Update on the Leg: For those who are Interested

I'm posting this here instead of directly to my Facebook notes so that it will upddate both via FB and via TwitterFeed to my Twitter followers. To the general public, this will likely not be of much interest. :-)

Quick Background: For new followers and friends...On June 6, I broke my Tibia, just above the ankle. On June 9, I injured it further when coming out of the shower. On June 17, I had an operation to put a titanium plate and some screws in the area. I was in splints off and on, and had a full cast put on on June 24. Since the break, unfortunately, I've been away from work, but have been fortunate enough to be allowed to work from home since June 22.

Okay, history lesson over. We have new stuff today.

When I took my shower last night, some water seeped in to the cast through the cast cover, turning the front edge of the cotton liner into a nasty mush and keeping my skin gooey and wet. (Doesn't that sound appetizing?) I called the doctor's office, and they said I should come in and we'd just take the cast off a week early. So, the good news is, I'm out of the cast and in a walking boot.

I'm still not supposed to put any weight on the injurred leg until about the first part of August, however, but after that, can begin trying to walk. The doctor says to put limited weight on it at first, and maybe use a walker. Then, I'll go back to see him in mid-August, and we'll also start up physical therapy at that time.

Since the telecommuting is working out so far, he's decided he doesn't want me to return too the office on a physical basis until right after Labor Day...So here's hoping we can keep enough projects going for me to keep working from home. That, for me, is the one downside...The delays in getting back out in to society. If it weren't for doctor's appointments and the occasional other outing, I would've forgotten what the sun feels like.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank family and friends for their help and support in this time of chaos.

So, that's where we are. Boot now, walking somewhat by the start of August...Physical therapy in mid-august. Out of the boot and back to work, if all goes as planned, by Labor Day.

Talk to you all soon.

Why President Obama SHOULD Apologize: And It's not Why You Might Think

By now, we've all heard about President Obama's "Special Olympics" joke with regards to his bowling average last night on "The Tonight Show". Anyone who knows me knows I'm not an Obama supporter, or a liberal, in the least. However, as a blind person, and someone who has had many friends in Special Olympics, I did not find the comment offensivve in the least. In fact, I think it showed the US President has a "regular guy" side to him.

However, I do think he does need to apologize, and I think Special Olympics folks have the right to be calling for his resignation. Listeningg to comments from Anthony from the Opie & Anthony show opened my eyes.

Flash back a couple years to April of 2007. Don Imus was fired for simply referring to a women's college basketball team as "nappy headed hos". I guaranttee you 99% of those girls had never heard of Imus. Maybe their grandpas knew who he was, but the girls had no idea. Fast-forward a few months. Opie & Anthony themselves were suspended for comments made by a homeless gentleman on their show with reference to Condi Rice, the Queen of England, and other notable figures. They didn't make or condone "Homeless Charlie's" comments, but as the hosts of a supposedly uncensored satellite radio show, they received a suspension for something that likely offended no one in their actual audience.

These are just two cases of incidents wherre comments made in the context of a comedic setting caused the maker of the comments or the host of the show to lose his job on either a temporary or permanent basis. In the case of Mr. Imus, the charge to have him fired was, naturallly, led by Al Sharpton, a "leader" in the black community. Mr. Imus's comments offended the Rutgers women's basketball team; he was fired. Comments made by a homeless guest of the Opie & Anthony show offended the former Secretary of State, Queen of England, and former First Lady; Opie & Anthony were suspended for a month from their XM Satellite Radio show, which is supposed to be uncensored. In both cases, the people who were offended were less likely to have been listening than a Special Olympics athlete was to have been watchingg our president on last night's "Tonight Show".

As I've said, I am not personally bothered by his comments. However, if leaders in his race are going to demand the firing of Don Imus for supposedly rracist comments made in the context of comedy, and if Opie & Anthony, amongst others, are going to be suspended from their radio jobs for comments made about political figures in a comedic context, why should our president not be held to the same, if not a higher, standard when making a joke that invokes the disabled? I guarantee that if a white, male comic or radio/TV host had slipped in the Special Olympics remark as Mr. Obama did, he would be looking for a job, or at least be on unpaid suspension, and be forced to apologize.

I'm not asking that the president actually step down over this. God knows we don't want to hear the words "President Biden". That might be enough to spark revolution, or revulsion...Not sure which. But I do believe that if people who actually are funny for a living can be forced to apologize, our president should be held to no less of a standard...And if he can find the time in his schedule, maybe he should have a group of SO athletes to the White House for a bowling tournament in the near future. That's all I'm saying.

Wes Derby On the Evergreen Radio Reading Service This Wednesday

For those who are interested, I will be one of the guestts on the Evergreen Radio Reading Service's talk show this Wednesday, March 4, at 6:00 PM. As part of their monthly "Meet the Staff" hour, myself and Alan Bentson, the readers' advisors for the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library will be the guests for the hour.

We'll be taking listener calls, and anyone from around the world can tune in to the web stream. No password required. So, if you're not busy at 6:00 PM Pacific time and wonder what I sound like, check us out. Just Click here and select your preferred media player.

Hope to see you there.

David Paterson: Disgrace to the Blind Community #TCOT

Recently, a friend via Twitter directed followwers to This post by Ben Smith regarding New York Governor David Paterson. I want everyone to read it, and then come back and finish reading what I have to say. I rrealize my title may sound a bit harsh, but I do intend to defend my stance.

If you read Mr. Smith's post, you ssee that Governor Paterson doesn't read Braille, doesn't apparently use any assistive technology products such as JAWS, WindowEyes, or other products that would make his life easier, and doesn't, from what I can ttell, use even a cassette player or digital media player to lissten to memos, notes, and other important materials. Instead, he relies on staff to spend time reading things to him that any other independent blind person, myself included, can easily find ways to read him/herself. I think the reason I find this so disturbing is that I know that, if I were doing my job the way Governor Paterson does his, I likely would no longer have a job.

Face it, folks. Mr. Paterson is a blind person who can't read braille. To myself and many other blind people I know, this is the same as a sighted person who can't read print...Or a partially sighted person who has never learned to read large print. This isn't a guy who lost his sight a few years ago and hasn't had a chance to learn; he's had opportunities, and from what we can tell, hasn't taken advantage of them. If you found out that your governor couldn't read and was relying on staff to read to him, would you re-elect him? No. In my opinion, Paterson should be treatted no differently. At the same time, even if he can't/won't rread braille, there are technology productts outt there that would allow him to do his own rreading. There are scanning programs, scrreenreaders, and many other devices out there, and if Paterson or his aides would do a little research, they would find a world of technology to help him do the job on his own. As an example, in my job, I use a computer with JAWS for Windows for speech, a braille display, and all of the standard Windows programs. I do have a person who takes a look at my mail and emails me necessary information so I can look at it at my convenience. Were that volunteer not available, I could use an off-the-shelf scanner and an OCR program to scan information into MS Word.

Instead of being offended by Saturday Night Live's depiction of Governor Paterson, maybe his office and my fellows in the blind community should be offended by his lack of competence in basic life skills. Maybe New York should be looking for its next Governor, and praying they have someone better to elect when the next election comes around. I'm not sure how this guy got as far as he did with his limited skill set. I'm a very advanced computer user, braille reader, and know my technology pretty well, and am pretty lucky to have a job. Unfortunately, most blind people I know have a lot of difficulty finding work. It's even harder if they can't rread braille or use available technologies. I think that may be why Governor Paterson is such a disgrace in my book.

I know someone will probably come along and say "Can't you just be happy for the guy"? Sorry, but no. He's managed to hoodwink the people of New York. He is, in my belief, a bad representation of the tblind community. I doo fear he will set us back in many ways. What's going to happen if a ccompetent person, who just happens to be blind, decides to run for high office, such as governor, senator, and so on? Is he/she going to have a fair shot, or are people going to say "Remember what happened with that Paterson guy? He couldn't even perform the basic functions of his job without help."

For the record, I'm thrilled for anyone who makes a success of themselves, blind or sighted, when they do it the right way. I was as excited as everyone else when Paterson became Governor and I learned of his blindness. But the more incapable I learned he was, the more saddened I became. He's not helping himself, and he's certainly not helpingg the blind community as a whole.

In closing, these comments are strictly my opinions and do not in any way claim to represent the opinions of any groups with which I may be afffiliatted.

The 2008 First Time Home Buyer Credit: A Bit Misleading, To Say the Least

Ever been given a gift and later found out you'd have to give it back down the line? Or has a relative or friend ever given you money that you thought didn't have any strings attached, and then you later found out it was a loan, albeit with no interest, that you were going to be expected to pay back at a later date? Well, that seems to be what our friends in Congress had in mind with the 2008 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of $7,500. Admittedly, most of America may have already known about this, but my wife and I didn't learn of it until we were doing our taxes last night.

My wife was using Turbo Tax to work on our 2008 return. This past fall, we were fortunatte enough to finally be able to buy our first home. When she got to the part about the First Time Home Buyer Credit, she mentioned that it said something about us having to pay it back starting in 2010. I told her to go ahead and finish the taxes, figuring there was nothing we could do about it, and figuring maybe she was mis-reading something, but I admit I was intrigued. I mean, I'm a news and politics junkie...I watch Fox News constantly, follow politics constantly, and have followed what's been going on with the economy for quite some time. One of my favorite uncles started teaching me to stay informed back when I was in high school, right around the time Clinton was elected. I'm glad he did, or I might have ended up a liberal, or worse. But I diggress.

So, I did some digging, and found this article on the IRS website, describing the ins and outs of the tax crredit for 2008. Among other bits of information, it says:

Recapture of credit
If a first-time homebuyer credit is allowed to a taxpayer, the taxpayer's income tax is increased by 6 2/3% of the amount of such credit for each taxable year in the 15-year "recapture period." The recapture period begins with the second taxable year following the year of purchase for which the credit is taken.

For example, if a taxpayer is allowed a $7,500 first-time homebuyer credit in 2008, the taxpayer must recapture the credit amount by adding $500 (which is 6 2/3% of $7,500) to his income tax liability each year for 15 years, beginning in 2010.

Acceleration of recapture
If a taxpayer disposes of the principal residence for which a first-time homebuyers credit was allowed (or ceases using it as a principal residence) before the end of the 15-year recapture period, the remaining credit repayment amount is added to the income tax liability of the taxpayer for the year of sale or cessation of use.

Exceptions to recapture
In the case of a sale of the principal residence to an unrelated person, the increase in tax due to accelerated recapture is limited to the amount of gain (if any) on such sale. For purposes of calculating gain, the adjusted basis of such residence shall be reduced by the amount of the first-time homebuyer credit allowed, to the extent not previously recaptured. In the case of an involuntary conversion, recapture is not accelerated if a new principal residence is acquired within a 2-year period. No amount is recaptured after the death of the taxpayer.

In short, this tells me that they're going to take $500 per year for the next fifteen yearrs starting in 2010, unless I sell the house...Then they want it all right away. But if I die or sell the house for a loss, I'm okay.

My purpose in writing this is two-fold. First, if anyone reading this, or any of your friends have purchased a new house and qualify for this credit, let them know what's coming so they're not as surprised as we were. I can't imagine I'm the only American homebuyer who didn't see this one coming. My mortgage broker called me the other day to see how things were going and said nothing about this part of it, and he's a pretty smart guy, so I'm willing to bet that he probably didn't know about this "rrecapture" business either.

Second, in my personal opinion, this seems wrong. Obviously, the feds, especially when the Democrats are in control of the House and Senate, have shown that they can do what they want to the American people. But this one just seems a bit stinky. I've never seen any other tax credit that is then ttaken away from you in the form of a "recapture" starting a couple years later. I'm not trying to complain or whine, but this rreally doesn't seem ethical to me. I work hard for my money, I finally had the opportunity to buy a house. I feel I give the IRS enough of my money each yearr, so I'm certainly happy to get the tax crredit for buying my first house...But don't give it to me, and then like a mafia loan shark, minus the interest charge, keep coming back for the next fifteen yearrs and taking it back bit by bit. It begs the questions: Why did you give it to us in the first place? Do you really think it's going to do that mucch to stimulatte the economy? And finally, what kind of fools do you take the American people for?

In closing, it wouldn't have made it right, but I would've rather seen a bit more transparency on this one. Give us the info up-front on the news. The Congress, or [then] President Bush, should have come out and said "We're giving you this tax crredit. We hope you'll use it to help stimulate the economy. However, in 2010, we're going to start taking it back, piece by piece, until we've recovered all that we've given you."

Maybe it's too late on this one, but if you ffeel so inclined, go to house.gov or senate.gov and find out who your representatives and senators are and write them and let them know how you feel about the government giving a tax credit, and then slowly taking the money back. Maybe we can get this portion of it reversed. Or maybe, the next time they reward someone for buying their first home, that person will get to keep all of his/her tax crredit and not have to worry about it being yanked out from under them a couple yearrs later.