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OK, so Steve Jobs will announce the 12" Macbook Pro on June 30th at the keynote for the National Conference of the LPA. He will probably also take the opportunity to introduce the new iPod Pico.

I wonder if I can sneak in if I walk on my knees?

Actually, in a way, I agree with the original comment. At least abortion for convenience is not based off the idea that disabled people are less worthwhile people. Abortion for convenience is just descriminating on one level, whether you're born yet or not, abortion due to disability is descriminating on two levels, whether you're born yet and whether you're normal.
Ettina
PS: Apparently I have to wait a bit before posting again, so to pass the time I'll talk a bit more about ableism. I'm writing a book which will be titled The Normal Person's Burden - an analogy to the "White Man's Burden". One chapter will be called Modern Day Eugenics, and will be about prenatal screening. The whole point of eugenics was to reduce the number of "defective" babies born. Their method was by modifying the reproductive rates of people based on whether or not they were "defective". Now, most people think controlling the breeding of people is immoral, but support the basic goal of eugenics. So they challange eugenics on the peripheral things - limited understanding of heredity, harm to the disabled people(eg euthanasia under the Nazis), a "right to reproduce", comparison to breeding cattle, etc. So they thought up a new way to try to prevent the birth of disabled people - prenatal screening. Don't get confused, I'm not doing a conspiracy theory. It wasn't some group deliberately planning it out, just demand and scientific advancement. One of those societal things that happen without anyone actually trying to make it so. But anyway, that's how it is. A lot of disabled people oppose it. Some Down Syndrome people crashed a prenatal screening conference to tell them they opposed trying to prevent DS babies from being born, http://www.autistics.org/ and http://www.lpaonline.org/ posted position statements saying they opposed it, etc. And I'm going to explore how it clashes with the idea that everyone is of equal worth.

The collective voices of thousands of "Little People"(tm) made a differance on a huge company.

What the heck do Fisher-Price toys and midgets have to do with anything?

a large company careing about their customers

In corporatese, "caring about their customers" means only "not bleeding all the goodwill out of their trademarks".

it is the ISP's network, and by using it and paying for their services you agree to their rules, and if their rules say "we may suspend your access at our slightest whim[...]", they can. This is not the court system we are dealing with, this is free enterprise

"Free enterprise"? You try setting up your own last mile, and see how much municipal red tape you run into. Then reconsider whether ISPs are a "free enterprise" in any relevant way to competition.

and is little different than me refusing to personally associate with anyone under 5'0"

There exist anti-discrimination statutes, and if a jurisdiction recognizes being a Little Person as having a disability, then your business may be in trouble.

4' 10" and under is the general guideline for membership in the LPA.

I have severe hearing loss, both sensorineural and conductive. This means that I can't hear at all without my "super-power" level hearing aids, but I don't need - or want - cochlears.

While I hear well in a semi-controlled environment, I have difficulty hearing in areas with lots of people - crowds, cafeterias, etc, and I find it much easier to listen to voices I know (my family & close friends) than voices I'm unfamiliar with.

I consider my hearing loss part of who I am, but as opposed to my other disability(short stature, see LPA, which I wouldn't give up for anything, I'd love to lose my hearing loss.

I would recommend the cochlears regardless of "cultural aspects" - it will make your mom more independent, not needing a translator. In addition, I believe you can remove the external bits quite easily - say, if you're going to meet some deaf friends who would disapprove. So there's really no reason not to go with the cochlears.

To contradict some previous threads, definitely go for telecoil if it's an option - not all phones can be amplified, and it's very useful for blocking out quite a bit of external "background noise" - that's not something you want to give up, trust me. Background noise is the thing that makes the difference between just hearing, and actually understanding.

I am a dwarf, but I prefer the term "little person." Please see our web site for a short introduction: http://www.lpaonline.org/.