Archive for January 14, 2015

Disabled Parking Fraud

January 14, 2015 Comments Off on Disabled Parking Fraud

You’ve undoubtedly seen a vehicle pull into a handicap parking space and watched the driver jump out and dash into the store.  Or a motorcycle parks in the cross-hatch section, making the adjacent parking space unusable for vans with wheelchair side-lifts.  Those divers probably don’t have even a hidden handicap, like a heart condition, yet they display a handicap parking placard or figure the cross-hatch is up for grabs anyway.  Even if the passenger in the car is disabled, because he/she isn’t going into the store, the driver should NOT be using that space.  It’s for people who need it, not healthy drivers of people who need it.

The situation is not only illegal but also unfair to many of us: those with real disabilities (visible or hidden) who can’t find a usable parking space, shop owners who lose revenue because disabled customers can’t park and shop, and taxpayers who lose out on parking meter money when the culprit parks on the street.

There’s an organization that is trying to do something about this problem, handicappedfraud.org, which is an independent reporting organization.   You should report abusers to them; each month they send a report to your state.  Also, leave a post-it note saying “Disabled Parking Violation. You have been reported” or something similar.  (For $5 you can get at supply of printed post-its at http://www.handicappedfraud.org/index.php?mod=postit.  See below.)

Don’t get into an argument by confronting the violator.  And don’t worry about reporting someone with a valid placard, because people with disabilities appreciate others being concerned about this issue (I’m one of them).

Thank you for ordering

 

 

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Doritos Video is Food for Thought

January 13, 2015 Comments Off on Doritos Video is Food for Thought

This Doritos ad, submitted for Super Bowl consideration  ends with some cheesy, crumby facts.

http://action.sumofus.org/a/doritos-video/?akid=8939.6446539.ccJyaD&modal=false&rd=1&t=2

 

 

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Swap It

January 10, 2015 Comments Off on Swap It

After Christmas, as you put away decorations and new gifts, you may throw up your hands and cry, “I have too much stuff I don’t use!”  Here’s a solution: Host a Swap Party.  Pick a category (CDs, kitchen, garden, sports).  Invite friends to come swap items they don’t use for something they will use. You’ll enjoy food, drink, conversation, and some good laughs over the items and where or why you got them.  Even if you bring home more than you brought to the party, at least you’ll have “stuff” that you actually use–and the landfill won’t be burdened by your new “treasure.”

Leaf 6

[For more easy, money-saving, Eco-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/ view/7000, choose a format, and download to your computer or e-book device. Or download a free copy from your favorite e-tailer.]

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Greatness in Being Human

January 8, 2015 Comments Off on Greatness in Being Human

Today’s Thursday Thought leads us to humanity and greatness:

“Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.”  —  R.J. Palacio

 

 

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Blame it on my Friend

January 7, 2015 Comments Off on Blame it on my Friend

My friend (?) decided to cheer me up while I’m suffering with a bad cold, so she sent me 20 of the “Worst Jokes Ever.”  I guess I AM quite sick, because, dear readers, I’ve decided to pass 12 of these terrible puns on to you.  You’ve been warned.

1.  Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The Ceremony wasn’t much, but the reception was excellent.

2.  A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, “I’ll serve You, but don’t start anything.”

3.  Two peanuts walk into a bar, and one was a salted.

4.  A man walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt under his arm and says: “A beer please, and one for the road.”

5.  Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: “Does this taste funny to you?”

6.  “Doc, I can’t stop singing ‘The Green, Green Grass of Home.'” “That sounds like Tom Jones Syndrome.” “Is it common?” Well, “It’s Not Unusual.”

7.  An invisible man marries an invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at either.

8.  I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn’t find any.12.

9.  I went to a seafood disco last week… and pulled a mussel.

10.  Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says Dam!”

11. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. “But why,” they asked, as they moved off. “Because,” he said, “I can’t stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer.”

12.  Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and, with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him. a super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

 

Tomorrow I’ll try to be somewhat intelligent and mature again, but no promises.

 

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I Trust our New Republican Congress

January 6, 2015 Comments Off on I Trust our New Republican Congress

That’s a big statement from someone who has spent considerable time lambasting the GOP for acting like spoiled toddlers in their blocking anything based on its being presented by a Democrat or by the-man-who-must-be-stopped, Pres. Obama. 

Why my change of heart?  Because this Congress includes new people who, I believe, ran for office because they truly want to make our nation a fair, just, and livable place for all of its citizens and, presumably, they affiliate with the GOP based on its founding principles at the birth of our nation, principles that promised to protect and help the common man.  Principles which have been ignored in recent times.

I believe, too, that these new members have the excitement and fire of being in a new position of influence and that they will use that to convince the rest of their party to re-learn compromise, compassion, and civility.  And how to act as adults.

Over the last few years my nation has been harmed so badly, my fellow citizens driven into so much despair, we MUST have reached rock bottom.  That’s why I believe.  Because I have to.

 

 

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Work for a Quarter an Hour?

January 5, 2015 Comments Off on Work for a Quarter an Hour?

Would you work for 25 cents an hour?  You might if you’re encouraged to believe that’s all you’re worth.  But, wait–there are labor laws to prevent that.  Not true, if you’re a person with a disability.  There’s a loophole in the labor law that allows companies to enrich themselves and pay huge salaries to their CEOs by “helping” those “poor, unfortunate souls,” giving them jobs so they “can feel good about themselves, like real people“–and paying them next to nothing.

These companies know how hard it is for a disabled person to find employment, and they’re aware that fewer than 20% of people with disabilities can actually end up with jobs.

Read about this unfair situation: “Subminimum Wage” for Disabled Workers Called Exploitative.  

Then do something about it by signing the petition to the Labor Department.  Also, check into charities that hire the handicapped (e.g., Goodwill Industries) before donating to them.  Find out how much their disabled employees are paid, and how much their CEO and other officers make.

 

 

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