Reality Challenged

"We need to help the families of America. We need to relieve their burden."

Help! I need a shovel! I’m being buried alive!

It is the time of year when all politicians tell us more lies than we can handle. Their voting track record is illustrative of their true beliefs. Our nation’s politicians, both Democrat and Republican, favor those with alternate lifestyles and single parent families over the traditional married couple. The truth is defined not by the words they speak but by the actions of their record in congress.

Over the past quarter of a century, the US Congress has traded domination by both Republicans and Democrats. Yet, in all those years, they have been evasive to eliminate the taxation preferences to single people over married people, also known as the marriage penalty tax. In fact, their voting record favors divorce, couples living together out of wedlock and gay marriage. Yup, even the most conservative politician in Washington favors gay marriage.

This can’t be true, can it?

Yes sir-eee! It’s all about money. It’s true because the Republicans want to fund more tax breaks for those who are far beyond my tax bracket and the Democrats want to fund more social programs for those who don’t need them. Gay marriage is a perfect route to collect more taxes for their pork spending. I believe that both parties secretly want marriage of any kind to be made legal – such as marriage between a man and his dog.

How do you figure?

Quite simple. As the approval of marriage other than between a man and a woman become more widespread, a new tax base becomes formed. Currently, the US tax code doesn’t recognize gay marriage but a simple change would remove their preferential taxation treatment. Yup, tax ‘em like the rest of the married population! It’s amazing that it has not been done already but, it’s only a matter of time. It’s a yet untapped source of revenue that would be used to provide more money to favored pork programs.

Somebody will propose to make the taxation change. It will be easily approved by Republicans and Democrats alike and both will claim it’s not a new tax. It might be interesting to see how this gets proposed on Capital Hill. To approve the change means that one recognizes gay marriage and to disapprove it means that one gives preferential treatment married gay couples. It’ll be interesting to watch how some politicians deal with their own beliefs, their constituents and sense of fair play.

I like to think of myself as a realist when it comes to the issues of the day surrounding me. I prefer to gather information on my own and make my own determinations of right and wrong and the best path to follow. The most dangerous people in the world are not leftist liberals or way-far-right conservatives but those who blindly follow and allow others to tell them what to think. These “followers” are told what their opinions are rather than developing their own. I’ve debated issues with these “followers” whose depth of understanding of an issue stops with a few sound bites and over generalized facts. What’s worse, they actual believe they have a sound understanding of the issue. The inevitable response to the challenging of their information with more easily produced detailed facts is a response that completely discounts those detailed facts as lies, propaganda or not relevant. Typical replies follow the flavor of “you wouldn’t understand” [the classic egotist's response] or “you’re just a puppet of the National Demoplublicanist party” [a favorite of the fringe element]. The first clue to spot a follower is when they provide a simplistic solution to a complex problem. “To stop all hijackings, just don’t let them on the airplane” – simple solutions to complex problems! If we add stupidity to a “follower”, one could end up elected to Washington and be active in ruining life for the rest of us. The problem is that it seems that more and more people are outsourcing their opinions in favor of developing their own. I wonder if they can get their opinions even cheaper by outsourcing to Mexico, China or India? This election season, my wish is not that more people register to vote but more people to try to think for themselves before they help vote the wrong idiot into office.

Yeah, and I want world peace too.

Independent living with a disability in today’s world is reality for many more people than just a short 20 years ago. A continuously increasing array of solutions makes it possible for independent living for a wider range of types of disabilities. Common to all, regardless of disability, is the need to be able to collect one’s postal mail. When mail is not delivered to one’s door or the mailbox in inaccessible, what can be done? The local post office may be able to help if you qualify and you know what to do.

My neighborhood, like many in Florida and around the country, it has cluster mailboxes, a central location where many mailboxes are located. The area surrounding these cluster mailboxes may not be accessible to those with disabilities. The post office is not required to make existing mailboxes accessible but, one may qualify to have delivered to a more accessible location such as the end of the driveway or even their front door. The exception to the normal delivery location is called “hardship mail delivery.”

Qualifying for “hardship mail delivery” can be intimidating. It is up to the discretion of the local postmaster that serves your neighborhood. The rules tend to favor the post office. In short, it states that if there is an able bodied adult living in the home such as a spouse, one does not generally qualify. It also states that if the mailbox is accessible in any way by the person with a disability including a vehicle, one may not qualify. This is not good news for independent living. In defense of the post office, if the rules weren’t this way, rampant abuse would be apparent by every piece of *$&^# who thinks the world owes them something and is too lazy to put down the bag of “feed” to waddle over to the mailbox.

For those with a real disability, knowing how to ask and what to say is key.

Rule #1 – Be polite, courteous and respectful.

Hardship delivery is up to the discretion of the local postmaster. Any exceptions to the rules must be clearly and comprehensively justified and, in writing. A request needs to state clearly, why the current mail delivery location cannot be used in all circumstances. A request must explain why another adult occupant cannot retrieve the mail on a daily basis. A request must include a doctor’s written statement regarding your physical disability in collecting your mail.

Rule #2 – Be blatantly honest. Do NOT try to be clever.

The current mail delivery location needs explanation why it cannot be used. Below, some sample language is provided which you can edit for your disability and situation. When appropriate, the doctor’s statement should specify the point(s) below.

• Mail is delivered to a community mailbox. [state the current delivery location]
• I’m in a wheelchair or Blind or whatever disability
• The mailbox is not accessible from a car on the street; the boxes face away from the street. I’m a quadriplegic and do not have reach outside the car [if you drive, why not accessible by car]
• The mailbox is not accessible via a sidewalk [if it accessible by a sidewalk, you may be denied]
• The area surrounding the mailbox and is not ADA compliant. [ace in the hole if you can claim this]
• Approach to the mailbox would require either crossing private property or traveling on the street in my wheelchair assuming that the curbs were ADA compliant to travel over which they are not.
• When appropriate, address the physical risk in attempting to collect your mail. For example, you might be ambulatory but marginally so and prone to falls and unable to get up without assistance.

It is important to address every possible method for reaching the mailbox and why it isn’t useable. Make sure your request addresses them all.

• I live alone. All of us are disabled. My spouse is a travelling salesperson and is on the road unable to collect the mail on a consistent or regular basis. [Why can't another adult occupant collect the mail]
• My house is on a residential street and less than 40 feet from the curb. [The post office may opt for curbside delivery or at the front door, they'll let you know]

1. Create a letter that has the above points to it.
2. Make a copy and give to your doctor so he may use it as a reference in creating his letter.
3. Ask your doctor to create a letter for your request. The doctor’s letter should state the extent of your disability with regards to collecting your mail. For example, you are legally blind, confined to a wheelchair, etc. It need not be extensively detailed but more to verify your disability.
4. Put your letter and the doctor’s letter in an envelope and mail it to the post office serving you.

     Postmaster
     United States Postal Service
     Your Town, State 00000

Get a Mailbox – Once approved, you’ll need a mailbox or someplace to have your mail delivered. There aren’t ADA compliant mailboxes – too simple – a box with a lid or door (see note). It will be the placement of it that will determine accessibility… to you. There are postal regulations that dictate how low or high a box can be placed. Also, if you plan to use a door-mounted slot, you may not be able to use it if you have a storm or screen door due to postal regulations. It is best to talk with your postmaster or your letter carrier about where you want to place your mailbox before installation to avoid the headache of having to move it later. Choices are endless and run whatever budget you can imagine. Your local home improvement store is a good place to start. To be overwhelmed with choices, search online for what best suits your needs in both accessibility and style.

With a little luck, you’ll now be a bit more independent than you were before.

Note: This statement applies to single box residential units. Cluster mailbox design, both residential and commercial, is dictated by detailed postal regulations. Most manufacturers can provide additional information. Some manufacturers have this and related information online. ADA compliance is an issue only to the extent of access to the boxes. For example, a barrier-free curb, sidewalk access, etc. The physical nature of actual mailbox design and layout essentially renders the cluster mailbox as accessible. However, specific box assignment to those with a disability may be required depending upon disability (e.g., in a wheelchair) and box location such as a wall of boxes as found at a post office. It is worth noting that if follwing ADA requirements in design that only a portion of the boxes need be accessible, not all of them.

It’s amazing what I see on TV. I saw a commercial this afternoon (8/12) for quick loans. The commercial was being pitched by Gary Coleman (of Different Strokes fame). I figured that it was for some sort of unsecured loan for 20 or 30 percent APR aimed at those with poor credit. At the end of the commercial was the fine print. I have a DVR unit and replayed the commercial to read the fine print again - 99%! Obviously, this was a misprint. So, I went to their website. I was wrong, it wasn’t a misprint. Not since those “http://www.crazyfox.com/” commercials on TV with the cartoon fox hyping a home-based business did I believe that such things were legally possible (see my blog of 1 August). OK, back to Gary. You need not believe me about the interest rate, check for yourself - http://www.cashcall.com/General/Rates.aspx. Check your own state, too. I did. Florida had two loans available for 99.25% and 141.42%!!!! Forget crime, it doesn’t pay enough.

You’ve probably seen the commercial before; a cartoon fox tells you how you can start your own home-based business. Of course, it tells you that you can make a lot of money in your own home-based business. It refers the viewer to a website. The website name varies slightly from commercial to commercial. For example:

xxcrazyfox.com
xxbest.com

whereas xx is a number assigned to a franchisee.

The name variations, by number, represent the individual trying to sell the “crazyfox” program. More recently, they started to use other numbered website names such as xxbest.com in an apparent attempt to obfuscate crazyfox affiliation. I believe there are other name variations as well. If one visits the original website (crazyfox.com) or any of those referenced in the TV commercial, there is no information about what is being sold. This should be the first warning sign to stay clear. If it were a legitimate business, it would at least tell you what industry you’d be working. It could be gifts, books, electronics, or host of other options. It could be how to make money working different types of government programs such as auctions, unclaimed money or real estate. The crazyfox website states nothing. There is no indication or suggestion of what you will be selling to make money in your home-based business. In fact, you have to pay money before you really find out. Only then, they have your money. What you’ll be selling is how to place a television ad to solicit people to pay for the program. You make money by selling the program to others. The newest people in the program aren’t making any money since they just paid for the program (making money for whomever they purchased it through and those above them) and paid for airtime to air the commercial or commercials. One can spend plenty of money to air a commercial even on lesser channels during off-peak hours. Each person up the chain makes a percentage except you. You have to sell this “promise of opportunity” to many others before you begin you recoup your investment.

I’m not sure how long they been doing this so-called business. To me, it reeks of a pyramid scheme in which only those at the top of the pyramid are making any money. I have to wonder if it’s even legal. I also wonder that if it isn’t legal, how they can still be doing business selling these franchises. If one were to Google crazyfox, you’ll find a vast array of complaints and questions about the operation. The responses were not favorable. There are so many home-based business opportunities available for every interest and skill level. Franchise opportunities for home-based businesses are available through many sources. What distinguishes them is that they tell you upfront what you’ll be selling, upfront what type of market you’ll be serving and upfront of the work involved.

Play the lottery. The chances of making money are about the same and should you hit it big, you’ll be able to say with a clear conscious how you got it.