President Issues Executive Order to Increase Federal Employment of Individuals with Disabilities

I find this to be just one of those under-the-radar things that Obama's been working on, that just makes me say - "that's pretty awesome."

President Issues Executive Order to Increase Federal Employment of Individuals with Disabilities
Examiner.com: http://www.examiner.com/x-61217-DC-Workplace-Issues-Examiner~y2010m7d27-President-Issues-Executive-Order-to-Increase-Federal-Employment-of-Individuals-with-Disabilities

Excerpt: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 54 million Americans—or approximately one out of five—have some kind of disability and 26 million of those individuals—or approximately one out of 10—have a severe disability. In the prime employable years of 21 to 64, 82% of Americans without a disability have a job or business compared with 77% of those with a non-severe disability and 26% of those with a severe disability.

To address the issue, President Obama addressed a ceremony honoring the 20th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act on July 26th, calling it "one of the most comprehensive civil rights bills in the history of this country."

"Not dependence, but independence," Obama said, as he signed an Executive Order intended to establish the Federal Government as a model employer of individuals with disabilities. The order directs several federal agencies to design model recruitment and hiring strategies for agencies seeking to increase their employment of people with disabilities, as well as mandatory training programs for both human resources personnel and hiring managers on the employment of individuals with disabilities.

The White House described the new order as a means of fulfilling a “… pledge by the President to have the federal government be a model employer of people with disabilities. … and establishes mechanisms such as mandatory training for hiring managers, requires preparing of strategic plans by agencies to be approved by OPM and OMB, requires OPM to develop model guidelines and assistance for hiring people with disabilities, reporting to the President about progress, and publicizing results on a website as a way to promote transparency.”

Executive Order:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-increasing-federal-employment-individuals-with-disabilities

Signing Ceremony Video: (Click image)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/videos/2010/July/072610_ADA.mp4">

..thank you for this news, quiet.american.

Very important news for so many people who would benefit from this Executive Order.

... under-the-radar good things Obama is working on! Thanks for sharing this one

one of the actors(Christopher Gorham) who plays a blind guy on the show came on to talk about the Anniversary of the Disabilities Act and how important this is!

"USA Sets PSA Commemorating Disabilities Act Anniversary"

PSA To Premiere During July 27 ‘Covert Affairs' Episode
by R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 7/26/2010 2:37:56 PM

"USA Network will air a public service announcement commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act during the July 27 episode of Covert Affairs.
The network, as part of its "Characters Unite" anti-discrimination campaign, will create the original PSA to highlight the progress of the ADA, which barred discrimination in employment against qualified individuals with disabilities, according to network officials. Christopher Gorham, who portrays a blind CIA operative (Auggie) in Covert Affairs will star in the PSA.
In addition to the PSA, USA will provide information for visitors online, including facts and statistics on people with disabilities in the workplace and links to important resources such as the AAPD and The Job Accommodation Network (JAN), a free service that offers advice and information about workplace accommodations, said the network.
"Thanks to the ADA, millions of people with disabilities like Christopher Gorham's character have been able to work in virtually every field and every type of business, even the CIA," said Alexandra Shapiro senior vice president, brand marketing and digital, USA Network in a statement. "But we also know that barriers for people with disabilities remain and we are proud to partner with the AAPD in our "Characters Unite" campaign to raise awareness and encourage viewers to join the fight against persisting discrimination."

http://www.multichannel.com/article/455220-USA_Sets_PSA_Commemorating_Disabilities_Act_Anniversary.php

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

mode of entertainment and they're so creative. They've come a long way since their inception with all their "Characters Welcome" campaign.

Who can't relate to that? :)

USA Network seems to be the place to go if you're not looking for Law & Order, :CSI, or teen vampires. Nothing wrong with those concepts, but I've had my fill.

"White Collar" is my favorite. Great to see Diahann Carroll back on the screen, and love the actors that play Neil and Peter. Also love the guy from Sex & the City, too. He brings such subtle warmth and humor to his role.

Over this past weekend, "Burn Notice" and "Royal Pains" finally roped me in. :)

What I really like about the USA lineup is just what you said, Cha - that their shows rely more on creativity than graphic violence. That has its place, but it's nice to know I can sit down and watch "White Collar" while eating dinner without having the thought "Damn. I wish I hadn't seen that while I was eating."

Each of their new shows also seems to have a nice diversity to the cast, too.

Thumbs up for them. I hope they keep it up.

I love it!..they say things on there like "Torture doesn't work..only makes them lie"..

and Royal Pains..it's the only "Dr" show I've ever watched..I can't handle hospital shows.

If you get Netflix you can order all the reruns of Burn Notice..it's a dramedy..well written and acted with humor.

I pay attention to who writes the shows and the whole production..they have this one writer, Ben Watkins, who has acted on the show and is now a producer, too & he's directed episodes.

Seems he also landed a fox gig..writing the pilot and co-executive producer..

Fox is developing an hourlong drama from soap actor turned "Burn Notice" writer Ben Watkins and "Wild Hogs" producer Mike Tollin.

The 20th Century Fox TV project revolves around a private eye who uses her background as an ethnically and culturally diverse woman to blend into any situation. Watkins will write the pilot; he and Tollin will serve as executive producers.

While Watkins has been focusing on writing as of late, he's an ex-soap actor best known for playing Dr. Wesley Carter on CBS's "The Young and the Restless" from 2002 until 2004. »

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1219905/news#ni1079391

White Collar is one of my shows..too. Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay..so easy to look at:P I enjoy Diahann Caroll on there too. This season they brought back Marsha Thomason who was in the pilot but then took another job and now she's back. She goes by the name of Diana on the show.

"Marsha Thomason’s lesbian agent on White Collar will be getting a much heavier workload in season 2.

Sources confirm to me exclusively that the former Las Vegas and Lost star has been upgraded to a full-fledged series regular on the USA Network smash.

Thomason’s character, junior FBI agent Diana Lancing, turned up in the White Collar pilot, but hasn’t been seen or heard from since. I’m told she’ll reappear in the season 1 finale on March 9 and then return full-time in season 2.

Thomason recently completed an arc on General Hospital as the manager-girlfriend of James Franco’s psycho killer-slash-painter." B-) B-)


http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/02/11/white-collar-marsha-thomason-series-regular/

She's actually has an English father and a Jamaican mother..so she's lost the accent for White Collar~

I thought it was going to be about one thing, and it launched from a whole different place than what I thought the show was about. Liked it so much, I went over to Hulu to check out more episodes.

Yes, I was glad to see they brought back "Diana" on White Collar as well. She really fits the mix - loved the scenes between her and Caffrey where she was put on the spot as a high-class call girl. Any other show would have had them torridly going at it all night - but the way their night played out was very well-written, I thought.

Ben Watkin's new show sounds like an actor's dream! Very interesting concept. Although it's on Fox... grrr!