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Deaf Gally Board of Trustee Used Voice at Gally Graduation...
 Mike McConnell You remember. I'm sure you have. Or at least many of you did. It was supposedly one of the more remembered so called "scandal" at Gallaudet University in 2006. We had Dr. Brenda Brueggemann, who is deaf and was the Commencement Speaker for Gallaudet University's graduating class of 2006, use her voice instead of ASL. She was at the time the interim Acting Chair of the...Thu, Sep 02 2010 · 13 hours ago Why did CAD chapter president use his voice at AB2072...
Mike McConnell I've waited to see if anybody had actually objected to Tim Arthur, the president of the California Association of the Deaf, Sacramento chapter, who used his voice at the AB2072 Senate Health Hearing on June 23, 2010 instead of signing in ASL as seen in the Calchannel.com (June 23) along with a partial transcript below on what he said:Tim: Good afternoon, my name is Ti...Wed, Sep 01 2010 Kokonut Pundit - the longest continuously running deaf/hh...
Mike McConnell My Kokonut Pundit blog will be approach its 7th year this October when I began blogging in 2004. With over 1,558 blog posts (not counting this one) I believe I'm am probably the most prolific deaf/hh blogger around if I may be so bold. With a few pauses here and there I maintained my regular blogging ever since covering interests ranging from politics, the environment...Tue, Aug 31 2010 Deaf and blind hiker on Appalachian Trail
Mike McConnell Here is something you don't see. A deaf and blind hiker on the Appalachian Trail in his attempt to hike the full length of the trail.The 2,160-plus-mile Appalachian Trail is daunting enough for most hikers. For Roni Lepore and Roger Poulin, the trail presents extra challenges.Lepore, who is deaf, and Poulin, who both deaf and blind in one eye and has tunnel vision in ...Tue, Aug 31 2010 Incredible Hulk Character equals Oppression to Deaf?
Mike McConnell Now, I gotta laugh at this one. In DonG's blog he lamented over whether Lou Ferrigno's acting as the Incredible Hulk character who had no speaking role and did the whole "Aaarrgghh!" thing instead. And somehow that constituted as "audism" just because the actor happens to be deaf? Oh, please.So, I wonder why in the comic book, the Hulk can talk, but in the TV series, ...Mon, Aug 30 2010 White deaf man calls black person an "Uncle Tom"
Mike McConnell Pretty shocking to see this happen in this day and age. Go here for more details and where it took place. People need to understand and realize the need for greater tolerance and how it is important that it's about a person's character and not about skin color. Yesterday was Martin Luther King's 47th anniversary of his "I have a dream," speech that was delivered on th...Sun, Aug 29 2010 California Academy of Audiology responds to blog readers'...
Mike McConnell An email was sent to me today from the CAA in regards to my yesterday's blog in the effort to answer many of the readers' responses. They asked me to do this and so I am putting this email response in my blog. No names will be divulged here so please DO NOT ask me for them! The CAA's responses are below and answers some of the responses/questions seen yesterday in my...Fri, Aug 27 2010 California Academy of Audiology Official Letter to Mendoza...
Mike McConnell Yesterday I contacted the California Academy of Audiology (CAA) using their official email address and soon was able to get a few responses from them today regarding their recent change on why they now oppose the AB2072 bill. I was given an official CAA letter that was sent to Assembly Member Tony Mendoza on August 23, 2010 explaining why they changed their support fo...Thu, Aug 26 2010 AB2072 votes officially confirmed
Mike McConnell Just as I thought.It was 23 Ayes and 11 Noes. The bill will go to Assembly either on August 26 or shortly after that. And then when all good and dandy the bill will go to the Governator's desk for his signature. And the rest will become history.BILL HISTORY2010Aug. 24 In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 26 pursua...Wed, Aug 25 2010 AB2072 Passed!
Mike McConnell With 22 ayes and 11 nays, with 7 senators not voting via several sources. Although I hear it may be correct at 23 ayes and 11 nays. It will ultimately be confirmed on the vote number in the next day or so on the California Legislature website for the AB2072 bill and read what the status has to say for the next step.Rejoice this news since this is an opportunity to see...Tue, Aug 24 2010 A Deaf Freeze Flash Mob Proposal.....the 12:12 Flash Mob
Mike McConnell If ya'll want to do something fun and "spontaneous" here's a simple proposal that's easy to do and fun. Instead of trying to Flash Mob with music just do it silently and while in a frozen stance. Pick a popular and very public place to do this. The more people that can get in on this act the more fun it can be for everybody. It's very simple. You're in a public place,...Sun, Aug 22 2010 AB2072 bill update - ASL support increases
Mike McConnell Compare this earlier bill to a recently updated amended version where the word "ASL" is used exclusively without the words "visual languages" along with adding an additional 2 more members to the panel, and a requirement that at least 5 of the panel members must have a hearing loss:The panel shall be composed of 15 members, as follows:(A) An adult who is deaf or hard ...Sat, Aug 21 2010 The reality of hearing loss in the U.S. and the AB2072 bill
Mike McConnell In one video skit as part of the continuing anti-AB2072 bill protest a voice interpreter can be heard saying the baby has a "moderate to profound hearing loss" but the caption says "moderate to severe hearing loss" around the 1:11 time stamp mark. Which is it? Moderate, severe or profound hearing loss for this baby (doll)? The skit then proceeded to give the baby (dol...Sat, Aug 21 2010 Round Peg in a Square Hole - "Wrong Street"
Mike McConnell Click here to enlarge.Uploaded with ImageShack.usFri, Aug 20 2010 AB2072 bill - more potential ASL support than thought.
Mike McConnell In the most recent amended AB2072 bill as of August 17, 2010, in the panel members designation section starting on page 3, the bill recommends in setting up a panel that consists of 13 members of which possibly up to 5 members with ASL (i.e. visual language instead of "visual communication") background or experiences could be appointed to the panel. That's more than a...Thu, Aug 19 2010 AB2072 bill - less power to audiologists
Mike McConnell Let me turn the table and say that the greatest irony are those who are against the AB2072 bill (as of August 17, 2010). Today, at the Capital in Sacramento, California there will be a protest mostly by Deaf people who are against this bill believing this bill will give more power to audiologists.That's not true.There are certain languages in the bill that restrict wh...Thu, Aug 19 2010 AB2072 passed. No longer in APPR suspense file.
Mike McConnell News going around that the AB2072 bill already passed today (10 - 1) and is now out of the APPR. Suspense File - which was never "suspended" in the first place. Next, the bill will go to the Senate floor next week for the vote and once that gets passed it will go to the Governator's desk for his signature.Now, there are talks about getting Edwin Black involved again, ...Fri, Aug 13 2010 AB2072 on APPR. Suspense File does not mean "suspended"
Mike McConnell A recent DCARAVLOG video signed the word "suspense" as in "suspend." It's not quite the word nor the same thing.The AB2072 bill is currently placed in the APPR suspense file because staffs think this bill will cost the state more than $150,000 to implement.... the so-called "suspense file" is a method by which both fiscal committees in each house automatically hold bi...Thu, Aug 12 2010 What are the "risks" for ASL option in the AB2072 bill?
Mike McConnell Ok. Like I said before, many of already know the benefits of ASL but what many people have not really touched upon at all is the risks of using ASL. Yesterday I blogged about the AB2072 bill with its new language regarding the risks and benefits of each communication option in the bill which raised the question exactly what would the risks be for an ASL communication...Wed, Aug 11 2010 AB2072 - risks and benefits for ASL option
Mike McConnell If you haven't read the updated and revised AB2072 bill that came out last week you in the effort to help provide crucial information for parents of babies born with hearing loss by providing:an unbiased, comprehensive, evidence-based informational pamphlet for newborns and infants identified as deaf or hard of hearing about visual and auditory communication and langu...Tue, Aug 10 2010 Did a hearing mother exaggerates about her deaf son's...
Mike McConnell Here's a weird story. And a true one.This is a story about a hearing mother who gushed about her older deaf son who is profoundly deaf and wears a hearing aid. Nothing wrong about gushing with pride about your own kids. What mother who did not express pride about her own deaf child's accomplishments? But this story takes on a weird turn. A revelation into the psycholo...Mon, Aug 02 2010 Persona non grata
Mike McConnell Calm down folks. Before I get any more emails (yes, I know) let me remind you that I don't have the need nor the time to watch videos that are long on hyperbole, short on facts and full of the tabloid stuff. . Not my bag no matter the subject.Next, if you like golf, technology and you have a hearing loss, maybe this bit of news will interest you.The annual conference ...Sat, Jul 31 2010 Video: Hazardous ASL Sign Writing
 Mike McConnell A laughable joke everytime you see it.Wed, Jul 28 2010 Video: How to promote a positive picture of ASL without...
Mike McConnell The simplest and best to way to promote ASL is to focus on the positive only. No need to attack individuals or organizations for having a different opinion or philosophy. Below is my 1994 video of my hearing daughter, Heather, at her 1st birthday showing her cute way of responding to family's request on how to sign certain words. This is her at exactly 1 year old seei...Mon, Jul 26 2010 Matt Hamill to fight Tito Ortiz!
Mike McConnell Man. How raw can this get?The fight card for UFC 121 which is scheduled for October 23 at the Honda Center in Anaheim is shaping up to a big one with some big names in the sport. The latest confirmed fight will have "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz facing his former pupil in Matt "The Hammer" Hamill according to MMAFighting.comTito was the coach on "The Ultim...Mon, Jul 26 2010 Deaf Bilingual Coalition's Unprofessionalism
Mike McConnell DBC, a pro-ASL advocacy organization, attempted to deride, smear and call names a deaf/hh private individual solely because of an opinion piece in a personal blog. DBC went so far as to advertise this unprofessional move using their blog section. This smear piece existed only for about an hour before it was conveniently deleted (note the URL address) for unknown reaso...Sun, Jul 25 2010 Enemies of Choices
Mike McConnell There is a recurring yet common theme I keep seeing in some segments of the Deaf community and that is the constant attempts to restrict choices whether it's choices on communication options or about competitions or of ideas.Let's begin with Deafread, a blog and vlog aggregator site.In the beginning many liked what Deafread was doing. So did the people who linked thei...Sun, Jul 25 2010 When technology allows 100% communication access to...
Mike McConnell Imagine this futuristic scenario that may come sooner than later within our lifetime. Forget stem cells or gene therapy and consider the use of technology as the ultimate the answer to every deaf and hard of hearing person's communication needs. One hundred percent accessible to language and communication for every deaf or hard of hearing person. A technology so advan...Thu, Jul 22 2010 Round Peg in a Square Hole
Mike McConnell Here are some cartoon drawings based on different geometric shapes I was doing a few years back. Thought I put my drawings here for ya'll and see what you say.Click here to enlarge.Click here to enlarge.Wed, Jul 21 2010 When deaf people live in out in the country
Mike McConnell Lately I've been seeing some irrational rantings against certain people who like living out in the country or the wide open spaces of America in the great outdoors in the effort to somehow try and use that against them. Unbelievable. I believe there are more pros than cons in living out in the country than do city living. The most obvious one is that the amount of str...Mon, Jul 19 2010 A puzzling irony.....
Mike McConnell I was in an email discussion with a deaf person I know (a non-blogger/vlogger) who explained to me what he saw in some videos vlogs with the name Barry Sewell coming up. He further explained that one of the basic complaint from those vloggers is that Barry is trying to seek attention to himself in his vlogs. This was funny considering what my friend said about those ...Mon, Jul 19 2010 Giving thanks on what hearing I have left
Mike McConnell I don't do this every morning giving thanks but on occassion when I do come around to it do I realize the gift I have with what hearing I have left. And I give thanks the technology in the form of a hearing aid which has enabled me to access sound all around me. Though not perfect but I am still thankful that I am able to hear well with it. I am thankful for my mother...Sun, Jul 18 2010 New technology on captioning and audio at theaters
Mike McConnell This is what I'm talking about. Let innovation drive technology as a solution rather than have laws forcing companies to do the impossible. New technology will start being rolled out later this year in major movie cinemas, making it possible for deaf and blind people to follow the film they are watching.The digital technology, which includes providing captions and aud...Sat, Jul 17 2010 The limp handshake
Mike McConnell I've shaken hands many, many times in my life and I've come across all kinds of handshake responses. Some were good ones and others were just horrible with limp, fishlike like handshake like the one I experienced with a Deaf person at a NAD convention a few years back. This happened twice with the same Deaf person. It was a handshake signal that conveyed lack of confi...Sat, Jul 17 2010 How the iPhone 4 and iZ could cost more money for Deaf users
Mike McConnell Let's look a little closer on this iPhone 4 and the recent iZ news on Video Relay Service (VRS) for iPhone 4 and the reality of real time video bandwidth it can consume each minute. And how this could put Deaf people at a financial disadvantage using the two technological wonders. And instead of getting overly excited, they should be concerned on how this could hurt t...Sat, Jul 17 2010 A politically incestuous relationship?
Mike McConnell The fourth of July has come and gone and having experienced one of Seattle's best fireworks on the lake shore near the Gas Works. I now have a few post-fourth of July thoughts to share with you. For me, the fourth of July is a special day when our nation fought for our independence and freedom from tyranny.By now you probably have noticed what's going on in the deaf a...Wed, Jul 07 2010 The Candy exposure.....the meltdown.
Mike McConnell Well, after going back to see what's the heck is going on to take a second look about this whole Candy blogger affair I still find it all a bit comical and laughable in some instances. I barely remember coming across her original blogsite a few years ago. And then when she transferred over to a different blog with the name "Candy" she seemed to have exploded out of no...Wed, Jul 07 2010 ASL thrives: ISL dies (and gets pushed out of the way)
Mike McConnell That the way it goes but does it need to be like that? The extinction of a language by fate where it loses out to more popular and used language. So, does abandoning one sign language in favor of another more popular sign language be seen as a kind of eugenics in the works? Here in this article about John Woodenlegs in his effort to preserve his sign language history....Wed, Jun 30 2010 The Eugenics of Deaf Indian Sign Language and culture...
Mike McConnell A little thought-provoking exercise here and hold back your tongue lashing and the gnashing of the teeth while you're at it, too.Read on.A few years back I did a blog how one kind of American Indian Sign Language (ISL) used by deaf native American indians was already vanishing (or it may have vanished by now) because, ironically so, young deaf Native American indians ...Tue, Jun 29 2010 The Wikipedia Entry
Mike McConnell Now, as I reflect on this Wikipedia entry when I pointed out to readers that a few entries were made that included a few Deaf organizations listed under as an "Extremist Groups" and wondered if there was a joke in there somewhere. But then I got to thinking on the word "extremist" and exactly was does that mean? What is the context of that word when used?Under Merriam...Mon, Jun 28 2010 "Deafhood," AFA, and CAD linked as "Extremist Groups" in...
Mike McConnell There must be a joke in there somewhere. The name "Deafhood" was found in a Wikipedia entry under the listed "Extremist Groups" category as seen in the United States section along with other notable organizations like Church of Scientology, Earth First!, and Aryan Nation. Not only that but AFA and CAD were also found under that list, too. Here's a screen capture of th...Sun, Jun 27 2010 AB 2072 - passed
Mike McConnell Great news. AB 2072 bill passed by the committee with a 5 to 1 vote, along with 2 abstaining. It now goes to the Senate which I'm sure they'll recognize this bill as a bill that empowers parents to make an informed decision. This is about letting parents make the decision and not the government. No government or any other entity or agency will be doing the decision fo...Thu, Jun 24 2010 AG Bell on AB2072
Mike McConnell The AB 2072 bill is about choices, obviously. It discusses that parents of newborns with hearing loss get information that covers,American Sign Language(ASL), Total Communication, Cued Speech, and Listening and Spoken Language communication options for children with hearing loss, including, but not limited to, information about deaf and hard-of-hearing organizations, ...Wed, Jun 23 2010 When anti-AB2072 group uses Nazi labels
Mike McConnell A new article in The Cutting Edge came out late yesterday about California's AB-2072 bill where it laboriously use Nazi examples and labels about that bill. This bill is about allowing parents of newborn who were diagnosed as having a hearing loss be given information on communication and educational options where it does include ASL as one clear option. It's a resour...Tue, Jun 22 2010 A poll: Do you approve AB2072 bill?
Mike McConnell Here's a poll on California's AB2072 bill. Below is a video about what AB 2072 is about.If the poll doesn't refresh properly or is not working, go here to do the poll and see the results. Warning: This poll is not a scientific poll.Sun, Jun 20 2010 Vincent Cerf accepted award from AGBell !
Mike McConnell Vincent Cerf as some of you may know is the "Father of the Internet." He is also deaf. But here is probably a little known fact among those in the Deaf community. Vincent Cerf was awarded the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal for his contribution on the internet. AGBell recognized Vincent Cerf's extra-ordinary contribution in helping build the first ever internet. The ...Wed, Jun 16 2010 Sock! Pow! It's the Deaf Dynamic Duo!!
Mike McConnell "Holy Kleenex Batman! It was right under our nose and we blew it!" - an actual Robin quote in a Batman show in 1966. Yeah, you heard it right. Here's the new Deaf Dynamic Duo who just now set up a YouTube site to use their mocking superpowers on unsuspecting riff raffs. PoW! BiFF! WhaMMo! Holy tank top, Batman! It's Kokonut Pundit!These two Deaf ladies obviously saw m...Fri, Jun 11 2010 A Critical Analysis
Mike McConnell Self explanatory. My ResponseInsert pinky to lips.......Wed, Jun 09 2010 Jumping the "deaf hate crime" bandwagon
Mike McConnell My video look at "deaf hate crime." Is it over-rated? Abused? Used as a weapon of choice? Or is this really nothing new under the sun?Mon, Jun 07 2010 When a deaf person is mocked for his voice...by another...
Mike McConnell Imagine a deaf person mocking or making fun of another deaf person's use of his/her own voice. Well, it does happen. It's even worse when someone goes after a deaf father and his deaf son who wears a cochlear implant. And I have a video response for that based on a recent YouTube incident between Russell Errigo and ASL1817.Here's my video seen below.In the beginning I...Mon, Jun 07 2010 |
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