IIDA Student Blog Censors Legislative Map Correction Post
6/8/09 Update – I was contacted by IIDA about this post, told I’m not blocked from commenting on the blog, and was invited to repost my comments – see comments below. My apologies to IIDA if I was in error about that, but my comments about the problems with the out-of-date map still hold.
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I just tried to post the message below on the IIDA Student Blog about the out of date IIDA map of design legislation (same as the one ASID uses) and it got rejected. Not just rejected, as in not posted, but it brought up a “discarded” error message the moment I posted it, which means they’ve got the blog set to automatically reject any postings from me.
Why are these people so afraid of what we post about opposing design legislation?
Oh, wait, that’s right – the pro-legislation cartel doesn’t have a shred of evidence to back up their position, so they have to try to shut up those of us who can back up ours, so that their unsuspecting members aren’t diverted and won’t see that the emperor truly has no clothes.
What’s more, it’s apparently an intern at IIDA who’s running this blog – clearly a student herself – even though she has apparently declined to name herself or put up a bio. She menti0ned the fact in this post, though. What does she know about the realities of all of this?
Sweetheart, you need to grow up, get a life, and learn that informed decisions can only be made when people are aware of all of the issues, on both sides of the matter. Censoring the opposite point of view like this only demonstrates a small, closed mind, and that will not get you far in life. That is also a favorite tactic of the fearful who know they don’t have a leg to stand on.
But students (and others) need this information, even when their own peers as well as their instructors are trying to snowball them and keep them from learning both sides of the issue and the truth.
The proper role of education is to inform, teach students how to learn and reason for themselves, and to draw out their own conclusions, based on all available information. It is not to censor one point of view in favor of another, to attempt to restrict a students’ access to information they need in order to be able to formulate their own thoughts.
Students, you really need to demand that your schools and instructors not only allow but encourage the dissemination of information on both sides of this issue. Once you read the facts, you will discover that things are not nearly as cut and dried as the pro-legislation cartel would like you to believe. Follow the links on this blog on on the IDPC website, read everything you can, including every word of any legislation proposed in your own states, and the first-hand reports of people who have been harmed by this kind of legislation, and then make up your own mind.
And if neither IIDA nor ASID keep their legislative maps up to date, and neither are willing to admit it when their pet laws and legislative attempts are defeated, as they mostly have been, then how can you trust anything else they tell you on this subject?
Far and away the majority of allied members of ASID who have bothered to fully inform themselves have concluded that legislation will not only not benefit them, but will only harm them and put them out of business – what makes you think that you will fare any better right out of school?
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Why does IIDA persist in posting this out of date map? Among other things:
1. The Alabama practice act was struck down as unconstitutional in 2007 – http://www.nkba.org/press_releases_20071022.aspx
2. The New Mexico title act was also struck down as unconstitutional – http://www.ij.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=716&Itemid=165
3. The Oklahoma title act has been amended so that anyone can still use the tile “interior designer” – https://nodesignlegislation.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/ok-no-longer-illegal-to-use-title-interior-designer/
4. The proposed Tennessee practice act legislation was withdrawn due to opposition, and is thus no longer pending – https://nodesignlegislation.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/tennessee-practice-act-withdrawn-by-sponsor-due-to-opposition/
5. The list goes on.
Please see the IDPC website at http://idpcinfo.org and the No Design Legislation blog at https://nodesignlegislation.wordpress.com for more details on these and other states, and to keep up on the most recent changes, as they happen, complete with links directly to the actual sources, actual text of proposed and existing laws as well as judicial opinions, etc., where you can read it all for yourself, right from the horse’s mouth.
Congratulations! OK Law Amended!
Interior Design Protection Council
Congratulations Oklahoma!
No longer illegal to use title “Interior Designer!”
Celebrate restitution of your Constitutional right!
Members of the Oklahoma design community:
On May 12th, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry signed SB 592 into law. This bill amends the current title act which previously restricted the use of the title “interior designer.”
YOU ARE NOW FREE TO USE THAT TITLE
WHICH ACCURATELY DESCRIBES THE WORK YOU DO!
The amended law will restrict only the title “registered interior designer” to those who qualify under the previously established guidelines.
This bill to amend the “pure” title law was filed in order to avoid defending against the lawsuit filed by the Institute for Justice challenging violation of Oklahoma citizens’ First Amendment rights, which inevitably would have been lost by Oklahoma.
So go ahead, Oklahoma designers — celebrate the freedom you deserve!
Oklahoma’s violation of interior designers’ free speech rights is OVER!
SPIN, DENIAL, OR PLAIN STUPIDITY?
IDPC has received a copy of a May 15th internal IIDA memorandum which attempts to claim victory for the Oklahoma amendment on that basis it amends “their existing law to include the laughingtitle “Registered Interior Designer.”
How utterly absurd to think that any intellegent, informed person would actually believe that.
Restrictions on the title “interior designer,” included in the original law, have been abolished, and in its place — NOT as an additional title to be restricted, is “registered interior designer.”
Hello IIDA! Perhaps you haven’t heard…. IDPC will expose ALL such blatantly untrue and/or misleading statements and provide the design community with the TRUTH!
Bye-Bye Title Laws!
Of the five states that enacted “pure” title acts, i.e. they restricted the use of the terms “interior designer” and “interior design,” New Mexico, Illinois, Texas and Oklahoma have been turned back, allowing designers’ First Amendment rights to be restored.
Only Connecticut’s pure title law remains — but a lawsuit challenging their law was filed by the Institute for Justice in September, 2008, and CT will almost most likely come to realize their indefensible position and join their predecessors in waving the white flag. And we will be only too happy to report that good news when it happens.
Even ASID has their white flag billowing in the breeze — their “new” legislation policy admits the title “interior designer” cannot be restricted and in defeat, have retreated from their goal of securing that title for a very tiny minority of elitist insiders.
Soon, perhaps even by the end of 2009, the United States of America will no longer be a nation that violates ANY interior designers’ rights to accurately describe the services they provide or to use the title which portrays their professional occupation.
STAY TUNED!
This has been an exciting month for our Freedom Movement, but. . .
IT’S NOT OVER YET!!!!
Thank you IJ, for restoring the rights of Oklahoma designers!
But the fight is not over. . .
Oklahoma designers, now it’s your turn to help your colleagues in the rest of the country. Help IDPC put the monopoly effort down for the count by
joining our team!
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at info@IDPCinfo.org.
Patti Morrow,
Executive Director
Interior Design Protection Council
IDPC is the only national organization solely dedicated to protecting the rights and livelihoods of ALL designers in our country.
Please support our efforts!
Click here to become a member of IDPC.
Join Our Mailing List!
View full formatted email with all links here.
IIDA Nixes Merger With ASID
For the third time this decade, IIDA has rejected a request from ASID to merge the two design organizations into one. Here is the position statement released last week, followed by my thoughts on the matter, and how it relates to legislation.
In recent months, considerable speculation has circulated surrounding the question of whether a merger between the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) should take place. In early October, the boards of directors of both associations met to discuss a merger initiative. After much discussion and deliberation, the IIDA board of directors has established the following official position:
At this time, IIDA believes that a merger would not be in the overall best interests of our membership. The board of directors asserts that our association offers a unique experience unlike any other design organization and that the existence of more than one professional design association enables designers to choose the best alliance for advancing their career. To that end, the association will continue to focus on the principles and parameters on which the organization was founded.
As we have throughout our existence, IIDA will continue to promote and pursue initiatives for ongoing and meaningful collaborations with ASID in mutually beneficial pursuits of education, advocacy and areas of marketplace value.
The IIDA is steadfastly committed to its members, embracing the legacy of the profession, and advancing the future of design.
No Design Legislation 