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The Eyes of Texas

Winter/Spring 2007

Joe Orozco, Editor

WWW NFB of Texas

The National Federation of the Blind of Texas is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of blind people throughout the state. It is an affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind, based in Baltimore, which engages in a number of activities to promote the equality, security and opportunity of blind individuals across America. With affiliates in the fifty states, and Puerto Rico, and 700 local chapters, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is considered to be the most influential force in the blindness field today.

In addition to a united cause to change what it means to be blind, the organization hosts a number of interest groups designed to address specific issues in a variety of professions and specialties. Since 1940, the NFB and its supporters continue to pave the way toward new horizons once thought unreachable.

Additional services include:

To contact our national headquarters, please write or call:

National Federation of the Blind
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
(410) 659-9314
www.nfb.org

To learn about, or join, list-servs devoted to a number of special topics of interest to the blind, visit: www.nfbnet.org

To find a complete list of NFB literature, click here for NFB publications.

The National Federation of the Blind of Texas is proud to offer a statewide newsletter, available to its members and any other interested persons in various accessible formats, including the NFB-Newsline system. Persons or businesses interested in making special announcements for distribution via our newsletter should submit these no later than August 1 in preparation for the next issue. Note: In complying with state and federal law, announcements are not printed for the purpose of advertisement.

For questions, suggestions or article submissions, please write to:

The Eyes of Texas
P.O. Box 1453
San Marcos, Texas 78667
E-Mail Joe Orozco, Editor

To contact the National Federation of the Blind of Texas, call or write:

Tommy Craig, President
National Federation of the Blind of Texas
314 East Highland Mall Blvd.
Suite 253
Austin, Texas 78752
(512) 323-5444
www.nfb-texas.org

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In This Issue:

From the Desk of the President

As I write this, we are only a few weeks away from our annual convention. I hope that all of you have made plans to join me in Atlanta for this year’s convention. This year’s convention promises to offer a wide range of activities and I’m sure that Texans will play a big part in making the convention a success.

I have appointed Jose Marquez to take charge of our affiliate table in the exhibit hall. Please e-mail Jose if you can help us manage the table throughout the week or call him at 713-202-8542.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have signed up for the March for Independence. Texas has over 40 people participating in the March. Many of you have worked hard to raise money for the march and it is greatly appreciated. Remember that a portion of the money we raise will come back to Texas to help us fund are state and local activities.

We have had a busy and successful year. In January nearly 20 Texans traveled to Washington to participate in the Washington seminar. We worked hard to educate Congress about the issues concerning blind Americans. If you have never gone to the Washington seminar, I encourage you to start making plans now to attend next year’s seminar. Although it is hard work, it is a great opportunity to influence legislation affecting the blind and to learn more about how our government works.

Those of you who attended last year’s state convention will recall that we passed a resolution stating that we would take whatever steps are necessary to make the software used by state employees accessible to the blind. So in February we filed suit against the state of Texas and Oracle Corporation to ensure that they comply with state and federal laws requiring accessibility.

Three blind state employees joined with us in this case. Although legal matters move very slowly, I believe that progress is being made. We will not rest until the state of Texas complies with the law and makes their jobs accessible for current and future blind employees.

We have also had a very successful year in the Texas legislature. During our 2002 state convention NFBT passed a resolution concerning accessibility issues during legislative committee hearings. Many of you will recall that during our fight to save the Texas Commission for the Blind, committee members would leave the room during our testimony and at times only one or two committee members would be left in the room. There was no way for us to know which members were actually present to hear our testimony.

This year, the NFBT got the House rules amended to require that committee chairs inform a blind person which committee members were present when they are testifying. The rules also included a requirement that committee staff help blind people fill out the witness forms so that they could more fully participate in committee hearings.

We were also successful in passing HB3382. This legislation expands the electronic file portion of the Braille Literacy bill to cover higher Education textbooks. Thanks to all of you who called and emailed your Senators and Representatives. We had some very stiff opposition to this bill by the publishers association. Our success in passing this law shows what we can accomplish when we work together.

I would like to offer my special thanks to Representative Naishtat, Senator Uresti and their staff for their hard work on our behalf. Even when it looked as if there wasn’t much hope, they never gave up. I urge all of you to remember our friends during the next election cycle. Texas now has one of the best accessible higher education textbook laws in the country.

There have been far too many achievements to fully cover in the length of one article. If you would like to learn more about our state leadership seminar, wine tasting ... then make your plans now to attend this year's state convention.

This year’s convention will be held November 9-11 in San Antonio. We will be headquartered at the Oak Hill Medical Center Inn located at 7401 Wurzbach Road San Antonio 75229 Room rates are $72.00 per night flat. This price includes a full breakfast for all registered guest. Make your reservations by calling (210) 614-9900. I look forward to seeing all of you there.

Regards,

Tommy Craig, President

Unveiling Our Newest Chapter

By Louise Walch

Editor's Note: In our last issue we had the opportunity to meet a rising star in our affiliate and the organization at large. It seems the trend continues, for we now have the privilege of introducing one of our newest leaders in Texas. Though no stranger to the NFB movement, she is a dynamic individual who has already become actively involved in advancing the NFB spirit in the Lone Star, and in this article we learn of her excellent leadership through a very special announcement.

As we celebrated Martin Luther King Day this year, we also celebrated the reestablishment of our San Antonio Chapter! As the new chapter president, it’s exciting to be part of this little piece of history.

Many of you don’t yet know me since I’m new to Texas. I’m Louise Walch, and I have the pleasure of serving with Vice President Jose (A.Z.) Martinez, whom you all know as the president of the Texas Association of Blind Students. Our secretary is none other than Garrett Aguillard, the best darn cane travel instructor in San Antonio. Also, we’re fortunate to have Bonnie Cuellar as Treasurer, and Chris Robles as Board Member #1. Bonnie and Chris are two brand new members who jumped right in with that active NFB spirit.

Originally from Australia, I joined the NFB in 2001 while I was a freshman at Brigham Young University. A fellow blind student introduced me to the local Utah Valley Chapter, where I later served as Treasurer. I’ve also been involved with the Utah Association of Blind Students, and was an NFB national scholarship recipient in 2003. I moved to San Antonio just last year after graduating from one of our NFB training centers, the Louisiana Center for the Blind. I’m now a high school math and English tutor while my husband, Joe, attends medical school here. By the way, you’ll soon come to find out that Joe is one of the NFB’s strongest supporting allies.

I’ve never looked back since joining this organization. It’s exciting to be part of a movement that I know shapes positive change. I support this organization because I believe that blind people can and ought to play a strong role in influencing their own future. My membership in the NFB affords me the opportunity to work with other blind people, to bring about security, equality, and opportunity for the collective blind population. In working toward these goals, I have been blessed individually. My life is different because of my association with so many blind mentors. Because of these people, I see fewer limitations. I’ve come to understand that while blindness is a bit of a nuisance, it is not a tragedy.

Together we form an extraordinary organization, but we’re made up of many ordinary people. I’m pretty ordinary, but in taking on this new responsibility as Chapter President, I hope to rise to the challenge and become something like the mentors who lead me.

Tales of an NFB Rookie

Yes, Washington Seminar is about going to Capitol Hill and telling Congress what we want. Yes, Washington Seminar is about learning to assert what we believe and informing others about blindness. But for me, Washington Seminar was about becoming a part of something bigger than myself. It was about recognizing that blindness is not something that makes us hopeless outcasts to be pitied, but something that unites us to gather strength and hope as we push on for the next dream. Whatever that dream may be for you, as Dr. Maurer said, “Do it now!”

Sometimes in politics, there are none so blind as those who can see

By David Blunkett

Editor's Note: The following appeared in the Guardian Unlimited. Mr. Blunkett was a minister under Tony Blair's government. He held three cabinet posts: education, home and work, and pensions. The following article gives a glimpse into the life of a blind politician. You may agree with certain points, scratch your head at others, but his journal entries are of an amusing nature worthy of sharing in this edition. The text is derived from Blunkett's published diary.

In this final diary extract, David Blunkett talks about the issues arising from blindness - such as well-meaning, but patronizing, colleagues

Friday October 13, 2006

It was some months [after my birth] before it was recognized that there might be something wrong with my eyes. Once it was clear that I could see only a tiny bit (normally referred to as "light and dark"), efforts to trace the cause were under way. It was only my mother's tenacity that prevented [doctors] from what now would probably be described as a medical fetish - namely to remove the eyes of the child in order to avoid further damage. There was no tumour, and it was a one-in-several-million chance which led to the failure of my optic nerve to develop.

I have rarely done interviews about the way I work and the challenge of overcoming blindness. But it seems appropriate to offer a better understanding of what it has been like to deal with avalanches of paper, to have all print material read on to tape and to be on top of the material in a way that would never allow people to be able to say: "If only he could see, he would have understood that better."

When I first entered parliament I struggled to get additional equipment (for brailling) and additional staffing hours for reading, and will never forget a remark made to me by one colleague who became a very senior cabinet minister when we came to power in 1997: "It's all right for you with the extra resources you get. No wonder you can churn out the press releases." My reply was fairly succinct: "I'll swap with you any time."

When I first entered the House of Commons in 1987 I came across many who were patronising, even if they meant well. Of course I was very sensitive about people being indulgent to me, and my pigheadedness, my inherent independence and sometimes my unintentional rudeness soon put paid to any do-gooding. I didn't want to be promoted out of sympathy, though it was never easy to pull off the feat of being seen to be effortlessly on top of things. Sometimes I have thought of nothing else but how I was going to get through the masses of tapes that arrived in the box each weekend or the nightly tapes that had to be done either that evening or at least first thing in the morning.

In these early years of government the sheer volume of work left no time for "gallivanting around in London", as my mother would have called it. I was at that time very much what the press saw (and wanted me always to be): the dedicated, workaholic, almost obsessive, dour northerner.

Feeding and grooming a guide dog, and of course making sure that it is exercised and has a chance to do what the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association call its "spend", are all-important. So each morning my dog and I would set off walking. We would have a decent walk and the car would collect us. We would then run the dog properly (often but not always in New Palace Yard at the House of Commons) before going into the office.

Each morning I would, however, have had a phone call from the press office. They were lovely young - forgive me if I call them that - people who volunteered to do a rota for what increasingly over the years became an extremely grumpy man. The more difficult the coverage we received, the grumpier and more bad-tempered I became.

Every minute of every travelling hour had to be spent working. It was the only way. I kept a braille machine of my own on my desk so that I could make notes. Contrary to common assumption, I didn't always rely on my memory, although I did try to develop it, much in the way that one develops a muscle, to ensure that with particular aspects of the job it was possible to achieve better recall than would normally be the case.

The same is true of my hearing and my ability to be able to sense what is going on around me. I am still learning, and I still sometimes get it wrong. When I am chairing a meeting I often ask people to indicate to me when they want to speak with a quiet word or cough, or make some other sound to show that they would like to come in on the discussion.

And I also have to be careful not to blunder in. This is a particular issue for blind people. Speaking at the wrong moment, intervening just when someone else has their hand up and is about to be called, or failing to recognise a visual indication (which often can be discernible body language) that this is not the moment to speak out, is something that has been difficult, to say the least.

Honesty is a mixed blessing. Saying what you think, you cannot see the thunder in the faces around you. It does lead to honest, plain speaking, but it also undoubtedly sometimes makes you a pain in the rump.

Using tape machines which allowed me to speed up the sound has helped, but even with recordings half as fast again as the normal reading speed, it is still substantially slower than anyone who is a reasonable speed-reader of print. Speaking in the House was never a problem, though it was certainly challenging when I first came into parliament, when I thought I knew it all. I had already been on the public stage and had substantial media exposure, but the House of Commons was different from anything else I had ever experienced. In the space of a few sentences the atmosphere can change from positive, uplifting support to resentful animosity.

In many ways, not being able to see required me to be much more alert and alive to what was going on around me, as well as knowing when people wanted to intervene and being ready to sit down and allow them to raise a question or make a point. It is possible to work out where someone is most likely to be sitting. It is possible to know from their voice who they are. Question time, which for departmental questions is once a month and lasts for an hour, I always found easy. After all, the secretary of state has the last word.

But I found delivering written - what are known as "oral" - statements very difficult. They are oral in the sense that they are delivered to the House, but they are written and have to be read verbatim. And here is the rub: I am not a good reader. Very few people appreciate just what a nightmare it is in such circumstances to use braille, where there are no capital letters as there are in print, no highlighting, no underlining and, given that braille is so bulky, masses of paper. Even a short statement requires a large number of sheets. Delivering a statement to the Commons was my worst nightmare.

If I had my time again, I would do two things. First, I would look after my fingers a great deal better, because the skin was burnt from cooking and toughened by manual chores, resulting in clumsiness. I would also have made sure that they were cared for, using whatever ointments or creams were necessary (even if that did make me a big girl's blouse). Second, I would have practised braille over and over again. I do regret that now, because it was certainly an achilles heel noticeable not simply in my awkward and sometimes stumbling delivery of the statement (in contrast to answering questions, where I was easy, confident and articulate) but in my whole body language - the tension, the hunched shoulders, the unrelaxed facial muscles, which came from what inside was frankly downright fear.

January 2000

Frank [Dobson] patronised me about not being able to see. If there is anything that absolutely gets my goat, it is other people pretending to be nice while being deeply offensive. Give me someone who is clearly just deeply offensive any day and I can deal with them, but save me from paternalism. Frank will never know - or perhaps he will - just how offensive his introduction of me as "my blind friend" was. He went on: "What a remarkable achievement it is for someone who can't see to have made the progress that my friend has made" - perhaps the kind of remark that some well-meaning but ill-informed distant acquaintance may make, but not a fellow cabinet minister of two and a half years' standing. I could at that moment have walked out of the room and finished Frank's campaign there and then, but I managed to get a grip of myself, and, as so often, I let it go.

July 2000

One of the problems of not being able to see is drinking orange juice when there is a wasp in it. This happened to me. I had it in my mouth and was about to chew it when something told me to spit it out. I did so, but it stung me and my mouth, face, arms and hands all started to swell. It was one of those frightening experiences when you think: "There's no one around, what do I do?" Living on my own is sometimes quite frightening.

February 2001

Once, when I was leader of Sheffield city council, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh came to Sheffield for an official visit and I was hosting lunch. It was one of those very pleasant occasions when it was possible to sit next to Her Majesty and have a genuine conversation, but (and I know she will forgive me for recalling it) it was strange when twice she asked me if I would like my meat cutting up - strange not because it was not a kind and thoughtful question, but because of the comment she made when I politely declined: "You know, I often do it for the corgis." Well, well, well.

April 2001

I hate buffets for obvious reasons. Perhaps my hatred of buffets merits a little more explanation. In order to get the true picture, close your eyes and imagine you are in a very noisy room, with everyone standing about with glasses in their hands, normally at an angle just right for tipping over if you happen to bang an elbow. People are milling about and someone (you've no idea who) approaches you and begins to talk - and talk ... You are desperately trying to avoid being rude because, God knows, you might need help in the future ... So you try just to pop in, show your face, hope that someone really interesting will "take pity on you", and eat what you can. It has to be said here that this is usually a plate of food collected for you by someone else and which understandably reflects their taste in food but not necessarily yours.

David Blunkett praises civil servants for reading out documents and transferring others to braille. But he expresses frustration with the civil service as a whole

October 2001

[Leak of email sent by Jo Moore, special adviser to Stephen Byers, to Department of Transport press office on September 11 saying it would be a "very good day" to "bury" bad news] The world has gone crackers, and the cause célèbre of the week has been the débâcle over Jo Moore, which is going on and on. Steve was intending to sack Jo Moore, but by early afternoon it had all changed and apparently it was because, quite rightly, Tony had perceived that this was a try-on by the civil service. It was felt that they were the ones who had received the email and leaked it, and no matter how appalling the email, the declaration of war by the civil service and their ability to leak emails and thereby bring down special advisers had to be countered. Unfortunately life is not as simple as that. Tony's interpretation of the situation is right, but Steve's initial decision to sack Jo Moore for the content of the email was also right because this story has run and run and run.

In dictating this I had no idea just how catastrophic it was going to be for Steve Byers. I think those advising really did mean well, and it was a difficult situation to call. There is no doubt that Jo Moore paid the price, but what price.

January 2002

I'm having a real problem with correspondence concerning Keith Bennett, who was killed by Ian Brady [convicted, with Myra Hindley, for the Moors Murders in the 1960s]. His brother Alan had written and it had taken two months for the letter to come through to me. I replied to him personally, and now find that Mrs Johnson, Keith Bennett's mum, had written on November 15 and her letter has just floated round until Christmas, with no one taking responsibility for it. I've written a robust letter to John Gieve about this as I feel it was just grossly incompetent and insensitive. How they could possibly have missed that this was a significant and sensitive letter I can't imagine, bearing in mind that the letter began: "Dear Mr Blunkett, My son Keith was murdered by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. My life ended then ..."

February 2002

Steve Byers is in the mire because he's got rid of Jo Moore [who had wanted to stand down in October] and Martin Sixsmith [director of communications] and Sixsmith is saying that he never agreed to go. Everyone eulogises about our free, independent, apolitical civil service. They are apolitical all right - an island within an island, a government within a government. They have clearly declared war on special advisers and on some ministers, and they are determined to pull Steve Byers down.

We talked about special advisers at cabinet. Steve said his bit and John Reid said one or two sensible things about the dangers, but the discussion wasn't going anywhere so I just launched in. I know Richard Wilson will not forgive me for this but it's too bad - because apparently he went grey and looked daggers at me.

I said: "Well, I think if we're going to have legislation that protects the civil service from the government, could we build into it protection for the government from the civil service?

"We have a situation in my department where virtually anything of any importance is leaked. The Immigration and Nationality Directorate is a complete shambles. The only reason we got a police reform white paper and the reform of immigration, nationality and asylum was because the two respective advisers worked extremely closely with me on them ... The civil service are very lucky that we can't sack them, that no one can sack them" - with the implication that they damn well would be sacked if I had my way, and they would be. At the end of all this diatribe Tony said: "Well, I think Richard Wilson's got the message. You really love the civil service, David. You've got a lot of time for them and you believe they're doing a first-class job" - and everybody just doubled up.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007

In the Spotlight

Pam Allen

Agency Director and Community Leader

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Editor's Note: This dear friend to Texas really needs no introduction, but to those members who may not already know of her, she is president of our neighboring Louisiana affiliate. She is no stranger to Texans, and in the following excerpt, taken from the March 2004 issue of the Braille Monitor, we learn a little more of one of our great current leaders.

Pam Dubel was born in 1970 and grew up in Lancaster, New York. She became blind when she was approximately two years old as a result of retinal blastoma, a type of cancer. Although her parents were shocked by her loss of sight, they fortunately realized that she was still the same child except that she could no longer see. Through love and high expectations, they instilled in Pam a sense of pride and confidence in her ability to succeed. Growing up as the youngest of six children also helped her learn to be independent. Since she was the youngest, nobody, especially the brother a year older than she, let her get away with anything.

Pam attended a private Catholic school, where she was the only blind student. Her itinerant teacher provided her a sound foundation in Braille, which helped her excel in academics. Her parents expected her to do her best and to engage in activities that would make her a well-rounded person. She participated in horseback riding, skiing, and cheerleading during elementary school. During high school her interests shifted to performing in chorus, doing community service, and having fun with her friends. While growing up, Pam had limited contact with other blind people her age. In general she had no desire to associate with people who were blind. She understood that every high school senior experiences some trepidation about the transition to adulthood and independence. However, as high school graduation approached, she began to grapple with questions that her sighted peers couldn't answer. She planned to attend college, and she hoped that she would eventually find a job, but she secretly wondered if she would truly be able to obtain employment. After all, she had had difficulty finding part-time work during high school. She had also never lived on her own, and she wondered how successful she would be at that. Although she entered college with some apprehension, she was determined to achieve her best. Her small liberal arts college provided an exciting environment in which to learn and grow. But those unanswered questions continued to nag at her. If people were so amazed that she could accomplish the most insignificant tasks, would they ever treat her as an equal? She realized that she had to meet other blind people with more experience than she who could serve as role models.

Her search exposed her to a wide variety of groups and organizations of and for the blind. However, not until she attended a student seminar hosted by the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio did she begin to find the answers for which she had been searching. Although she didn't realize it at the time, the seminar marked the beginning of a new chapter of her life. At the seminar she met Barbara Pierce, president of the NFB of Ohio, who told Pam about the Louisiana Center for the Blind. More than that, she spoke with Joanne Wilson, the director, and arranged for Pam to complete an internship at the center the following May. As soon as that was completed, Joanne invited her to work as a counselor in the children's summer program that year.

Pam was a 1991 National Federation of the Blind scholarship winner when she was a senior at Denison University, where she majored in psychology and minored in women's studies. Throughout college she worked summers for Joanne Wilson at the Louisiana Center for the Blind with the Children's Program. She served as vice president of the Ohio Association of Blind Students and a board member of the National Association of Blind Students. After graduation from college, Pam decided to become a student at the Louisiana Center for the Blind. She recognized that she still needed to gain some confidence in her skills and in her ability to be a successful blind person.

Today Pam Allen is director of the Louisiana Center for the Blind after having been the director of youth services there for many years. In that position she worked with blind infants and toddlers and their parents and also supervised the training of classroom aides to teach Braille throughout Louisiana. She coordinated summer camps and developed programs for blind children and teenagers.

People often ask her what makes the Louisiana Center for the Blind such a special place. She responds, "What sets our alumni apart from those of other kinds of rehabilitation facilities? The answer is that, by attending our center and the other centers conducted by Federationists, students are exposed to the National Federation of the Blind and its philosophy. The NFB is more than an organization; it is a loving family. Regardless of where you are, you can find members of the NFB who can give you support and encouragement when you need it. The NFB also provides a constant supply of role models who challenge you to set goals for yourself." Allen recalls that she used to believe that she did not need other blind people. She thought that being independent meant succeeding without the help of others. Her involvement with the National Federation of the Blind has taught her that this is not true. She has learned that she needs reinforcement from her blind colleagues and friends.

Pam lives in Ruston, Louisiana, with her husband Roland Allen, an orientation and mobility instructor at Louisiana Tech University, whom she met at the Louisiana Center for the Blind. She is currently the president of the NFB of Louisiana and secretary of the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille and the National Association of Blind Rehabilitation Professionals. In July of 2002 she was elected to the National Federation of the Blind board of directors. Allen is also involved in a variety of community and professional organizations. She says, "Being elected to the national board has allowed me to give back and to spread the message of our movement."

Texas welcomes you to a party in Atlanta!

By Jose Martinez

From the golden dome of its elegant Capital Building to the panoramic tour of its historic sites.  Up and down the original streets of its underground complex, through a sprawling scene of thriving entertainment and out along the natural grandeur of its Chattahoochee River.  Welcome to the home of the Braves, the international headquarters for the CNN network, the King Center, the Centennial Olympic Park, the World of Coca-Cola and the New Year's Peach Drop, and now, returning for another explosive performance, Atlanta proudly serves as the site for a fifth annual celebration you will not want to miss.

Back by popular demand, your friends in Texas extend a hearty southern invitation as the Lone Star joins forces with Federationists around the country to kick off Southern Strums 2007! If you were looking for an opportunity to personally meet some of the Federation's household names, you need not look farther than Room A706 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.  The evening of Tuesday, July 3, Texas brings together some of our most active members to one stage, for one night only.  The lineup include performances by Federationists hailing from Nebraska, South Dakota, South Carolina, Maryland, Colorado, Louisiana and Texas.

Second only to the Banquet, the Exhibit Hall, the Scholarship awards, maybe the Georgia Hospitality Room...  Well, let's not get carried away here!  But certainly serving as one of the hallmarks of the convention is a night of wholesome entertainment you will not want to miss!  Tickets go on sale as soon as Texas conventioneers begin hollering, which is to say at the commencement of the national convention, for the unbeatable price of five dollars!  Proceeds go toward the cost of NFB projects in the state of Texas.

Doors to room A706 open promptly at 8:00, and as always, the cash bar provides the designated drinks if you provide the designated walkers.  So grab your dancin' shoes and party hat, because this year your friends from Texas, their friends from around the country and you are going to put on a show that will find its way into your memories as one of the best southern shindigs ever!

For additional information contact TABS president, Jose Martinez, or call by phone at: 210-722-3597.

Southern Strums, without a doubt, a night to remember!

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THE 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.

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