Citgo = Chavez

Why connect the two?

The company is owned by PDV America, Inc., an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A, the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. That's where Chavez is. And why boycott Citgo? Well, Chavez wants to bring down the U.S. government. And that the Citgo company helped pay for a pep rally in Harlem for Chavez.

The event, according to Foxnews, is one of a series designed to boost the Venezuelan leader's popularity in the U.S., was organized by Citgo, a Houston-based energy company that is owned and controlled by the Venezuelan government. Ain't that grand? Citgo used this event about their winter heating oil program where Citgo is in partnership with Citizens Energy, a program run by former U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy II, sells and distributes discounted home heating oil to low-income families. It wasn't too long ago that Chavez was talking about oil and poor people.

The plea came in a letter from a group of U.S. senators to nine big oil companies: With huge increases in winter heating bills expected, the letter read, we want you to donate some of your record profits to help low-income people cover those costs.

But the lawmakers received only one response. It came from Citgo Petroleum Corp., a company controlled by the Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chavez, a nettlesome adversary of the United States who has accused the Bush administration of plotting to assassinate him and invade his oil-rich country.

So, does this mean that if people boycott Citgo successfully and we have a bad winter and Citgo has to forego the heating oil program will boycotters end up racked with guilt?

Nah.

Michelle Malkin makes a note of the growing backlash to boycott Citgo,

Tons of readers are asking me for information about boycoting CITGO to protest sulfur-sniffing Hugo Chavez. Movement growing here and here. More here and here.

There are Citgo gas stations throughout the United States. Use Citgo's gas station locator, find the nearest Citgo station(s) and avoid it like the plague. Everytime you pump gas at a Citgo gas station, you are paying Chavez's dictatorship in Venezuela. Best to go to another gas station since you don't want to fund a kooky Socialist wanna-be-Islamofascist out of Venezuela.

Do you?

Although Snopes says it won't work...this boycott thing. Ah, right, Carnac the Magnificent.

Remember the pictures of Citgo and Chavez and how Citgo lines Chavez's pockets to try and take the U.S. government down.

Associated Press vs Michelle Malkin

Looks like the Associated Press (AP) will finally get their hands full by entangling themselves, stupidly so, against Michelle Malkin. But what was surprising is that the AP agrees that even journalists interview terrorists rather than use the word "insurgents" instead, popular among the MSM.

Journalists interview and photograph murderers, child molesters, kidnappers, and, yes, even terrorists...

Is the AP admitting that their own AP "journalists" do in fact interview bad and evil guys? The Islamofascists kind? Is the AP admitting that Bilal Hussein is somehow, perhaps, a terrorist sympathizer which have allowed him to get up close and personal with real terrorists and their victims? Just so the AP can win the terrrorists' hearts and help their terror agenda? Was this a classic Freudian slip by the AP?

Why is the Associated Press going after Michelle Malkin right now when they have ignored, like Malkin said, Little Green Footballs and Powerlineblog? Is it because the conservative website Michelle Malkin has a lot of readership and that AP feels threatened by her blogging ability and news gathering based on common sense? Is it because the AP is like a deer caught in the headlight with them associating themselves as sympathizers of Islamic terrorists?

Lets look at the reach number between Michelle Malkin and AP and compare that with Little Green Footballs and Powerlineblog. Not suprised to see Michelle Malkin right up there not too far from the AP in terms of reach and page hits. Sounds like Michelle Malkin is definitely making an impact on the AP who believe that the ethics of journalism means they can be biased, sympathetic and one-sided.

Michelle doesn't think so. And so she reports on what they don't want readers to see or know.

Give 'em hell, Michelle.

Cyberbullying by Deaf Proxy

The Chronicle came out 5 days ago with an article written by Brock Read about how bloggers use the blogosphere for their harassment and electronic intimidation tactics against university presidents or administrators by getting them to step down or resign from their positions that bloggers find unsatisfactory. The Chronicle calls them "spitfire bloggers" but in actuality many of these types of bloggers usually act as cyberbullies or cyberstalkers who will use whatever disposals, including making defamatory and libelous comments, to help generate sympathies from readers against a perceived enemy, real or not, even at the cost of soiling or damaging an institution that may take many years to recover. Here's one story about Ms. Gupta who was president of the State University of New York College of Technology.

Ms. Gupta is now at Brockport, where she leads an effort to recruit women and minorities to SUNY's science and mathematics programs. She says campus administrators need to come up with new strategies for dealing with disgruntled bloggers and Web posters — who can be feistier, and harder to reach, than faculty senates.

"Virulent blogs aren't just one person's problem; they're a problem for the whole institution," she says. "Key stakeholders — whether it's the board of trustees, the president and cabinet, or the senior leadership team — must find a way to address disenfranchised members who are ready and willing to damage the institutions."

Presidents have every right to take legal action against blogs that advance libelous claims, she says. But she declines to discuss whether she tried taking legal steps to shut down the Alfred State blog. Brewster Pennybaker, while he was still writing, claimed that administrators at the college made several attempts to cut the blog off using technology, rather than the law, but Ms. Gupta denies that.

Of course, you will now have paranoid bloggers who will think that university administrators are going after them. Maybe so, if the libelous comments keeps up some bloggers should worry because there will always be a legal precedence someday in seeing the first legal move against bloggers who purposely defame and libel. Bloggers can have their freedom of speech and expression while blogging on the internet, that's a given. But that doesn't mean they won't or can't get sued for making libelous and defamatory remarks.

Right now at Gallaudet University university administrators or officials are getting smart about monitoring blogsites by deaf, hard of hearing and even hearing (e.g. CODA's, etc) bloggers who may have axes to grind for whatever reasons against university officials or members.

This spring at Gallaudet University, an institution for deaf students, bloggers led the charge against Ms. Fernandes, who was chosen by the college's trustees to succeed the institution's first deaf president, I. King Jordan. Ms. Fernandes is still the president-designate, but the debate spawned by bloggers was fierce and divisive.

Some bloggers attacked Ms. Fernandes's management style; others argued that the college did not give adequate consideration to minority candidates. And some criticized the college for choosing a president who did not learn sign language until she was 23.

By the time they knew the extent of the less-than-flattering Web commentary, Gallaudet officials say, it was too late for them to stem the tide. Locating influential bloggers on the sprawling, untamed Web is "sort of like nailing Jell-O to the wall," says Mercy Coogan, the college's director of public relations, but it is a task worth taking on.

After bloggers raked Ms. Fernandes over the coals, Ms. Coogan made a point of compiling a list of popular blogs and making sure that someone from her staff perused new posts every day. Campus officials try to "stay above the fray" by not responding to petty sniping or criticism of the university, Ms. Coogan says. But they do occasionally correct factual errors that pop up on blogs: After word spread online that Gallaudet was shutting down a popular mentoring program, a dean at the institution sent a campuswide e-mail message dispelling the rumor.

Ms. Coogan's comments echo those of Ms. Hoffman, formerly at Colorado, who has said she regrets not requiring an assistant to monitor blogs every morning.

Let the mass paranoia begin because cyberbullies and cyberstalkers' blogsites are indeed being watched, read, recorded and addressed if need be by administrators and such. I'm sure a few deaf/hh bloggers will hurl a few comments toward Coogan's way by accusing her of practicing "Big Brother" which is essentially impossible because the blogosphere is a public medium which is completely open to the whole world where anybody and everybody can read a blogged article over the internet.

However, we do need to ask this one important question. Why do bloggers, posters and commenters act this way by being so virulently, uh, stupid at times? Well, for one, the internet does provide a sense of anonymity as well as a false sense of security separated by long distances between readers and bloggers.

Ms. Gupta says it is hard to respond productively to something that amounts to little more than a broadside.

She says the blog wasn't a "blow for liberty," as one of its fans crowed in an e-mail message to the site; it was an echo chamber in which rumor and innuendo were used to tar her presidency. "This blog was not about issues," she says. It was "about personal vendettas, name-calling, slander, and libel."

The blog offered its contributors a veil of anonymity: Over the three months that it ran, only a few of the people who commented on the site ever revealed their names. That anonymity may have been appealing to the bloggers who thought they would otherwise have been silenced, but Ms. Gupta says it only emboldened disgruntled employees to make specious claims

That's the thing. How can anyone trust or take the words seriously at face value from anonymous (or even well known) bloggers and commenters in discussion forums who act like vicious little, petulent brats rather than have a constructive discovery discourse instead? Perhaps these bloggers value emotion over rationality and proper discourse by using inflamatory words, innuendos, dire implications and hyperboles instead? Such actions hardly contribute any real value for readers who want to make an informed decision about what is going on.

Just the facts ma'am.

If blogs start to sound like conspiracy theories with bloggers getting overly worked up in a frenzy against an institution, faculty, staff or adminstration officials then they probably are just that. Conspiracy theory hookums that appeal only to raw emotions that are easily manipulated rather than appeal to rationality. Such a case would be the classic example of readers and commenters egging on and giving approval to bloggers who resort to such tactices.

"In the hands of those who put their personal interests before the welfare of the institution," Ms. Gupta says of the blog medium, "at its best it is a bullying tool, and at its worst it is electronic terrorism."

But James Grillo, the president of Alfred State's Faculty Senate, takes a different view. "The blog was instrumental in her leaving the campus, along with the SUNY investigation," says Mr. Grillo, whose demotion from an administrative position was seen by many professors as a catalyst for the blog's formation.

There is always a fine line on how these things work nowadays especially when we have deaf and hard of hearing readers who will give their approvals to their favorite deaf or hard of hearing bloggers to act virulently and libelously.

This is what I call "Cyberbullying by Deaf Proxy."




Attention: Take a poll about my blogsite.

Korans for Bad Seeds

According to today's Corruption Chronicles it shed a serious light on the burgeoning prison population with prisoners who are slowly being indoctrinated and "radicalized" by helping them become Islamofascists through the offering of translated Koran books at prison libraries.

The IANA is one well known Islamic organization in the United States that has an inmate program where some

530 packages of Islamic books were donated to prison libraries. Each package consisted of seven different Islamic books, twelve tapes, one copy of the translation of the Holy Qur’an, and video tape on Wudu & Salat.

If you don't remember the IANA organization it came into recognizance a few years back when at University of Idaho on February 26, 2003 law-enforcement agents raided the graduate-student housing and arrested Sami Omar Al-Hussayen, a Ph.D. computer science student from Saudi Arabia, while also interrogating 20 international students for more than four hours. Government prosecutors charged Al-Hussayen for lying on his visa application (because studying was supposedly not his “sole” reason for coming to America) and ordered him deported for illegal earning money (because he was paid $200 for working on a website). Sami Omar al-Hussayen was eventually acquitted and sent back home to Saudi Arabia.

Al-Hussayen, a former president of the Muslim Students Association at the University of Idaho is also accused of helping to raise money ($300,000 over five years) and providing computer services for the Islamic Assembly of North America, including some sites that advocate jihad and suicide bombings. And yet with the IANA organization they are helping recruit and convert prisoners into radicalized Muslims and essentially brainwashing them into becoming hate-filled and overly sensitive"girly man" Islamofascists who will no doubt go into a mouth frothing frenzy grand mal seizures should anyone make fun of Islam.

None of this news to U.S. officials or lawmakers. After all, more than a year ago FBI Director Robert Mueller testified before Congress that “prisons continue to be fertile ground for extremists who exploit both a prisoner's conversion to Islam while still in prison, as well as their socioeconomic status and placement in the community upon their release."

Indeed. Something to be concerned about.

The United States has the world's largest prison population, with more than 2 million inmates. It also has the world's highest incarceration rate - 701 of every 100,000 people are in prison or jail. Islam is the fastest-growing religion behind bars, which makes the system a desirable target for terrorist organizations to recruit new members, experts say. But people familiar with the prison system say the vast majority of Muslim inmates are African-Americans and Hispanics who turned to Islam for spiritual development or protection and camaraderie.

Indeed, there's little interaction between the Muslim community on the inside with the one on the outside. For instance, in New York State there are an estimated 200 Muslim prison volunteers, compared with more than 4,000 Christian volunteers. "The stage hasn't been set for the type of collaborations that folks are trying to suggest, and given the fact that most [Muslim inmates] are Americans, terrorism is the last thing they'd want to be involved in," says Mika'il DeVeaux of the Muslim Re-entry Initiative, a nonprofit group in New York dedicated to helping released inmates reintegrate.

Remember Jose Padilla, the "dirty bomber"? He converted to Islam while serving time in a South Florida prison.

Then we have radical Whhabi Islam that converted prisoners at northern California’s Folsom State Prison where many of them plotted shooting rampages against

....three National Guard facilities, several synagogues and the Israeli consulate; an FBI informant who converted to Islam while serving time in a California juvenile detention center and later trained with the terrorist who kidnapped and beheaded an American newspaper reporter.

Yet with prisoners converting over to radicalized Islam may turn out to be the ones with recognized American names rather than Arabic ones.

"You will see. Americans will hardly find out any Muslim names, after the next attack. Most of our brothers are living in Western countries, with Jewish and Christian names, with passports of Western countries. This time, someone with the name of Mohamed Atta will not attack inside America, it would be some David, Richard or Peter."

Interesting.

However, we do have bad American seeds like Adam "baby face" Gadahn. He submitted. I wonder how his parents feel now?

Remember, don't submit to idiocy. You'll just simply pervert yourself.

Greg Gunderson to race again.

Greg Gunderson, a Deaf professional race car driver, is planning to race in tomorrow's night Sprint car race. This will help continue to prepare himself for the upcoming racing reality show coming this October. From his newsletter.

Tomorrow night (Saturday, September 16) I will return to I-90 Speedway and drive Justin Saathoff’s #85 car. The race is a make-up for the rained-out race from two weeks ago.

I-90 Speedway is in Hartford, SD – 15 minutes west of Sioux Falls on State Highway 38. The race starts at 8:00 pm.

Weather Forecast – More Rain?

Weather forecast is scattered thunderstorms with a 40% precipitation chance for tomorrow. If it rains too much, the race will be cancelled. If you plan to come, I suggest you call the track after 4 pm at 605.528.6380 to listen for a prerecorded message on whether the race is on or cancelled.

After the race, you can come into the pit to visit me. See you at the race!

Cheers.

If you want to subscribe to Greg's newsletter please sign-up at the Gunderson Racing website.


Check out all Kokonut Pundits blogs on Greg Gunderson.

AllahPundit and Bethany

I know AllahPundit is working hard over at Hot Air but as of late with all that work he's been doing in some small, dark cubicle down below in Michelle Malkin's Hot Air dungeon he's resorting (more likely succumbing) to fantasizing about Bethany at RealVerse during his working hours. Is he getting paid to do this? Readers saw it coming where it all got started here. And then it progressed to here. Is AllahPundit making a fool of himself in this weird, sort of mating dance? We can see where this is going. Infatuation is a deadly and cruel game that plays tricks on the mind...mostly it's the male's mind...in trying to do this high stake, techie mating game of sort. Or is he? With infatuation there comes fantasies and fear of rejection. Probably the worst fear of rejection is humiliation of this kind.

Now, let's take a peak inside AllahPundit's mind on what it may be like to meet Bethany in person given AllahPundit's current state of mind. Remember that fear of rejection? It's a cruel world out there, AllahPundit.

When Democrat Jim Moran becomes a moron during his 9/11 speech

9/11. What does it mean? It means it is a time for solemn rememberance and resolve for those 2996 who were murdered today 5 years ago in New York city. And then we get US Rep. Jim Moran (D-8th) who decided to become a moron that day.

U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, D-8th, lauded the “perfect professionalism” of Arlington's public-safety personnel, who responded to the Pentagon after the crash and won worldwide accolades for containing the damage with no additional loss of life.

He also praised the community-wide outreach effort that occurred after the attacks.

“Arlington has woven together the fabric of a community that can't be torn apart,” he said.

But Moran then maneuvered into more sensitive ground, suggesting that the country was not safer and intimating that the Bush administration's foreign policy was headed in the wrong directions.

“More people hate us,” Moran said, a comment that drew an outburst from the crowd.

“My brother died on 9/11 - don't make this political,” a woman in audience cried out.

Moran continued, calling on the nation to address the root causes of terrorism by the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center.

Root causes? How about because we don't submit to idiocy? Jealousy? Petulancy? Terror? Islamofascism? And that we support freedom for every man, woman and child here in America?

Remember what Jim Moran said today. And take the 9/11 pledge that "I will not submit!" Stop by and see him or write to him and tell him that he has given up on America.


The above phrase in Arabic is "lan astaslem."
It means "I will not surrender/I will not submit."


Freedom. Embrace freedom. And remember those who died as murdered victims that touched everybody from sea to shining sea.

Rumsfeld said it well.

"..the highest tribute we can pay to them is to commit ourselves to doing everything possible to fight the extremists wherever they are, to making every effort to stay united as a country and to give our truly outstanding men and women in uniform all that they need to succeed.”

Freedom is never free. You have to fight for it. Paid in blood and tears.

Did Oil Drillings Cause an Earthquake in the Gulf of Mexico?

When I heard about the earthquake ( 25°N, 85°W) that took place in the Gulf of Mexico, which may seems an odd place but earthquakes do occur all over the world, the first thing I thought was whether this was an induced shallow earthquake caused by the removal of oil since oil drilling and removal of oil is heavily done throughout the Gulf of Mexico. Technology has now given the oil industry the capability to drill over deeper waters and deeper into the earth's crust.

Since I do know about geology, hydrogeology, geophysics and earthquakes (MS Geology, Univ of Idaho). And I do know about the phenomenom of induced shallow earthquakes that have occured over on dry land deep below the surface. They are well documented. Even in Texas, a "non-earthquake" country, known for it's many oil rigs that dot the landscape. Much of the induced but unintentional earthquakes were caused either by the removal of liquid (e.g. oil, gas, or water) or the injection of fluids into the drilled hole. Even large reservoir lakes were known to induce earthquakes though very small.

The definition of a shallow earthquake is that the source of the earthquake or hypocenter takes place in the shallow crust of the earth. Usually anything under 70 km (43 miles) deep as the source of an earthquake took place is called a "shallow earthquake". Earthquakes originating deeper than 70 km to as far as 700 km (434 miles) are called "deep earthquakes". The mechanics are different between these to zones due to the temperature and pressure differences in the geologic formation of the crust to the Earth's upper mantle.

Let's take a look at the earthquake's location or epicenter that took place a few days ago out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Check out this map of the earthquake's location.

Now, lets take a look well all those oil rigs and platforms are out in the Gulf of Mexico. Look for "Deepwater Millenium". It's the oil rig platform (ie ship) closest to Florida but actually it's about in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Deepwater Millenium ship has the capacity to drill 30,000 feet into the earth or 5.6 miles (9.1 km) deep. That's in the realm of the upper crust area of the Earth. But Deepwater Millenium is not in that location anymore but the area is being drilled for oil, exploration or production. No doubt.

It could be a longshot, probably most unlikely, but this could turn out to be one of those rare induced earthquake caused by years of oil removal in the area. According to the USGS, the earthquake's hypocenter took place at 10 km deep. Well within the realm of deep water oil drilling where oil rig platforms have the capacity (now) to drill as deep as 9.1 km into the crust. Could there be some unknowns we are dealing with when it comes to deep water geology? Could the release of oil at such depths from the earth crusts could cause some crustal movements therby inducing an appreciable earthquake? Does an overlying layer of crushing water of 10,000 feet has to do with it?

Just as there are fault lines all over the United States. There are also fault lines that criss cross at the bottom of the ocean that are lesser known than on dry land. It's a matter of accessing fine geologic details 10,000 feet down into the waters of Gulf of Mexico. However, Foxnews reported the quake occurence as "unusual",

"This kind of occurrence is unusual in that spot, especially for an earthquake of this size," Blakeman said of Sunday's quake.

The temblor was unusual because it was not centered on a known fault line. The "midplate" earthquake, deep under the gulf, was probably the result of stresses generated by the interaction of tectonic plates in the earth's crust, the agency said.

Next, I'm sure environmental wackos will discover my blog on geology, oil and earthquake and make a run for it screaming chicken little to the oil industry.

It could just be a coincidence here folks. Calm down will you?

UPDATE: There was an earlier earthquake in the Gulf of Mexico in February of this year. But it was about a 100 miles further west from the recent quake we had. However, it does seem to fall on a line of one guy's theory or "Jack's Reed Theory" of a hidden tectonic plate beneath the Gulf of Mexico.

...there has to be a hidden tectonic plate segment in this spot and it is not only geologically active but is responsible for triggering the New Madrid Quakes.

Look at the map picture.




Hmm. Seems plausible. A hidden plate tectonic showing itself. The recent earthquake a few days ago would be exactly on that drawn yellow line 100 miles to the East Northeast.

UPDATE II: I am familiar with the New Madrid fault and it's history but for those who are not should take the opportunity to learn the history.

In the winter of 1811-12, the central Mississippi Valley was struck by three of the most powerful earthquakes in U.S. history. Even today, this region has more earthquakes than any other part of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. Government agencies, universities, and private organizations are working to increase awareness of the earthquake threat and to reduce loss of life and property in future shocks.

The 400 terrified residents in the town of New Madrid (Missouri) were abruptly awakened by violent shaking and a tremendous roar. It was December 16, 1811, and a powerful earthquake had just struck. This was the first of three magnitude-8 earthquakes and thousands of aftershocks to rock the region that winter.

Survivors reported that the earthquakes caused cracks to open in the earth's surface, the ground to roll in visible waves, and large areas of land to sink or rise. The crew of the New Orleans (the first steamboat on the Mississippi, which was on her maiden voyage) reported mooring to an island only to awake in the morning and find that the island had disappeared below the waters of the Mississippi River. Damage was reported as far away as Charleston, South Carolina, and Washington, D.C.

So strong the quake, it actually changed the course of the Mississippi river. Something to think about.

An opinion poll: What do you think of Kokonut Pundits blogsite?

Ok. Here's your chance to make your opinion known anonymously about my blogsite. Have at it and see what other people say about my blogsite (or me for that matter).

Poll Opinion: What do you think of Kokonut Pundits blogsite? I love it! Keep it coming. It's pretty good. Some good stuff to read. It's fine. It could use some improvements. It's not really that good. It's horrible! You're always attacking Deaf people! Your blog should be banned and censored! Give me time to think about it. Free polls from Pollhost.com

UPDATE: Guess who voted "Your blog should be banned and censored"? Take some guesses, folks.

I just happened to look when 13 votes were on the board and came back 5 minutes later and saw 14 votes. so I checked my Sitemeter to see who was on recently and lo and behold. Some angst ridden person still holds a grudge against me. How lucky to see that this person believes in censorship and banning a blogsite such as mine and at time when liberals are going after censoring the Path 9/11 movie with the threat of pulling the FCC license and/or a lawsuit by Clinton's cronies. And so I collected my screen shots detailing the whole sordid history as proof. I figured this guy would vote "Your blog should be banned and censored!" Ever wondered why I would put that poll option in? Now you know. Guess it worked only because of my timing that I happen to do a quick check before dinner.

If you're curious as to who, email me. I'll send you the screenshots.

Marla Holt (ASL advocate) Replies in Response to Baltimore Sun's Cued Speech article

In my recent blog I wrote a piece yesterday about Cued Speech regarding the Baltimore Sun's coverage on Cued Speech. The newspaper also covered Marla Holt, coordinator of deaf services at the University of Baltimore, said that she was overly reluctant on not providing Cued Speech transliterator should a deaf student of Baltimore University. This seems to be an exaggeration presented on the newspaper's part according to Queen Alpo's blog "My thounge ith fath" (ie My tongue is fat) about the email response she got from Marla Holt after writing to her about her supposed lack of deaf services support for those requesting Cued Speech transliterators.

First of all, I am quite angry with that article. That reporter came to interview me; I have no idea how he knew of me and UB's service. In addition, a friend of mine was here as well. The reporter spoke with us for over an hour, mostly with Nancy Billingslea who is a Deaf woman and an adjunct professor, the Manager of Deaf Services with Humanim, the first Deaf to come to UB to receive her first master's degree, and has begun her second Master's. Not one quote was mentioned from her, and the one from me was quite out of context and poorly and wrongly stated. Nancy ’s comments were quite open-minded and fairly stated.

It is true that I have never been asked to provide cued speech transliteration. If ever I am, it will be provided. The University of Baltimore Disability Support Services office is well-known as one of the most accommodating and accessible universities for students requiring its services. I believe that one reason for that reputation is that each staff person in DSS has a disability; therefore, our attitude is to accommodate each student to be at the level of all students and to achieve his/her best. I fully understand needing whatever it takes to succeed.
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You are a strong advocate of cued speech, and I am not attacking that position at all! However, I know of very few Deafs who agree with you, and nearly every Deaf person I know is knowledgeable about cued speech. Perhaps both of us are making assumptions of each other’s point of view.

Read the rest of the email. Something to think about whether to trust newspaper reporters who may have a habit of taking quotes out of context.

Although Queen Alpo responded in her blog about the email she receieved with a few nagging thoughts.

I was quite relieved to receive her e-mail. Although my gut feeling is that she and I still don't se completely eye-to-eye (for example, she says she knows of lots of people who don't like cueing even though they know what it's for), she comes off quite differently than the hearing self-appointed "omniscient" I thought it sounded like she was.

She does make an extremely salient point - the oft-used argument by cueing advocates that while cuers interviewed for articles like this read at post-secondary levels while the average deaf person reads at fourth-grade level is really arrogant when you consider that the hearing average is, I believe, only at the sixth-grade level. (Huge difference - not.) Plus, use it with the deaf non-cuer, and it's a huge turnoff. I wish the NCSA and other organizations and advocates who use that argument in marketing cueing would keep that in mind, especially considering the undeniable fact that cueing has yet to make inroads in the deaf community.

Read the rest of Queen Alpo's response regarding Marla Holt's email to her. Quite interesting and fascinating to a degree.

Hat tip: Queen Alpo in my comment box.

ASL versus CUED Speech = Social versus Academic?

The tide is beginning to turn for CUED speech advocates and users. CUED speech or more appropriately CUED English is now believed to be the best source of visual language support for the spoken English language and it’s ability to identify idiomatic expressions and nuances. The main purpose of Cued Speech is not for speech purposes but for literacy. The growing acceptance of CUED speech is a sign that a paradigm shift is now starting to occur.

The inventor of CUED speech was Dr. Cornett who was the Direct of Speech programs at Gallaudet University back in the 1960s. Dr. Cornett remained vice president of Long Range Planning at Gallaudet University until 1975 when he became Research Professor and Director of Cued Speech Programs, a position he held until 1984. In addition, from 1981 to 1983, he was also Chairman of the Center for Studies in Language and Communication at Gallaudet.

His goal was that he wanted deaf kids to have the same opportunity that all kids have when it comes to the access of the English language.

The purpose of CUED speech is to add just enough information to what is seen on the lips to make every sound look different from every other sound. Simply put, CUED speech is certainly a visual communication method that use only 8 handshapes placed in 4 different areas near the mouth enabling deaf kids to discerning the differences of what was said through lip reading and listening. In short, it’s a visual way of “hearing” every consonant and every vowel being spoken. A communication method rather than a language like ASL.

Jeff Majors and Allison Kaftan, both well known deaf bloggers, were interviewed by the Baltimore Sun for an article called “A Different Cue for the Deaf :'Cued speech' has produced strong academic results -- and a dispute.”

Here are some of the research findings about Cued Speech

Cueing does help children who use it continue to develop literacy at a rate comparable to their hearing peer according to Elissa Speech, MD. The average deaf student prior to high school graduation reads at a 3rd to 4th grade level (Conrad, 1979, Traxler, 2000).

In comparison, there is no statistical difference between hearing students and deaf cuers on literacy, sound awareness, rhyming, internal speech, and spelling tests (Wandel, 1989, Laeybaert et al, 1996; 2003).

Cued speech supports students with auditory processing needs, including: Articulation, 2nd language learners, learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and Down syndrome (Beck, 2002).

Essentially, 100% spoken language is accessible with the addition of Cued Speech (Nichols and Ling, 1982).

Children with cochlear implants, educated with Cued Speech, have better speech clarity with correct syntax than children habilitated with oral or gestural means only (C. Coleon, 1997).

American Sign Language (ASL) has a different grammatical structure than English. Signing systems used in school programs do not effectively convey English because they are not sound-based(Drasgow & Paul, 1995). In contrast, Cued Speech conveys English visually (Nichols and Ling, 1982).

What’s amazing about Cued Speech is that many Deaf people are threatened by it because they think it’ll replace ASL It cannot. It’s not about choosing between signing and Cued Speech. One can go either way with it. However, cueing provides access to the spoken English language straight away.

Cued Speech has been expanding slowly but it will soon take off with greater publicity like the 40th Anniversary of Cued Speech conference that was held a few months ago in July. Now, 2nd generation of Cued Speech users are now adults and are now the next group of Cued Speech advocates like Jeff Majors and Allison Kaftan to spread the good news and correct many myths and suspicions about the benefits of Cued Speech.

According to Education News on the gaining popularity and benefits of Cued Speech that many hearing parents are turning to:

Cued Speech is already heavily entrenched in schools systems from California to Maine . With states demanding higher levels of educational achievement and President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act , the idea that deaf children can achieve the same literacy levels as hearing children is attractive. In states like New York , where a diploma requires students to pass Regents exams in history, math, science, English and a foreign language, educators are taking a second look at Cued Speech. Research coming out of Gallaudet University shows that deaf cueing children are capable of basic pre-reading skills, such as rhyming, which are excellent predictors for future reading abilities (LaSasso, Crain, Leybeart, 2003; Leblanc, 2005).

Results of Cued Speech use:

• Language Skills/Literacy - Receivers of Cued Speech are able to understand spoken language conveyed with cues at extremely high levels of accuracy.1 Consistent exposure to spoken language through cues results in language skills and literacy levels comparable to those of hearing peers.2 Many students who use Cued Speech are enrolled in regular classes, preschool through college.

• Speech reading - Due to their knowledge of spoken language, individuals who have had consistent exposure to Cued Speech often have excellent speech reading skills and are able to communicate with people who do not cue.

• Audition - Cued Speech is a tool used to convey the phonological aspects of language. Therefore, it is totally compatible with the use of hearing and can help to develop auditory awareness, discrimination, and comprehension. The foundation provided by cues integrates well with cochlear implant use.

• Foreign Language - Cued Speech is not only used for English. Deaf students in the U.S. use Cued Speech to learn foreign spoken languages, such as Spanish, French, and Latin.

Currently, there are about 40,000 deaf and hard of hearing children in elementary and secondary schools across the United States, some 200 of them are active CUED speech users. Cued Speech is used today in about 15 countries and is available in 56 languages and major dialects.

Washington Post covered Cued Speech in July, 2006 who interviewed Dr. Cornett’s son as well.

The idea for the new way to teach English came when Cornett, who died in 2002, found few students were reading on campus, said Cornett's son, Robert, an astronomer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. He wanted to provide the same elements of spoken and written English for deaf people.

But use of the communication system has faded at Gallaudet, and the clinics that taught Crumrine's parents and others about cuing are no longer regularly offered on campus.

"His feelings were very hurt by that," Cornett's son said. "This was the thing that he contributed most."

Cornett's Cued Speech Program was finally out of the picture at Gallaudet by the mid-1980s.

In 2003 Dr. Jane K. Fernades showed a different feeling for both ASL and Cued Speech in a 2003 article called “In Search of Keys to English Print”

“It is exciting because several authors seem to suggest that Cued Speech can and should be employed as part of a bilingual approach to learning.”

And Katherine A. Jankowski, Ph.D., Dean Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center Gallaudet University introduced in 2003 on the Clerc Center website about Phonics, Signs, Cued Speech, Fingerspelling and Other Learning Strategies called “Cracking the Code Reading & Writing— And the Challenge of “How." The title is, ironically so, nearly the same as the Baltimore Sun newspaper website that hosted a video produced by the National Cued Speech Association with a video called “Breaking the Code”(see right hand column and click on name of video) about Cued Speech.

Just a simple observation here.

However, current prejudicial thinking by ASL advocates and users is still rampant regarding CUED Speech when they show extreme bias and reluctances in acknowledging the benefits of Cued Speech for deaf and hard of hearing children.

Lisa Houck, director of curriculum and instruction at the Maryland School for the Deaf, said cued speech is not used there and is not under consideration.

It's also not in use at McDaniel College, which has one of the largest graduate programs in deaf education in the country.

"Our philosophy is, we feel American Sign Language should be the language of instruction," said Rust. "And by developing a strong foundation in ASL, you can lead students to develop English literacy skills."

College students who cue might encounter resistance from campus disability offices.

"I am so much against [cued speech], and so are the deaf," said Marla Holt, coordinator of deaf services at the University of Baltimore. "Their natural language is American Sign Language."

Holt, who is also a sign language interpreter, said that in her 15 years at the university, no deaf student has asked for a cued speech transliterator. She would provide one if asked, she said, but only reluctantly: "I would not be real thrilled about it, but that is their right. Luckily, I have never been asked that."

Luckily? Somebody need to write a letter to her. Pretty shocking to see that Marla Holt would be that biased and showed reluctance to even help a deaf student who prefer a CUED speech transliterator instead of a sign language interpreter. You see, she is the Coordinator of Deaf Services and not coordinator of ASL services or coordinator of Deaf culture.

Marla Holt, be sure to know your required duties at University of Baltimore. You're to provide assistances and support services to all deaf and hard of hearing university students attending there.

Next, I think it’s high time that Gallaudet University re-institute the Cued Speech program and help provide options and choices for attending students who want to go Gallaudet University (or CSUN or NTID). Perhaps contact your local Congress person when the next round of Federal spending on Gallaudet University comes around by letting him or her know about the benefits of Cued Speech and why it should be included at Gallaudet University?

Another question. How will Cued Speech fit into all this “Deafhood” thing? What can we make of this Deafhoodism action if Deaf people only think in terms of ASL only as being the sole savior and answer to everything for all deaf and hard of hearing people from mild to profound hearing loss?

Please.

How can scores in Deaf residential schools be measured up to those who use Cued Speech and their excellent literacy test results?

Indeed. Pretty compelling stuff if I say so myself. By the way, I am hard of hearing and I do not use nor have I ever used Cued Speech since my hearing aid does a pretty good job for me with hearing loss in the 65 - 70 dB range or moderately-severe hearing loss. I speak fine, thank you.


Here’s a poll for all you deaf and hard of hearing people out there: Should a CUED Speech program be allowed back on campus of Gallaudet University?

Should a CUED Speech program be allowed back on campus of Gallaudet University? Yes! No! I am not sure... Free polls from Pollhost.com

UPDATE: See my recent blog concerning Marla Holt's comments in the Baltimore Sun about Cued Speech. Somebody did write to Marla Holt complaining about what she said on her reluctance to provide Cued Speech transliterator at University of Baltimore.

Which Political Party Do You Belong To?

There are many poliltical parties in the United States. Just a matter of curiousity but I'm sure many others who read my blogs are equally interested in seeing the makeup of those who read my blogs. Now, what political party do you belong to or are closely aligned to? If you are deaf or hard of hearing, please pick out a political party that suits you in the poll below. I'm trying to keep this strictly to those who consider themselves as hard of hearing or deaf. If you're not sure which party you feel you belong to go here and learn some more.

Which political party do you favor in the United States? Republican Party Democratic Party Libertarian Party Green Party Independence Party Others Free polls from Pollhost.com

World Federation of the Deaf Animation Clip...cute.

Check out this Google video clip of three animated kids from Spain talking (ie signing) about the upcoming 2007 WFD conference to be held in Spain. Some signs are identifiable with ASL but the video clip comes with captions, of course, and voice over. You can see their facial expressions as well. I'd say it's pretty well a sophisticated animated clip with these animated characters signing in Spanish Sign Language.

A Ragtime Pianist - any deaf/hh pianist out there?

Here's Rod Miller playing the popular Ragtime piece "Maple Leaf Rag". In this video he plays the piece ultra-fast. In Ragtime, you don't play Ragtime pieces fast. The "Maple Leaf Rag" is one of my many favorite Ragtime piano pieces that I play on my piano at home. And I have played it just as fast as seen in the video below. Why? Just for fun and to see how fast I can play it without mangling it. I also played some Ragtime pieces at Gallaudet University on the theatre stage on campus one time for a small group of people as part of my music class I took, which was a complete joke, believe me. Nonetheless, I surprised them of my Ragtime playing ability. You don't hear very often from a deaf or hard of hearing person that plays Ragtime on a piano. Especially from an alumnus of Gallaudet University.



Maple Leaf Rag played ultra fast.

One of these days I'll digitize my piano playing the "Maple Leaf Rag" piece and put it up on YouTube. Just that I really do have a crappy piano that's atrociously out of tune which isn't much joy to play on. You can ask me to play a Ragtime piece on a piano anytime. I'm not kidding.

Will somebody donate me a baby grand piano?

Please? How about a digital piano then?

When Technology Increases Independency for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People

Check this video out by iCommunicator on how this new hardware and software laptop enables greater independency through voice recognition software. The iCommunicator delivers American Sign Language (ASL) signs (i.e. a virtual ASL signer) in English word order (subject+verb+object) to improve the association between spoken, written, and signed words, promoting better literacy levels than traditional ASL. Be sure to answer a poll below after viewing the clip. Closed captioning is included in this clip as well as voice.




Another technology already up and coming that can help deaf people to communicate with hearing people is the UbiDuo communication device with enhanced ability in the use of cell phone and wireless technologies.

Would this product help with the English learning? I am culturally deaf, yes I am culturally deaf, no I am culturally deaf, not sure I am deaf, yes I am deaf, no I am deaf, not sure I am hard of hearing, yes I am hard of hearing, no I am hard of hearing, not sure I am hearing, yes I am hearing, no I am hearing, not sure Free polls from Pollhost.com

Hearing Loss Cure Poll Results - one week later

The poll results so far has surprised me but perhaps not as much considering I suspected there could be many closeted Deaf people who secretly would want to have their hearing loss cured or restored should biotechnology be advanced enough to do so. What was surprising was seeing culturally deaf people answer "yes" to the question "If you have a hearing loss, would you like to cure your deafness?" In fact, more Deaf people answered "yes" to the question than deaf and hard of hearing people. And, just as well, more Deaf people answered "yes" than Deaf people who said "No."

Interesting. Although this poll survey is not to be assumed as totally accurate. There's always a caveat in doing these surveys but it has certainly brought more questions than answers here.

Here are the results so far from those who would want to have their hearing loss cured or restored:
25% of culturally deaf people said "Yes"
23% of deaf people said "Yes"
9% of hard of hearing people said "Yes"
Total percentage who said "Yes" = 57%

Do we have Deaf people who are closeted bigots who rail against advances in biotechnology on curing deafness secretly wish for this to happen so they can get cured themselves? If a Deaf person accepts a cure for deafness for him/herself someday in the future means that Deaf person is not really Deaf? Does such admittance disqualify that person as not being a Deaf person? Does it mean that person is not "deaf enough"?

If you haven't done the poll survey yet you can still do the survey.

White Priviledge and Avdism During and Post-Katrina Disaster? Discussion at Gallaudet University

Gallaudet University will be hosting a special event at the Swindells Auditorium this Thursday, September 07, 2006 from 4:00 - 5:30 PM where Richard Morin, a renowned former Washington Post reporter who has done extensive investigations into race in America, will present the results of his work on how discrimination, based on skin color, is affecting the degree of support racial groups are receiving during and after Hurricane Katrina. He wrote on June 9, 2006 "The Color of Disaster Assistance."

Yesterday, a discussion topic was on "avdism" (purposely misspelled) and how such blatant practices were seen during and after the hurricane that struck New Orleans last year. I like to see the list of examples of such blantant practices. Nevermind the fact that there were many instances of people, hearing and deaf, who went out of their way to help the many displaced deaf and hard of hearing hurricane survivors as evident in the Deaf Survivors blog. The Deaf Survivors blog also blogged many instances of how technology continues to improve and help people in times of emergencies. Of course, we still have to face the ugliness of how deaf and hard of hearing people were treated. Sometimes, incredulously so, even a few Deaf people laughed at some of the plight of Deaf, deaf or hard of hearing people or purposely disinformed people with a fake list of dead Deaf people (and here) killed during hurricane Katrina. Truely sick people, including some deaf people out there.

Now, I'm curious. Did the use of the a-wordism discussion yesterday mentioned any positive stories or examples of people going out of their way to help deaf and hard of hearing hurricane survivors? Or did they play the "avdism" rant to the hilt instead? Who went to see the "avdism" discussion yesterday?

A Poll - Why did you leave Gallaudet University?

Here's a poll worth answering. It may yield some interesting surprises as to why former Gallaudet University students left. If you were a former Gallaudet student, why did you leave and not finish your study to get your degree? Pick the best answer that suits your situation. If you graduated from Gallaudet, please pick #1.

Why did you leave Gallaudet University? I graduated! Harassed for not being "deaf enough." Financial difficulties Death in family I was homesick Classes weren't up to my expectation Too militant or too politically charged environment Attend a better university Not enough diversity Gallaudet University wasn't culturally deaf enough for me I was harassed by other people or students for other reasons beside my deafness I committed a crime Dry dorms (unable to have alcohol in my dorms) I didn't feel safe on campus I got a good job/career I was raped and Gallaudet failed to help me I was falsely charged of a crime Weird People Campus was "too white" Low GPA and got kicked out    Free polls from Pollhost.com

If you didn't leave Gallaudet University, then great! You took advantage of completing your higher education and moved on to your next phase of your life.

Gallaudet University - Raising the Bar

It's time. It has been a long time coming but it's time to raise the standards at Gallaudet University. There have been talks that Dr. Jane K. Fernandes want to raise the bar as well noting the fact that she graduated from one of the best colleges, Trinity in Connecticut. Seeing the standards that Gallaudet University promote is embarassing to many people. Even more to see that Gallaudet has remedial courses when students can take them at community colleges BEFORE they attend Gallaudet. It's a common practice for many community college students do that prior to applying for a university of their choice. This should include Gallaudet University but sadly that's not ultimately the case.

As for SAT scores taken by deaf and hard of hearing students, resulting scores do not compare well to other universities or colleges. SAT scores range between 320 - 550 in the Verbal, and 355 - 520 in the Math while only 13% of Gallaudet freshmen submitted their SAT scores in 2005. Compare those scores of nearby George Washington University with 590 - 690 Verbal and 590 - 690 Math with 94% of the freshmen students who submitted their SAT scores. Why do only 13% of Gallaudet freshmen submit their SAT scores? Does that low percentage tell a story here as well as the low scores? There could be many reasons. CNN did an article "Deaf students struggle with English to get diplomas" back in 2004 that still resonates today. CNN describes the problems of deaf and hard of hearing high school students who have to face graduation exams in order to graduate from high school. This includes schools for the deaf as well.

But if we look at California's STAR reports for both Schools for the Deaf Riverside and Fremont and compare a typical California high school results in the English language Arts we can see a vast gap.


School for the Deaf Fremont STAR test scores (see larger version)



School for the Deaf Riverside STAR test scores (see larger version)




Perris High School - Riverside county (see larger version)

As you can tell, both Fremont and Riverside English language Art test results do not even meet the typical standard test results of a typical high school in California which in this case is Perris High School. Quite alarming I'd say. And quite revealing, too. What's noteworthy is that a good percentage of Gallaudet University students come from deaf residential schools or schools for the deaf.

If Gallaudet University want to be a leader in excellence in education, they need to raise the bar on education standards. SAT and ACT scores must be required as part of the admission requirement as well as upping the bar for English proficiency. This way Gallaudet University can essentially "force" deaf residential schools to improve their education for their deaf and hard of hearing students in preparation for college education. Gallaudet also need to get rid of their remedial courses in English and Math. If deaf/hh high school graduates cannot meet the basic English and Math requirements, then they should attend a community college and take those classes until they can.

Just as well, the GPA of 2.0 at Gallaudet University is just too low to be in "good academic standing" each semester. Gallaudet need to raise it to at least a 2.5 GPA (ie an "80" average out of 100) in order to maintain "good academic standing" for each semester. A student having a 2.0 GPA is not investing too much in himself/herself for the future, other than perhaps partying too much, and prepare for graduate studies at universities where it is common that 3.0 cumulative GPA is the expectation each semester from students attending a university. Having a 2.0 GPA is practically a 75 out of 100. Not very impressive. Maybe raise it to a 2.25 GPA would be a start at first.

Now, it is rather disengenious to say that Gallaudet University must help newly enrolled freshman students make up the educational slack who had 12 to 15 years to prepare for college leading up to their high school graduation. Approximately 2o to 30% (?) of all students enrolled came from deaf residential schools. These deaf and hard of hearing students don't need to be spoon fed at Gallaudet University. You don't see Harvard University spoon feeding students over there. Why should Gallaudet? And Gallaudet University is certainly not the "Deaf Harvard."

It's time for a radical change. Some tough love is needed at Gallaudet.

UPDATE: "ASC on the Couch" blog came out today with a blog article "Why One Should Not Compare Apples to Oranges: Deaf Students and Hearing Students" which coincidentally seem to be a rebuttal to my blogpiece. The article effectively says that we SHOULDN'T compare deaf and hearing students' score results because their brains are wired differently. Now, why has there been all along the hue and cry from some of the Deaf people of DoD parents who were raised with excellent English proclaim that bi-bi can work or that signing in ASL is the key to better education? Okay. Still they had "18" years to improve using their own educational methods to teach (rather than the hearing people's method) and still the scores are atrocious. Is this blog author, who doesn't provide a name on who wrote that article, saying that ASL native signers of DoD parents with good to exceptional English skills are the exception to the rule?

Yes. The outside world is an English world concerning the United States and other English dominated countries. This is how people survive in the world of business. You know your English well, you have a good chance of having a better life.

As for educational scores and comparing between deaf and hearing students' results, yes, it is critical that we do this because that's the bar that deaf/hh students and deaf educators should strive for. Nothing wrong with striving to good as or better than hearing people. This is what I have strove for while going to regular public school and other universities or college. That same bar on attainment should true for many other deaf and hh people. It's a matter of aiming high because once those students finally graduate from college and leave their protected confines will they see the cold, harsh reality of a real world and not preparing them for such a prospect is nothing more than mere cruelty to them.

Let's not get into this old excuse game about why many deaf and hh students' scores are so low. Teachers and educators had "18 years" to improve their educational methods for deaf and hh students in preparation for college life or life after high school. Good English skill is a good predictor on the potential success of a deaf or hard of hearing person when it comes to having a good job or career later in life after college education. Having good English skill also increase the chance of continuing with higher education in the graduate and doctorate programs.

UPDATE II: Looks like "ASC on the Couch" blog removed the article "Why One Should Not Compare Apples to Oranges: Deaf Students and Hearing Students". I wonder why? But you can still read the whole version of the blog article seen in here (long version) by Technorati (short version).

Why did the author Candy McCullough and/or Sharon Duchesneau removed the blog article? Was it embarrassment? Inappropriateness? I sure would like to know why.

UPDATE III: Actually, ASC's website was hacked in by blithering idiots who took over their website's contents. Even erasing some of the articles that was already written.

Famous Paintings by Deaf Artist Now on Display

If you have't seen it and are in the area visit the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Connecticut where a Deaf artist from early America will have paintings of John Brewster, Jr. (1766-1854) on display. The display of paintings will be in the museum until September 10. So, hurry while you can and see the many early America paintings. Read more about John Brewster's life as a boy into adulthood and how he had to choose between the hearing world and the Deaf world at the time.