The BP oil spill catastrophe did not have to be this bad. It’s one thing to gush millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. It’s quite another to disrupt the lives of millions of Americans – needlessly.

Obama Gaffe

Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines gaffe as a social or diplomatic blunder. At freedictionary.com, gaffe is defined as a clumsy social error.

Many news organizations and web sites have concentrated on gaffes made by BP such as lying about the amount of oil blasting into the gulf or BP CEO Tony Hayward wanting his life back, etc. You’ve read and seen many such faux pas. (Note to students: the spelling of faux pas does not change between singular and plural usage but the pronunciation does. "Fo Pa" is singular; "Fo Pas" is plural. Synonyms would be blunder, foul-up or whatever slang you choose to describe it.)

The Obama Administration made the supreme gaffe, and it could very well change the outcome of the 2010 elections if something is not done fast. It may be too late, already. (continued below)

Compare the photo at left to the one above. This is what Americans want…and expect. We want a clean beach, not a closed sign. You see, the Washington elite have no idea about what Main Street Americans do when planning a vacation.

We’re not rich. We don’t have the luxury of taking off on a moment’s whim. We, the small people, work for a living and must plan our vacations precisely. A friend of mine must put his name on the vacation list each October for the following year. That requires advance planning. Do you have any idea what it’s like to plan a Florida beach vacation nine or ten months in advance, cut discretionary spending to save for that vacation, and show up to see a Beach Closed sign?

Vacations mean something to us "small people" who have been working with little or no increases in our salaries because the inflation rate is good, if you don’t count gasoline and groceries. That’s exactly what we spend a great deal of our money on – gasoline and groceries. We’re not paid enough to have brokerage accounts so we invest what we can in 401K plans; and that went to hell-in-a-handbasket in 2008. Many of us have seen our retirement goals delayed or destroyed. At least we can take a few days away from it all and take a nice vacation. Oh, wait!!!

The biggest gaffe, Mr. President, occurred when our beaches were not protected at all costs. Yes, hotels and restaurants on the Gulf Coast have been affected. Fishermen have been affected. Many have lost, are losing or will lose income. Yes, BP has pledged to help these people out by helping them recover lost income. But, Mr. President, you cannot help us "other" Americans recover a lost vacation.

Uncle Brice Supporters

Say Hey to the Good Folks that make this blog possible:

Online Little Rock.com is where Uncle Brice got his start. There’s a ton of information on this site about Arkansas, Little Rock, dining, dancing, shopping (and shopping online). It’s also a high-trafficked Civil War information site. You can even find out stuff about all the colleges and universities of Arkansas.

Home Business Opportunities is a site that has never been more in demand. You can find legitimate ways to earn money from home as well as a lot of information about Internet marketing, writing, building traffic for your website, and more.

The owners of Online Little Rock have a mission in life to teach everyone about brain injury. They have two websites that have hundreds of pages of information, including visitor-submitted Brain Injury Stories. The sites are Brain Injury Online and Brain Injury Guide.

Beth’s Brain Injury Blog is a favorite in the brain injury community. She writes about the good, the bad and the ugly of brain injury and how you must maintain a sense of humor to live successfully whether you are the victim or a caregiver.

Have you received an email about Congressional pay raises and retirement, etc. that looks like this. Well, it’s a pure and simple hoax. Perhaps a better word would be LIE!!!

The Hoax Email

Really important! Hope you all do it!

This will take less than thirty seconds to read. If you agree, please pass it on.

An idea whose time has come

For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they didn’t pay into Social Security, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform that is being considered…in all of its forms. Somehow, that doesn’t seem logical. We do not have an elite that is above the law. I truly don’t care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop. This is a good way to do that. It is an idea whose time has come.

Have each person contact a minimum of twenty people on their Address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.

In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one proposal that really should be passed around.

Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution

Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States.

(The truth follows)

The Truth

Prior to 1984, neither Members of Congress nor any other federal civil service employee paid Social Security taxes. Of course, the were also not eligible to receive Social Security benefits. Members of Congress and other federal employees were instead covered by a separate pension plan called the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). The 1983 amendments to the Social Security Act required federal employees first hired after 1983 to participate in Social Security. These amendments also required all Members of Congress to participate in Social Security as of January 1, 1984, regardless of when they first entered Congress. Because the CSRS was not designed to coordinate with Social Security, Congress directed the development of a new retirement plan for federal workers. The result was the Federal Employees’ Retirement System Act of 1986.

Members of Congress receive retirement and health benefits under the same plans available to other federal employees. They become vested after five years of full participation.

Members of Congress under FERS contribute 1.3 percent of their salary into the FERS retirement plan and pay 6.2 percent of their salary in Social Security taxes.

Members of Congress are not eligible for a pension until they reach the age of 50, but only if they’ve completed 20 years of service. Members are eligible at any age after completing 25 years of service or after they reach the age of 62. Please also note that Members of Congress have to serve at least 5 years to even receive a pension.

The amount of a congressperson’s pension depends on the years of service and the average of the highest 3 years of his or her salary. By law, the starting amount of a Member’s retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of his or her final salary.

Source: http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/congresspay.htm

Conclusion

One of the primary problems with government and politics today is that people don’t know the truth and will take anybody’s word about anything dealing with government policy or members of Congress when they would never take that same person’s word about anything else.

I’m not saying any political party is innocent. The Republicans in Congress, though, have been out of power since 2006 and they lost the presidency in 2008 and they are throwing as many things against the wall as they can.

I attended a Tea Party Express rally just to see what it was about. Well, I saw an awful lot of people who have probably sent this hoax email to thousands of others. Their heart, I think, is in the right place. I believe they believe in what they’re talking about.

They’re as wrong as can be about most things but they’re fervently wrong about them! It took me about three minutes to perform a search on the Internet to disprove the hoax email. Come on people, let’s start doing some thinking before promoting someone else’s agenda.

Uncle Brice Supporters

Say Hey to the Good Folks that make this blog possible:

Online Little Rock.com is where Uncle Brice got his start. There’s a ton of information on this site about Arkansas, Little Rock, dining, dancing, shopping (and shopping online). It’s also a high-trafficked Civil War information site. You can even find out stuff about all the colleges and universities of Arkansas.

Home Business Opportunities is a site that has never been more in demand. You can find legitimate ways to earn money from home as well as a lot of information about Internet marketing, writing, building traffic for your website, and more.

The owners of Online Little Rock have a mission in life to teach everyone about brain injury. They have two websites that have hundreds of pages of information, including visitor-submitted Brain Injury Stories. The sites are Brain Injury Online and Brain Injury Guide.

Beth’s Brain Injury Blog is a favorite in the brain injury community. She writes about the good, the bad and the ugly of brain injury and how you must maintain a sense of humor to live successfully whether you are the victim or a caregiver.

Brain injury and post traumatic stress disorder devastate many lives each and every year. PTSD and brain injury do share numerous symptoms and numerous strategies for overcoming or, at least, dealing with the changes that come.

A military wife writes, "He got hurt over there,but copes. He is now out too. He says he will finally seek help, but I dont know where to turn. He is not the same man, he drinks constantly, is always angry and withdrawn, is mean and distant…"

Another writes, "I didnt meet my husband until he was already back. However there are days that I dont feel like I know him at all! There are days that his PTSD is so bad its like he gets lost somewhere in the shuffle. … I have to remind myself that he is not who he used to be and this is who he is now." (continued below)

Larry and Beth Jameson, authors of Brain Injury Survivor’s Guide, received the following email. "I emailed you a few weeks ago about my husband who is a year post injury. He is definitely getting better, but I get concerned about all the ups and downs. When he is particularly tired (which can last for days), he is more confused. This morning he was going to take a shower, but instead of doing so he put two pairs of pants on (one over the other). Once I convinced him of what he needed to do, he ended up taking a shower in his underwear and couldn’t figure out why that wasn’t right.

"He usually doesn’t have this much trouble. He sometimes forgets which clothes are his clean ones and which are his dirty one, but that is usually it. The only thing I can figure is that he is tired, and it gets frustrating because I think he is getting better and then he goes backwards. He seems to get real tired and then he is like a completely different person. And he is tired a lot of the time."

Another email summed it up this way. "I suffered a brain injury about 39 and half years ago. I have had horrible things come out of this. I need support badly!"

Help is Needed

No one prepares to have a brain injury. Because each brain is different prior to such an injury, the help needed varies from person to person. The medical community needs far more information, and the health insurance industry rarely provides for the needs of a brain injury patient.

Another lady wrote to Larry and Beth. "I just want to say thank you. My father fell ill with Acute Viral Encephalitis on April 24th of this year. It has been quite a battle dealing with insurance issues. He is a retired Marine and even after further years of dedication to our government via civil service, Tricare has denied his coverage for cognitive therapy. My father has always been a pillar for our family and we have all suffered an extreme loss in losing a husband, father, son, and brother. Thank you most for giving us hope, especially the hope my mom has gotten from your book. We are a family that is spread throughout the country, leaving her as my dad’s primary caretaker. To hear the hope and resolve in her voice after discovering your website and then book has given me a sense of hope for her and my dad that I have formerly struggled with. So, thank you for giving hope to my father, my mother, and my family. You are both a blessing to this world."

More Brain Injury Information

Larry and Beth Jameson have a mission in life: to teach everyone about brain injury. They have two websites with hundreds of pages of information, including visitor-submitted Brain Injury Stories. The sites are Brain Injury Online and Brain Injury Guide.

Beth’s Brain Injury Blog is a favorite in the brain injury community. She writes about the good, the bad and the ugly of brain injury and how you must maintain a sense of humor to live successfully whether you are the victim or a caregiver. A longtime friend of Beth wrote, "I have loved Beth since we met in I think fourth grade, and her blog reminds me again why. The blog is one of the things that makes your site so special, her personality coming through, and she frames the realities in ways that communicate the good, the bad, and the hard. I can only imagine what hope she gives people and what a lifeline your site must be to so many."