The heart of the Olmstead argument
takes us one century backward
Please note: Jefferson Davis wrote no such petition. He was unschooled in Bureaucracy-Speak.
1. "Obviously, if a state does not provide such a [home- and community- based] service to non-disabled persons, then the individual with a disability seeking that service is not being denied the service because of his or her disability."
-- amicus brief of state Attorneys General
"Plaintiffs are not here because they were ignored, but because the state proceeded to provide care for them."
-- petition of Tommy Olmstead
2."There
was no hint
that the
integration regulation was intended to cover
institutionalization or in any way affect the pace with
which States provide community care."
-- Olmstead petition
3.
"The states ought
to
have
more
flexibility, not less, when it comes to institutionalizing
patients who have the most serious of
disabilities.
"Such confinement is not punitive."
-- Olmstead petition
Separated
at birth?
At left, Tommy Olmstead.
At right, a man of similar convictions, Jefferson Davis
1. "Obviously, if a state does not provide such a service [emancipation] to non-African-Americans, then the individual with African-Americanism is not being denied the service because of his or her race or ethnicity."
-- Confederation of Attorneys General
"Plaintiffs are not here because they were ignored, but because the state proceeded to provide slavery for them."
-- Jefferson Davis petition
2.
"There was no hint
that the
Emancipation Proclamation was intended to cover slavery or
in any way affect the pace with which States provide
freedom."
-- Davis petition
3.
"The states ought to
have more
flexibility, not less, when it comes to enslaving those who
have the most serious cases of
African-Americanism.
"Such confinement is not punitive."
-- Davis petition
This comparison first appeared in Mouth magazine in May 1999.
To see where we'd put Tommy if we could, click here.
The Disability Nation has declared its independence from
the likes of Olmstead and Davis.
To see that declaration, click
here.