Should Gallaudet Drop University Status?

Is the university status doing Gallaudet more harm than good? It is time to be honest about Gallaudet's decline as Anne Marie said. Mishka Zena cited recruitment issues which may affect Gallaudet's decline to which I heartily agree.


An illustration of how Gallaudet declined...the middle was the heyday of Gallaudet from 1930s through 1970s...we have since become mentally lazy thanks in some way to technology...we have AR (Accelerated Reading) programs that give multiple choice answers in our schools for reading; writing and term papers easily plagiarized from the Internet....and the educators of the deaf have lowered their expectations as well as turned to the computers to design their lesson plans rather than using their brain power and training to design their lessons. We are a mentally indolent society.

Why Are Deaf Organizations Crumbling?

One word: Egoism. A spinoff to Teri Sentelle's vlog on giving credit due.

An update: Teri's vlog was about Gary Brooks not giving credit due - here is an update vlog of Gary Brooks' acknowledgement of Teri's vlog. Basically, he acknowledged his oversight to include others, especially Teri, on his film credits. Wave hands for Gary!

Idioms: Does ASL Have Idioms?

DeafMom3 listed 20 idioms. Let's sign them out and see if we use them in our ASL?

Is CI Surgery Immortal And Non-Consensual?

How fascinating. In an article in today's CNN news, it says routine infant circumcision is on the decline because it is "immortal and non-consensual" as well as being deemed medically unnecessary. Yet, many parents don't think twice about cochlear implanting their infants when CI surgery is far more dangerous than a routine circumcision??!! Is CI "medically necessary?"

from CNN news:
Ruth Katz, 38, of San Francisco had both her sons circumcised at brises. She and her husband, Michael Rapaport, were astonished when the teacher in their birthing class described circumcision as "immoral" and "not consensual."

Do Hearing People Lack In Common Sense?

Upon viewing pictures of baby dolphin, born to a deaf dolphin, being bottlefed, I asked myself this question: Do hearing people truly lack in common sense?? I interpreted those pictures as audistic attitude towards deaf animals just as is true with deaf people. By all accounts, the new deaf dolphin mother was healthy and able to parent.

Der Sankt's Challege: ASL Translation Of His Story

Der Sankt issued a challenge for us to translate his written ASL; DE suggested for us to do vlogs on the ASL translation of Der Sankt's story and post links on his blog. Here is mine!


(Yes, this should be posted as a link on Der Sankt's blog but since viewings tend to diminish after the first day, I figured the links to the vlogs might be overlooked if posted after the first day when the challenge was issued on Der Sankt's blog which was yesterday.)

Mike McConnell, AKA, Kokonut Pundits: Here's A Food For Thought For Ya

(I got this in an email and thought I'd share this. I find it very thought-provoking and a cause for pause because it rings quite true! Thank God the Immigration Bill did not go through the Senate! Whew. Cy)

BECOMING ILLEGAL
(Actual letter from an Iowa resident and sent to his senator)

Dear Senator Harkin,
As a native Iowan and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service, I am writing to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to you.

My primary reason for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to illegal alien stems from the bill which was recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted. If my understanding for this bill's provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, all I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone figures it out.

Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years in return for paying a $2000 fine. Is there anyway that I can apply to be illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.

Additionally, as an illegal alien I could begin using the local emergency room as my primary health care provider. Once I have stopped paying premiums for medical insurance, my accountant figures I could save almost $10000 a year. Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her law school applications, as well as "in-state" tuition rates for many colleges throughout the United States for my son.

Lastly, I understand that illegal status would relieve me of the burden of renewing my driver's license and making those burdensome car insurance premiums. This is very important to me given that I still have college age children driving my car.

If you would provide me with an outline of the process to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would be most appreciative.

Thank you for your assistance.
Your Loyal Constituent

DODs, DOHs and the System: The Bigger Picture

How the system creates the invisible barrier between DODs and DOHs.

Color ASL Sign Origin: SEE, Unmarked, Or ???

Color signs have first letter assigned to them...quite SEE-like, yet they did not orginiate from SEE...so, how did they get assigned with first letters???

SEE-Like Signs in ASL; Y-System or S-System?

What to do with the SEE-like signs that we use in our daily ASL?