For Whom the Bell’s Palsy Tolls (tags)
Bell’s palsy. It hit suddenly a month ago. I had just stepped off a plane in New York, and my friend noticed the telltale sagging lip. It felt like Novocain. I raced to the emergency room. The doctors prescribed a weeklong course of steroids and antivirals. The following day it got worse. I had to make a decision: Do I host “Democracy Now!,” our daily news broadcast, on Monday? I could speak perfectly well, and I’m tired of seeing women (and men) on TV who look like they just stepped off the set of “Dynasty.” Maybe if they see a person they trust to deliver the news, still there, but just looking a little lopsided, it might change their view of friends and family-or strangers, for that matter-who are struggling with some health issue.Wikipedia, the popular online encyclopedia anyone can edit, stated that I had suffered a stroke.
United Cerebral Palsy Launches DontBlockMyVote.org (tags)
Launched Wednesday, United Cerebral Palsy's online campaign,www.DontBlockMyVote.org, allows activists to send a free letter to their Congressmen calling for full funding of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which guarantees equal access to polling places and voting machines for millions of Americans with disabilities. With the last Presidential election hinging on a little over 500 votes, the potential disenfranchisement of 26 million voters with disabilities is an important and significant cause, and the lack of full funding for HAVA could greatly swing a potentially close election. UCP is also in partnership with Rock the Vote, calling on people to register for this year’s elections