[	Tags	|	fyi, news, psa, time change, usa	]
[	Current Mood	|	cold	]

At 2 a.m. on November 4, 2007, groggy Americans will turn their clocks back one hour, marking the end of Daylight Saving Time (DST).

The federal law that established "daylight time" in the United States does not require any area to observe daylight saving time. But if a state chooses to observe DST, it must follow the starting and ending dates set by the law. From 1986 to 2006 this was the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October, but starting in 2007, it is observed from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, adding about a month to daylight saving time. (See: New Federal Law.)

Source: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/daylight1.html

[	Tags	|	disability, fyi, mda telethon, opinions, usa, wtf	]
[	Current Mood	|	thoughtful	]

Sigh. It's that time of year again. Miss Crip Chick and Kara Sheridan are leading the online protest against this tiresome Weekend of Celebrating Pity through the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon by asking bloggers to write about charity, pity, the medical model of disability, the tyranny of the belief that we all need a cure, and the asshattery of Jerry Lewis. That's for tomorrow, Monday, the United States' Labor Day.

Jerry Lewis is the host of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Annual Telethon, a telethon that occurs every Labor Day to raise funds for cures by using disabled people as posterchildren. Disabled people protest the telethon because of its outdated, negative portrayal of disabilities. These images that the telethon promotes sticks in people’s minds and continually serve as a barrier for disabled people. Disability is not the problem, but rather the attitudes and barriers that society places on us.

What can we do? Protest. Write a Letter to the Editor. Tell people about the charity, medical, and social model of disability. Blog. Kara and I, along with the Disability Activist Collective (website coming soon) are organizing a campaign against the telethon and the charity model of disability. We need bloggers (not only disability bloggers but all! feminist, queer, woc, environmentalist, activists, great time to build alliances) who will agree to write about this! The campaign will work much like a blog carnival and will be heavily publicized in listservs and other sources of media.

And so is born:

Protest Pity

Welcome to the first annual Anti-Telethon Blogswarm (online gathering of bloggers to bring attention to an important issue). By stopping by, you’ve joined our protest against pity. We are excited to share with you the thoughts, feelings, and words of power expressed in the links below. This unique way to voice opposition will allow our chants to be heard across the world and we invite you to join us in solidarity! If you didn?t have time to write, didn’t know what to say, or weren’t sure how you felt before today, there are still opportunities to act. Post a comment, forward our link, write a newspaper, tell your friends, or educate someone in the community about why your life isn’t defined by pity. Thank-you so much for joining us and LEAD ON!