Mix 02-19-2026

I have decided to start drafting the new Mix article. There are a few topics I would like to address. I hope there are at least a few topics you might be interested in reading about in this new Mix article. Here is the list of topics that will be mentioned. I have no idea when I will publish this Mix article, and I also don’t know how many topics it will end up including, because I sometimes add a few more after I’ve already saved the topics I had planned for the Mix article or a separate article. If you prefer to read only a few topics you may be interested in instead of the entire article, you can do that by clicking the topic you want to read, and it will take you directly to that topic. Or if you don’t have enough time to read the entire article, you can come back to this article at a later time, and press/click the topic where you stopped so that you can resume reading this Mix article.

Mix 02-19-2026 Topics List.

Let’s start with me first!

Lately, I am doing a-okay. Not too long ago, I went to my semiannual check-up (every half a year), and I was honestly dreading it because I knew I was overdue for a blood test, which I very much loathe. Whenever I am expected to give a blood test at my long-time physician’s request, the nurses who draw the blood get a nickname from me right away, whether I know them or have never met them before. I call them bloodthirsty vampires. Ever since I was born, the doctors or nurses have always had a very hard time drawing blood from me. In fact, when I was a baby, they had to draw blood from a vein on my head because they couldn’t get anything from my veins in my arms, hands, etc. Growing up, I had many blood tests, including DNA tests, which I won’t go into further. The bottom line is, I have had my blood tested so many times from the moment I was born to this day. For some reason, my veins are extremely hard to find for the needle to penetrate; they go away as soon as the needle is poked, and they cannot be found again for a long while. The worst one is under my elbows. I absolutely phobitated anyone from drawing any blood from any areas under my elbows, and the only place that I allow to get my blood drawn is on the back of my hands. Even with the back of my hands, they are still very hard to get a hold of, but they are the easiest of all other places, so that should give you a bit of an idea of how very hard it is for anyone to be able to draw blood from me. There are far more failures than successes when I get my blood drawn; I’d say 80% fail and 20% succeed throughout my life. Even worse, there are even smaller numbers of nurses who know how to draw blood from me, and I think all of them are always afraid to do it because they know that they only have one try, but if they can’t or fail, then that’s it until maybe the next appointment in 6 months.

This is why whenever I have an appointment with my long-time physician, I have been seeing him for over a decade, I believe since 2005, when I was in a car wreck, that they have this particular nurse standby that I have the utmost trust in when it comes to having my blood drawn, as I was most comfortable with her. She seems to know my veins the best, as she has been drawing blood from me for many years now. She knows me well, especially how I feel about giving blood for a lab test. But lately, I am starting to see that my physician having new ones taking her place which is understandable as that person I trusted with my blood test has been working there for a very long time so this means that anyone new who will take that nurse’s place will have to deal with me not trusting them at all for a while until I can see that they have succeed more than failed like that long-time nurse who I trusted taking my blood. At my recent appointment, when I was called in to see my physician from the waiting room, there was a room with its door open, where anyone could always see who was undergoing lab tests. I saw this young girl, and I quickly refused as soon as my physician could finish asking me to give a blood test because I said I knew that the woman who had been drawing blood from me wasn’t there that day. But from the pressures of my mother and my physician to allow that new nurse to have a one shot to try to see if that girl would be able to do it, so I gave in, but I made it clear that it’s only one try, and if she couldn’t, then it ends right there. No begging for another try, no asking, nothing! That new young girl was able to draw blood from me. Still, she used what they called a butterfly needle instead of the long needle they typically use to draw my blood. She grasped the vein, pierced it, and drew the blood. Still, at a very slow pace, to the point that my hands started trying to move or make a fist because I had to keep my hands open for several minutes. My hand was telling me to clench it, but I was fighting so hard against it, and I told her I was losing control of keeping my hands still. She permitted me to move my hand to another place, which then prevented her from getting any blood from me, since when I moved my arm, as she says, she loses the vein right away.

That was the end of it, like I said, one try, and that’s it. I think I am usually asked to give four units of blood, but this time, when I was already profoundly refusing to give my blood after seeing that the nurse I trusted wasn’t there that day. I gave them a hard time, so with that nurse’s first time taking my blood, they only did two vitals, I believe. They knew that if they said four vitals (tubes), they’d get a definitive no from me, so they settled on only two to convince me to do it.

Wow, I didn’t realize that I was typing this long about it. Still, yes, the result from my physician was that everything is good with me except two things, which are my sodium being a little bit too high, but nothing to be concerned about, and the other one that made my physician more concerned is my thyroid levels. When he called to inform us of my results, he said that the next time I come in, I would need another blood test, but we have agreed that I will not have my blood drawn then. The agreement that I have with my mother and my physician is that I will only give blood once out of 2-3 appointments. This means that, where I did give my blood recently, I skip the next check-up appointment with my physician, then the 2nd check-up appointment after that. Then maybe the third one, or at most four, I might be willing to have my blood drawn, depending on my mood or how I am feeling that day. But from the result of my blood test, the lab recently showed everything is abnormal/good except the sodium level being a bit high, but again, not something to panic over. My thyroid is what gets my physician’s attention, and he said he’d like me to have the blood test again at my next appointment. Still, he knows we have an agreement, so we’ll see! But yes, I am all good healthwise.

Deaf Community: Should we have regional institutions instead of states?

I have some questions for anyone in the Deaf community, and you are more than welcome to respond by leaving a comment below in this article, on JoshiesWorld’s social media, or by posting or making a vlog to share your thoughts on this subject. If you plan to post or vlog on social media, please tag JoshiesWorld and share this article with everyone, so they know where these questions come from. I would greatly appreciate any answers or thoughts you may have on this subject, especially regarding Deaf institutions or Deaf education.

Now, this may be a painful admission for us Deaf community to recognize that we are seeing some or more Deaf institutions/schools risk closing, downsizing, or relocating, like Arizona School for the Deaf. The Blind (ASDB) is being forced to move to a smaller place that used to be Copper Creek Elementary School in Oro Valley. The Arizona School for the Deaf and the Blind has been in the same place (West Speedway campus) for over a hundred (100) years. The Arizona School for the Deaf and the Blind’s superintendent, Annette Reichman, says that the school’s West Speedway campus, home for over 100 years, has seen enrollment drop from about 350 to about 120. Plus, it is widely known that ASDB has dug itself into debt because the government (Arizona’s legislators) has refused to continue funding it or increase it to a sufficient level. I am sure there is more to the story that we may not be aware of. Still, one thing that is for sure is that Arizona’s Republican legislators (you know how Republicans are, they are many things, but one of them is they aren’t an ally to the Deaf and disabled community) have been giving them a very hard time with the funding, as they have been cutting their funding rapidly. They typically fund ASDB for five years, then down to two years, and then recommended moving to annual funding; unfortunately, that impacted ASDB, as they went into debt. It costs the school more to report annually than it would over five years.

Declining student enrollment and the inability to recruit qualified Deaf educators due to a shortage or to qualified educators refusing to teach at less well-known Deaf institutions are two of the main drivers affecting Deaf institutions. They want to teach at top Deaf institutions such as Texas School for the Deaf (TSD), Maryland School for the Deaf (MSD), Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD) that Gallaudet University, Indiana School operates for the Deaf (ISD), California School for the Deaf Fremont (CSDF), California School for the Deaf Riverside (CSDR), maybe American School for the Deaf (ASD), and others that I might not thought of. They need to stop doing that, if these Deaf educators want to do the best thing for the Deaf students or children then apply or transfer for a lesser Deaf school/institution such as Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD), West Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind (WVSDB), Montana School for the Deaf and the Blind (MSDB), Missouri School for the Deaf which has critically low enrollment as they have 30 or fewer students or others.

This is the reality, but the question is, are we too late, or what can we do to at least protect or save any of these institutions that are now risking closure or having to relocate due to budget or funding cuts, as happened with the Arizona School for the Deaf and the Blind from Arizona’s government? Yes, I am aware that it costs the government even more to send Deaf students to mainstream or public schools, as they must find an interpreter for each student or for groups of five or ten students, which can be taxing for interpreters in educational settings. But guess what? The government doesn’t care. They have a goal to cram all kinds of students, abled, disabled, Deaf, Blind, and whatnot into one large school, which may save some funding rather than having to pay for every school. It’s cheaper to pay for five schools crammed with all kinds of students than to pay for 20-30 schools with fewer students.

So, now what? This is what got me thinking: what if we take a hard swallow and go for the regional institutions instead of the state’s institution(s)? Say like, one Deaf institution for North East, one for South East, one for Central, one for North West, and one for South West? Think of it as consolidation if you will. By doing that, they will for sure have a good number of enrollments. It would be more convincing for the government to fund it, since there would be only five regional institutions instead of, say, one or two Deaf institutions in each of 50 (or 51 if we’re including Washington, D.C.) states. While Alaska, Hawaii, and the large populations of US territories like Puerto Rico can have their own Deaf institutions, this makes sense. I believe that by doing this, we can ensure the longevity of Deaf education. I have one example here: there were a good number of public schools in the area between Matewan, Gilbert, Man, and Delbarton in West Virginia, but now they have consolidated them into one very large building with all kinds of sports activities in Matewan, West Virginia, and that boosts the economy in these areas in a very short time. No, I didn’t go to any schools there or anywhere in West Virginia. I only went to the one somewhere in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and it has also been consolidated from a few public schools around here into three: elementary, middle, and high. The result is they have been winning football championships left and right, with one of the most winningest public-school head coaches in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Still, unfortunately, I think about a year ago, he passed away in a nearby car wreck. Nonetheless, my point is, or a question to the Deaf community relating to education, do you think it would be better if we consolidate the Deaf institutions in North East states into one North East regional Deaf school, South East states into one South East regional Deaf school, and so forth? In doing so, we can be sure that these regional Deaf institutions/schools will have at least some qualified educators, as there would be no choice for them but to go to one of five regional Deaf institutions/schools instead of picking which well-known Deaf institution(s)/school(s) in which state.

Yes, that would mean the northeast states would have to surrender their Deaf institutions to a regional Deaf institution somewhere in the northeast, and so on. But that may be for the best, especially for the Deaf education. Let me know, let’s have this discussion going, share this article with your thoughts or opinions, or make a vlog on your social media platforms, but be sure to tag JoshiesWorld so that I can know where to find the answers.

About the NFL Super Bowl LX (60th)

The NFL Super Bowl LX (60th) was on February 8, 2026, a few days ago, and the competing teams were the Seattle Seahawks from the NFC (National Football Conference) West and the New England Patriots from the AFC (American Football Conference) East. Super Bowl LX was hosted at Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers football team, in Santa Clara, California. The Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots, 29-13. Every year, the NFL Super Bowl is held at different stadiums/venues that won the bid to host. The next one, in 2027, will be hosted at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California (the 2nd time hosting the Super Bowl), home to both NFL teams, the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers. The NFL’s stadium/venue already won the bid for the 2028 Super Bowl: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (2nd time hosting the Super Bowl), home of the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta, Georgia. In my opinion I am not a fan of, or agree with the idea that these two stadiums/venues hosting the Super Bowl for the second time because I think that the NFL should give other NFL teams the chance to host the Super Bowl because any team’s stadium/venue that hosts a Super Bowl will bring in a lot of revenue which some of the teams needs them more than these two teams stadium/venue that I mentioned above. Both stadiums are relatively new and more luxurious, so they have plenty of money. I think that some teams that haven’t hosted a Super Bowl should get their turn, such as, of course I am biased in this one but the Lambeau Field which is the home to my favorite team, Green Bay Packers, and as well other teams such as Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Charlotte North Carolina, Chicago Bears (my team’s rival, Packers and Bears is the oldest rivals), Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, Nashville Titans, Landover Washington Commanders that haven’t hosted a Super Bowl yet. These teams, along with my team, the Green Bay Packers, should have their turns hosting the Super Bowl, to be fair. Some of these teams, such as the Packers, have already drastically expanded their stadiums, making them larger than ever (for example, TitleTown, owned by the Green Bay Packers, which includes Lambeau Field). But these teams aren’t able to host the Super Bowl because of the NFL’s strictest regulations (such as dome stadiums and controlled climate) for qualifying stadiums/venues.

Anyway, I know I went off topic here for a little bit, but I’ll get back to it about Super Bowl LX. What team was I rooting for to win the Super Bowl? Obviously I root for my favorite team Green Bay Packers but since they were knocked out in their playoff after losing to the oldest rivalry Chicago Bears which was tough for me to see that happened, as other teams advances I wasn’t rooting for any other teams until they have entered the Super Bowl which that was the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots so I rooted for Seahawks. But I wasn’t rooting for the Seahawks for no reason whatsoever; there was a reason I rooted for them to win the Super Bowl over the New England Patriots: the Seattle Seahawks were my stepfather’s father’s favorite team, and he passed away a while back. So, we rooted for the Seattle Seahawks in his honor, and it was bittersweet for us to see the Seahawks win Super Bowl LX. Now, what do I think of the Super Bowl LX halftime with Bad Bunny’s performance?! Amazing, and inspiring at the same time!

Yes, I am aware that many of us don’t know or understand what Bad Bunny was singing, which was in Spanish, but the way they performed and showcased Puerto Rican pride and Puerto Rico to the world. Not only that, the performers were very diverse, which I cannot recall happening at a Super Bowl halftime until Bad Bunny’s. It brought together people of different races, genders, ages, cultures, religions/beliefs, sexual orientations, and more. At the end of the performance, there was a message that Bad Bunny had for all of us, and that was “Together, we are American,” which was seen on a football that Bad Bunny was holding. The Super Bowl LX Halftime performance was beautifully executed, inspiring, diverse, and a good choice by Jay-Z and his entertainment company, Roc Nation. Jay-Z, through his entertainment company Roc Nation, has a long-term partnership with the NFL, serving as the league’s live-music entertainment strategist. JAY selects performers, collaborates with the NFL’s entertainment team, and works with sponsors like Apple Music. This partnership began in 2019. That is why, ever since that year, we have seen more diverse performers, and I am all for it! Plus, the sign language translators/performers for Super Bowl LX Halftime were top-notch in my opinion! For so many years, we’ve seen American Sign Language (ASL) translators/performers at the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Still, this time, they used Puerto Rico Sign Language (PRSL), which is fitting since the Halftime performers were in their native language. The interpreters were Celimar Rivera Cosme and Julian Ortiz. They were both fantastic; I tip my hat to them, and so should you all! The Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance wasn’t the only thing that made history; so did Celimar Rivera Cosme and Julian Ortiz for signing in Puerto Rico Sign Language, because, as I said, for many years, it was in American Sign Language, translating for different English-speaking Super Bowl Halftime performers.

Now, while the NFL Super Bowl LX Halftime performance by Bad Bunny has gotten mostly positive feedback, there were some negative ones, obviously, and some of them were unnecessary. One of the most negative pieces of feedback was obviously that they were singing in Spanish, not the English language, and because of that, I wonder if some of them realize that it’s how we Deaf people feels about others speaking in English but not communicating with us Deaf people using our native language which is American Sign Language or other country’s sign language. Some people complained that the performance was in Spanish, saying they should have respected America by doing it in America’s language, English. If any of these people is you, then I have to remind you that the United States of America DOES NOT have an official language. We don’t, and there is a reason for that. The United States of America is an immigrant country, which means it has many languages, including Spanish, Irish, Gaelic, French, Japanese, Chinese, Hebrew, Korean (also known as Hangugeo), and American Sign Language, among others. Also, what some of you have forgotten, or maybe you were deprived of education thanks to Republicans’ education censorships, before there was America or the United States of America, there were indigenous peoples, not only that, there was another ruler that ruled some of the United States of America a long time ago, before it was the United States of America. One of them was the Spanish Empire, which ruled many western and southern states. If you’d like specifics, the Spanish-controlled states were California, Florida, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, and parts of other states, including Oklahoma, Utah, and Nevada. Outside of these, the entire Mexico was under Spanish Empire rule as well, along with almost half of South American countries such as New Granada (modern-day Colombia, Venezuela, and Panama), Rio de la Plata (Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay), and Peru (Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Ecuador).

So what does that tell you now? Remember, half of the United States of America was under the Spanish Empire’s rule. This means that the Spanish-speaking people have their roots in the United States of America, thanks to their ancestors from the Spanish Empire. Now, the Super Bowl LX halftime performers are Puerto Ricans, and Puerto Rico is a United States territory that was once part of the Spanish Empire. That was how the United States of America acquired Puerto Rico as its territory: it won the war against the Spanish Empire, and the Spanish Empire had to cede many of its lands, including Puerto Rico, to the United States of America. Bad Bunny, known as Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is a Latin-American Spanish singer from Puerto Rico. Anyone born in Puerto Rico is automatically a citizen of the United States of America because Puerto Rico is under the United States of America’s rule since the United States of America won the Spanish-American War in 1898 which that resulted in the United States of American conquering Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines, and establishing a protectorate over Cuba (that’s why the US leased Guantánamo Bay for their military base).

I realize this is a bit too long for this topic about the Super Bowl halftime, but I had to share a bit of the history with some of you who thought negatively about Bad Bunny’s performance at Super Bowl LX. Puerto Rico is PART of the United States. The United States of America does not have any official languages, which is why we see some things with two or three different translations on our menu, manual, press, news, articles, government documents, etc., because the United States of America IS AN IMMIGRANT COUNTRY, and it has many languages. That’s one of the nice things about the freedom in the United States: everyone can speak their own native languages and feel comfortable doing so without being forced to speak a language that belonged to the United Kingdom (English). Plus, let’s say the United States of America decided to make English our official language; that would mean any other languages, including my own, American Sign Language, would not be allowed in any public setting, including the court! Now, you see how wrong that would be? Yeah.

If you’d like to read more about the half of the United States that was under the Spanish Empire’s rule, then here’s the link to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Empire

What do you think of the Super Bowl LX, the halftime, and which team did you root for? Leave a comment.

Trump’s DOT rules rollback protections for wheelchair users traveling.

We know that Trump’s administration is cruel to minorities by repealing some executive orders that were done under President Barack Obama or President Joe Biden, and tirelessly trying to take away some of the things that are vital to us minorities, such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, SNAP food benefits, and whatnot. We already know that Trump and his administration oppress the minorities in anyway that they can, by doing what I mentioned above, and that include dismantling DEI(A) policy which was aimed to make sure that the disabled people, and other minorities including BIPOC (black, indengious peoples, people of color) can have a easier life by forcing the government themselves, the companies, and whatnot to be fair to us. Now, this is another example: Trump did it a few months ago by having the DOT (Department of Transportation) roll back its rules that protect wheelchair passengers traveling by air. For many years, it has been known that the airlines aren’t wheelchair user-friendly because there is a very high percentage of wheelchairs that have been damaged, and when they have been damaged, they wouldn’t be liable or held accountable. Former President Joe Biden, and his DOT added the rules that would protect us wheelchair users who travel by the air where that if any of our electric wheelchair or manual wheelchair gets damaged that we would be compesenated for by either paying for the repair, new one, providing loaner wheelchair, or having someone to come over at the airport and fix the damaged wheelchair so to make sure that the traveling wheelchair user can continue to be mobile. It is often the case that when a wheelchair user travels by air or even by sea, their wheelchair gets damaged, and they are unable to go anywhere (literally).

Damaging a wheelchair is taking away the passenger’s legs. They would be unable to move or go anywhere then they would be stuck in a spot where they transferred the passenger from the airline’s wheeelchair that used to transport the passenger to the airplane, and to be transported off the airline’s airplane back to their wheelchair which ended up damaged so they would be trapped to that one spot due to not being able to move so imagine how embarrasing they would be.

It would strip them of their dignity, and be embarrassed in an open public place where everyone can see a traveler sitting in a damaged wheelchair that cannot move. Not only has Trump removed the rules where if any airline damaged our wheelchairs, they would be accountable for compensating us or having somebody to come over to repair the wheelchair or pay for a new one, but Trump also removed another requirement where wheelchair users were to be informed of their rights as both passengers and wheelchair users from the airlines when they are checking the passenger’s wheelchair or scooter.

Last year, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) said an estimated 5.5 million Americans use wheelchairs or scooters, and that its data showed that for every 100 wheelchairs or scooters transported on domestic flights, at least one was damaged, delayed, or worse, lost. This means that 1 in 100 passengers had their wheelchairs or scooters damaged, delayed, or lost. That is actually significant! In October 2024, USDOT (United States Department of Transportation) fined American Airlines a $50 million for its treatment of disabled passengers, including failing to provide some with adequate assistance and mishandling wheelchairs.

Here are some links to news articles and whatnot, so you can get a better idea of what this is all about: the Trump administration and his DOT have rolled back the rules that protected and treated wheelchair passengers fairly.

• Flyers who use wheelchairs face a potential rollback of DOT rules written by Robert Silk in Travel Weekly.
• US will not enforce Biden wheelchair passenger protection rule written by David Shepardson in Reuters.
• Trump Administration To Reconsider Disability Regulations For Airlines written by Shaun Heasley in DisabilityScoop.

Republicans and conservatives are well-known for repealing or rolling back anything that would make the lives of people in minorities community’s life easier. They do not want to make things easier for minority communities, including both the Deaf community and the disabled community. There is a reason for that: to help their wealthy friends, family, and voters’ (maybe!) businesses. When a wheelchair customer would like to have the access to their business place like everyone else do, and for wheelchair customer to be able to access into their business building or place is on a ramp so the business would have to pay to construct a ramp or an elevator for their wheelchair customers which they do not want to do so if it wasn’t for Americans with Disability Act law. Having to do so costs them, but in the end, they would recoup those costs and earn more from us wheelchair users, so, in a way, they would have to pay for something that would give them more business (more revenue) in the future. But some of them do not want any customers who cannot enter their premises because, in their opinion, these disabled customers would make their business places look bad and scare off good-looking, non-disabled customers.

As a wheelchair user myself, not only that, I am also Deaf, I am utterly disappointed by it, but at the same time, I was not surprised knowing that is how President Trump and his administration are. For them to rollback the rules or regulations that protect the wheelchair users who like traveling by air is a middle finger to us wheelchair users or to any person who has a disability by President Trump and his administration. If I am to travel by air, obviously I would have to have my electric wheelchair with me because it is my legs, and allowing myself to be independent, and my wheelchair was damaged or worse, lost, that would mean that I would be immobilized. I wouldn’t even be able to go over to a desk to talk with an agent, I wouldn’t be able to get myself back into the airplane to go back home, and I wouldn’t be able to go anywhere because my wheelchair was damaged or lost. Someone would have to drag me, carry me, put me on like a luggage cart with wheels, or whatever from the airport back to the airplane, and then again from the airplane to the airport then have to find a way to get me out of the airport safely to maybe a vehicle to have me transported to my house then I would have to find someone to help me to get out of the vehicle and get me in my house. So, when we wheelchair users say that they are our legs, they are literally our legs, and without having a wheelchair, we have no legs to go anywhere. If we happen to lose our wheelchairs, many of us wouldn’t be able to get another wheelchair for a long time unless they are near the five-year limit. Some insurances, including Medicare/Medicaid, have limits on when we can get a new wheelchair, such as every 5 years or, in some cases, even longer. Even if we call our insurance about the loss, we are still stuck with that policy. Some might be lucky enough to get a loaner wheelchair until they can get a new one, but it’s only by luck, depending on who our insurance providers are.

How can Trump and his administration have the audacity to remove DOT’s (Department of Transportation) rules or regulations that protect people with disabilities, especially those who use wheelchairs? But that is what they did a few months ago. Because of that, many wheelchair travelers do not feel comfortable or safe, and they do not trust that they will be taken care of or that the airlines will be fair to them. It is no surprise that we are seeing fewer numbers of wheelchair users who travel now, and I am sure that we will be seeing even lower numbers within these three remaining years of the Trump Administration’s term.

If you say that the government shouldn’t meddle with the airline policies, and whatnot, and that it should be the airlines who create the policy that would protect their wheelchair fliers, then you aren’t thinking it through. They do not want to be a service to people with disabilities, and that is why the government needs to make the rules or regulations that the airlines would have to follow. If the airlines want to serve the disabled fliers as well truly, then we would already have some airplanes that are wheelchair accessible, that allow us wheelchair fliers to bring our own wheelchair with us in the airplane, and stay in it like how some transportation buses with wheelchair accessible does where they would have a door open then bring out the lift down for us wheelchair users to rolls on, and lift us into the bus or a van then we roll into our designated spots where our wheelchairs would be latched in while we still sitting in it so we wouldn’t have to get out of our wheelchair to sit somewhere else.

But there are none. It’s 2026, so there shouldn’t be any excuse. This problem is many decades old; they should have solved it by now, but they have not, and I doubt they ever will. Some airliners have developed prototypes, such as Delta’s Flight Products in collaboration with Air4All, based in the United Kingdom, which developed airplane seats that convert into secure docking stations for power wheelchairs, allowing wheelchair users to stay in their own wheelchairs without being transferred to the flight’s wheelchairs. There is an article about this if you are interested in reading about it here (link). But don’t get excited, because when I found out about this prototype, I tweeted a long time ago to show my gratitude to Delta Air Lines for being willing to find a way to make its planes more wheelchair-accessible. Still, they said they are no longer testing that prototype or planning to provide wheelchair accessibility. As I said, it is 2026, so get with the program, and then maybe we wouldn’t need our government to tell them what to do since their airplanes would be wheelchair/handicap accessible so that we can bring our wheelchairs with us, and in doing so, that would mean that we wheelchair users would be the ones who’re liable! But for the time being where we wheelchair users aren’t allowed to get onto the airplane with our own wheelchair, and to stay in it rather than having to transport ourselves from our wheelchair into theirs then push us into a airplane and then transfer ourselves into the seats of airplane then they would be putting our wheelchairs in the storage unsecured which is in the belly of an airplane. Hence, the airline’s responsible for ensuring they are not damaged or lost; otherwise, it’d be liable for them. Plus, many of them would assume that the wheels of an electric wheelchair would roll naturally when they push it. Still, they cannot be, because they are engaged with the motors. For them to roll when pushed, they must be switched to an unlocked state, freeing the wheels to roll freely. Typically, the switch that unlocks the wheels from the motors is the two levers in front of the wheelchair’s body, between the footrest plate. If they weren’t unlocked, and they would push them with force while the wheels wouldn’t roll freely, they are braked, and locked in, they are risking severe damage to the wheelchair because if they happened to make the wheels roll by the force without unlocking, they would be breaking the motors themselves.

Many wheelchair users who travel by air have repeatedly cautioned, warned, and instructed on how to move them properly without causing any damage. Still, they are often ignored or do not take their instructions seriously. No matter how much efforts we wheelchair users have put into airline companies, how much we have advocated for the wheelchair airline passenger rights, and more they will not do anything for us so that is exactly why we need our government to add rules or regulations with the Department of Transportation so that the airlines can finally do something about it because they know if they don’t adhere to them they would be fined. If there are no rules or regulations on this, airlines can continue to damage wheelchairs because no one enforces them. Their excuse is that if there is nothing that tells us how to care for your wheelchair or even your medical equipment properly, then if your wheelchair or medical equipment has been damaged or lost, that is on you, not us. Why would you bring your wheelchair or your medical equipment here?

How can we change that to ensure the airline is liable and responsible for properly caring for our wheelchairs and medical equipment? File a complaint with DOT (Department of Transportation), which I doubt they will take seriously, since the Trump administration was the one who rolled back the rules and regulations that protected wheelchair users. Second, talk with your legislators, such as your representatives and your senator, about making a bill that would protect the passengers in wheelchairs or with medical equipment, so that if the bill is passed into law, then no matter who is the President, they cannot end the protection for the airline passengers with wheelchairs or medical equipment. This is one of the reasons you need to make sure you vote for the right representative and senator who will serve you as they should.

If you are disabled or wheelchair-bound and plan to fly one day, here are some sources to read or check out, such as your rights as a disabled passenger and whatnot!

• About the Air Carrier Access Act by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT).
• Public Awareness Campaign to Ensure Air Travelers with Disabilities Know Their Rights by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT).
• Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT).
• Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights (PDF Version) by the United States Department of Transportation.
• File a complaint, comment, and compliment form with the United States Department of Transportation. Go to this if something happened to you or your wheelchair at an airline or on their airplanes.
• Traveling with a Disability by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT).

First anniversary since the Valentine’s Day flood of 2025

A few days ago, on February 15, 2026, marked a year since both the eastern parts of the United States were devastated by floods. This wasn’t just a common flood; it almost surpassed the great flood of 1977, a record that devastated many areas, including both Pike County, Kentucky, and Mingo County, West Virginia. People, including my mom, who lived in Williamson with her family when she was a teenager, I believe, and who witnessed the great flood of 1977 in both Pike County, Ky, and Mingo County, WV, said they had never seen anything like it. It seemed worse than the flood they had experienced firsthand. The Tug Fork River suddenly turned into a big lake. Kentucky’s Governor Andy Beshear said there were 24 confirmed fatalities from the February 15, 2025, flood. The keyword is confirmed; there is a chance that higher estimates of the number of people who lost their lives in the 2025 Valentine’s Day flood exist. Also, the 24 confirmed fatalities related to the flood were from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, not in combination with West Virginia, even though they work side by side helping us civilians who were impacted by the disaster. West Virginia has confirmed 3 people died related to the Valentine’s Day flood. Still, again, they are confirmed, there is a chance that there is a higher estimate of how many deaths there were in West Virginia from that disaster.

Almost a week after last year’s flood, I wrote an article about it; the headline is “The Kentucky and West Virginia Floods of 2025” on here, JoshiesWorld.com. I added some pictures and videos (some taken by us, some by others) to the article, along with resources for people affected by the flood. Also, a few people were mentioned in the article, especially those who voluntarily took on the responsibility to help people affected, such as by providing shelters, food, drinks, and clothes.

The Kentucky and West Virginia Floods of 2025 by JoshiesWorld: https://www.joshiesworld.com/the-kentucky-and-west-virginia-floods-of-2025/

In that article, the story is deeper, with historical context, particularly the 1977-2025 great flood. If you are curious about the Valentine’s flood on February 15, 2025, or want to revisit and remember what you and I went through that weekend, this is a great article to read and learn from. If you would like to share this article on your social media, family, friends, etc., please do! We must continue sharing what happened that weekend, which is now part of our history in Pike County, Ky, and Mingo County, Wv. If you are one of the many who were affected by the flood over Valentine’s weekend and read this article or follow JoshiesWorld on social media, I am thankful you are still here! Yes, some of us may have lost houses, businesses, buildings, vehicles, loved ones, and others, but we made it out for a reason. I know there are a very few businesses that will not be back soon, such as our long-running Long John Silver’s (if you are nearby around here, and would like some Long John Silver’s, there is one in Pikeville. Put this in your GPS: 176 S Mayo Trail, Pikeville, KY 41501).

Congratulations, USA Team Bobsledder, Elana Meyers Taylor!

I want to congratulate a particular athlete who competed for Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games (also known as Milano Cortina 2026), in bobsledding: Elana Meyers Taylor! Elana Meyers Taylor won gold in women’s monobob, while teammate Kaillie Humphries won bronze. Why is this a big deal? Before I get into that, this was not Elana Meyers Taylor’s first time; she has six medals, including the gold she won in women’s monobob at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Elana Meyers Taylor is a Black athlete with the most Olympic medals in Winter Games history for Team USA. Now, what’s special about this is that both gold medalist Elana Meyers Taylor and bronze medalist Kaillie Humphries are 40 years old, and both are moms. Alongside Elana Meyers Taylor, Kaillie Humphries is considered one of the greats in women’s bobsledding. At Vancouver 2010, won a gold medal with Heather Moyse; at Sochi 2014, won a gold medal with Heather Moyse again; and at PyeongChang 2018, won a bronze medal with Phylicia George while competing for Canada. In 2019, Kaillie Humphries switched her allegiance to the United States of America, competed at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, won a gold medal in the monobob, and recently won the bronze medal at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics. It’s not her only medal; she has many more in other games outside the Olympics. Here is her Wikipedia page if you’d like to read about Kaillie Humphries. https://w.wiki/HtsX

So, congratulations go to Kaillie Humphries as well! But my eyes were on Elana Meyers Taylor for a few reasons: winning an Olympic medal, which makes her the most decorated Black woman athlete in Winter Olympic history! Elana Meyers Taylor has broken the record (her own) as the most decorated Black/Black woman athlete and the most decorated female bobsleigh pilot in Winter Olympic history. As I mentioned, Elana Meyers Taylor, along with Kaillie Humphries, is a mom in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Elana Meyers Taylor is 41, and Kaillie Humphries is 40. Elana Meyers Taylor has become the oldest individual Olympic champion at a Winter Games, overtaking Austrian snowboarder Benjamin Karl, 40. Elana Meyers Taylor also became the first mother to win Olympic bobsleigh gold. There are more records held by Elana Meyers Taylor that I may have overlooked, so if you want to know a little more about her, here is her Wikipedia page. https://w.wiki/Httd

Amid all that, Elana Meyers Taylor is a history-making athlete. With all that said, the thing that caught my attention was her being a mother. If you have watched any videos featuring her, her children, and her husband on social media, including some shared on JoshiesWorld’s channels, then you know what I am talking about. However, if you don’t know anything about her, I will tell you here. She and her husband, Nic Taylor (a coach and bobsledder, too), welcomed their son, Nico, in 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Again, they welcomed their son, Noah, in 2022. Nico was born with Down Syndrome, and both of their sons, Nico and Noah, are Deaf due to a mutation unrelated to Down Syndrome. That video I was referring to was when Elana won the gold medal in women’s monobob; a reporter showed her children with Olympic gold medalist Elana Meyers Taylor in the video that was on air (live), and Elana looked at them, saying, “Your mommy won! Your mommy won!” in American Sign Language (ASL)! Then her husband, Nic Taylor, was seen in a video telling their son, while holding him, that their mother had won in American Sign Language and pointing to their mother. So, as a Deaf person who uses a native language which is American Sign Language, watching these videos made me smile so hard because of two reasons: these Deaf children who have a parent who is willing to learn and communicate with their children in their native language, which is American Sign Language (ASL) which is a sign language in the United States. Many other countries have their own sign languages, just as they do with their spoken/written languages. In doing so, they ensure that their sons are not deprived of their language. By the way, American Sign Language is a legitimate language. If you don’t believe me, search on Google, Bing, or wherever, and you will see that it’s considered a legitimate language.

It is rare to have a parent who is willing or committed to learning sign language so they can communicate with their Deaf or Hard of Hearing children in their native language (the Deaf community’s native language). Many Deaf children are deprived of their language, forcing them to have a communication barrier with their parents and family because they refuse to learn how to communicate with them, and that is what often causes Deaf children to be isolated. Unless the parents sent them to a Deaf institution, they would feel it is a home, where they can communicate with many Deaf students and some educators who know sign language. That is one of the reasons that many Deaf children who have hearing parents does not want to go back home on a break, many of them dread to go back to a home where their parents or family refuses to learn how to communicate with them so that would force these children to be isolated once again until the break is over, and get back to their Deaf school to be happy again. This is why you see Deaf people succeed and remain independent: they learned sign language from the moment they were educated. Many Deaf or Hard of Hearing people attended university or college and earned degrees, including certifications, associate’s degrees, bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and even a PhD. It is important to ensure that Deaf or Hard of Hearing children are not deprived of their language by requiring them to learn American Sign Language or another country’s sign language, depending on their country of origin. Half of me knows how that feels, because on my mother’s side of the family, most of them started learning American Sign Language as soon as they found out that I, as a baby, was Deaf. There was never a communication barrier with them, but on my father’s side of the family, it’s a whole different story, which I will not get into.

The second reason is that seeing more people, such as an Olympian winning a gold medal, raises awareness of the Deaf community and their languages. We are seeing greater exposure and media awareness, whether on television, in movies, or in articles. This one is for the sports world: for example, a basketball player from the San Antonio Spurs who learned American Sign Language from Deaf grandparents, and a mother who is an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter. Now, with Olympian Elana Meyers Taylor winning a gold medal, and Nic Taylor’s two adorable sons, Nico and Noah, who are Deaf, exposing American Sign Language on live TV! Keep winning medals, Elana Meyers Taylor, and I hope this won’t be the last time we see four of you! Again, congratulations, Elana Meyers Taylor!

Here is the video I mentioned.

Ky’s House Budget 500 (26RS HB 500): A significant funding cut for important services such as Medicaid and Education

The Kentucky House of Representatives introduced a new bill for their 2026 regular session, a 2026-2028 budget for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. That bill has unbelievably significant funding cuts for many programs and services that are the heartbeats of Kentuckians, such as Medicaid and education, and defunding Eastern Kentucky University (a university known for educating people who want to become American Sign Language interpreters). Not the right time to defund EKU, especially given the critical shortage of ASL interpreters.

A summary of Ky’s HB500 bill, with the AI help, since there are over 150 pages. Here’s a link to the bill introduced by the Ky House, HB 500, which is the 2026-2028 budget. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb500/orig_bill.pdf

Or you can take a look at the House Bill 500, officially 26RS HB 500 record here: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26rs/hb500.html

General Funding Adjustments

1. General Fund:
   • The General Fund allocation increases slightly from $14,879,045,600 in 2026-2027 to $14,930,755,200 in 2027-2028.
2. General Fund (Tobacco):
   • Funding from the General Fund (Tobacco) decreases from $82,800,000 in 2026-2027 to $77,399,900 in 2027-2028.
3. Restricted Funds:
   • Restricted Funds decrease from $15,698,667,800 in 2026-2027 to $15,433,703,300 in 2027-2028.
4. Federal Funds:
   • Federal Funds decrease slightly from $23,165,638,400 in 2026-2027 to $23,037,827,000 in 2027-2028.
5. Road Fund:
   • Road Fund increases from $59,499,300 in 2026-2027 to $61,957,100 in 2027-2028.
6. Bond Funds:
   • Bond Funds decrease from $162,500,000 in 2026-2027 to $125,501,000 in 2027-2028.
7. Agency Bonds:
   • No Agency Bonds are allocated for 2027-2028, compared to $175,000,000 in 2026-2027.
8. Investment Income:
   • Investment Income increases slightly from $46,233,000 in 2026-2027 to $48,187,000 in 2027-2028.
9. Other Funds:
   • No “Other Funds” are allocated for 2027-2028, compared to $400,000,000 in 2026-2027.

Education Programs

1. SEEK Program:
   • Funding decreases from $3,458,991,800 in 2026-2027 to $3,367,949,800 in 2027-2028.
   • Specific components of SEEK funding are reduced:
     • Facilities Support Program of Kentucky/Equalized Nickel Levies: $137,176,700 in 2026-2027 to $126,577,500 in 2027-2028.
     • Growth Levy Equalization Funding: $54,370,400 in 2026-2027 to $46,449,200 in 2027-2028.
     • Retroactive Equalized Facility Funding: $72,367,000 in 2026-2027 to $67,523,100 in 2027-2028.
2. Postsecondary Education Asset Preservation Pool:
   • Funding for asset preservation decreases for several universities:
     • Eastern Kentucky University: $10,000,000 in 2026-2027 to $0 in 2027-2028.
     • Morehead State University: $10,000,000 in 2026-2027 to $5,065,000 in 2027-2028.
     • Murray State University: $10,000,000 in 2026-2027 to $7,073,000 in 2027-2028.
     • Northern Kentucky University: $10,000,000 in 2026-2027 to $6,951,000 in 2027-2028.
     • Western Kentucky University: $10,000,000 in 2026-2027 to $9,158,000 in 2027-2028.
3. Professional Development and Education Programs:
   • No General Fund is provided for programs such as the Professional Development Program, Commonwealth School Improvement Fund, Leadership and Mentor Fund, Middle School Academic Center, Teacher’s Professional Growth Fund, Teacher Academies Program, Writing Program, Kentucky Principal Internship Program, Kentucky Teacher Internship Program, and Kentucky Academy for Equity in Teaching (Part I, C., 3., (9)).

Health and Family Services

1. Medicaid Benefits:
   • Funding decreases from $22,562,058,800 in 2026-2027 to $22,421,540,500 in 2027-2028.
2. Community Based Services:
   • Funding decreases from $1,840,122,700 in 2026-2027 to $1,812,115,500 in 2027-2028.
3. Early Childhood Development Programs:
   • Funding for the Early Childhood Development Program decreases from $8,422,100 in 2026-2027 to $7,783,300 in 2027-2028.
   • Funding for Early Childhood Adoption and Foster Care Supports decreases from $1,773,100 in 2026-2027 to $1,638,600 in 2027-2028.
4. Smoking Cessation Program:
   • Funding decreases from $1,773,100 in 2026-2027 to $1,638,600 in 2027-2028.

Phase I Tobacco Settlement Programs

1. Agricultural Development Initiatives:
   • Funding decreases from $38,086,500 in 2026-2027 to $35,197,600 in 2027-2028.
   • Specific reductions include:
     • Counties Account: $11,777,900 in 2026-2027 to $10,884,500 in 2027-2028.
     • State Account: $21,876,000 in 2026-2027 to $20,216,600 in 2027-2028.
     • Farms to Food Banks Program: $886,500 in 2026-2027 to $819,300 in 2027-2028.
     • Kentucky Rural Mental Health, Suicide Prevention, and Farm Safety Program: $886,500 in 2026-2027 to $819,300 in 2027-2028.
2. Early Childhood Development Initiatives:
   • Funding decreases from $20,018,100 in 2026-2027 to $18,499,700 in 2027-2028.
   • Specific reductions include:
     • HANDS Program: $5,301,500 in 2026-2027 to $4,899,400 in 2027-2028.
     • Healthy Start Initiatives: $620,600 in 2026-2027 to $573,500 in 2027-2028.
     • Early Childhood Mental Health: $620,600 in 2026-2027 to $573,500 in 2027-2028.
     • Early Childhood Oral Health: $620,600 in 2026-2027 to $573,500 in 2027-2028.
3. Health Care Improvement Initiatives:
   • Funding decreases from $10,195,200 in 2026-2027 to $9,421,800 in 2027-2028.
   • Specific reductions include:
     • Office of Drug Control Policy: $2,659,600 in 2026-2027 to $2,457,900 in 2027-2028.
     • Restorative Justice Program: $221,600 in 2026-2027 to $204,800 in 2027-2028.
     • Cancer Research and Screening: $5,540,900 in 2026-2027 to $5,120,500 in 2027-2028.

Other Programs

1. Commission on Women:
   • No General Fund appropriation is provided for the Commission on Women to redirect funding to Domestic Violence Shelters, Rape Crisis Centers, and Children’s Advocacy Centers (Part I, A., 8., (1)).
2. Area Development Fund:
   • No funding is provided for the Area Development Fund (Part I, A., 12., (1)).
3. Local Government Economic Assistance Fund:
   • Funding for non-coal-producing counties is eliminated (Part I, A., 10., (1)).

Conclusion

The fiscal year 2027-2028 sees reductions in funding for several programs, particularly those related to education, health care, early childhood development, and agricultural initiatives. Additionally, contingency plans for budget reductions are in place in the event of revenue shortfalls.

This is a summary from one of the AI tools, specifically Adobe AI Assistant. I used a very limited number of generations (uses). I believe I can only have Adobe summarize a PDF file, which is the file format of the HB500 bill, 5 times/try, then I ran out. Even though I am subscribed to Adobe for all of their programs, such as Creative Cloud Pro, they still only limit me to 5 credits (one credit per summary generation). It’s worth it, especially for helping me summarize the important bill introduced by the Kentucky House. But they are among the best AIs for scanning and studying PDFs with Adobe Acrobat (the best PDF reader).

The end.

I think, and hope, that all of these topics in this Mix article are enough for any of you who are interested in reading one or more of them. Plus, I ran out of topics for a Mix article, which I must confess is rare, since I often have too many I want to cover but couldn’t. I would have to be selective about which topics to cover in a Mix article, or in the next one after that, because there are too many for a single Mix article, which would make it a much longer read! But the good things about reading an Mix article is that there are a lot of things that you can read about, and that if you didn’t have enough time to read all of the topics in a Mix article then you can come back to this Mix article and click/press on a topic where you left at in the topics list at the top of the article so that it can take you right back to that specific topic where you left at. As always, if you have any topics, juicy information, or anything you think the public should or deserves to know, please contact me (link) or message me on one of JoshiesWorld’s social media channels (link).

Joshua “Joshie” Sullivan.

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