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A bestselling computer book and a mayor's office may seem worlds apart, but Dan Gookin's path connects them through curiosity, clear communication, and public service. I talk with the DOS for Dummies author and Coeur d'Alene mayor about making technical writing useful, challenging industries that resist new ideas, and finding success by improving work others do poorly. Dan also shares why he entered local politics, how transparency and community engagement built public trust, and why responsible leadership often means asking the questions others overlook. We close by exploring political division, religious freedom, social media algorithms, and the need to reduce online anger without losing the internet's benefits. Highlights: 00:06:48 - Why leaving your comfort zone creates growth. 00:11:07 - How doing something better can become a business. 00:12:39 - Why writing for beginners changed computer publishing. 00:27:06 - How transparency concerns led Dan into politics. 00:37:30 - Why responsiveness helped Dan earn public trust. 00:54:49 - How social media fuels anger and division. About the Guest: Dan Gookin is the mayor-elect of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, having won election in November 2025 after serving on the City Council since 2011. Known as a fiscal conservative, outspoken advocate for government transparency, and a committed budget hawk who asks tough questions, he is often described as “the lone voice of reason” on the council, consistently championing the public and the “little guy” against bureaucracy. Gookin views his public service as protecting individual rights. He prides himself on listening to all perspectives, welcoming alternative viewpoints, remaining open to new information, and never being a rubber-stamp vote. Professionally, Gookin is known as a writer and online trainer. He has been writing about technology since the early days of personal computing, combining his humor with a passion for gadgets to create informative and entertaining books. He authored the groundbreaking DOS For Dummies in 1991—the world's fastest-selling computer book at the time and the title that launched the iconic For Dummies series, now a publishing phenomenon. With more than 170 titles to his credit, over 12 million copies in print, and translations into more than 30 languages, his popular works include PCs and Laptops For Dummies, Android For Dummies, Word For Dummies, and C For Dummies. He maintains two helpful websites, wambooli.com and c-for-dummies.com. He creates online courses for LinkedIn Learning on diverse topics, and in 2020 published Running for Local Office For Dummies. Gookin graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a BA in Communications/Visual Arts and minors in cognitive psychology and theatrical design. He put his creative talents to work as artistic director of the Lake City Playhouse, where he designed sets, lighting, and directed many productions between 1997 and 2002. First and foremost, Dan considers himself a father who raised four boys in Idaho. Gookin resides in Coeur d'Alene with his wife, Brie, along with various children and pets. In his leisure time, he enjoys woodworking, playing the piano, riding his bike, cooking, gardening, and making lists of things he enjoys doing along with occasionally annoying those who think that they're important. Ways to connect with Dan**:** LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-gookin-46995713/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/dangookin About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson  00:04 What if the biggest thing holding you back isn't what's in front of you, but rather what you believe? Welcome to Unstoppable Mindset, where inclusion, diversity, and the unexpected meet. I'm your host, Michael Hingston, speaker, author, and advocate for inclusion and possibilities. This podcast explores how the beliefs we carry shape the way we live, lead, and connect with others. Each week, I talk with people who challenge assumptions, face adversity head-on, and show what's possible when we choose curiosity over fear. Together, we focus on mindset, resilience, and the small shifts that lead to meaningful change. Let's get started. Hello there, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Unstoppable Mindset. I am your host, Michael Hingston, and today we get to chat with Dan Gookin. Do you know who Dan Gookin is? Probably not, but you will by the time we're done. But I will tell you one thing about Dan. He was elected mayor of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, in November of 2025. I think Dan, you're the first political person as such that we have had on, which is kind of cool. I'm really honored to to have you here, and and we can spend the the whole time picking on on other politicians, but there's no need to do that. I mean, what good does it do? It's a waste of time. But I want to welcome you to Unstoppable Mindset, and Dan, thanks very much for being here. Dan Gookin  01:44 Thank you, Michael. Thank you for having me on. Michael Hingson  01:46 Well, this will, I think, really be a lot of fun. I'm sorry that you guys aren't getting a lot of snow up there. My brother-in-law has been keeping me posted on the lack of snow, so today here we're expecting a temperature at about 70 degrees. Last week it got up to 39. So I don't know. There's something going on with the climate. Dan Gookin  02:10 Something. Michael Hingson  02:11 Yeah, whatever it is. Speaker 1  02:13 Well, there was a name for that. Michael Hingson  02:15 Yeah, yeah. If if there were enough people, would only believe it. But that's another story. You are right. Well, thanks very much for being here. Why don't we start? Tell me about the early Dan growing up and all that. Speaker 1  02:31 So I grew up in San Diego, California. Good place. I still say San Michael Hingson  02:35 Diego has the best weather in the country. Speaker 1  02:38 They do. It's changed a little bit as everything has, but I escaped from there back in 1991. Went up to Washington State because I was doing some work with Microsoft, and then decided that that was Seattle was another big city. So we kept looking east and finally landed in Idaho in Coeur d'Alene because it's pretty. Michael Hingson  03:01 It's a nice area. So you you did your schooling and all that down in San Diego. Speaker 1  03:06 Yeah, I graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a degree in communication visual arts. That was in 1983. Michael Hingson  03:13 Cool, wow. I've spent many a a day down in San Diego. I lived in Vista for six years, so I'm familiar with the area. Yeah, I liked Vista. Vista was a nice place to be. You Speaker 1  03:24 did a radio show out of Vista. Did you for a while? Yeah, computer call-in show. So that was way back. Michael Hingson  03:32 What did you discuss, or just anything dealing with computers? I Speaker 1  03:36 was editing a magazine, a local computer magazine at the time, and we purchased an hour, and so I would drive from my home in Tierra Santa all the way up to Vista to be in this little tiny radio station, where we would do call-ins. And sometimes people would call in, and I would help them solve their computer problems. And sometimes I had to talk to myself for Michael Hingson  03:57 an hour. And and and did you get answers when you talk to yourself. Speaker 1  04:02 No, but I got really hoarse. Ah, okay. Michael Hingson  04:04 Well, you know, just just checking. Well, that's cool. Well, I guess we could tell everyone that, among other things, Dan is also the author of a number of books, including DOS for Dummies. I still like DOS. Thank you. I I like DOS. I've just always enjoyed it. Although, I have to admit, Windows has progressed a whole lot more. But I always liked DOS. Speaker 1  04:27 Yes, it was good, and and it was its complexity or its a rudeness, I shall say. Yeah, that's a good. Sold the book because you had to type. You had to know the commands in Windows. You can kind of look and point and do all this stuff, but in DOS, you had to know the commands and type the commands, and people wouldn't-they couldn't remember. There were all these options, and so we sold a lot of books doing that. It's still, like I said, I I like it too. I like the command line because it's faster if you know what you have to type. Yeah, it takes less time to type. Than it does to look around, point and shoot with the mouse. Michael Hingson  05:04 Yeah, there are a number of blind people on some list serves that I am part of that every so often something regarding DOS comes up, which is I think kind of cool. Speaker 1  05:15 Yep, hasn't gone away. It's it's still lurking in there somewhere. Michael Hingson  05:19 It is still a kind of the basic underpinning foundation of a lot of Windows, isn't it? Speaker 1  05:25 Well, Windows actually does run on top of it still. If you if you when you start a program in Windows, you're actually issuing a text command. So inside there is a long text command that is issued that gets everything running. It's just that you're configuring that from a graphical perspective, Michael Hingson  05:44 right? Yeah, but but it is still running. DOS essentially runs under Windows, which is which is something that is is relevant. So I guess we could blame that on Bill Gates, Speaker 1  05:57 or credit him. I don't know. Michael Hingson  05:58 Or yeah, yeah, one of the other. Well, so you you graduated, you moved to Seattle. As you said, it is a big city, although you know it's kind of hard to fight Pike's fish market. Speaker 1  06:11 Well, there's there's the fun and charming parts of of Seattle that I really enjoyed. So I mean, I can't say that you know it was a horrible city. The thing I admired about Seattle the most was that Seattle would occasionally not take itself seriously, and I liked that it had a sense of humor and that people there were generally good natured. San Diego was a little bit more uptight, you know, fair weather fans, that kind of stuff, where Seattle was more of a community, and I admired that greatly. Michael Hingson  06:43 And there used to be a lot of rain up there. Speaker 1  06:45 Not as much as people say. That's kind of their reputation. The Pacific Northwest we do have. So I moved from Southern California where you have 360 days of sun a year to Pacific Northwest where you have 180, so it was kind of a shock from that point of view. It's mostly like today; it's overcast. It's just there's no sun, so that's the big difference. Michael Hingson  07:10 And then you moved up to Idaho, and and how many days of sun or not sun are there a year? Speaker 1  07:16 Oh, still about 180. 180. Uh huh. But it's you know so you get used to it after a while, and when the sun comes out, you're all happy, and it's like, look, the sun's out, everything's pretty. Michael Hingson  07:27 Yeah, fair. Yeah. So when you were in San Diego and so on, what did you want to do or be when you grew up? Speaker 1  07:36 So originally, I wanted to be a doctor, and then I had the misfortune of being in a hospital, and I said I don't ever want to be back here, and changed my mind and figured I would be a writer. So for years I started writing and submitting things to magazines, trying to work on books and stuff. I mean I wrote a few books, and they say that you have to get about a million words of junk out before you actually are a good writer. So I I worked on that for a long time, and got to the point where I I actually had a reputation with some of the editors in the magazines who would write me back personal notes instead of the generic you know dismissal, and so that was working really well. But then what happened in 1984 was I wrote something for the local computer flyer, and they liked that, and it got published, and that was what really started the career for tech because tech wanted people who knew how to write, so that was good timing. Michael Hingson  08:35 Yeah, so many technical manuals are just so boring. I really wish people would learn how to write more interesting books. Of course, I say that about textbooks as well. I am of the opinion that having a master's degree in physics and having read many a physics book, the and there are so few of them. The best books are the ones where the authors have put some actual personal stories in to draw people in with human interest parts of the science, and I wish more people would do that. Speaker 1  09:03 And that was my point too. It was like these books are dull and boring. And the problem I had because I was writing computer books at the time, I had a computer book literary agent. There is such a thing, and it's it's backwards in that industry though, because the publisher says what they want a book on, and then they have you write the book on the topic, and so I was doing that for many years. But I did not like the fact that they would edit my books to make them dry, and the editors would actually complain to me and say, "There's too much personality in here. You can't have this. It was like it was like they thought that was a built-in feature of the book, and my protest was, "Well, no. Let's make them interesting. Let's use real life examples. Let's have some personality in there. Let's have some interaction with the with the reader. And they didn't like that until DOS for Dummies came around, and the publisher was willing to change the paradigm. Michael Hingson  09:55 Jeez, yeah, it's so unfortunate. They they think they know. Everything there is to know, and the reality is they don't. Speaker 1  10:04 That's the way it is with just about any industry. You know that I think the corporate mentality is kind of to resist innovation, even in the most innovative industries, until something crazy comes along. And I think that's why in Silicon Valley you had all these startups. You know, if you look, if you trace the lineage of a lot of the big companies, they started at other big companies that were unwilling to do the crazy ideas these guys had, and so they went off. I mean, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak left Hewlett Packard and started up Apple Computer, and I'm pretty sure there's probably been some engineers from Apple Computer who've left and started up their own company and becoming Michael Hingson  10:43 well. And Bill Gates is essentially the same way. It's it's he started out doing something, but he attracted people's attention by some of the other things that he did. Speaker 1  10:53 Yep. Michael Hingson  10:54 And that was was very relevant. But I I hear what you're saying. It makes perfect sense because people just don't like to be innovative and don't like change, and and that's unfortunate that we have so many people that just, as much as they talk about the fact that change is everywhere, they don't like it. Speaker 1  11:10 No, it's well, I think yeah, we we get in our comfort zone, and you don't grow out in the comfort zone. So I like to challenge myself and do interesting things like become mayor, and you know you leave your comfort zone. And what what can I do here, or how can I do this better? Michael Hingson  11:26 Yeah, well, and that makes makes perfect sense. Well, what got you started writing about technology? Just because you were writing that that one article there, or those articles that got interest on the part of a publisher, or what? Speaker 1  11:41 What got me started was that I got paid. Ah, Michael Hingson  11:44 good point. Speaker 1  11:45 You know, they they paid me, and then you know, as as someone who was you know using a computer at the time, and they were called microcomputers, and they were really primitive compared to what we have today. Oh yeah, I I used it to write. So, and the the problem with that was that the the documents, the manuals that we talk about, were so dry and boring, and eventually, all of a sudden, it would dawn on me: it's like, well, this is what it's trying to say. So why don't they just come out and say it this way, or why don't they use an analogy and try to explain it in that manner instead of coming at it from this hardcore technical? And that was what really turned off a lot of people, so it motivated me to want to do it better, and that's kind of what I tell the kids, like my kids. I say you should start up a business. That's really the best way to get successful is start up your own business and become famous like that. And they're well, what business should I start up? I said that the easiest way is to find something that you like, something that's being done poorly, and just do it better. Yeah, and that's really a lot of the the creative, insanely genius stuff that's happened throughout the world is just someone who does something routine but does it better. Michael Hingson  12:52 And that's really the operative part about it, and and the real key. I think you're you're absolutely right. Find something that people aren't doing well, and by the time you get creative enough to figure that out, you're well on your way. Speaker 1  13:05 Yep. So that's that's what I did. Michael Hingson  13:08 Yeah. And so you started going off and and writing a variety of things. What what actually got you to write Dos for Dummies? What specifically? That's first of all, I love the the title of all the Four Dummies books. I think it makes sense. But what got you started in writing DOS for Dummies directly? Speaker 1  13:27 Well, I I knew that there was an appetite out there for beginner computer books, but the publishing industry would not publish beginning computer books because they said beginners don't buy computer books. And I explained to them, well, your problem is you don't write beginner computer books. You write something and you call it, you know, the easy guide to whatever, but the content of it is not written for a beginner. Maybe the first chapter is very condescending and patronizing, and then the rest of it is just technical garbage. So I said you have to keep that tone throughout the entire text. You have to identify who it is you're writing to, as who's a smart person who may just not get it, and explain it to them, and just keep going. And that was the problem. So I I did originally called it the Idiots Guide for DOS, which was based after the Idiots Guide to Volkswagen Repair. My dad had a copy of that, and I thought, well, what a brilliant idea. Michael Hingson  14:20 Yeah. Speaker 1  14:21 And so the publisher saw me speak at a conference, and where I was bemoaning the fact that the books were so boring, and they kept editing out my personality. And then went to to him, and and he's like, "This is great. Your outline that you have for this book is perfect. Except we want to call it DOS for Dummies. I thought, like a lot of other people, that was condescending and patronizing, but that it's an alliteration, so that's what they go with. And then he said to make it a reference. Don't make it a tutorial because, and this is brilliant, these people don't want to learn anything; they just want to do their job. Yeah, that makes sense. So that was and that was it, and we put a lot of humor in it. You know, people would tell me that they'd read the book on the subway, and you know, you'd see someone laughing reading a computer book. That's weird, but there would just be enough humor, and I'd use Mad Magazine as my inspiration. So it was kind of like us versus the nerds, and and that was what really founded the whole thing, and I tell you what, it caught on. I did not think it would. There was no way we were planning on writing a book that would sell, you know, 8 million copies. We were just thinking, well, this is going to be fun. Let's just do this, get it out of our system, and then go back to writing boring books. Michael Hingson  15:36 Made the publisher very happy. Speaker 1  15:39 Oh yeah, they were printing Gold bricks, yeah. Michael Hingson  15:43 That, of course, was the real key. Well, that started a brand, didn't it? Speaker 1  15:47 Oh yeah, they did. There was no intention to do that, but then they they followed that up with Max for Dummies and a bunch of other titles that were just very popular at the time. AOL for Dummies, you know, Windows for Dummies eventually came out, and that was the King for Dummies book. But yeah, they have and they have it on all topics. I've even so as someone who is you know starting in government, I got Robert's Rules for Dummies, which you know you've been to a meeting, you know they follow Robert's Rules, which is very dry and boring, but it's it's important. And Robert's Rules for Dummies is a good example of a For Dummies book because it explains everything carefully. Lots of humor in there, and so there's a lot of them. Wine for Dummies was another one that I really liked. I thought they did a good job. Golf for Dummies. There's a there's on every topic. There's a For Dummies book. Michael Hingson  16:37 How many of them did you write? Speaker 1  16:40 Only wrote the ones with my names on them, but probably about 40 separate titles. So over the years, most of them have been rewrites. So technology changes. So there have been 16 editions of Word for Dummies, and 13 editions of PCs for Dummies. There were four editions of DOS for Dummies. So you're you're always writing new editions, so all totaled 180 separate titles. But individual titles, without not counting multiple editions, right? About 60. Michael Hingson  17:09 Wow. Speaker 1  17:10 Yeah. Yeah, Michael Hingson  17:10 and I can appreciate that that books like Word for Dummies or even iPhones for Dummies has to change over time. Speaker 1  17:19 Yeah. Well, some of them. I mean, I've been doing a kind of a review on on YouTube. I've been doing short videos highlighting some of the goofy images that I put in the books over the years. And way back about 20 years ago, I think I was updating these titles once a year. They would say, "We need a new version of this. We need a new version of this. And at the time, technology was just. I mean, they were cranking out new stuff all the time. Michael Hingson  17:44 So, who's written AI for Dummies? Speaker 1  17:47 I don't know, but that is a title, so I wouldn't be Michael Hingson  17:50 surprised. Speaker 1  17:51 It should write itself, though. You think about Michael Hingson  17:53 it. Yeah, you you know, they they really should do that. It should write itself. Speaker 1  17:56 Someone told me once that they they they wanted to do a manual in my style, so they directed AI to write something in the style of Dan Gukan, and apparently AI can do that. So, am I going to get paid? I don't know. Michael Hingson  18:10 Well, that's another story, of course. Yeah, but still, it it is a it's a it's a great franchise. It's a great brand all the way around, and I know different people have written different different kinds of books like that, but still, the the fact is we need that in the world, and and I agree with you, especially that it's good to put humor and personality into it. And I really wish more people would do that. I really wish that would go into the the textbook world, but it hasn't yet. Speaker 1  18:37 No, that's that, and that's a different planet. I tried to break into that world, and that academia is is it's different. It is weird. Michael Hingson  18:44 Yeah, there are just not that many people who can get away with it like Richard Feynman did with some of the things that he did in physics, and even there, his his books were a little boring at times. But still, Speaker 1  18:56 he was awesome. His of course, his his autobiography is a lot of fun. Michael Hingson  19:00 Yeah, surely you're joking, mr. Fineman. Speaker 1  19:03 Exactly. Michael Hingson  19:04 Adventures of yeah, it is. I I keep it around. I've got an audio copy of it, and every so often I will go back and read parts of it. It's a it's a great book. Speaker 1  19:14 He's kind of an inspiration to me, especially in the area of government. And one of the parts of his book where he was on the panel that was reviewing textbooks for, I think, the state of California, and he noticed that one of the books was blank; it was empty, and he was the only one on the panel who did it. And I kind of echo that often in government because I'm occasionally the only person who actually reads some of the material they provide. Yeah, and and those kind of moments are classic. I love those. You know, when you can say, "Well, as everyone notices, you know, page 14 is blank, and they all madly flip to page 14, like, "Oh my gosh, how did you find this? Well, I, I did my job. I read the thing. Michael Hingson  19:54 I had a roommate in college, and we at that time we were using the Berkeley Physics series. I don't know. Whether that even still exists anymore, but different professors from Berkeley wrote various books, and the guy who wrote the book on waves, I had a roommate who was reading that book, and he searched vigorously to try to find a single misspelling of a word in the whole book. Wow! He finally found one. He said there really was one in the book. Kind of makes you wonder if that was deliberate, but but he actually found one. But it took him most of the quarter we had the book to find it. But but he did. Speaker 1  20:33 Excellent. Yeah, I got to say that's that's an art form. I used to work in a publishing house, and we would pore over books looking for spelling errors and mistakes and punctuation and all this stuff and of course you don't find them until the book's actually printed. Michael Hingson  20:46 Of course not. Yeah, yeah. Now it's it should be easier, but it's not, and they still don't come out until the book is already published and it's out there, and then you find out what isn't right. Speaker 1  20:58 Right. Michael Hingson  21:00 I suppose that gives the publisher an excuse to republish the book and make more money. Speaker 1  21:05 Well, yeah, it depends. It's if it is selling. If it doesn't sell, then obviously the the mistake's going to linger out there. Of course, with digital copies, they can update it right away, but not with a print book. Michael Hingson  21:17 Yeah, nowadays there's so many print books that are done pretty much on demand, so that if you want a copy, unless it's just something where they're selling literally millions a month, the book is available on demand. Although there's a little bit of a lag time to get it, my book Thunderdog, which is the story of Roselle and me in the World Trade Center, is is still selling pretty well, but it is more printed on demand by Thomas Nelson than now Harper Collins. Speaker 1  21:46 Yeah, Michael Hingson  21:47 and I understand that as long as it's available, I'm not going to complain. Speaker 1  21:51 And they and they they prefer to sell it that way as opposed to printing out 5000 copies they have to store somewhere. So Michael Hingson  21:56 right, yeah, they don't have to pay for storage and they just print it, and so it takes an extra week to get somewhere. That's fine. We can cope with that as long as it's available, and then that's all that really matters. Speaker 1  22:08 Yeah. Michael Hingson  22:09 But you've written a lot of books. How come so many? Because they're not all for dummies. Ah, okay. Speaker 1  22:16 Well, it just you know that was my profession, and that's what I did. And so, and I had a good agent who would find me a lot of work, so yeah, they would come up and they would want me to write a book on this or that, and a lot of it was because at the time in that industry I had a name and a reputation. I'm also very fast, so and that that kind of surprises people. In fact, there's some someone who accuses me of having a ghostwriter, which I do not. It's just I've been doing it so long, and you know, when I started, my agent said that he said the more you do this, the faster you'll get, the better you'll get. So, whereas in the original book, the first book I wrote took about six months to to write. I've written books in less than a month. It really depends. It depends on the topic, how well I know the topic, but also I do a lot of organizing with an outline, and so I will will work with an outline almost until it's down to the paragraph level, and then that makes it really easy to write the book, especially a technology book where there's a lot of cross references, and this sequence, you know, assuming someone's reading it front to back is really important, so you got to make sure that you touch upon things and do it in the right order. And then that's so yeah. I just got really good at it, which annoyed a lot of my fellow authors because as I was writing and I would get faster and faster, the contracts would start demanding the books in a more expedient manner, so other authors would complain to me and say, "You know, I have to write this book, and they're only giving me three months to do it. They're blaming me because I can do it in three months, and they figure everyone can do it in three months. So that was fun. Michael Hingson  23:54 Have you had books that someone asked you to write where you really didn't know much of anything about the subject, and you had to spend more time researching it, or you just spend time researching it, but you still did that very quickly. Speaker 1  24:06 Yeah, when I first started, that was pretty much the case. In fact, I talked with a guy who he had written the like the best-selling DBase three book. So DBase was a database way back in DOS, and it was the most popular database program, and he wrote the number one best-selling DBase three book that everyone who used that that program would buy, and he told me that he knew nothing about it when he signed the contract. So the the process of writing the book involved this intense deep dive into finding out what it is the program does, and then working on that. Of course, in those days, the books, the software came with a manual, so it was possible to go through the manual and see what the thing was capable of, and maybe get a few hints about that. But the books were not just a rephrase. The manual; they were a little bit better, the project oriented, whatever. So there was one one book that I did on a program called Super Card for the Macintosh, and it was the it was the there was no documentation, and I could call up the developer and I could ask him. So that was that was a tool I could use if I had access to the developer. I could call them up and I could say, "Okay, so I'm I'm doing this. What can you tell me that's like a secret or that is not obvious? And they love to share that stuff. Sure, I just write it all down, and then that that'll make the book better. If you could get through the the gatekeepers and get into where the nerds were, then you could get a lot of good information, and they were happy to share it. I did a few books on OS two that were like that, where I finally was able to escape into the lab and ask them. And the the guy they were so friendly, and they're like, "Oh, you got to tell him this, this, this, this. You know, we we couldn't put this in the manual. You have to tell him this, and so you write a great book. But of course, OS two, no one used it, so no one bought the book. Michael Hingson  26:05 Yeah, yeah, OS two was not one of those things that everybody loved. If Speaker 2  26:13 you enjoy Unstoppable Mindset and would like to help us continue bringing these conversations to you each week, we've created a way for you to support the show. Your contribution helps us cover production costs and continue sharing stories, insights, and ideas that inspire people to live with purpose and possibility. If supporting the podcast feels right for you, you'll find the link in the show notes. Thank you for being part of the unstoppable mindset community. Michael Hingson  26:46 I remember when I was a student at UC Irvine. I wasn't an information computer science major. I was physics major, but several people took ICS one, two, and three, which was a three quarter course, or well, it was a year course, and the the book they used was Introduction to Computer Programming by Ken Ingram. And what was fun about that was that on the first day of class, the professor would come in and he'd say, "Okay, I want you to read chapter one of information of introduction to computer programming by Ken Ingram. It's the textbook we're going to use. I want you to read that before our next class. And of course, most everyone had not touched the book prior to that. And what he didn't say was that that first chapter took up half the book. Speaker 1  27:40 I like it. Michael Hingson  27:43 Yeah, I know. Wasn't that? And I, I, I heard about it. I, I never did get the book, and I didn't get it transcribed into Braille. But I thought that was cute. Chapter one was half the book. Speaker 1  27:53 No one would have suspected chapter one's an easy chapter. It's four pages. Right, supposed to be right. I think it was like Michael Hingson  28:00 180 pages. It was amazing. Michael Hingson  28:03 I'm not sure whether Ingram had a sense of humor or what, but anyway, there you go. But yeah, that that was kind of kind of amazing. So you you wrote all these books and you continue to do that, but somewhere along the line, you got interested in doing things in politics. What was that all about? Speaker 1  28:25 Well, that was frustrating. Not Michael Hingson  28:28 bad, Speaker 1  28:29 because I. So I think a lot of people are kind of interested. They follow politics. If I call up my mom in San Diego, she has to complain to me about you know the mayor of San Diego and what the city council is doing and and it's it's common it's just I think I think the most most people who are active in in their community know a little bit about politics or whatever and in my case I had just moved from the county here near Courtland and then I'd moved into the city, and I had heard that there was someone was buying up properties in my neighborhood, and I thought that was curious, and I wanted to see if this was something that you know are they going to tear down houses? What are they going to do? So I started researching using the the county website to see who was own who owned these properties, and it was a place called the Lake City Development Corporation, and I thought, well, I need to find out what that is, and it turned out that was an urban renewal agency that was formed by the city of Cortland, and I started reading the statutes and I started reading their minutes and finding out what it is they do, and while on the surface it sounded really fun, there were a lot of curious things that I didn't like. A lot of non-transparent things, a lot of things where you know they're spending public money on what I thought were frivolous things, and so I started asking questions. I started coming to meetings, and they're missing. Was that they pushed back, and so I just something triggered me, and I had a red flag, and I just started going after it. We started, we formed a group of people who were all interested in this, and we would meet regularly and go over what was going on with the government. We'd find issues regarding transparency and spending, and lots of interesting stuff. Never really anything nefarious. Never anything that would. But just a lot of stuff that, as we let the public know about what was going on, they would become outraged and they would say, "Wait a second! They're spending millions of dollars on this, and you know, with property taxes so high, and what is this, and why is it affecting me? And and so I went to the city council meetings here in Portland, and I was frustrated because no one else seemed to get it. And I would look at them, and they would have some issue that would come up, and everyone on the council-there were six members on the council-they would all vote in unison, and no one had asked a question. And I would say, "Well, wait a second, why aren't they asking a question about this, or why aren't they concerned about this, or what about the side effects of this? And so I started writing articles for the paper. I eventually did videos and to speak to various groups and such because I was like, we got to hold government accountable. So I ran for office in ran for the city council in 2007, and I lost. And then I ran in 2009, and I lost, but only by like 29 votes. And then I was done at that point. I really didn't want to do it again because running for office is a pain. Michael Hingson  31:33 Yeah. And Speaker 1  31:34 then they had this huge thing where all of a sudden they were going to redo a park without a public vote, and I wanted a public vote. Lots of people wanted to vote on it, but no, they were going to do it, and they didn't care what the public thought. So they made me run. They made me run a third time, and I won. And I've been on the city council ever since. And then, of course, well, since last November when I got kicked up to the mayor seat, which is where I'm sitting Right now, strange journey. Michael Hingson  32:04 Well, yeah, but on the other hand, there is something to be said for transparency, and there's somebody something to be said for somebody who really wants to look out for what what people want and what people are doing. I I got involved. Well, I've not run for public office, but I've been very much involved in political kinds of things because I've been involved in the blindness world since early 1970s, and the National Federation of the Blind has had for well now, gosh, more than 50 years or around 50 years, what used to be called the March on Washington. Now it's called the Washington Seminar, which is a an event that takes place every year, where several 100 blind people descend on Washington and go off and visit legislators. And the idea is to really get them to understand what the needs of blind people are and try to get them to vote on issues that directly relate to issues concerning us, and sometimes they do. Although it's gotten a lot harder to get things passed, especially in the last eight or nine years. But still, that it it has to be done. But I remember, among other things, I was living in Massachusetts when I first started going, and among other things, we we went and saw the Speaker of the House, who was Tip O'Neill at the time, which was kind of fun. And what an interesting, what a charismatic guy! Didn't matter what party he was with; it was a charismatic guy. And we also visited people like Senator at the time Paul Songis, and what was interesting about him was we we talked about our issues, and it was the end of the day, and then suddenly he said, you know, I'm not going anywhere for the next few minutes. Do you guys have time? And we ended up just talking for about an hour and a half about his view of of and our views of what Massachusetts needed to do, not only for blind people but just in general, it was just fascinating. There weren't very many politicians who would do that. Speaker 1  34:08 That's awesome. Yeah, I liked him. I liked Tungus a lot. Michael Hingson  34:12 Yeah, I wish he'd been able to run for president, but he got cancer, and that's that's unfortunate. Yeah, but because I think that he's one of those people who would do what really needed to be done and do it the right way. Speaker 1  34:26 In other words, the people who never win. Yeah, that's unfortunately Michael Hingson  34:31 really the case, isn't it? Speaker 2  34:33 Yeah, Speaker 1  34:33 yeah. Michael Hingson  34:34 But but you got to do that. Speaker 1  34:36 Yeah. Michael Hingson  34:38 So you you know, but you you hopefully you'll make a big difference, and maybe you'll be able to get people to believe in climate change. Oh, did I say that Speaker 1  34:48 this year? Nah, Michael Hingson  34:53 not unless you predict snow when it actually comes. Speaker 1  34:56 That and that and that's the key. Yeah, Michael Hingson  34:59 yeah. No, I understand, but it but it is fascinating. I you know I I enjoy the concept of politics. I enjoy people who really have a vested interest in making government go well, but it is so unfortunate that we don't see that much of it, which is just too bad. Speaker 1  35:18 There are a lot of good dedicated people out there. I think so. Of course, the the problem is is you know, like they say, politics is sports for the uncoordinated, and it's drama for the ugly. But the the thing is, the people who really do a good job, who are out there doing what you want them to do, they don't get the headlines. It's the noisemakers. It's the extremists. It's the people who are going to have some obnoxious opinion because that that gets everyone's attention. You know, the the guy out there who's doing the job, who's putting in the time, representing the citizens, and making his community a better place. You know, you're never going to read that guy in the paper, unfortunately. Michael Hingson  35:59 Yeah, and that's also part of the problem: is that the media looks for all the drama rather than really looking to to represent the the average citizen and what they truly want and need. Speaker 1  36:10 So those don't the actual the things don't make headlines. In fact, it was a it was really funny. There was a guy who was elected to the state house from this county, and one of his campaign platforms, he was going to repeal all the useless laws, all the things that are still on the books. That you know, just we don't need those laws anymore. They're old. They're outdated, and he did that for about a week, and it doesn't make headlines. So here he is, you know, doing this, doing the job that you think they they would want to do and making government more effective, no one cared. I remember there was one year where we actually we cut property taxes here in the city, and I thought, wow, everyone's going to come up and say thank you. No, no one did. So it's like, what's the motivation? If you go, they say, I want you to be I want you to be my mayor and I want you to work to cut that budget and so you cut the budget and then no one says thank you. Michael Hingson  37:08 We got Tom Steyer here in California who wants to become governor and he's talking about all these things that he's going to do. He's going to get electric utility rates lowered by a significant amount. He's going to encourage and bring competition to the electric grid industry, and he talks about lowering housing costs by building a million homes and doing so many things. And every time I hear his campaign commercials, the thing that I keep asking myself is, haven't we learned anything? And no offense to Donald Trump, but Donald Trump made a lot of promises that we're not seeing. Steyer is making a lot of promises that he has yet to say how he's going to pull any of them off. Speaker 1  37:56 Oh yeah, and that's and that's the thing is you got to. There's so much. There's only so much you can do. But you can you when you campaign, they can say anything. Of course, I know they might as well just say free ice cream and ponies for everyone. Michael Hingson  38:07 Yeah, and and that's almost essentially what's happening. And I'm not saying that he'd be a bad governor. I I haven't researched him enough, but the commercials just don't do anything to make me thrilled because he's not saying how he's going to do any of it, and and that's what I really want to know. Speaker 1  38:25 Yeah, I didn't when I when I ran this campaign, I didn't really promise anything that was sexy at all. I said, you know, I'm going to work on a policy manual. I'm going to increase the amount of information and transparency, and it was like nothing that you want to put on a bumper sticker, but I still won. I mean, there were people who were in the race who were promising this and that, and they were going to do this and all this stuff, and somehow I eked it out. Michael Hingson  38:51 Why do you think you won? Speaker 1  38:52 Name recognition, Michael Hingson  38:54 okay, Speaker 1  38:55 and that's and that's pretty much that's a lot of what politics is is is just the the name recognition. You can win on that. I also do have a reputation. I mean, being on council for 14 years and being often called the lone voice of reason, like I said earlier, I'm the one who asked that obvious question. Yeah, and people are in the audience are going, "Well, thank you. Someone's finally asking what what they wanted to ask, and so there was there was that, and and I also, you know, I I do return my emails. I answer the phone calls. I make sure that I'm I'm available. So you know, and I think that that reputation kind of spread itself around that that I would be responsive. It didn't mean that I actually did anything because the you know the powers are really limited. So if someone wanted you know they want to put in a stop sign somewhere, I'll go visit them, and we'll look at the thing, and we'll look at the traffic data, and all this stuff. But there may not be a stop sign there. Still, I showed enough time that I paid attention to them, and I responded to them, and you know, we'll see what we can do. That's the best you can say. Michael Hingson  39:55 And if it didn't happen that there was a stop sign, but there was a good reason for it. I would suspect that you would be the kind of person who would say, "Here's why it didn't happen. Speaker 1  40:03 Right, exactly, and and to explain that for and a lot of people don't understand things like that because it's easy to get defensive with government because sometimes it can be so colossally stupid. Yeah, but but it's just as long as you have that explanation, and sometimes it's it's really it's refreshing because then they hear the answer and they're good with it, so we have a problem here with there's noise on the freeway because they're expanding the freeway, and a lot of people are upset, so they call city hall, but it's not our project; it's the state highway district. So you know, it's like I can do only what I can do, but it's still you know, if you're the only elected official who bothered to reply to them and told them, you know, I hear what you're saying. I'm going to do whatever we can. Sometimes that makes people happy. They may not be happy in the big picture, but at least they got a response. Michael Hingson  40:48 And when you discover something that's relevant, I'll bet you are the kind of person who would then initiate another letter saying, "Here's why it didn't work, or "Here's why it will work. Speaker 1  40:59 Right, and I do follow up. So I did. In that case, I wrote a letter to the governor and said, "You know, is there anything you can do? And then I forwarded the letter on to the person who had contacted me and said, "Okay, this is the best I can do. Let's let's see what he can do. So yeah, Speaker 1  41:14 yeah. Michael Hingson  41:15 I'm I'm curious. You mentioned that property taxes did get lowered once in Cordellane, but nothing. No one ever did anything with that. How come? Speaker 1  41:23 Well, no. It's just we we did. We we kept them. You got you got them lowered. Michael Hingson  41:27 But but why didn't anybody pay attention to that? Speaker 1  41:30 No. Well, see, I'm sure they paid attention to it. We are only one entity on your property tax bill, so there's there's a few. Ah, good Michael Hingson  41:39 point. Speaker 1  41:39 We might have been the the one who kept it down, but the other ones may have kept it up. And then there's all the the formula is really complex, and so it could be that you know their assess property assessment went up, a lot of other things that would have happened that would have affected it. But like I said, I mean we made a big to do about it, saying hey look we worked, we cut the budget. We kept it flat for all you guys, and then no one said anything. But you know that that's it's discouraging, but it doesn't discourage me from continuing to try because I'll always try. Michael Hingson  42:12 You can only do what you can do, but at least at least you're doing it. Yeah. Now, if you want to live in a state where the taxes are very interesting, move to New Jersey, yeah, where we lived, the the taxes every town, every city had its own property taxes. You could live on a street, yeah, you could live on a street where you had a property tax of some amount, and if you walked across to the other side of the street, the property tax would be twice what yours was because the border runs right down the middle of the street. Speaker 1  42:45 That's crazy. Michael Hingson  42:47 We thought it was. Yeah, we thought it was kind of interesting, but we fortunately never had too horrible of property taxes in Westfield. But still, we heard about some other places that had some some horrible property taxes, but you know it's it's what what you have. Speaker 1  43:07 Yep. Michael Hingson  43:08 So you were in the city council for 14 years. What made you decide that you were going to run for mayor? Because you had to do that. You had to make that decision. Speaker 1  43:17 Yeah, didn't want to. You know, wasn't on my on my dance card to like, oh, next step up is going to be mayor. It was more of there was frustration that I had because the the past couple of mayors, good men, good people, but I always wanted to do more. I mean, being on the council, it was frustrating because I wanted a little more leadership out of the center seat wasn't seeing that, and then I worked earlier last year. I called up a bunch of people to see if they'd be willing to do the job. You know, good strong community members who would be provide the leadership and had the name recognition required to do the job, and no one wanted to do it. So I was like, okay, well, I'll I'll see if I can do it. I still have two years left on my council term, so if I lost, I'd still be part of the process. But there ended up being four people in that race, so it was pretty crowded. Which to me, you know, if if you're running if you run unopposed, it's pretty much a sign that people kind of like the way things are going. They're not they're not upset with you. Generally, if you have one opponent, you're considered that you know oh well good you know I get to compete for for the job or someone else is unhappy. But if you have a lot of opponents, it generally means that the public isn't happy with what's going on and they want to see some change. So there were four people in the race. I won with like 38% of the vote, so that's wow, Michael Hingson  44:45 yeah. Well, but clearly you're different than a lot of people. For example, you're a member of the Kootenay County Republican Central Committee, and yeah, and they sued you for defamation. What was all that about? Speaker 1  44:59 Well. So we had an episode here where the first of all the local Republican Party decided that running partisan races wasn't enough; that they wanted to get involved with nonpartisan races. And in Idaho, a lot of the local offices are nonpartisan. So city council is nonpartisan, school districts are nonpartisan. You know, water district, highway district, all these smaller local offices, and we have a community college here called North Idaho College. And the Senate committee decided that they would start to what they call rating and vetting candidates to determine who was the most conservative. And while a lot of Republicans appreciate that and they want to know who the real conservative is. The central committee realized that it was a way for them to exercise political power, because when people would get their recommendations, that would be the person who would win. And so they got power mad, and in my opinion, they hijacked the trustees of our local community college, and pretty much almost ran the thing into a ground. It was the it's the only college a community college in the history of the country that's ever been put on probation for disaccreditation due to board governance. Normally, when you disaccredit a college, you're disaccrediting it because of financial reasons, or something else, but or academics. Never, never has it happened that the board has been so crazy that the the ACL ACCU whatever it is the accreditation agency for community colleges has said, "What we're gonna we're gonna pull away your credentials, and all your students will not be receiving college credit. So, I mean, what what this board did that was endorsed by the local Republican Party, the extremists on the party, they they fired the president for no reason. They they started running up the bills, increasing the athletics budget. The board meetings were just pure chaos. Employees would leave. The local high schools stopped their their co education programs. It was just crazy. Wow! And and a lot of people didn't really understand what was going on. So I did a YouTube channel called Kootenay Rants, and Kootenay is the name of our county. Michael Hingson  47:20 Kootenay, yeah. I said Kootenay. Sorry about that. Speaker 1  47:22 It's no, it's okay. It's it could be either way. Who knows? Up north, they do say Kootenai, so we don't know. But anyway, this really got under the skin of the central committee because I pinned the blame on what was going on at the college on them, which is was justified, and I would not make anything up. Instead, I would just put in highlights from the meetings and say, "Here's what's happening, and here's the crazy stuff. You know, trustees yelling at members of the audience, making fun of them. You know, interrupting people, saying just weird, strange things. I mean, it just-it was odd. It was so bizarre, and so it was easy for me to make these videos. My background is in communications, and I know video production, so I was able to put together these videos on a YouTube channel, and you know, hundreds of people in the county would start watching them, including the central committee that did not like that I was exposing what I consider to be their corruption and their the the fact that I think they were responsible for this and they didn't like that so they accused me of defamation basically mean tweets because I would tweet about them and their nonsense and it was like they they made a big to do out of it because I was running for re-election for city council, so they came to a city council meeting to serve me, and you know recorded it and put it up on the internet and all this other stuff that that was just crazy. But my insurance company fortunately decided to represent me, and they just they thought the the suit was without merit. They don't say frivolous. They say without merit. Without Michael Hingson  49:04 merit. No, yeah. Speaker 1  49:05 And so yeah. And so eventually, now the suit is over, and I figured I would either win in court or it would be dismissed. But the insurance company settled, and I it was against my wishes. I said no. I said don't settle with these people. But the insurance company did settle, and I made sure that, as part of the settlement, that they would not say that I agreed to it, or that I said I was wrong, or I apologized, or anything. No, the insurance company just didn't want to waste any more money, so they decided to settle. They wrote a check. I don't know what it cost the central committee. As a member of the central committee, it has never been reported to the committee how much money they spent on that? Because it's it's pretty much the the Republican Central Committee of Kootenay County is pretty much a tyranny run by one guy and a personality cult, and there are members of the committee. There are some good Republicans such as myself on the committee who do believe in transparency and limited government and all those Ronald Reagan things. But there are these extremists on there who are just nutballs, and so there's a group of us here called North Idaho Republicans who are working to counter their insanity. And we've done a good job, but we need to do more work, and that's the story of the KCRCC. And they sued me for defamation. Michael Hingson  50:21 That's kind of crazy, though. Nevertheless, Speaker 3  50:23 of course. Michael Hingson  50:24 And it's only kind Speaker 1  50:26 of that. I wasn't laying awake. I mean, occasionally someone would call me up and they would say, "So what's the case? What's the what's happening with a lawsuit? And I'd say, "Well, a lawsuit. I said, "Oh yeah, that's right. They're suing me. I mean, it was never really. I was never obligated for it. Michael Hingson  50:39 Yeah. Well, so just out of curiosity, since the Republicans were doing this, where were the Democrats in all of that? Speaker 1  50:47 Well, we don't really have a lot of Democrats. That's Michael Hingson  50:49 what I was wondering. Yeah, Speaker 1  50:51 and so and and I always used to joke. I would say that the the Democrats, the Kootenai County Democrats, are looking for a new meeting location, and if anyone has a spare closet, got it. You let them know. No, they're they're all they're all very nice people. Michael Hingson  51:05 Yeah, Speaker 1  51:05 but they're they are in an extreme minority, and unfortunately, they they do try. So last time they had a body for every seat up for election, but they don't really come close. And it's a lot of it comes down to name recognition, but you also have a lot of red blue state refugees who come here. You have a lot of COVID refugees who came here, and so Idaho is very red. Kootenay County is very red, and it would take a tremendous amount of effort to to have a Democrat win here. We do have Democrats in the legislature, not a lot, but we do have them, and the the National Democratic Party is unwilling to spend a lot of money here because they know they're going to lose. So that's what I hear from them. But they are they are generally nice people. I mean, like you said, you if you wanted to vote for me here and you're a Democrat, I'd happily accept the vote. It's a nonpartisan position. We don't deal with those big divisive issues that you know that you you see on the news. Yeah, we're pretty much community-minded people, and I appreciate anyone who is. I do fight the KCRCC because I don't see them as community-minded, and that's one of the issues. Michael Hingson  52:18 Yeah. Well, it's it's unfortunate that that people are that way, but I I see it all too often in so many different ways. I mean, we face it with even in the blindness world with so many things where there ought to be major improvements and there ought to be defenses of the civil rights of blind people. For example, some of the rideshare programs don't do a lot to train their drivers about the fact that in reality they're obligated to take blind people with guide dogs, and oh, there's there is a fair amount of that, and it's and and the companies aren't willing to do anything about it, and we have to keep fighting it, which is just too bad. But there's just so many stuff, and there are so many people who just have these hidden agendas, or they just what it really comes down to is we don't want anybody telling us what to do, Speaker 1  53:09 right? Michael Hingson  53:11 And that's what it really comes down to. So, do you find that that religion gets into any of it at all, like with the conservative Christian movement or any of that, Speaker 1  53:24 there well, there's I do not like the politicization of the church. Michael Hingson  53:29 Yeah, Speaker 1  53:30 my favorite quote on that is that politics poisons the purity of the church. So I think we should keep the separation of church and state as much as possible, but there are you know politically motivated, politically active pastors, and I just I I think that's that's not the proper role of religion. I know that that there's kind of a battle going on in the far right about you know how much religion or how much that should should should be involved in politics in the public arena. In fact, there's a little across from the Costco up here. There is a little yard sign in front of some business that says "Vote Bible, and I always think that's kind of. I mean, I understand what the sentiment is, and I would always want to think that the people who we elect are good moral people. You know, Adam said that our Constitution is best suited for a moral people. I don't believe that means that there's morality in the Constitution. I believe there's morality in people, Michael Hingson  54:32 right? Speaker 1  54:33 And we do want people who have good ethics and good morals in public office, and it's very obvious when that doesn't happen. But I do not think. I think the purpose of our Constitution and the First Amendment is to ensure that we all have the the right to enjoy whatever religion we want, and we don't want to pick favorites. And so, what I see with a lot of these people is that they want to pick a favorite. Michael Hingson  54:55 Yeah, Speaker 1  54:56 they they not only want to pick the first religion, but they want. Everyone to go to the same church and the same service and sit in the same pew. Yeah, and that's not going to happen in any church. It's not going to happen in any denomination of any church. And then, and see, that's the other question: is if you know if you're going to insist that this is a Christian nation, it's like okay, but which denomination is it? Catholic? Is it Protestant? Is it Mormon? I mean, I you know you tell me because it's just going to be this incredible knot of worms, which is why I think the genius of the founders was that you know the the clause about religion is is two things: it gives you the freedom to exercise your own religion, and it also restricts the government from declaring that there's a religion. Yeah, and I think the far right kind of misses that when they when they take the message of we like moral people in office, but to dictate the morals to someone else is wrong. Michael Hingson  55:52 You know, I and it was Tolstoy who once said the biggest problem with Christianity is that people don't practice it, and I I see that so often. It's it is so unfortunate, but it is Speaker 1  56:03 there. Yeah. So that is a tough one. Michael Hingson  56:07 So if you could change one thing in the world, what would it be? I'd Speaker 1  56:12 get rid of the internet in a heartbeat. Specifically, social media. I think the the problem with social media is it amplifies our immaturities, and that is a huge issue. the The solution to that is to make the the publishers responsible for the content. So, in other words, Facebook could be sued for anything that someone puts on Facebook, and that would terrify Facebook, but it would terrify them to the point that they would actually regulate themselves and and start dialing back. I mean, I can say 20 years ago or so, when I whenever I was first on Facebook, I would go on there and I would see my kids, and they'd be playing a ball game or they'd be over at a friend's house. You'd see birthdays, vacations. It was just kind of like it was a social thing. You go on there now, and it's politics, and it's like this person deserved to be shot, and it's just-it's so-it's so extreme, and it's so rude. And you know, some of the stuff they said about me is not very nice, but I think that if we're going to solve one problem in the world, we really need to dial back all the animosity that's on the inter

In this episode of the Nation's Blind Podcast, Melissa and Anil are joined by President Riccobono; Kelsy Tallant, First Vice President of the NFB of Alaska; and Barbie Elliot, Secretary of the NFB of Utah. They discuss highlights from the Washington Seminar and how their advocacy continued through snow and ice.

The National Association of Blind Students (NABS) is an active, thriving division of the National Federation of the Blind. In addition to extensive programming at National Convention, Washington Seminar, and virtual opportunities, the division hosts two student seminars each year in two areas of the country, tailoring content to a specific geographical audience. In this episode, Zachary Ledford joins Simon Bonenfant to discuss the upcoming Mid-Atlantic seminar, taking place from Friday, August 1st to Sunday, August 3rd at the Hampton Inn Center City Philadelphia. 1301 Race Street, Philadelphia. Zachary shares some of the many impactful opportunities for attendees, his personal journey as a leader in the federation, and how you can get involved! Interested in learning more and registering? Visit the registration page here: https://nabslink.org/civicrm/event/register?reset=1&id=6 For additional questions, contact Zachary Ledford, seminar chair, by emailing ledford.zachary38@gmail.com Interested in learning more about what the National Association of Blind Students can do for you? Visit their website at: www.nabslink.org If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love to hear from you! Have you attended a student seminar in the past or planning to attend Mid-Atlantic? Give us a call at: 267-338-4495, or send us an email at whitecanesconnect@gmail.com Additional show notes at https://www.whitecanesconnect.com//140/. 

In this episode of the Nation's Blind Podcast, Anil and Melissa are joined by legislative directors Denise Avant, and Liz Wisecarver. They discuss the Blind Americans Return to Work Act, ways that blind people can advocate for ourselves, and highlights from the 2025 Washington Seminar.

In Episode 125 of White Canes Connect, hosts Lisa Bryant and David Goldstein welcome Jesse Shirek, a government affairs specialist with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). This episode focuses on the recently concluded Washington Seminar, an annual advocacy event where blind individuals from across the country meet with legislators to discuss key policy issues affecting their community. Jesse provides a historical overview of Washington Seminar, dating back to its origins in 1973, and emphasizes its continued importance today. He explains the rigorous preparation process, from training sessions to mock meetings, ensuring that NFB members present a unified and compelling case to lawmakers. This year, the seminar focused on three major legislative priorities: the Medical Device Non-Visual Accessibility Act, the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act, and the Blind Americans Return to Work Act. Additionally, a last-minute initiative emerged in response to concerning executive orders affecting disability rights and funding. Jesse shares his personal journey into advocacy, inspired by firsthand experiences witnessing systemic barriers faced by blind individuals. He highlights the power of grassroots advocacy and the significance of relationship-building with legislators. The conversation also touches on NFB-NEWSLINE®, a valuable resource for accessing newspapers and magazines in an accessible format. Listeners are encouraged to take action by reaching out to their representatives and participating in next year's Washington Seminar. For more information, Jesse provides direct contact details for those interested in advocacy or NFB resources. Show notes at https://www.whitecanesconnect.com/125   Links Mentioned Great Gathering In: https://youtu.be/wDUkAoyejtc?si=ZI0bUQdYR9TG8kgS  Washington Seminar Info & Fact Sheets: https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/washington-seminar  Want NFB-NEWSLINE? Reach out to David at VP1@NFBofPA.org. An Easy Way to Help the NFB of PA Support the NFB of PA with every purchase at White Cane Coffee Company by going to https://www.whitecanecoffee.com/ref/nfbp. When you use that link to purchase from White Cane Coffee, the NFB of PA earns a 10% commission! Share the link with your family and friends! Listen to Erin and Bob Willman from White Cane Coffee on episode 072 of White Canes Connect. Donate to the NFB of PA Like what you hear on White Canes Connect? Support us and donate to the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania, visit https://www.NFBofPA.org/give/. We Want to Hear Your Story Reach out with questions and comments, or share ideas! We want to hear from you. Call us at (267) 338-4495 or at whitecanesconnect@gmail.com. Follow White Canes Connect Find out why White Canes Connect is currently ranked at #13 of the 100 Best Visually Impaired Podcast. Find the show on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pablindpodcast 

In this episode of iCantCU, I recount my journey to Washington, D.C., for the annual National Federation of the Blind (NFB) Washington Seminar. I share insights into the event's purpose—advocating for policies that support blind Americans—and my meetings with congressional representatives and senators. I detail the structured meetings, including conversations with Senator McCormack and staff from Senator Fetterman's office, emphasizing the importance of protecting hard-won rights under laws like the ADA. I also reflect on travel challenges, from navigating train stations to nearly getting on the wrong train to trouble with taxis. Despite not feeling my best, I make the most of the experience, participating in legislative discussions and a reception in the historic Kennedy Caucus Room—where Titanic hearings were once held. I also dive into personal highlights, like my long-awaited trip to Oohh's & Aahh's for mac and cheese, only to find my taste buds uncooperative due to illness. Wrapping up, I reflect on the importance of advocacy. Join me for a firsthand look at what it's like to be part of the fight for accessibility and inclusion. Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/281  Links Mentioned (product links are affiliate links so that I may earn a commission.) Ziggy's favorite birthday present: https://amzn.to/3ZpuLTO I edit the show with Descript and love it!: https://www.iCantCU.com/descript/ Ginger shot to alleviate cold symptoms: https://amzn.to/3D1raTO Washington Seminar Info: https://nfbofpa.org/washington-seminar-2025/ Be My Eyes app (free): https://www.bemyeyes.com/  Seeing AI app (free): https://www.seeingai.com/  Catch me on ep 172 of That Real Blind Tech Show: https://thatrealblindtechshow.libsyn.com/episode-172-nfb-washington-seminar-you-got-til-the-end-of-this-hot-dog-to-convince-me Index of That Real Blind Tech Show episodes: https://www.icantcu.com/trbts/  Watch iCantCU episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iCantCU Support iCantCU When shopping at Amazon, I would appreciate it if you clicked on this link to make your purchases: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases. The best part is, you don't pay extra for doing this! White Canes Connect Podcast Episode 124 In Episode 124  of White Canes Connect, Lisa Bryant and I sit down with Patti Cox, President of the Council of Citizens with Low Vision International (CCLVI), and Glenda Such, head of Low Vision Now! The discussion, which takes place during Low Vision Awareness Month, highlights the challenges, advocacy, and support systems available for individuals with low vision. Find the podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709  Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI YouTube Https://www.youtube.com/@pablindpodcast White Canes Connect On Twitter Https://www.twitter.com/PABlindPodcast My Podcast Gear Here is all my gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Zoom H1n Recorder: https://amzn.to/3zBxJ9O  Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sony ZV-E10 camera : https://amzn.to/4fFBSxM  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Follow iCantCU on your favorite podcast directory! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/icantcu-podcast/id1445801370/  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3nck2D5HgD9ckSaUQaWwW2  Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/iCantCU-Podcast-Podcast/B08JJM26BT  IHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-icantcu-podcast-31157111/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/davidbenj  Reach out on social media Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/davidbenj Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidbenj Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidbenj LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbenj Are You or Do You Know A Blind Boss? If you or someone you know is crushing it in their field and is also blind, I want to hear from you! Call me at (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Please include your name and town, and tell me who the Blind Boss is and why I need to have them on an upcoming episode. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.

It's an all new That Real Blind Tech Show with Allison, Brian, and David.   We kick things off discussing the fascinating article about a Gaming Accessibility Advocate that may have never actually existed!   Next we discuss some guys who started a scam and learned the hard way that it is probably not a good idea to call the people you are pretending to actually be!   A company called Zulu has released an iPad Death case  that allows you to take all your secrets with you to the grave.   Amazon is rumored to be unveiling Conversational Alexa on February 26th.   The conversation then moves to discussing the battery life in Smart Glasses and what this means for the future of Smart Glasses.   The Icon Factory has released a new social Media app called Tapestry.   We then tackle the latest in A.I. DeepSeek, and our thoughts about using an A.I coming from China. If a certain Senator has his way using DeepSeek will land you in the slammer! No surprise as it has already been discovered that DeepSeek is sending its users information to Chinese government servers. If you are not going to trust an A.I coming from China, how about one coming from France?   How odd, Google's Super Bowl Gemini commercial shows off what A.I. does best, hallucinating.   Don't expect Apple Glasses any time soon.   David then fills us in about his NFB D.C. experience meeting with politicians to make blind and low vision people lives better. Oh, what a nice guy.   Brian then discusses his experience getting his guide dog Wesley's vaccination records updated with the airlines.   And it's more of Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join It's an all new That Real Blind Tech Show with Allison, Brian, and David.   We kick things off discussing the fascinating article about a Gaming Accessibility Advocate that may have never actually existed!   Next we discuss some guys who started a scam and learned the hard way that it is probably not a good idea to call the people you are pretending to actually be!   A company called Zulu has released an iPad Death case  that allows you to take all your secrets with you to the grave.   Amazon is rumored to be unveiling Conversational Alexa on February 26th.   The conversation then moves to discussing the battery life in Smart Glasses and what this means for the future of Smart Glasses.   The Icon Factory has released a new social Media app called Tapestry.   We then tackle the latest in A.I. DeepSeek, and our thoughts about using an A.I coming from China. If a certain Senator has his way using DeepSeek will land you in the slammer! No surprise as it has already been discovered that DeepSeek is sending its users information to Chinese government servers. If you are not going to trust an A.I coming from China, how about one coming from France?   How odd, Google's Super Bowl Gemini commercial shows off what A.I. does best, hallucinating.   Don't expect Apple Glasses any time soon.   David then fills us in about his NFB D.C. experience meeting with politicians to make blind and low vision people lives better. Oh, what a nice guy.   Brian then discusses his experience getting his guide dog Wesley's vaccination records updated with the airlines.   And it's more of Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005.      us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005.     

In episode 278 of iCantCU, I start off with some good news from the fantasy football world. Out of the three leagues I played in this year, I won two championships, including the NFB Students fundraising league with my team Ziggy FC. Yahoo's fantasy sports app, while not perfect, is a standout example of accessibility done right. Unfortunately, not every organization gets accessibility right. I also talk about AbilityLinks, a job site for the disabled community. Their emails included a QR code with critical information, but it wasn't screen-reader-friendly. For an organization that claims to serve the disabled, especially when blindness is considered a disability, this felt like a real miss. It's frustrating, and I wonder why they didn't just use a simple link. On the personal side, I've been working hard to migrate my website, iCantCU.com, to a new host. Along the way, I rediscovered some old email accounts, including one I'd set up for restaurant coupons. It's funny to think about how much has changed since I started using the domain nearly 19 years ago. Looking ahead, I'm heading to PodFest in Orlando, my first since 2020, and then to Washington for the NFB's Washington Seminar. I'm excited for what's to come—stay tuned! Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/278  Links Mentioned (product links are affiliate links so that I may earn a commission.) Ziggy's favorite birthday present: https://amzn.to/3ZpuLTO Be My Eyes app (free): https://www.bemyeyes.com/  Seeing AI app (free): https://www.seeingai.com/  I sat in for Alison on That Real Blind Tech Show episode 170: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-170-apple-idiocracy/id1526258077?i=1000683586240   Index of That Real Blind Tech Show episodes: https://www.icantcu.com/trbts/  Watch iCantCU episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iCantCU Support iCantCU When shopping at Amazon, I would appreciate it if you clicked on this link to make your purchases: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases. The best part is, you don't pay extra for doing this! White Canes Connect Podcast Episodes 119 and 120 In episode119 we listen to NFB of PA President Lynn Heitz give her Presidential Keynote at the State Convention in Erie. In episode 120, Dawn Sokol, the Director of the Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services, gives an update on BBVS to attendees at the State Convention in November. Find the podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709  Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI YouTube Https://www.youtube.com/@pablindpodcast White Canes Connect On Twitter Https://www.twitter.com/PABlindPodcast My Podcast Gear Here is all my gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Zoom H1n Recorder: https://amzn.to/3zBxJ9O  Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sony ZV-E10 camera : https://amzn.to/4fFBSxM  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Follow iCantCU on your favorite podcast directory! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/icantcu-podcast/id1445801370/  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3nck2D5HgD9ckSaUQaWwW2  Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/iCantCU-Podcast-Podcast/B08JJM26BT  IHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-icantcu-podcast-31157111/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/davidbenj  Reach out on social media Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/davidbenj Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidbenj Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidbenj LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbenj Are You or Do You Know A Blind Boss? If you or someone you know is crushing it in their field and is also blind, I want to hear from you! Call me at (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Please include your name and town, and tell me who the Blind Boss is and why I need to have them on an upcoming episode. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.  

In this episode of iCantCU, I explain what Washington Seminar is and discuss various aspects of my trip to Washington, D.C., for the annual event. I was part of a team from the NFB of PA that I dubbed the PA-5 Guys since we (Simon, Chip, and me) are all from Pennsylvania's 5th Congressional District.  We met with Susan Wild, D-PA7. She is a big supporter of our issues, co-sponsoring two pieces of legislation on our agenda, H.R.5813 and H.R.1328. After the meeting, we got a pic with the Congresswoman. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-PA5, was busy voting in the House Chamber when we arrived for our meeting, so we met with her aide Maddi. As we were leaving her office, our Congresswoman arrived so we could introduce ourselves to her and get a pic. I introduced myself as Artemis's dad. My son works at the Swarthmore Co-op, a store the Congresswoman frequents when she is home. We lucked out on our final day while waiting for a meeting with anyone from Senator John Fetterman's office. While waiting in the hallway, the hoodie and shorts-wearing Senator arrived at his office, so we got a chance to speak with him briefly, along with a pic. Uber is back on the podcast; this time, it isn't about the app. I recount my trips and that some drivers don't understand what blind means. Even one driver said he had vision issues, just like me! Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/256    Links Mentioned The light on my wishlist: https://amzn.to/3vGDKnq  The new BenQ PD3420Q monitor I am going to buy for my new Mac mini: https://amzn.to/4bAcOGv  Support iCantCU When shopping at Amazon, I would appreciate it if you clicked on this link to make your purchases: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases. The best part is, you don't pay extra for doing this! White Canes Connect Podcast Episode 095 In episode 095, Simon talks to Lee Etzold and Gina Pisasale about the Audio Description Learning Network (ADLN). This project brings audio description to live theater. They discuss how the program was formed, how the training was conducted, and who was selected to participate. Find the podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709  Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI IHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-white-canes-connect-89603482/ YouTube Https://www.youtube.com/@pablindpodcast White Canes Connect On Twitter Https://www.twitter.com/PABlindPodcast My Podcast Gear Here is all my gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Zoom H1n Recorder: https://amzn.to/3zBxJ9O  Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Follow iCantCU on your favorite podcast directory! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/icantcu-podcast/id1445801370/  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3nck2D5HgD9ckSaUQaWwW2  Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/iCantCU-Podcast-Podcast/B08JJM26BT  IHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-icantcu-podcast-31157111/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/davidbenj  Reach out on social media Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/davidbenj Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidbenj Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidbenj LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbenj Are You or Do You Know A Blind Boss? If you or someone you know is crushing it in their field and is also blind, I want to hear from you! Call me at (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Please include your name and town, and tell me who the Blind Boss is and why I need to have them on an upcoming episode. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.

In this episode, "Echoes of Advocacy & Empowerment: United Voices for Change," we delve into the heart of collective action and advocacy with Dr. Justin Young, a governmental affairs specialist. Join us as we explore the impactful narratives from the National Federation of the Blind Washington Seminar, highlighting the powerful convergence of voices advocating for meaningful legislative change. Discover how unity, empowerment, and collective action pushes our movement forward. From where it all began to our three current legislative priorities today, members of the Federation gather in Washington DC to meet with our elected officials at the nation's capital to advocate for change. Learn more about Washington seminar and our legislative priorities: https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/washington-seminar Hosted by Seyoon Choi and cohosted by Isabel Rosario Produced by James Yesel and Seyoon Choi Visit us on the web at nabslink.org Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and Mastodon @nabslink

In this episode of the Nation's Blind Podcast, Anil, Melissa, and Chris Danielsen discuss the upcoming Washington Seminar of the National Federation of the Blind. They talk about their memories of past seminars and the importance of advocacy, as well as the issues that will be addressed during the seminar, including Social Security reform, accessible medical equipment, and website and software accessibility. They emphasize the power of personal stories in influencing legislators and encourage listeners to get involved in advocacy efforts.   Important Links: NFB Washington Seminar Page: https://nfb.org/washington-seminar  

In this episode of iCantCU, I explain some problems with another app. Starbucks, I'm talking to you. How is a blind or visually impaired person supposed to place an order for a store that is now a mobile order pick-up-only location if the app isn't accessible? On the bright side, I now have an app to use as a demonstration when we meet our Representatives and US Senators during the NFB's Washington Seminar.  I also discuss what is going on with Ziggy. He's had an issue since late September and recently had more tests. It may be food allergies. The Golden Menace has become a money pit, but we'll do whatever we can to improve our pooch.  Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/254  Links Mentioned Stanley 64oz Insulated Stainless Steel Mug: https://amzn.to/3TKkfUW  Logitech 920 Webcam: https://amzn.to/3S2YoHd  The light on my wishlist: https://amzn.to/3vGDKnq  Rishi Chai Tea that Eliz loves: https://amzn.to/48E2LOB  Learn More About Descript The transcript from this episode is done using Descript. Squadcast is now part of Descript, and I'm excited to try it when recording an interview. Try out Descript for free at https://www.descript.com/?lmref=Yw2dhQ. This is an affiliate link, so I'll earn a commission if you pay for the app. Thanks! Support iCantCU When shopping at Amazon, I would appreciate it if you clicked on this link to make your purchases: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases. The best part is, you don't pay extra for doing this! White Canes Connect Podcast Episode 094 In episode 094, Lisa and I talk to Christine Palmer, the organizer of the NFB of PA's diabetes support group, Debbie Wunder, President of the NFB's Diabetes Action Network (DAN,) and Anil Lewis, NFB Executive Director and DAN Second Vice President about the new group in PA and diabetes in general. Find the podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709  Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI IHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-white-canes-connect-89603482/ YouTube Https://www.youtube.com/@pablindpodcast White Canes Connect On Twitter Https://www.twitter.com/PABlindPodcast My Podcast Gear Here is all my gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Zoom H1n Recorder: https://amzn.to/3zBxJ9O  Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Follow iCantCU on your favorite podcast directory! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/icantcu-podcast/id1445801370/  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3nck2D5HgD9ckSaUQaWwW2  Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/iCantCU-Podcast-Podcast/B08JJM26BT  Heart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-icantcu-podcast-31157111/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/davidbenj  Reach out on social media Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/davidbenj Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidbenj Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidbenj LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbenj Are You or Do You Know A Blind Boss? If you or someone you know is crushing it in their field and is also blind, I want to hear from you! Call me at (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Please include your name and town, and tell me who the Blind Boss is and why I need to have them on an upcoming episode. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.

Welcome to our January 2024 monthly Digest: a monthly newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania! The events and information listed below will be within the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania and any pertinent information from the National Federation of the Blind and the Pennsylvania blind community. If you or anyone you know have any upcoming events or information that can pertain to the blind community in Pennsylvania, please send them to Stacie Leap at nfb.stacie@gmail.com by the 27th of the month so it can be added to our calendar for the following month.   Editor's Note Hello all: I do apologize that December 2023's edition never came out. I was experiencing some hardships and had to remove myself from certain obligations. Thank you to those who checked on me and kept me in their thoughts and prayers.   On a happier note, the Monthly Digest is one year old! We started this monthly newsletter in January 2023, and it was a pleasure sharing all of this information with everybody! I have received many emails with positive feedback and am glad people are reading this newsletter. That was a fear of mine: that people would not read this newsletter and delete it. However, I am happy that people are engaging with the newsletter. Thank you all!  - Stacie Leap     A Message from our State Affiliate President   Dear Members and Friends, Happy New Year! It was wonderful spending time with you at our recent State Convention in November 2023. We had record registration, record attendance at the Banquet and the Possibilities Fair, and an overflowing Exhibit Hall. The feedback I have received about the programming has been overwhelmingly positive.  Thank you to the many hands, hearts, and minds that went into putting this together!!! Looking forward to wonderful things in 2024! Sincerely, Lynn Heitz President, National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania president@NFBOfPA.org   Google Calendar Links   The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania also has a Google Calendar that can be viewed either through the web or subscribed to your calendar apps. You can view the calendar at www.NFBofPA.org/calendar. However, if you wish to subscribe to the calendar and get the events on your calendar apps, please Subscribe and go through the steps to subscribe:   Member Spotlight: David Goldstein   Each month, we will highlight someone within our affiliate. The goal is to allow us to learn about other members within the affiliate. We hope you enjoy this little spotlight! David Goldstein was recently elected as the First Vice President of our state affiliate during our 2023 State Convention! He is also the Treasurer of the Keystone Chapter and Treasurer of the Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants. He is also one of the hosts of White Canes Connect, our official state affiliate podcast. In addition, he is also our web coordinator of our new affiliate website: www.nfbofpa.org. If you do not think that is enough, he is the President of Digital Graphics Design, LLC. David is a father of two adult children and a dog dad to Ziggy, a golden retriever. He is into technology and has his own podcast, iCantCU, where he chronicles his life and the different activities he is involved in. In his own words, “iCantCU sounds like a sentence, but it is only 7 letters long. It is like blind people for dummies.” If you ever get a chance to meet David, do not forget to say, “Hello!”   Calendar of Events   The following events are also on our Google calendar with the Zoom information or meeting location. If anyone within a chapter, division, or group sees any errors or misinformation, please contact Stacie Leap at nfb.stacie@gmail.com   The below information is correct as of the first week of the month. The information is most up-to-date on the Google Calendar. Please check back periodically to ensure the correct information is correct.   Coffee with the State President and Board   This monthly discussion meeting brings everybody together to get to know the state affiliate board members and the happenings within the state's divisions, chapters, and advocacy efforts. This meeting is typically held on the 1st Wednesday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with State President Lynn Heitz at president@nfbofpa.org Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at 7:30 PM.    Jigsaw Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who do not have a local chapter in their geographical area. This is our at-large chapter Meetings. This meeting is typically held on the first Saturday of the month. Saturday, January 6, 2024 at 10 AM   Deaf Blind Division Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who consider themselves Deaf Blind and their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the second Monday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Division President Chris Westbrook at westbchris@gmail.com Monday, January 8, 2024 at 6 PM.   Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants (PABM) Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who are or wish to be involved with the Business Enterprise Program, entrepreneurship, and their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the second Wednesday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Division President Pamela Baquero at oneblindhippie@yahoo.com  Wednesday, January 10, 2024 at 6 PM.   Greater Berks Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Berks County of Pennsylvania. This meeting is typically held on the second Friday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Chapter President Rosemary Freedman at dogguide.winston@icloud.com Friday, January 12, 2024 at 10 AM.   Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. This includes Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and the surrounding areas. This meeting is typically held on the second Saturday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Chapter President Cheryl Frazier at cherylnfrazier@yahoo.com Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 10 AM.   Keystone Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Philadelphia area. The other chapter is the Greater Philadelphia Chapter. This meeting is typically held on the second Saturday of the month at the Penn Museum. For more information, please get in touch with Chapter President Harriet Go at goharriet00@hotmail.com Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 10:15 AM.   Happy Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in or surrounding State College, Pennsylvania. This meeting is typically held on the second Saturday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Chapter President Michelle McManus at michelleandremy@gmail.com Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 1 PM.   Diabetes Action Network (DAN) Group Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who have diabetes, pre-diabetes, or are at risk for developing diabetes. This group typically meets on the third Monday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Group Chair Christine Palmer at tinybuchanan1204@gmail.com Monday, January 15, 2024, at 7 PM.   Pennsylvania Organization of Parents of Blind Children (PAOPBC) Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for parents of blind children and their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the third Tuesday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Division President Emily Gindlesperger at vp2@nfbp.org Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at 1 PM.   Pittsburgh Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Pittsburgh area. This meeting is typically held on the third Wednesday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Chapter Revitalizing Team Members Emily Gindlesperger at vp2@nfbp.org or Denice Brown at dbrown8827@aol.com Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 6 PM.   Capital Area Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Harrisburg area. This meeting is typically held on the third Saturday of the month. For More Information, please get in touch with Chapter President Jason Polanski at jaedpo96@gmail.com Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 10 AM.   Erie County Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in Erie County, Pennsylvania. This meeting is typically held on the third Saturday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Connie Scheu at conniej1250@gmail.com Saturday, January 20, 2024, at 2 PM.   Blind Parents Group Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for blind parents, grandparents, and their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the third Saturday of the month. For more information, please contact Group Chair Stacie Leap at Stacie.leap@gmail.com. Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 7 PM.   Pennsylvania Association of Blind Students (PABS) Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for blind students of all ages and their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the fourth Monday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Division President Simon Bonenfant at sbonenfant2@gmail.com Monday, January 22, 2024 at 7 PM.   Blind Seniors Group Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who are seniors or almost seniors as well as their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the fourth Wednesday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Group Chair Connie Scheu at conniej1250@gmail.com Wednesday, January 24, 2024 at 7:30 PM.   Brandywine Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Brandywine Valley area of PA. This meeting is typically held on the fourth Saturday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Chapter President Lynn Heitz at president@nfbofpa.org Saturday, January 27, 2024 at 10 AM.   Greater Philadelphia Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Philadelphia area. The other chapter is the Keystone Chapter. This meeting is typically held on the fourth Saturday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Chapter President Denice Brown at dbrown8827@aol.com Saturday, January 27, 2024 at 10 AM.    Pennsylvania Association of Guide Dog Users (PAGDU) Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who have or are considering getting a guide dog and their supporters. This meeting is typically held on the fourth Saturday of the month. For more information, please get in touch with Division President Becca Weber at weberbecca630@gmail.com Saturday, January 27, 2024 at 4 PM.   White Canes Connect Podcast   Did you know the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania has a podcast? It is hosted by members David Goldstein and Lisa Bryant, as well as some guest hosts. It features interviews with our PA members and interviews and resources for the blind community. The monthly Digest is also on the podcast for those who wish to hear a human's voice instead of a screen reader. You can listen to it wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, IHeartRadio, and YouTube @PABlindPodcast. Contact White Canes Connect at whitecanesconnect@gmail.com if you have any show ideas or wish to be on the podcast.   State Convention 2023   We had our state convention in November 2023 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Here are some highlights!  We had 28 people register for our Senior Possibilities Fair. This was our 2nd year having it at the convention, and this was our highest number of registrants! 10 people attended the state convention as a first-timer! Welcome to our NFB of pA family! A total of 125 people registered for the convention! We had our state board elections, and the following people have been elected: President: Lynn Heitz First Vice President: David Goldstein Second Vice President: Emily Gindlesperger Secretary: Harriet Go Treasurer: Brian Mackey Board Director: Denice Brown Board Director: Kirk Hunger Board Director: Michelle McManus   Diabetes Action Network (DAN) Group formed in Pennsylvania!   We are delighted to have a new group join our NFB of PA family! This group, Diabetes Action Network (DAN), aims to educate and provide peer support for those living with diabetes or for those who are at risk for developing diabetes. The group plans to meet quarterly on the second Monday of the month at 7 PM. For more information, please get in touch with the Group Chair, Christine Palmer, at tinybuchanan1204@gmail.com   Washington Seminar 2024   At our Washington Seminar, members of the National Federation of the Blind convene to learn about and advocate for legislative initiatives that will improve the lives of blind Americans. Dates: Monday, January 29 through Thursday, February 1, 2024 Location: Holiday Inn Washington Capitol – National Mall 550 C Street, SW Washington, DC 20024   If you want more information on what the NFB of PA is doing regarding Washington Seminar, please get in touch with our Legislative Director, Emily Gindlesperger, at vp2@nfbp.org   For more information on Washington Seminar, please visit www.nfbofpa.org/washington-seminar.   Shout-Outs and Announcements!   Birthday Wishes   The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania wishes all those born in December & January a very happy birthday!   Fundraisers   Blind Parents Group T-Shirts Fundraiser   The T-shirts come in either black with white lettering or white with black lettering. Both shirts say “I Support #BlindParents” with the NFB of PA Logo and “Blind Parents Group” at the bottom. Funds raised will start a financial fund to assist blind or visually impaired parents and their families through financial life hardships. To purchase a t-shirt, please contact Stacie Leap at nfb.stacie@gmail.com   NFB Pledge   I pledge to participate actively in the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind; to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.   NFB Message   The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams.   Many thanks to everybody for all they do within the Federation!   Thanks!   the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania team www.nfbofpa.org  

In this episode of iCantCU, I discuss my frustration with an app for doing a music survey from Alt Nation on SiriusXM. Generally speaking, the app was probably about 70% accessible. However, the most important part was not. You've got to hear the song to rate it. If you can't find the play button, you can't listen. This is not the only app that has accessibility issues, and I'm not the only blind/visually impaired person to have trouble using accessible apps. That is why I am looking forward to Washington Seminar in January. This is part of our agenda when we go to lobby Congress. Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/253 Links Mentioned Stanley 64oz Insulated Stainless Steel Mug: https://amzn.to/3TKkfUW  Logitech 920 Webcam: https://amzn.to/3S2YoHd  That Real Blind Tech Show Ep 144: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-144-worlds-collide-its-a-pornhub-party/id1526258077?i=1000639750606  Double Tap vs. That Real Blind Tech Show: https://doubletaponair.com/double-tap-vs-that-real-blind-tech-show/  High Street Philadelphia restaurant:  https://highstreetonmarket.com/  Learn More About Descript The transcript from this episode is done using Descript. Squadcast is now part of Descript, and I'm excited to try it when recording an interview. Try out Descript for free at https://www.descript.com/?lmref=Yw2dhQ. This is an affiliate link, so I'll earn a commission if you pay for the app. Thanks! Support iCantCU When shopping at Amazon, I would appreciate it if you clicked on this link to make your purchases: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases. The best part is, you don't pay extra for doing this! White Canes Connect Podcast Episode 092 In episode 092, Lisa and I do a recap of the 2023 NFB of PA State Convention with voicemails and emails from attendees. We used AI voices to read the emails. I'd love your feedback. Call, email, or comment on YouTube. We also review our favorite episodes and have audio clips of previous guests sharing their holiday greetings. Find the podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709  Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI IHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-white-canes-connect-89603482/ YouTube Https://www.youtube.com/@pablindpodcast White Canes Connect On Twitter Https://www.twitter.com/PABlindPodcast My Podcast Gear Here is all my gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Zoom H1n Recorder: https://amzn.to/3zBxJ9O  Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Follow iCantCU on your favorite podcast directory! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/icantcu-podcast/id1445801370/  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3nck2D5HgD9ckSaUQaWwW2  Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/iCantCU-Podcast-Podcast/B08JJM26BT  Heart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-icantcu-podcast-31157111/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/davidbenj  Reach out on social media Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/davidbenj Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidbenj Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidbenj LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbenj Are You or Do You Know A Blind Boss? If you or someone you know is crushing it in their field and is also blind, I want to hear from you! Call me at (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Please include your name and town, and tell me who the Blind Boss is and why I need to have them on an upcoming episode. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.  

In this episode of iCantCU, I discuss updating my resume using AI to apply for a job related to the BEP. I talk about how the AI helped rewrite the bullet points, making them more impressive. I also share my Instagram experience and the challenges of posting with voiceover. I explain the benefits of using Meta Creator Studio to post from a computer. I express the importance of alt tags for visually impaired users and my disappointment with the alt tags not posting while using Creator Studio. Additionally, I discuss my work on the NFB of PA website, mentioning the need for assistance with WP Forms and article writing. Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/234   Links Mentioned Article on Washington Seminar: https://nfbofpa.org/shaping-policy-for-blind-americans-nfb-washington-seminar-2023/ GoPro Hero11: https://amzn.to/3PjIuqG  Zoom M2 MicTrak: https://amzn.to/43NKoo2   Learn More About Descript The transcript from this episode is done using Descript. Try out Descript for free at https://www.descript.com/?lmref=Yw2dhQ. This is an affiliate link, so I'll earn a commission if you pay for the app. Thanks! Support iCantCU When shopping at Amazon, I would appreciate it if you clicked on this link to make your purchases: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases. The best part is, you don't pay extra for doing this! White Canes Connect Podcast Episode 076 In episode 076, Preston and Simon talk with Joanne Kim and Ashleigh Rogers, NFB Scholarship winners. Find the podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI IHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-white-canes-connect-89603482/ YouTube Https://www.youtube.com/@pablindpodcast White Canes Connect On Twitter Https://www.twitter.com/PABlindPodcast My Podcast Gear Here is all my gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Zoom H1n Recorder: https://amzn.to/3zBxJ9O  Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Follow iCantCU On Your Favorite Podcast Directory! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | Google | IHeartRadio Reach Out On Social Media Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn Are You Or Do You Know A Blind Boss? If you or someone you know is crushing it in their field and is also blind, I want to hear from you! Call me at (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Include your name and town, and tell me who the Blind Boss is and why I need to have them on an upcoming episode. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.

Welcome to our May 2023 monthly Digest: a monthly newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania!   During the first few days of the month, we will start sending out our calendar of events. These events will be within the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania as well as any pertinent information from the National Federation of the Blind and the Pennsylvania blind community.   If you or anyone you know have any upcoming events or information that can pertain to the blind community in Pennsylvania, please send them to Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com by the 29th of the month so it can be added to our calendar for the following month.       For those using screen readers, you can use your heading navigations to skip around the email.     1. Google Calendar Links   The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania also has a Google Calendar that can be viewed either through the web or subscribed to your calendar apps.   You can view the calendar without subscribing to it and view it on your web browser by clicking: View our Google Calendar   However, if you wish to subscribe to the calendar and get the events on your calendar apps, please click Subscribe and go through the steps to subscribe:     2. Member Spotlight” Emily Gindlesperger   Each month, we will highlight someone within our affiliate. The goal is to allow other members to learn about other members within the affiliate. We hope you enjoy this little spotlight!       Emily Gindlesperger serves as our affiliate as the 2nd Vice President. She was also nominated to be our Legislative Director and 2023 Convention Chair. As Legislative Director, she is the lead on our Washington Seminar events where a group of people talk and advocate to our federal legislators on issues affecting our Pennsylvania blind community.  She is also the President of the Pennsylvania Organization of Parents of Blind Children (PAOPBC). She sits with other parents at IEP meetings in order to ensure the best accommodations for blind children. A mother of two, enjoys baking cookies and making soup. She likes to network with other people at the annual state convention so if you get a chance to meet her, do not forget to say “Hello!”     3. Calendar of Events   The following events are also on our Google calendar with the Zoom information. If anyone within a chapter, division, or group see any errors or misinformation, please contact Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com        The below information is correct as of the first week of the month. The information is most up-to-date on the Google Calendar so please check back periodically to ensure the right information.     Jigsaw Chapter monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for those who do not have a local chapter in their geographical area. This is our at-large chapter.  Meetings   Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 10 AM ET     Deaf Blind Division Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for those who consider themselves to be Deaf Blind and their supporters.    Monday, May 8, 2023 at 6PM ET     Pennsylvania Organization of Parents of Blind Children (PAOPBC) Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for parents of blind children and their supporters    Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at 11 AM ET     Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants (PABM) Monthly Meeting    a monthly meeting for those who are or wish to be involved with the Business Enterprise Program, entrepreneurship and their supporters.     Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at 6PM ET       Greater Berks Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Berks County of Pennsylvania   Friday, May 12, 2023 at 10 AM ET     Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.  This includes Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and the surrounding areas.   Saturday, May 13, 2023 at 10 AM ET.     Keystone Chapter Monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Greater Philadelphia area. The other chapter is the Greater Philadelphia Chapter.   Saturday, May 13, 2023 at 10:15AM ET     Pittsburgh Chapter Monthly Meeting   A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Pittsburgh area.   Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 6PM ET       Capital Area Chapter Monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Harrisburg area.     Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 10 AM ET     Greater Philadelphia Chapter Monthly Meeting   a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Greater Philadelphia area.  The other chapter is the Keystone Chapter.   Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 10 AM ET       Erie County Chapter Monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for those who live in Erie County Pennsylvania.   Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 2PM ET       Blind Parents Group Monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for blind parents, grandparents, and their supporters     Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 7PM ET       Pennsylvania Association of Blind Students (PABS) Monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for blind students of all ages and their supporters.     Monday, May 22, 2023 at 7PM ET       Blind Seniors Group Monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for those who are seniors or almost seniors as well as their supporters.     Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 7:30PM ET       Brandywine Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for those who live in the Brandywine Valley.     Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 10 AM ET       Pennsylvania Association of Guide Dog Users (PAGDU) Monthly Meeting     a monthly meeting for those who have or are considering getting a guide dog as well as their supporters.     Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 4pm ET     4.  White Canes Connect Podcast    Did you know that the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania has a podcast? It is hosted by members David Goldstein and Lisa Bryant. It features interviews with our PA members as well as interviews and resources for the blind community. You can listen to it wherever you listen to podcasts.   Listen on  Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Amazon Music , IHeartRadio , and on Twitter @PABlindPodcast . Contact White Canes Connect at whitecanesconnect@gmail.com if you have any show ideas or wish to be on the podcast.     5. National Convention 2023   *Registration is now open for the 2023 National Convention. Tickets are $25 and banquet tickets are $70. The convention will take place in Houston, Texas from July 1-6, 2023. Hotel information and registration links are at * *www.nfb.org/convention*      6. Special Shout-Outs! Birthday Wishes   The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania would like to wish all those who were born in May a very happy birthday!     Thank you, Mom!   The NFB of PA would also like to extend our gratitude to all mothers and mother figures! Thank you for all your hard work, perseverance. Love, and support! Happy Mother's Day!     Congratulations to Cheryl Frazier!   We would like to congratulate Cheryl Frazier for being nominated as the President of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter at their April 2023 meeting. She previously served the role of Vice President! Congratulations!!!     A Message from Stacie Leap   “Hello Federation family! Thank you to everybody for all your well wishes, positive thoughts, and prayers as I went through a big medical emergency. I ended up with a bad case of pneumonia that ended up affecting a lot of my already existing health conditions. I am slowly regaining my health and slowly taking on responsibilities. This past month has helped me reflect on my health and I will be taking more time focusing on my health instead of pushing it off to the side. I thank those who called, texted, and showed up to help. I really, really, really appreciate all of you!”     7. Fundraisers PAOPBC Chocolate Fundraiser   The Pennsylvania Organization of Parents of Blind Children ended their Sarris Chocolate fundraiser and would like to thank everybody who helped make the fundraiser a success!     Community Service Division to bring their boxes of love service project to national convention!   The National Federation of the Blind Community Service Division will participate in a service project on Sunday, July 2, 2023. We are partnering with The Ronald McDonald House in Houston, Texas.   Our division's goal is to fill 100 Bags of Love. The items we need to collect are below:   ·        Individual variety snacks (Chips, Crackers, Cereal/Granola Bars of any kind)   ·        Ramen noodles   ·        Shampoo/Conditioners   ·        Toothbrushes/Hair Brushes   ·        Toothpaste   ·        Disinfectant Wipes   ·        Ziploc Bags of all sizes   ·        wet wipes   ·        mouthwash   ·        lotion   ·        bath towels or sponges   ·        hand sanitizer   ·        razors   ·        deodorant (all types)   ·        body wash (bars or bottle)       These brand-new products can be trial or any size.  Also, if you plan to mail your products to our division president, they will need to be mailed by Wednesday, May 31, 2023. If you have questions, please contact Jeanetta Price at 409-344-1005.       Mailing Address   Jeanetta Price   8035 San Bruno Street   Beaumont, Texas 77708     Blind Parents Group T-Shirts Fundraiser   The Blind Parents Group still has some t-shirts left over from our fundraising efforts at the state convention. The t-shirts come in either black with white letterings or white with black letterings. Both shirts say “I Support #BlindParents” with the NFB of PA Logo and “Blind Parents Group” at the bottom. Funds raised will start a scholarship fund to assist blind or visually impaired parents and their family through financial life hardships. To purchase a t-shirt, please contact Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com     8. Other External Events   These events are not hosted or sponsored by the NFB or the NFB of PA. However, we think these might be good resources for those living in Pennsylvania. If you have any events that you wish to be in our monthly digest, please email Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com     SEPTA Advisory Council Meeting Postponed   The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority typically holds monthly advisory council meetings to the public; however, meetings are postponed until further notice. There was a May meeting scheduled but it was canceled. Please see the letter sent to the Advisory Council and public. This was sent out in February 2023.   Good afternoon, SAC members and general public,   I regret to inform you that the February 9, 2023, SAC meeting is canceled. SEPTA must complete an internal investigation regarding the conduction of SAC meetings.       SAC meetings will resume upon SAC chairs and SEPTA coming to a resolution on their internal issues. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.       Sincerely,       The SAC chairs     John Jon Awareness Walk   Our member Lyvette Byrd is putting on her 2nd Annual John Jon Awareness Walk on Saturday, July 15, 2023 at the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge Park in Philadelphia, PA. It is to raise awareness about people with different abilities and to honor their advocates. More information and registration coming soon!     Liberty Resources' Blind/Low Vision Support Group   Our members Karen Rose and Simone Cooper partner up with Liberty Resources to hold a weekly virtual support group at Liberty Resources. The aim is to share resources and provide support to those experiencing blindness or low vision. Meetings are weekly on Tuesdays from 1pm to 2pm ET via Zoom. You do not need to live in Philadelphia to attend these meetings, this is open to all in Pennsylvania! For more information or to sign-up, please email Latoya Maddox at LatoyaMaddox@libertyresources.org     Vision Thru Art   Vision Thru Art is a weekly sculpture class for blind and visually-impaired artists that has been running at Allens Lane Art Center for more than 30 years. Our dedicated faculty, staff and volunteers help the students express their inner vision through a variety of media including clay, wood, mosaic, stone and other mixed materials. The students are encouraged to work at their own pace while enjoying the easy-going social atmosphere of the class. In 2014, Allens Lane Art Center made the class completely free for all the students including free art supplies each year.   *Location:* The Fluhr Studio - (downstairs back studio accessible by rear entrance). Many of the students use Para-transit to get to the class. Service dogs are of course welcome.   *Day/Time:*  Wednesday, 10:30 am – 12:30pm and Friday 10:30 am – 12:30pm.   *Fees:* There are no fees for this class.   *Registration:* Contact by phone (215-248-0546) or by https://allenslane.org/vision-thru-art/     Women Healed For A Purpose 2023 Conference!   Our member Lyvette Byrd is hosting her 2nd Annual Women Healed For a Purpose Conference under her business, For The Byrds Consulting, LLC. The mission of the conference is to equip and restore the community through a faith-based initiative that we hope will strengthen women holistically; mind, body, and spirit.   We are women Living Interdependently in support of Family, Friends, and our Fellow neighbors to Educate and Empower our community. The event will be on Saturday, October 28, 2023. More details about the event will come at a later date!     9. NFB Pledge   I pledge to participate actively in the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind; to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.     10. NFB Message   The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams.       Many thanks to everybody for all they do within the Federation!

In this episode of iCantCU, I talk about traveling to Washington to lobby congress as part of the NFB's annual Washington Seminar. In a first for me, I finally had a meeting with a congressman, not just their staff. It was a very productive couple of days in DC. While I didn't get a chance to do any sightseeing, I did sit in on the meetings with the staff of both Pennsylvania Senators. In Just Listen, there are clips from the trip to Washington, a clip from the monorail that goes under the Capitol to the Russell office building, and a sound bite from PA Senator Bob Casey. Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/217   Seleste Glasses The Seleste Glasses beta version is coming in the next month or two. Learn more about them at https://www.seleste.co. Support iCantCU When shopping at Amazon, I would appreciate it if you clicked on this link to make your purchases: https://www.iCantCU.com/amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associate Program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases. The best part is, you don't pay extra for doing this! White Canes Connect Podcast Episode 060 In episode 060 of White Canes Connect, Lisa and I speak with Suzy Wilburn from Southeastern Guide Dogs. She leads us through the process of getting a dog to training with the dog. Suzy also tells us the most significant need for SEGD is puppy raisers. If you are interested in getting a guide dog from them, get on the waiting list at https://www.guidedogs.org. Find the podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI IHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-white-canes-connect-89603482/ Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7dd1600d-05fa-48f3-8a8e-456e30e690bc/white-canes-connect White Canes Connect On Twitter Https://www.twitter.com/PABlindPodcast  Support Keystone Chapter Please consider donating to the Keystone Chapter of the National Federation Of The Blind Of Pennsylvania. Go to http://www.SupportKeystoneChapter.org. Enter any amount you want to give. There is even a box you can check to cover the fees, which is helpful if you want to make a small donation of a dollar or two. PayPal handles payments, but you don't need a PayPal account. You can donate with any credit or debit card. Thank you so much! I appreciate it. My Podcast Gear Here is all my gear and links to it on Amazon. I participate in the Amazon Associates Program and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Zoom Podtrak P4: https://amzn.to/33Ymjkt Zoom ZDM Mic & Headphone Pack: https://amzn.to/33vLn2s Zoom H1n Recorder: https://amzn.to/3zBxJ9O  Gator Frameworks Desk Mounted Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/3AjJuBK Shure SM58 S Mic: https://amzn.to/3JOzofg  Sennheiser Headset (1st 162 episodes): https://amzn.to/3fM0Hu0  Follow iCantCU On Your Favorite Podcast Directory! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | Google | IHeartRadio Reach Out On Social Media Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn Get In Touch If you've got questions, comments, or show ideas, I want to hear from you! Call (646) 926-6350 and leave a message. Include your name and town, and let me know if using your voice on an upcoming episode is okay. You can also email the show at iCantCUPodcast@gmail.com.

  In this episode of White Canes Connect, we talk with Kim Stanley (Greater Philadelphia Chapter) and Tim McCarthy (Capital Chapter)  about Washington Seminar and the importance of self-advocacy. We also introduce a new segment on apps with Denice Brown. Show notes at https://www.whitecanesconnect.com/023 There's Still Time To Get Involved It is so important for us to have large showings at these meetings, please consider attending some of the remaining meetings with members of Congress. Contact Emily at vp2@nfbp.org. Three Apps That Offer Live Help The three apps that Denice mentioned are Aira, Be My Eyes, and FaceTime. All three apps offer a live person to help you accomplish your task at hand. Aira Aira (https://aira.io/) is a visual interpreting service. Plans start at $29, but there are many free zones where you can use the service. Aira staff are trained and bonded. Be My Eyes Be My Eyes (https://www.bemyeyes.com/) is a free app that connects blind and low-vision people with sighted volunteers and company representatives for visual assistance through a live video call. FaceTime If you have an iPhone, iPad, Mac computer, or an Apple Watch, you already have this app. The difference with FaceTime and the two other apps is that you will know the person on the other end of the call. Give Us A Call We'd love to hear from you! We've got a phone number for you to call and ask us questions, give us feedback, or just say, “hi!” Call us at (267) 338-4495. You have up to three minutes for your message and we might use it on an upcoming episode. Please leave your name and town as part of your message.  Follow White Canes Connect Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | IHeartRadio  Connect With Us If you've got questions, comments, or show ideas, reach out on Twitter. We are @PABlindPodcast. You can also email us at WhiteCanesConnect@gmail.com

In this episode of White Canes Connect, we talk with NFB of PA Legislative Director Emily Gindlesberger and Stacie Leap about Washington Seminar. We hear about this year's meetings, so far, and learn about the Legislative Liaisons in the affiliate. Show notes at https://www.whitecanesconnect.com/022 There's Still Time To Get Involved It is so important for us to have large showings at these meetings, please consider attending some of the remaining meetings with members of Congress. Contact Emily at vp2@nfbp.org. Give Us A Call We'd love to hear from you! We've got a phone number for you to call and ask us questions, give us feedback, or just say, “hi!” Call us at (267) 338-4495. You have up to three minutes for your message and we might use it on an upcoming episode. Please leave your name and town as part of your message.  Follow White Canes Connect Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | IHeartRadio  Connect With Us If you've got questions, comments, or show ideas, reach out on Twitter. We are @PABlindPodcast. You can also email us at WhiteCanesConnect@gmail.com

In this episode of White Canes Connect, we talk with NFB Executive Director of Advocacy and Policy John Paré. John first learned of the National Federation of the Blind as a user of NFB-NEWSLINE®. That led him to positions at the chapter level, then the affiliate level, and finally to working at the National Center in Baltimore. John gives us a background on Washington Seminar and goes over the agenda for this years event. Show notes at https://www.whitecanesconnect.com/019 Washington Seminar 2022 Washington Seminar runs from February 7-10. Read more about the background of Washington Seminar and all about this year's legislative agenda on NFB.org. More on Washington Seminar on NFBP.org. Contact John Paré Email John at jpare@nfb.org. Call John at (410) 659-9314, extension 2218. NFB-NEWSLINE® NFB-NEWSLINE® is a free audio news service for anyone who is blind, low-vision, deafblind, or otherwise print-disabled that offers access to more than 500 publications, emergency weather alerts, job listings, and more. Learn more about NFB-NEWSLINE®.  Follow White Canes Connect Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | IHeartRadio  Connect With Us If you've got questions, comments, or show ideas, reach out on Twitter. We are @PABlindPodcast. You can also email us at WhiteCanesConnect@gmail.com

President Mark Riccobono delivers presidential release #511 before a live virtual and in-person audience. He provides perspective on the eighty-first anniversary of the Federation and our mantra this year, Forward. He discusses NFB-NEWSLINE services, Washington Seminar, advocacy efforts for the Access Technology Affordability Act and the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act, and updates on the Federation Family.

President Mark Riccobono delivers presidential release #510 before a live virtual audience. He provides perspective regarding the 2022 Washington Seminar, eliminating subminimum wage update, our work on kiosks, revisions on our code of conduct, and introduction of our new Blind Survivors Group.

Angie and Kimberly sit down and discuss about the NFB's legislative event, "Washington Seminar". Kimberly discusses the topics that were discussed this year as well as what the purpose of them is. Angie goes over the topics for the ACB's, "Washington Connection". Links and info: NFB Washington Seminar: www.NFB.org/programs-services/washingtonseminar ACB Washington Connection: www.ACB.org/washington-connection

President Riccobono delivers the presidential release before a live virtual audience. He discusses many celebrations to include Black History Month, the Blind Driver Challenge, and the Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research. President Riccobono also provides updates on the NFB Survivor Task Force, RAINN training, Diversity and Inclusion Committee initiatives, Washington Seminar, and more. To access the full presidential release with the Q&A session, please visit our YouTube channel at YouTube.com/NationsBlind.

In this episode of the iCantCU Podcast, I talk about prep work for Washington Seminar, the NFB's annual lobbying event and how it differs from most years. I also talk about my computer conundrum in the living room. I don't have one there, but need one until Ziggy can safely come down into Studio B with me. Show notes at https://www.iCantCU.com/110

President Riccobono delivers the presidential release before a live virtual audience. He discusses recent updates with the national convention, independence market, Department of Transportation regarding travelers traveling via air with service animals, Washington Seminar, and more. President Riccobono announces a new important partnership with RAINN and the introduction of the Survivor Task Force. For the full event that includes the question and answer segment section, please visit our YouTube channel: YouTube.com/NationsBlind.

President Riccobono delivers the presidential release before a live virtual audience. He discusses our eightieth anniversary, Washington Seminar, voting resources, the Teachers of Tomorrow training program, the Smart Cities Summit, our scholarship program, an update on the PAC plan, and more.

Braille Monitor - April 2020 Vol. 63, No. 4, April 2020 The 2020 Washington Seminar by Gary Wunder Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans: Priorities for the 116th Congress, Second Session Access Technology Affordability Act Greater Access and Independence through Nonvisual Access Technology (GAIN) Act Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education (AIM HIGH) Act Remarks of Congressman Bobby Scott by Gary Wunder Hearing on Autonomous Vehicles: Promises and Challenges of Evolving Automotive Technologies by Mark Riccobono Being Honest with Oneself Should Require No Debate by Ryan Strunk On Privilege by Geerat J. Vermeij The Tours in Texas by Norma Crosby I am a Federationist by Jessica Reed The Unknown by Marc Maurer Why Attend the 2020 NFB Career Fair? by Dick Davis The Blind Doctor of Rocanville by Eva-Lis Wuorio Leave a Legacy Blindness: Is the Public Against Us? by Kenneth Jernigan Continuing the Recipe Column by Gary Wunder Recipes Monitor Miniatures

At the Washington Seminar, members of the National Federation of the Blind took to Capitol Hill to advocate for legislative initiatives that will improve the lives of blind Americans. Simon Bonenfant from Blind Abilities attended his 8th Washington Seminar and joined hundreds of others in an effort to educate the Representatives and Senators about Blindness and to support legislation that would  improve the lives of blind Americans. John G. Paré, Jr., joins Simon in the Blind Abilities studio and talks about the agenda the NFB brought to Washington DC. Although Simon is still in High School, he is somewhat a veteran at attending the annual event and elaborate on the changes and successes that he has seen since he has been attending. Join John and Simon and learn about what you can do to help improve the lives of blind Americans. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. To find your State Services in your State you can go to www.AFB.org and search the directory for your agency. Contact:   Thank you for listening! You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Check out the Blind Abilities Community on Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired, the Assistive Technology Community for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the Facebook group That Blind Tech Show.

President Riccobono delivers breaking news from Washington Seminar, announces that registration for the 2020 National Convention is now open, and reminds everyone to complete the Braille Monitor survey. The President also provides updates from our Dream Makers Circle.

Welcome to this edition of Michael's Weekly Perspective Podcast. During today's podcast, I'm going to demonstrate how to send a voice message using the web version of Anchor, Then towards the end of this podcast, I'm going to have a chat with Johna Wright about Washington Seminar and the important of advocacy. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

All of you need to know our Clinical Business of Dentistry Introductory Seminar is always being updated. We continue to place new information in our presentations as we go. However, I know the training so well, that I'm not as focused on what I'm teaching as much as I'm focused on the eyes of the audience I'm training. Nothing is more powerful than seeing the eyes of nearly an entire audience come to life with information they nearly can't believe is true. The progression goes like this: wow, this stuff is for real; how much revenue do you think we've lost to date; forget about that, how much profitable revenue do you think we can do each month with just the small amount of information Dr. Rob has taught us; I'm excited to go to work next week... At My Practice My Business we simply make dentistry fun again, and profitable.Support the show

As we dive into February, President Riccobono reviews the important legislative issues we'll address at this year's Washington Seminar. He also discusses upcoming summer programs, the 2020 National Convention, our Braille Monitor survey, and the PAC program.

Show Summary: Simon Bonenfant, a transition age student in high school and our Teen Blind Abilities correspondent, went to Washington D.C. to educate Representatives and Senators on the legislative goals of the National Federation of the Blind during the annual Washington Seminar. Simon took time to interview Gabe Kaiser, Manager of Government Affairs for the National Federation of the Blind. Gabe tells us about the 3 legislative priorities the NFB is highlighting during their visits to Capital Hill. Blind Abilities Logo Simon has attended the Washington Seminar for the last 7 years and shares with us his enthusiasm and his reporting skills. The experience Simon has gained is going to stay with him for years to come. From speaking skills, learning the priorities in detail and navigating Capital hill. Simon will not hesitate to bring the concerns and issues to the attention of our State and Federal leaders and carry the voice of organizations, groups, and of course, his own. You can find out more about Washington Seminar on the web atwww.NFB.org Simon has done a variety of podcasts for Blind Abilities and you can find them on the web at www.BlindAbilities.comand search for Simon Bonenfant. Contact: Thank you for listening! You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Store.

Braille Monitor - March 2019 Vol. 62, No. 3, March 2019 Illustration: World Braille Day: The World Acknowledges the Value of Literacy for the Blind  The 2019 Washington Seminar by Gary Wunder Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans: Priorities for the 116th Congress, First Session Access Technology Affordability Act Greater Accessibility and Independence through Nonvisual Access Technology Disability Employment Act We Will Not be Shut Down by Mark Riccobono How the Marrakesh Treaty Came to be Policy: The Perspective from a Longtime Legislator by Senator Charles Grassley National Federation of the Blind Celebrates Ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty by Chris Danielsen Growing Comfortable with the Uncomfortable by Trisha Kulkarni Leave a Legacy Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest Results by Deborah Kent Stein Summer Youth Programs A Network of Support by Mary Lou Grunwald Tactile Graphics in Education and Careers by Stacie Dubnow The Fifty-Year Perspective: An Interview with Ramona Walhof TO-ed at the OT by Lauren Merryfield The Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund by Allen Harris Recipes Monitor Miniatures 

Presidential Release #479: January 2019 (English Audio) The presidential release is a monthly audio message from President Mark A. Riccobono that highlights the current activities of the National Federation of the Blind. It is shared with every chapter of the organization. Please listen now, or share at your upcoming meeting or event. Listen to previous episodes at nfb.org/presidential-releases. Items Covered Happy New Year World Braille Day January 4  Consumer Electronics Show (next week in Las Vegas) 2019 National Convention (book your rooms now at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino) New NFB strategic plan (in February Braille Monitor) Two new Aira plans for NFB members 2019 Washington Seminar (a message from John Paré) Dream Makers Circle update Federation Family notes Customary endings  Related Resources 2019 National Convention (Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino reservations— call 877-632-9001) Subscribe to an NFB Aira plan—call 800-835-1934 or visit aira.io/nfb Washington Seminar Dream Makers Circle Listen to the January 2019 Release

Presidential Release #478: December 2018 (English Audio) The presidential release is a monthly audio message from President Mark A. Riccobono that highlights the current activities of the National Federation of the Blind. It is shared with every chapter of the organization. Please listen now, or share at your upcoming meeting or event. Listen to previous episodes at nfb.org/presidential-releases. Items Covered Holiday greetings Thank you to the record number of blind voters who completed NFB's Blind Voter Survey Op-ed in The Hill about 14c (American Nightmare: How Workers with Disabilities Are Denied Economic Prosperity) Deadline for Washington Seminar rooms December 28 NFB-NEWSLINE® now available on the Amazon Echo Federation Family notes Customary endings A special song from a blind choir from Guatemala Related Resources NFB-NEWSLINE skill for Amazon Echo Washington Seminar information American Nightmare: How Workers with Disabilities Are Denied Economic Prosperity NFB Pre-authorized Contribution Plan Dream Makers Circle Listen to the December 2018 Release

In this dog training podcast, Tom Davis talks with a dog owner who has worked with two trainers on recall with little success. So here is the breakdown on how I teach the off-leash recall! Join the Official No Bad Dog Members club!

In this dog training podcast, Tom Davis talks about the reality that not all dogs are going to like other dogs, and that's okay. We discuss the difference between personality and dog training which are usually clumped into one.Join the Official No Bad Dog Members club!

Tom Davis speaks with dog owners who are fostering a dog they might keep, BUT the new foster is starting to show resource-guarding behaviors and bullying their other dog. Join the Official No Bad Dog Members club!

Tom Davis talks with a dog owner with 3 heelers, two of which are siblings. Lets say she is having a hard time and has to make some tough decisions to make things better for everyone. Join the Official No Bad Dog Members club!

Tom speaks with a dog owner who has a GIANT great dane and leash reactivity. Tom gets to the likely reason the reactivity is happening and how to work through it successfully. Join the Official No Bad Dog Members club!

In this dog training podcast, Tom Davis talks with a dog owner with three great Danes. Two of the Danes are getting into it; what is the first thing you should do when your dogs start fighting?Join the Official No Bad Dog Members club!

In this dog training podcast, Tom Davis discusses his experience in Portugal and his training with his 5-month-old Boerboel. Join the Official No Bad Dog Members club!

Tom Davis speaks with a dog owner who rescues a small senior dog with some health issues that ultimately suffers from separation anxiety AND some leash pulling!Join the Official No Bad Dog Members club!

This dog training podcast is PACKED with information for all dog enthusiasts!! This dog owner is overwhelmed by her Doberman, who was training to be a service dog, and all of a sudden starts attacking her... Join the Official No Bad Dog Members club!

In this dog training podcast, Tom Davis speaks with a dog owner who has six dogs. Two of those dogs are intact males, and they aren't getting along.Get 75$ off my reactivity to neutral course TODAY only! Use code NBD75https://tom-davis-international.teachable.com/p/reactive-to-neutralJoin the Official No Bad Dog Members club!

Tom speaks with a lovely dog lover who saved and rescued this dog from a pretty bad situation, and now she needs some help getting this boy straightened out! We are barking relentlessly when people come over, we may nip new people etc!Join the Official No Bad Dog Members club!

Tom Davis speaks with a dog owner who has three dogs, most German Shepherds. The dogs are fighting and sending some family members to the hospital. How do you manage dogs who are fighting in the home, and what's realistic? Join the Official No Bad Dog Members club!