I want to thank the many employees who have focused their efforts in attending to the educational programming of students, and displayed continued professionalism in the wake of the fabrications and potential distractions.

A number of employees have reported they have been asked to sign petitions to support the efforts of this select group and have expressed fear of retaliation if they don’t sign. I want employees to know they have every right to sign any petition they so choose. It is also important for employees to know they do not have to sign any petition and that ASDB does not tolerate reprisals of any kind. Therefore, it is extremely important for employees who are concerned of retaliation to report their concerns to the Superintendent and/or the Human Resources Director. ASDB cannot address employee fears if no reports are filed or if anonymous reports are filed. I want to assure employees that confidentiality will be maintained to every extent possible, and ASDB will take the necessary actions to protect employees from inappropriate treatment.

The false information being spread is a concerted effort to instill fear in others so as to further the “cause” of a group of individuals. I wish to address some of the false information you may have heard. This list is not intended to be all-inclusive, but is intended to address the more significant concerns that have been brought to my attention.

Termination of Deaf Staff
Perhaps the most outrageous falsehood is that ASDB is firing all Deaf individuals. There is no evidence to support this accusation. The facts are that in the past four years, ASDB has had to discharge individuals who are required to follow the policies and rules of the agency. No single individual, or group of individuals, is given special treatment. All employees are held to the same standards.

Closing the Cooperative Programs
There is no truth to the rumor that ASDB is planning to close the Cooperative Programs. To the contrary, the Cooperative Programs are legislatively mandated and serve a significant role in the continuum of services ASDB provides to students ASDB is obligated to serve across the State of Arizona. If the Cooperatives were to close tomorrow (though they are NOT), neither the Tucson campus nor the Phoenix campus could successfully meet the needs of all the students served by the Cooperatives. Firstly, the site-base schools would not be determined the LRE for many of the students. Secondly, the site-base schools would not have the space and resources to meet the number of students. Likewise, if the site-base schools were to ever close (though they are NOT), the Cooperatives do not have sufficient staff in the rural locations to meet student needs.

Closing the Tucson Campus
It is true that enrollment has declined at the Tucson Campus; however, the Tucson campus provides a residential option for ASDB and again offers a valuable component in the continuum of services provided to students. No plans are in place to close the site-base schools or the Cooperative programs. Any comments to the contrary are simply designed to create fear.

Closing the Phoenix Campus
As current enrollment continues to rise in Phoenix, the closure of PDSD makes no sense. When this topic came up three plus years ago as a cost-savings initiative, this was quickly dismissed. A need may actually exist in the future for a second campus in the Valley. Also, ASDB is working to secure the necessary funding (approximately 11 million dollars) to build a new elementary and preschool facility at PDSD, as well as a new athletic complex (5 million dollars). This, coupled with the short-term plans for a new freezer ($100,000), insulation of the gymnasium $90,000, and culinary program $45,000, serve to confirms there are no plans to close the Phoenix campus.

Closing the Dorms
ASDB has spent nearly a million dollars in the last 15 months to improve the dorms and has expended additional dollars to update the fire/emergency alert system. These dollars would not have been spent if ASDB had plans to close the dorms. Plus, ASDB has obtained another one million dollars to begin work on three more dorms (Manzanita, Palo Verde, and Pima).

Building New Dorms to convert the Campus into a new branch of the Pima County Community College System
Simply put, this is not true. Again, the dorm improvements in the past and the dorm improvements in the near future do not support such a rumor.

Shutting Down the Agricultural Program
The Tucson Campus agricultural program has not been shut down. Parts of the program have been put on hold until proper research can be conducted to ensure the agreed-upon program is operating within laws, codes, policies, rules, and procedures. ASDB’s goal is to build a viable agricultural program that minimizes liability exposure to ASDB, and ensures health and safety issues for students.

The truth is as follows. It was reported to me in February that goats were on loan and two students needed to finish their SAE Supervised Agricultural Experience. I allowed the pigs to stay until the project at the Fair had been completed to avoid a negative impact to students. The Agricultural Teacher was asked to remove all animals by last week after students had finished their projects. The Teacher was told that if more time was necessary for students to participate at the Fair, he needed to let us know. Instead, he opted to have the pigs slaughtered and goats removed from campus. The Teacher also directed blame for the shortcomings of the program on dorm staff. Unfortunately, students have been told that ASDB administration shut down the program and ordered the slaughter of animals. These lies were told to students by those individuals who caused the violations and who blamed ASDB administration.

In addition, I learned that the necks of chickens were being snapped and the dead chickens were being tossed into the metal trashcans at the back of campus. This, among other things, exposed staff and students to unnecessary diseases.

ASDB took what was believed to be the appropriate action. The fear mongering and “bullying” of a select group of individuals will not be tolerated.

Summary
As Superintendent, I am accountable to nine Board members and am tasked to ensure the health and safety of both staff and students, and compliance with laws, policies, regulations, rules and procedures, with the goal to minimize ASDB’s liability exposures. Unfortunately, individuals have resorted to personal attacks and lies in an effort to punish me and others who have acted in the best interests of ASDB. I ask you to continue all the wonderful work you are all doing as we address these matters.

Robert Hill
Superintendent
Administration
Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind
Robert.Hill@asdb.az.gov
Office: 520.770.3704
VP: 520.762.7882
Fax: 520.770.3711

* How Low Can He Go? 2013 ASDB ASL Literacy Summer Camp Cancelled

It has been confirmed that the 2013 ASL Literacy Summer Camp has been cancelled at the order of Hill.

The program was to have its third session in as many years before unceremoniously getting yanked and had been designed to help improve student literacy rates during a time where they often stagnate.

The program had been widely admired and supported by students, staff, and parents, and had even drawn attendance from other states as well.

The camp was one of the absurd justifications Hill had used in his rationale for not renewing Asst. Supt. Dr. Nancy Amann's contract. Hill claimed that there was inadequate staff supervision and medical coverage.

Parents and staff involved with the 2012 camp session have confirmed that Hill's allegation of inadequate supervision is blatantly false and that the issue of medical coverage was moot when each and every participant's parents signed a medical waiver prior to their children's attendance.

It has also been pointed out that Hill, in an email sent several years ago, stated that a "third-grade reading level is typical of graduating deaf students," and that his order to close the camp simply perpetuates this statement.

Congratulations, Hill, for maintaining a self-fulfilling prophecy.

* ASDB Student Protest Leader Turns 18 Today, Admin Can't Ask If Parents Gave Her Permission to Protest Anymore

Juliana Apfel, one of the ASDB student protest leaders, turned 18 today which means that school administrators may no longer insist that she provide proof of her parents' permission to engage in protest activities.

Ms. Apfel, now legally an adult, will be able to engage in more active protest matters instead of being hindered by adminstrators citing her status as a minor under the school's care.

Happy birthday, Ms. Apfel. We're behind you all the way.

Update on ASDB

Supt. Robert Hill has FINALLY come out of hiding after two weeks and issued a campus-wide email on Monday, April 22.

Unfortunately, he did not make a single reference to the fact that students are now actively protesting at both Tucson and Phoenix campuses.

Instead, Hill decided to refute bizarre and ludicrous rumors and allegations that many already know to be false. He then claimed that all staff and faculty are welcome to sign petitions without retaliation and yet refused to say that he would acknowledge such signings.

Hill also made numerous references to "personal attacks" involving an alleged shadowy cabal of a group "select individuals" with a "cause."

His wording was offensive to many of us as it was a clear attempt to portray this as a "Deaf vs. Hearing" issue when, in actuality, it is about a diverse population of concerned people vs. an ineffective and unethical superintendent that needs to go.

Thank you all for your support and we ask you all to forward these emails to family and friends.

Visit us at asdbreports.com for additional information!

Strength in Numbers!

ASDB + PDSD = UNITY

Protest at ASDB (Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind) in Tucson

Message from AZAD 

Last Saturday, Arizona Association of the Deaf went to show our support to ASDB Student's right to speak up and believe what they stand for. AzAD set up a donation via PAYPAL - 

checkwww.azadinc.org/donate then Type ASDB.

The money is to help with the food, drinks, poster, anything they needed. 

Last Saturday, I have see the staffs at ASDB threatened and audsim Student's demands and speak up. It pain me to see that they are fighting to be heard of. 

I am asking that we see for ourselves on those link below - and add FE: Burtterfly Effect on Facebook to get more information. It will help you to understand what is going on.

I thank you for your time.

Want to share with you all to look at ASDB Students' Protest so please click on the web sites:

Web sites: 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Butterfly-Effect/174253545946868

some of you do not member of Facebook, but that lot of info about ASDB:
http://www.kvoa.com/news/school-for-deaf-and-blind-cannot-comment-on-teacher-dismissal/?fb_action_ids=10200943651854413&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=timeline_og&action_object_map=%7B%2210200943651854413%22%3A166111336881470%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210200943651854413%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

http://deafcactusnews.blogspot.com/ click on the chris summitt's pictures that's yesterday we were there.

http://www.asdbreports.com/ please read all pages of the web!

https://www.facebook.com/SearchingTheTruthFromasdb?ref=stream

https://www.facebook.com/AsdbAgriEducation

http://www.change.org/petitions/arizona-schools-for-the-deaf-blind-asdb-board-of-directors-acknowledge-the-vote-of-no-confidence-in-superintendent-robert-hill

Will add later when we get more info.

Thank you,

Larry Devenny, AZAD Treasurer

The Chaos at ASDB

Today the ASDB BoT had their meeting. This is a copy of Supt Hill's sloppy, god-awful agenda.

I read it several times over. All I can say is it's full of holes and hearsay. He FAILS to cite specific examples. It reads like an elementary school paper. Pathetic. Poorly written.

I hope Dr. Nancy Amann has hired a lethal lawyer and kick some asses that should have been kicked years ago.

Heather "Jabba the Hut" Grizzle is a PATHOLOGICAL liar!

From a friend regarding Heather "Jabba the Hutt" Grizzle:


I signed "heather is here and she is lying." She caught what I said and claimed she isn't lying. The strange thing was that she was standing on the other side of Ole Jim. I was standing near the back wall and she was standing near the stairs."

No Deaf/Blind person would be able to catch this statement given the long distance. Jabba the Hut ain't no Deaf/Blind! 

Notice the resemblance!? 

Vlog: 4-8-2013 Tidbits

In this vlog, I talked about the season finale of The Walking Dead, Baylor vs Louisville, Brittney Griner & Dallas Mavericks and SportsMX's KitchenTalk.

What a week.

Cheers,

R-

*Bwaaahahahahahahahahahahha*

I'm BAAAAACK you fuckers! *laughing* And you thought I was in rehab!? *ppfff* More to come!

Vlog: 3-29-2013 Tidbits

Basically, I have had enough of juvenile remarks or actions by others. I'm not that stupid. I dearly doubt that this vlog will mute these fools when it comes to the definition of cyberbulling. Gee whiz, you can thank Tayler Mayer, DeafHope, Sheri Ann Farinha and others for muddling the definition to a point where everyone gets it wrong.

Really, people, you never cease to amaze me with stupidity.

Speaking of stupidity, there is a stupid vlog created by LoSalee or whoever it is - he is the product of Fremont deaf school. Must be so embarrassing for them to endure the diatribes by this crazy dude.

Oh, there is this crazy dude in Frederick - his name?  Johnny Adamson.  His twitter username, @daddyadamson, branded himself as the so-called loving deaf father of 5. Which is hysterical. Why? Johnny avoided paying the child support for one of his 5 kids. Which is why he was arrested and being sent to Pennsylvania to face the charges related to child support. Apparently, he owed over $30,000 in child support and yet he called himself the loving deaf father of 5?

Living in Frederick, I get to see what's going on. Johnny is not well-liked person. In fact, I kept on getting messages from many deaf people in the area complaining about his behavior at different functions. But Johnny and I never sparred mainly because I never saw him at any local deaf events. He had the audacity to lie by claiming that I delivered food to his place which caused him to lose appetite. The truth is: I never delivered anything to the Adamsons at all. I even do not know where he lived until he was arrested. That's when I found out about his residence.

Karma is bitch, Johnny. Fuck off already.

I'm contemplating about making vlogs focusing on Amethyst. Should I?

Oh, yeah, I am aware that Karen von Pills' blogsite disappeared. It was by an accident. The blogger accidentally deleted her blog by mistake. She had no way to retrieve it at all. So ... I offered her - to write her stuff as a guest blogger of ... this blogsite! And fortunately, she accepted the offer.

Cheers,

R-

Vlog: 3-27-2013 Tidbits

This vlog covers two things:  Spoilers & All About Elena Delle Donne.  

Cheers,

R-

Vlog: 3-25-2013 Tidbits

This vlog is roughly 30 minutes long covering on cyberbullying, green meteor, The Walking Dead, Marvel Comics & DC Comics.

Cheers,

R-

Vlog: Special Report: Green Meteor

Last night, I true biz saw the streaking meteor rollling from southwest to northeast when I attempted to deliver at Econo Lodge.  It was a fireball leaving a whitish smoke as it rolls out of my eyesight.  After seeing the video clips of Chelyabinsk Meteor Explosion, I was prepared for that meteor to explode at some point. But it never happened. But reports has indicated that it broke up somewhere up in New York & New England States.

It was interesting thing to see. Totally unexpected to see, especially after the reports of meteor explosion in Russia.  I should eat my shoes since I exclaimed that it is such a rare thing to see (meteor explosion, that is!) but I did see a big fireball rolling out in the Maryland sky last night.

Cheers,

R-

P.S.  Mike McConnell, get over with yourself.

VLOG: 3-21-2013 Tidbits

This vlog covers:

*  My Progress
*  No, it is not the ATM!
*  About Mike McConnell, What Else Is New?
*  About Pope Francis
*  About Venezuela's Hugo Chavez
*  Nostalgic
*  1950s Ruined It All!
*  About VICE

Cheers,

R-

Vlog: Definition of Cyberbulling

For a long time, I was frustrated with many Deaf people, vloggers and bloggers when they claimed to know what cyberbullying is all about.  Many got it wrong. The blame can be on Tayler Mayer because when he founded DeafVideo.tv, he told many others what cyberbullying meant when he got it wrong. I attempted to address this with him to no avail. It is worthless to do anything with him on this subject. It is like he believes he is 100% correct on this, period.

Over the years, I cringed at seeing so many Deaf people adopting Tayler's misguided definition of cyberbullying.  It is time to stop doing that. So hence this is what I am doing. There is cyberbullying, there is cyberharrassment, there is cyberstalking. All has different definitions which I feel the need to speak in order to stop the misinformation in Deaf Community at large.

Cheers,

R-

Vlog: 3-17-2013 Tidbits

Staring at you with ... contempt!

This vlog covers:  

This vlog covers:

*  A quick correction on Harold Mowl & NCSD

*  My 3-13-2013 Vlog was sacked

*  All about Julia

*  As Usual, Tayler Mayer Is Wrong!

*  MSD Puerile Lockdown

and

*  Check www.youtube.com/MrJoeyBaer on DPN news footages

Cheers,

R-

Teaser: Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld

Two entries later, my entry will focus on why I am a die-hard of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld since I was 8. Not only that, I shall explain the concept as well as sharing the tales of Amethyst's struggle to triumph in face of tribulations on Gemworld ... and Earth.

To get an idea of what Amethyst looked like as of now?  See below!

Cheers,

R-

                                                                       * * *

Shame On You, Elena Ruiz!

I would like to let you all know that my previous vlog, 3-13-2013 Vlog which has garnered more than 3,000 views.  It has been taken down by YouTube after a certain person flagged it repeatedly. Judging the comment that was shared with me from YouTube, the comments sounds like it came from Elena Ruiz. Since I exposed Elena Ruiz's antics in the previous vlog, she was active in trying to silence me.  But I'm much sure Heather Grizzle played a small role in this as well.

My previous was about Heather Grizzle, the so-called Jabba the Hutt who tried to pass herself off as DeafBlind when she is not like that. Not only that, I also talked about Dr. Harold Mowl who runs Rochester School for the Deaf which over the years, he managed to turn the school into a cesspool with 8 speech therapists and zero ASL specialists/teachers. Plus, I also talked about Clyde Catron as well. Not only that, I also ridiculed Kat Brockway which I do not need to get in details as well. One word for her:  Schadenfreude. I also exposed Joseph Chen's racist approach via Facebook. In addition, I pointed out that Leala Holcomb equals Hypocrisy mainly because she does abuse the privilege as we speak. And last, I talked about the extremist in Elena Ruiz who is famous for painting white people as evil, painting her exes as the ones who raped her when they realized that she's not their suitable choice all along. I also mentioned that Elena was the one who tried to use the Judicial Affairs to silence a certain friend of mine but my friend hired an attorney who eventually forced Elena to drop the charges.

This country is based on freedom of speech, I recognized that. But unfortunately, YouTube is a private entity which means it has the rights to restrict the freedom of speech whenever they wish. That is when Deaf people like Kat Brockway, Joseph Chen, Heather Grizzle and/or Elena Ruiz attempting to use YouTube to silence the others. That is when I cringed the most.

Amusing is it?  Shameful.

Here is my suggestion:  If you want to retaliate on these people, flag DYUSA's vlogs as hate-filled violence.  That may do the trick to silence Elena Ruiz's continued hateful comments upon the majority as whole.  That would teach the DYSA members that they should not censor people's thoughts and feelings even if they disagreed with them as whole.

Cheers,

R-

VLOG: 3-13-2013 Tidbits

Staring at you with ... contempt!

Cheers,

R-

FRC & Dr. Angela McCaskill.

Last October, 2012 - the social conservative but incredibly anti-gay, bigoted organization named Family Research Council (FRC) supported Gallaudet's Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Angela McCaskill when it emerged that she signed the anti-gay petition to force the already passed marriage equality bill onto the referendum.

When Dr. McCaskill held a press conference, the representatives of Family Research Council stood next to her. Dr. Angela McCaskill had the nerve to thank the FRC for their support. FRC has been classified as a hate group by Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). It is obvious that Dr. McCaskill is clueless about the FRC's background at that time.

This woman has a doctorate degree, for chrissakes! This raised a legitimate question - does this woman keep up with the current events? To me, it is unlikely. Any sane person with doctorate degree would not thank nor stand next to the hate group in FRC. But Dr. McCaskill did.

That moment when Dr. McCaskill defied the Deaf GLBT people by thanking the FRC, it is much worse than just a slap on our faces. It is like she spat, slapped & punched in our faces, really!

Now the FRC has made another headline as of today, the FRC said it is OK to kidnap the children away from their gay parents. See this link for further details.

Yes, the very same group that Dr. McCaskill thanked at her press conference last October.  Yes, Gallaudet's own Chief Diversity Officer Dr. McCaskill, really! I should mention that the so-called Chief Diversity Officer was supposed to have a community dialogue with Gallaudet's GLBT students, faculty & staff since she was reinstated last January. But she cancelled it twice as of far. It is such a shame that this clueless woman who has a doctorate degree used the press conference to thank a hate group for supporting her. Imagine thanking Ku Klux Klan at her own press conference for supporting her, really.

That! That! That!

That should tell you enough about her warped vision of diversity, really.

Cheers,

R-

See The Resemblance?

Heather Grizzle

Jabba the Hutt

Cheers,

R-

Who Is Racist Pig? His Name Is Joseph Chen

I'm not crazy about Facebook mainly because the company grew so fast to a point where it lost the control of what's going on with its users. For example, I had been suspended for fifth time - all of them were done by retaliation by others when I called them out publicly. But this is a tale that will be told soon but not today.

I have more than 1,500 "friends" - I'm sure, the majority of them are lurkers, fans, haters and shit like that. It takes time for me to trim who's who but it ain't easy. It is never comfortable to reject or eliminate humans but sometimes it is necessary. 

I have more than 150 "friend requests". Since I'm suspended (Gee whiz, you can thank Julia Silvestri for that one), I am unable to accept, decline, remove or block anyone on my friends list as well as friend requests. 

However, I'm going to talk about this particular weirdo kid from Indiana School for the Deaf. His name is Joseph Chen. He is a senior at ISD. Oh, I can talk about him if I want to. Why? Because he is 18. Anyway, few weeks ago, he sent the "friend request" to me via Facebook. At that time, I was suspended from Facebook and you can thank Maria Dollhopf for that. 

Joseph was on my friends list until I removed him last summer after I found out that it was him who engaged in malicious trolling upon me and my friends. So he was kicked out so fast. I have no tolerance for people like that. I also found out that he is infamous for impersonating people's user names to create the problems.

Fast forward to two weeks ago, he sent me the friend request?  No thanks. No way. 

Then today, I got this message from Joseph Chen via Facebook inbox which is quite disturbing thing to see. You see, he sent this message to tell me to approve him as a friend. And he used the n-word. Joseph is not African-American. He is Asian-American. And he used this to address me like that?  Joseph Chen, you are not cool. You are a racist pig. You have no right to use or throw the n-word around liberally. What you did was juvenile and you should be ashamed of yourself.

UPDATE:  Since I posted this entry, Joseph Chen has continued to spew hateful comments via emails. Grow up, little deformed boy!!

Cheers,

R-

Kudos to California School for the Deaf in Fremont!

More than 2 years ago, I made a vlog under (6-24-2010 Tidbits, it started from 00:00 to 05:35) which I talked about the need of having our own symbols that ultimately reflect the true beliefs, mission and social values within our communities across the country and beyond.

Not a long time ago, I was thrilled when I saw the vlog by CSD-Fremont's Superintendent Sean Virnig announcing that CSD will develop and pick the logo that ultimately represents its beliefs, mission and values as well as reflecting the school, community and alumni as well. Obviously, Supt. Virnig saw the need of having a logo mainly because he knew that having a logo/symbol will make a huge impact on people outside of Fremont.

I must congratulate the CSD community in Fremont for doing the impossible task but they successfully pulled this one extremely well.  They saw the need of having a logo that represents the school, with its beliefs, mission and values.  After a brief setback which Elena Ruiz and her so-called Bay Area DYUSA puppets protested the original logos because they argued that the logo with the famous Bear Hunt Statue is racist, demeaning, violent and cultural appropriations to an extent.

This led to CSD's decision to dump the original logos and he turned to its student body to come up with their logo vision.  Then everyone gets to vote on the logos that were created by its students at CSD. 

They chose this particular logo because it fits with CSD's Motto:  Learn, Experience, Thrive. If you look at the logo itself, you'll see that it has 3 images on it (two gray, 1orange) - that represents its motto perfectly ... in ASL.

It is gorgeous!  It is fantastic!  I hope other schools will follow what CSD Fremont did.  Kudos to Supt. Virnig, Wayne Betts Jr, its students, its staff, its faculty, its alumni and beyond as well for doing the right thing!

Once again, congratulations!

Cheers,

R-

You Decide For Yourself

In the previous vlog (3-7-2013 Tidbits), I talked about Clare Cassidy who hated me so much with a passion, claiming that I made fun of her brother's suicide. I vlogged that I never knew that he had a brother until Kurt Ramborger mentioned that to me last year when he was here in Frederick.

Apparently, for years, Clare truly hated me. She often disparaged or left dirty looks each time my friends or others mentioned of my name. I know because they occasionally told me of that and asked me why. I could not figure out what's going on.

After seeing Clare going off against me on a dear friend of mine's Facebook wall, I have had enough of her crap so I vlogged about her. And guess what?

Clare provided the proof.  It turns out that it was not done by email but by my old blog, RidorLIVE.com.  Clare kept on forgetting that when I run RidorLIVE.com, I got hundreds, if not thousands, of tips from various people across the nation, Canada and the world. I try my best to edit and put it together for an article on daily basis.  Apparently, yes, I did mention about Clare Cassidy's brother who killed himself.

I wrote only 3 sentences about the death of John Cassidy.  This brief paragraph enraged Clare Cassidy to a point where she felt that I was mocking her and her family on the death of John Cassidy.

Unbelievable.

I'm going to share the screenshot of that brief paragraph so that people out there can know the truth.

The question is:  Did I mock the Cassidys on the death of their brother?

I think the worst thing is: Clare is a teacher at CSD Fremont, I feel sorry for her kids. If Clare cannot understand what I wrote in 1st place, what kind of teacher is she? *shudders*

Cheers,

R-

His name is Tom Willard

My dear friend, Dawn Schriver wrote this important message on her FB. I feel it is important for me to post this on my blog as well!

Cheers,

R-

*   *  *

Deviants. Social deviants.

This society is FULL of many kind of deviants. This gives me better insights about certain types of deviants.

I'm now reading, studying and learning the profile of abusers, controllers and manipulators.

I have came across a person last night on someone's post. Admittedly, I was involved in a heated argument with this person who seems to think he had done no wrongs to anyone when he is truly a destructive individual. He continues to bash an agency, ASADV and myself as a person to no end.

This person is not a productive citizen to the community given that he has no ability to carry a healthy discourse. Nor can he reason with his actions.

Yes, he is considered as a deviant to the Deaf community.

His name is Tom Willard.

Anyone who comes across this post, remember this name.

* * *

True words were never spoken, Dawn Schriver!

Cheers,

R-

UPDATE:  Tom Willard has quietly turned his blog (tomwillard.wordpress.com) into private after an uproar that seemed to turn against Tom for what he did to others including myself.   This is what community accountability is all about. 

VLOG: 3-7-2013 Tidbits

Staring at you with ... contempt.

Once again, this vlog is not positive nor pleasant one. But it is necessary for me to expose and address this mess in order to stop the lies and misinformation. This vlog focuses on 5 individuals that I wanted to address:  Dr. Reginald Redding, Clare Cassidy, John Proffer, Alex Long, Jeff Kurz and Keri Macfarlane-Ogrizovich.  

That means what?  I still hadn't gotten a chance to talk about Julia Silvestri, Leala Holcomb, Dr. Harold Mowl, Chris Wagner & Elena Ruiz. That will be dealt in the next vlog or two. 

Cheers,

R-

Messiah Complex?

I finished making the 3-7-2013 Tidbits vlog but could not be able to upload since I'm at work. As soon as I get home, I shall upload the vlog to appease the insatiable viewers like you. However, I appreciated the messages via YouTube, Twitter & my blog asking for it.

On other hand, I have to address this with a certain fool who claimed that I have "messiah complex" - I nearly shot the unsweetened Iced Tea out of my nose when I saw someone flinging this upon me.

Umm, according to wiki, "messiah complex" means: A state of mind in which an individual holds a belief they are, or are destined to become, a savior." 

Ha!

It appears to me that some people confuse or distort one's ability to enhance their knowledge in life with  the so-called messiah complex.  I am on a mission to understand the universal message. It is a personal journey for me to infuse myself with different subjects to empower myself with knowledge. After all, knowledge is power. The more I know about things in life, the more I become confident in my ability to share my thoughts.

And that is when some people would try to fling the messiah complex upon me or others for acquiring too much knowledge.  I find that somewhat ... flattering, though.

It is amusing, though. My first reaction would be: "What's the point of me doing that?"

Absolutely nothing, really.

Cheers,

R-

No Anonymous Allowed

People, the comment section has been enabled.

Due to my experiences with the social media in the last 10 years, my tolerance for anonymous commentators are at an all-time low, mainly because of their repeated threats directed at myself and my readers who supported me from time to time. So I am making this an official policy - Anonymous commentators are not *allowed* on this blog at all.

Last night, I already got a notification that someone tried to leave a comment using the "Anonymous" with a discreet threat on me. That person assumed that I knew nothing about the law, defamation and all that shit.  That person thought I am clueless when it comes to dealing with the laws. It is obvious to me that this person has no idea on what I have been doing in the last 5 years. I filed a lawsuit. I won the court cases. I retained the attorney on various topics including blogging/vlogging in the last 5 years. I am confident enough to say one thing: I am well-versed on this matter.

So that person who tried to make a threat on me, that is quite lame thing to do. All I can say is:  Try me.

Cheers,

R-

P.S.  "Cheers" is my trademark and for you to copy my signature says one thing about you: You lack originality and creativity of your own. That is for sure.

UPDATE:  I highly recommend you to check this link where David Eberwein discussed about the anonymous comments in our communities. Here is the link to get the gist of what is going on. Thanks, Joey Baer!

VLOG: 3-5-2013 Tidbits

Staring at you ... with contempt!

3-5-2013 Tidbits (25:42-min long)

This vlog is not pleasant nor positive. But it is necessary.  This focuses on 4 segments on Richard Roehm, Michael Hubbs, Russell Errigo & Dr. Angela McCaskill, Lindsay Dunn & Sheri Ann Farinha.

Yes, more people will be exposed in the next vlog, but I'm going to identify who's who just to get ahead of time.

  

They are Dr. Harold Mowl, Dr. Reginald Redding, Elena Ruiz, Julia Silvestri, Keri MacFarlane Ogrizovich, Leala Holcomb, Clare Cassidy, John Proffer, Jeff Kurz, Alexander Long & Chris Wagner.

It is high time that someone has to pull the "community accountability" upon these individuals.  

Cheers,

R-

2000s, 2010s, 2020s

I noticed something interesting about how Deaf people used the internet between 2000s and 2010s.

In 2000s, we had blogs where plenty of Deaf individuals that wrote on various topics which often brought the heated discussions among each other. I remembered arguing with Elisa Abenchuchan, Joey Baer, Amy Cohen Efron, Shane Feldman, Alex Abenchuchan, Jesse Thomas, Allison Polk, Jason Lamberton, Chris Kaftan, Joseph Santini et al on many subjects.  Then after that, in person, we are all fine with each other. We do respect each other. In fact, whenever I saw them in person, we would have a good conversation. It was civilized, really. Except for Mike McConnell, I just can't stand the sight of him. So never mind him at all.

However, Elisa, Alex, Jesse, Jason, Chris, Joseph and so on - they would not try to silence or attack others by reporting or trying to shut our blogs down. I appreciate this kind of people. Why? Because as much as I rarely admit this, I learn something new from their views from time to time.

Fast forward to 2010s, with the age of Facebook & YouTube, a new group of Deaf individuals comes on the internet. Many are trolls. They became disruptive. They abuse the system in their warped attempts to shut or silence others down. They created fake usernames (I know of one person who created 10 different usernames just to sow the conflicts) with their goal: Do anything possible to destroy the others whom they might feel threatened or disagreed with. They would not engage in heavy discussions or arguments, they would do anything possible to get you silenced and at the same time, trying to drag your name through the mud by telling untrue allegations. Today, you have Lindsay Dunn who kept on trashing people from time to time. Same thing goes for Carl Schroeder, Julia Silvestri, Damon Stump, Sheri Ann Farinha, Vikee Waltrip, Robert L Mason, Steven Baier, Richard Roehm ... they participated in pushing for each other to silence the ones they disliked the most rather than to click on "x" and ignore whoever was writing on their webpages. They would try to ostracize the ones that may disagree with them by kicking them out of FB groups, by silencing them by reporting them to FB, by encouraging their peers to find their personal & workplace information in their warped attempts to get them in trouble with this, that and there.

10 years ago, it was not like that. Today, it is common. What prompted the change? I noticed that many older Deaf bloggers/vloggers has reduced, stopped and/or abandoned their blogs/vlogs ... out of fear.  Many said that they could not handle in dealing with the current group's malicious streak. I noticed this with myself as well. But I'm a fighter. I don't cower before these malicious people. I fight back. Why do you think I won the court where one family tried to bully me around with accusations regarding the posts on Facebook?  I am not the kind of person who will tone down my voice just because others threatened me with this, that and there. In fact, it made me more determined to do something about it.

However, I cannot help but wonder what it will be like in 10 years. I shudder to think what 2020s might look like ...

Cheers,

R-