Free Republic

New York Lt. Gov. David Paterson will assume of the role of governor on Monday. He will be New York's first black and first legally blind governor. And he will be left to clean up a mess left by his predecessor. But Paterson is no stranger to adversity. “(He is) very capable, not withstanding his near sightlessness,” former New York City Mayor Edward Koch recently said. “It’s never impeded his public actions or his personal actions, and he’s really overcome it in an extraordinary way.” Paterson, 53, lost most of his sight as an infant when an infection damaged his...

At his press conference this morning, President Bush, who often makes inside jokes when familiar reporters pose questions, asked Los Angeles Times reporter Peter Wallsten, who was wearing sunglasses outside, “Are you going to ask that question with shades on?” Bush noted that there was "no sun" but added, “I’m interested in the shade look, seriously.” Turns out Wallsten is legally blind and wears the sunglasses due to a rare genetic disorder called Stargardt’s Disease. But Wallsten later told the ThinkProgress web site that Bush’s comments did not offend him at all. “I never advertise it to him. I’ve never...

Legally blind, Chapman has built loyal clientele by experimenting. - Tami Chapman stood at the cash register in the cafeteria of a state office building, ringing up a couple of breakfast tacos and orange juice while cracking a joke with a customer. The next minute, she dashed off to the kitchen, where she sampled the day's soup special — Southwestern chicken — and gave it a thumbs up. All morning, the owner of the food bar bounced between tasks, moving seamlessly through the workday despite what could be a debilitating hurdle: Chapman is legally blind. "I think I'm a glutton...

Famed detective Mark Fuhrman is calling for a grand jury probe of the Terri Schiavo case, saying there's no other way to get to the bottom of the unexplained 1990 collapse of the then-26-year-old woman. "I want a grand jury investigation," he told ABC Radio host Sean Hannity on Tuesday, adding that Schiavo's parents also favor the move. Fuhrman, whose book "Silent Witness" hit bookstores this week, said that if Florida prosecutors decline to convene a grand jury probe, the Justice Department should step in. He asked, "Were Terri's civil rights violated? When I looked at this case, she never...

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- A man who is legally blind has heard it before, so he was naturally skeptical when he was told he scored a hole-in-one while golfing at a local golf course. "They've said it before," said Joel Ludvicek, 78. Only this time it was true. Ludvicek aced the 168-yard No. 11 hole at Twin Pines golf course with a driver. He had to rely on his three golfing partners to confirm the feat, because Ludvicek is legally blind. "A big fluke, it's just one of those things," Ludvicek said. He has been an avid golfer for years...

A note for those doing Terri Schiavo research. A bio of Judge Greer notes that "The Judge's parents both passed on in 1991." That seems just a little odd. Accident? Disease? Sheer coincidence? Were they in an assisted care facility, perhaps? If you have info, please pass it along.