SO PISSED OFF!!!!

OK, well it's another day that I set here in my apathy and think about how pissed off I am at the current regime in office, and how every day of my adult life has been spent in slavery for the rich fuckers that perpetuate their wealth by screwing the already poor even more.

The more I think about the state of affairs in this fucked up country and the filthy bastards in office cheated to get there - there is documented PROOF that these lying thieving fuckers cheated to get where they are and nobody has the power or resources to put an end to this shit.

If I thought for a second that I could march my crippled, disabled ass to Washington and kick those fuckers in the ass - I would do it myself. It's not bad enough that we're already slaves to the corporations and these corrupt bastards, but now we have to be slaves to the military industrial complex too?

I say screw that - If I wasn't married with a family, I would take advantage of my 2ND amendment right to bear arms and take care of business.

But what can one poor, almost homeless, living on welfare and fighting for disability person do?

I can at least write about how I feel... Putting it into words is not as effective as actually doing it - but I am trying to be more involved lately.

At least I can say I have written to my representatives and senators and congressmen - at least they know how offended I am at the current administration and I am one of hundreds, and thousands, and hundreds of thousands that want a change.

I have heard this proverb/saying more than once and it made me think about how most of my life has been.

We are all created equal (from the Declaration of Independence)

– just some more equal than others (Orwell/ Vonnegut, maybe even others earlier.)

During the course of trying to find the origin of that quote, I find more than one article or discussion regarding the impossibility of “all” people being created equal, and that it would be a “horror” story if we were.

I was absolutely amazed at the sheer “idiocy” of those morons. They totally missed the point of the “philosophical” meaning of this statement put forth by our forefathers when they wrote the Declaration of Independence. Yes, even our forefathers I am sure; thought of the sheer stupidity of everyone being “identical” in appearance.

This brings me to why I tell my story. I have lived my adult life in poverty. My childhood wasn’t too bad I suppose – as far as I know we were “middle class”. OK, so it was just barely over the poverty level. Yeah we had a house, and a car, and food and… Now that I think about it; that’s all we really had. I wasn’t the best dressed kid my school, and mommy and daddy sure as hell didn’t buy my first car or my first crappy trailer home for me. Hmmm, maybe we lived in poverty then too.

I have had to live my life in this country; from my birth until now I am a citizen of the United States of America. And I can honestly tell you that “We” are not equal, we aren’t even close to being equal.

I have tried to be equal. I have worked long and hard. I have tried on more than one occasion to improve my life – be it through buying a house, be it through continuing education; be it through changing careers.

And every step of the way through my life I have tried to be a good, “productive” citizen. But there have been several hardships along the way. There have been hardships along the way that no human being anywhere should EVER have face, especially not a citizen of the greatest nation on earth (Which has been effectively eroded away to nothing during the current Regime of our “so called” elected leaders) The United States of Greed.

For the seventeen years of my life that I was actually able to work, I managed to earn a massive $117,000 (according to my social security records, that’s an accurate assessment). That looks like a pretty good number doesn’t it? Let’s do a little math and see just how much money I really make.

$117,000 divided by 17 years = $6882.35 per year. WOW, what a great life I’ve had. (My wife still loves me and only 1 of our 4 children has abandoned us – I guess that’s not too bad).

It never ceases to amaze me how there are people out there that can make my yearly average salary in one month. And even more amazing that some people make my entire life’s earnings in one month.

Why is it, that some of this nations most skilled workers (I “used” to be a carpenter) are paid the least amounts of money? I’m not by any means trying to imply in any way that I am any better than anyone else – quite the contrary. I am saying that I should be considered an equal. Yet, my yearly income does not reflect equality in any way, and some of the hardships I have had to endure during the last 17 years would suggest that not only am I “less than equal” to many of my peers – I have from time to time thought that my only purpose for being a citizen of this “so called” great country, was so that my “more equals” could have a laugh at my futile attempts to survive.

When the carpenters of this country cannot afford to live in the houses they build, and the janitors cannot afford to use the services of the hospitals they clean, and the teachers of this country cannot afford to pay for car insurance to get to our schools and teach our young – this country is failing miserably to achieve the dreams set forth by our founding fathers.

The last three years of my life have absolutely been the worst three years of my life. Not only have I had to endure being homeless (with my family) but I have received the absolute worst treatment ever from our countries own division of human services. As if it’s not bad enough that the division of human services has been a part of my life on and off for the last 15 years in three different states, but the state of Oregon in particular has the absolute worst case policies and the worst case workers I have ever had to deal with.

If it were not for the amazing help from my church, and the amazing luck of blindly stumbling into a subsidized apartment, my family and I would be homeless. Imagine that, the luckiest thing to happen to me in my life has been to get a subsidized apartment.

I am currently in the process of fighting my government to get my disability. I worked for 17 years as a carpenter. For 17 years I have spent countless thousands of dollars trying to maintain unaffordable car insurance, I have spent countless thousands of dollars to re-instate my driving privileges, I have spent countless thousands of dollars replacing vehicles that were “taken” from me by the very system that I spent so many years building houses for.

Now, after 17 years of pain and servitude and for my country, after 17 years of being FORCED to sacrifice a percentage of my income whether I wanted to or not, I have to “SUE” my own government for money that is rightfully mine. Money that was taken from each and every paycheck I ever received.

I didn’t vote for mandatory insurance, yet I have suffered through the indignity imposed on me more than once of being forced into the “legalized racketeering”. Our own government is nothing more than a façade hiding the “mobsters” with the most votes.

I have suffered through 17 years of honest hard work through poverty and homelessness and I as a citizen of the United States of America DEMAND to be treated with dignity and respect and I DEMAND that this country that I have faithfully served through poverty and homelessness GIVE me my disability.

State of the Union - for the poor anyway

State of the Union (for the Poor)

My early years before I entered the world of adulthood were filled with stories of the American dream. But alas, that’s exactly what they were; Stories, Tall Tales, Fictions to soon be discovered.

I always knew we weren’t ‘Rich’. But my parents managed to keep me fed and a roof over my head. They did O.K. We lived in a middle class neighborhood for 8 to 10 years, so everything wasn’t too bad. Little did I know just exactly how far in debt my parents really were? At any given moment the smallest catastrophe could have sent them reeling into bankruptcy.

I did OK in school – I was a ‘C’ student, not because I had any learning problems, I was actually in some advanced art and math classes. I was a ‘C’ student because my parents were hammered with the day-to-day stress of trying to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads. I was a ‘C’ student because nobody had any idea that the world or at least the US was going to be driven by unforgiving corporate greed and some of the most corrupt government officials and policies ever imagined.

I quit school in my senior year. Yeah stupid move – there were some issues with the Dean being a moron, he could have very well found some other way to resolve an issue other than failing me at the end of the first semester – So my battle with absolute idiots began before I even left high school.

While I continued to work on my ‘Rock Star’ future, I took up carpentry as a means of being a productive citizen.

This is where the so called ‘American Dream’ has been dismantled and torn asunder.

You hear stories of ‘Work Hard’ and you will be rewarded – BULLSH**. I stuck with carpentry for 15 years. I “WAS” very skilled in my chosen trade, I even managed to work my way up “lead carpenter” and “foreman” a couple times. But amazingly enough, I was never able to make enough money to keep up with the bare necessities needed for survival. All my years of hard work and perseverance my family always relied on public assistance and charities.

I dealt with employers that offered me a raise if I signed insurance waivers and moved to 1099s (the worst thing ever). I dealt with employers going bankrupt and not paying me. I dealt with spending entire tax refunds to re-instate my drivers’ license and pay exorbitant insurance fines (nothing more than legalized racketeering in my book).

I tried to get an SBA loan once to start my own business – That was a joke, the bank said I had one of the best proposals they had ever seen (my advanced high school math skills paid off) – but the bank wouldn’t even submit my proposal to the SBA because not only are carpenters the highest rated “credit Risk”, but I didn’t have any collateral.

So I continued to spend every dollar I could muster to pay for my almost unaffordable car insurance while working for employers who would outright rig paychecks - refuse to honor verbal agreements and just about every other abhorrent behavior that contractors use to screw their workforce. It’s no different from corporate theft really, and when poor broke carpenters have to rely on public assistance programs to pay the bills, there no way we could even imagine the luxury of hiring a lawyer to fight the battle. So we just move on to the next ‘dirty’ contractor who was lucky enough somehow to get his business started.

Look, I know the simple fact that we can’t all be doctors and lawyers and such – but there has to be more to the ‘American Dream’ than wishing we had born with a ‘Silver Spoon’ in our mouths, or even worse yet – waiting diligently for some older family member to ‘DIE’ so we can reap the rewards of some small fortune that they may have.

I have re-educated myself. I have a G.E.D, I even have an Associates degree, I even have several ‘Certifications’ proving that I can at least pass a test.

Once again I got screwed believing in the ‘American Dream’. During my families’ first battle with being Homeless, I took advantage of every re-education and re-training program I could. I thought that I could ‘Work’ my way up a more respectable ladder. After all, carpenters – the people that put roofs over our heads are considered scourge of the earth – so my being in technology has got to be a better career choice right?

WRONG! It seems that the ‘so called’ shortage of technology workers in this country is another farce created by the countries financial institutions in an effort to generate even more debt for the poor people on this country that just want to make their lives better. After all, If I owned a corporation and my government gave me a tax break for sending all my work to another country – I suppose I could the allure of not having to pay an American a decent wage while getting rewarded for it.

After all my efforts and hard work and thinking I even had a snowballs chance in hell, I couldn’t even get a Job in the Technology industry because I am just a stupid carpenter who doesn’t have any experience (even though I graduated with a 3.9 GPA and have industry certifications and generated another $20,000 in debt for myself – WHOOPEE)

I had to resort back to carpentry to try to survive (after having a back surgery) and now I have even more problems. After resorting back to the career that caused me so many years of pain and a surgery, it seems that wasn’t the wisest of choices either – now I have brought myself even more pain and suffering. Not only did trying once again to provide for my family cause me to work for yet another ‘Less than Desirable’ employer, but now I have had to file for disability.

How’s that for the ‘American Dream’? I thought that since I had done such a great service to my country (OK, so I wasn’t a soldier in the sense of being in the military, but I spent the better part of my life being a soldier of the workforce – building and repairing the structures that keep roofs over our nations heads) that I could at least be rewarded in some small way by at least getting disability. Yes, that was my ‘American Dream’, to grow up and file for disability.

It seems that even our countries social programs are under attack – I have received some of the most berating and abhorrent treatment from the Division of Health and Human Services – I received some of the worst treatment ever from our countries social services.

Not only do I have to fight for my right to be considered disabled and receive some form of help from my government – but I have all but given up on even considering using the Division of Health for help because their treatment of people needing help is so abhorrent (probably due to the fact that the current administration is more concerned with ‘Liberating” Iraqi oil fields than with caring for it’s own citizens).

I have a wife, I have children. My entire life has been spent chasing the ‘So Called American Dream’. I can see no way that we call ourselves the most ‘Powerful Nation’ on earth. If we as a country cannot even liberate our own poor and homeless, how can we ever expect to do the same for others.

Our nation is driven by corporate greed and a corrupt government – we need HELP.

When the American people are ‘enslaved’ into debt by the countries financial institutions and our government is run by the corporations who pay for the laws they want or need – we are the ‘Weakest Nation’ on the planet.

Brutal Honesty

Well people, it's that time of year again when the bills are catching up with us. I've had an OK year so far, hell I even managed to score some odd jobs here and there - I guess thats not bad for a crippled carpenter.

But my good fortune (and I use that term lightly) is not enough. If any body has a spare couple bucks(LOL - like there's a possibility of that in this day and age). Make a donation to the broke carpenter.

With any luck I can find another odd job to hold on to the phone - but the electric co., those guys are real a-holes to deal with.

One Small Step

Hey Everybody(LOL),
I don't know if I've actually had more than 2 readers but sometimes I just like to type - so here goes.

The last two years of my life have been absolute crap. I went from being a really good carpenter in the middle of a career change at 30 something, to having a really screwed up back and fighting for my disability.

To be politicaly correct; the last "holiday season" was OK, we managed to get just enough help to keep the kids belief in the "spirit".

This year however, we had some of the best luck we have had since my health started to decline. We recieved a phone call from one of our boys' teacher asking us if we would like to be "adopted" by a local outlet mall.

We were able to get our kids exactly what they wanted (ok, well almost - they didnt get the laptop or the 50" plasma TV but they did get the other things on the list)

It has been a long two years fighting for my disability, and might be longer till I actually get my day in court - I may have to fight the utilities after the new year - but at least the kids will be OK till then.

Reflections Two

O.K., where was I?  Oh yeah, I had just left high-school because some insensitive asshole of a dean didn’t get his willy wet that morning or some shit.

Well, my parents weren’t exactly thrilled about it, but they were both really understanding about how pissed off I was and they were actually on my side.  My mother made some phone calls and later the next day we received a call from the school superintendent with an apology and he said if I went back to school they would excuse the absence and there would be no further punishment for my offense, even the superintendent was not happy about the Deans actions and told me that the Dean should have been more understanding and just waited the extra week and a half or two weeks to suspend me.

Like all teen-agers, I knew everything and figured I would just get my GED later down the road anyway so I decided to not go back to school (I hear the Dean got a real ass-chewing from the superintendent too).  

I had another friend who had quit school as well, and he was working at this day-labor place.  Hey, I was young enough and having my own money sounded nice so I would go to work with my buddy everyday and do stupid labor pools work.  It wasn’t too bad, mostly just cleaning up warehouses and construction sites.  Minimum wage wasn’t too bad.  I was making like $25 a day so I had some spending money.  I was even giving some money to my parents to help pay the bills.

My friend was going to see the world and he wanted to know if I wanted to buy his motorcycle.  Great timing, I had been saving a couple bucks here and there so I took him up on the offer.  Now I had a job, my own transportation and even some money in my pockets.

Well here I am 20 years later, a carpenter with a fucked up back fighting to get my disability.  I wish I could say “I would do all the same again”, but I wouldn’t.  Not for my own sake, but for my kids.

It hasn’t been all bad. There were a few rare times when we actually got to enjoy life for some short periods of time.  But there was way more stress than there should have been.  And it has taken it’s toll.

Our oldest, at seventeen told us what shitty parents we were when he moved out to live with his girlfriend – at least he is going to finish school.  He even found a couple decent job opportunities and found a good path to follow.  I hope he makes it to be a lawyer, I really do.  He was always good at arguing.  I just hope he doesn’t end to be one of those shyster lawyers that works for the wrong people.

Our next oldest the fifteen year old, left us last year.  My wife’s sister came to visit and told him raise as much hell as he could so we would let him go “stay” with her.  Well it worked, that happened right around the time my back had went out again and we were having real money troubles.  So we decided to let him go “stay” with my wife’s sister.

Not to long after he left my wife would try to call and talk to him, but her sister was always in the background running her mouth and telling our boy what to say.  What a bunch of shit that was.  So our fifteen year old gets the life of a spoiled only child.  Not that it’s a bad thing, but my wife’s sister has nothing to do with us anymore now that she has one of our kids.  It’s like she doesn’t give a shit about anybody else in the family.

That really does a lot of good for the other three brothers.  They all hate my wife’s sister and the other brother now, what a great fucking family we have.  The fifteen year old was always really hot-headed though, but it got to the point that he would walk through the house and hit his younger brothers for no reason and then get pissed off at us when we ask him what was he thinking.

Just another perfect example of all the years of poverty kicking our ass.  If I would have done things differently and had more money and less stress we might still be a family.  A real family that actually cares about each other, but I can’t blame it all on myself.  That fucking bitch of a sister-in-law is the bigger part of our own son not so much as even sending his own mother or brothers a fucking birthday card once in a while.  She always looked down at me from day one anyway, like I was less than her – and that was before she had any idea about who I really am as a person.

We really got lucky stumbling into this subsidized housing, otherwise our children would have been taken away and we would be homeless.  But we are still living a really fixed income.

Chalk it up as another year that we pray for the charities to come through for us and hope the kids understand.


Well, if you made it this far and have a buck or two to spare – send it to Joe the broke carpenter via pay-pal – rxhector2k5@yahoo.com.

Thanks,
Joe

Reflections of Poverty

Reflections of Poverty

I was thinking about some things the other day, mostly about how a lot of uncontrollable events in my life have forced me and my family to remain in a state of poverty.

My last rant about some people with the notion that it is just as easy for me to “Get off my Ass” and do something about it really stirred me up.

Yes, it is true I made the choice to be a carpenter. When I was growing up, like most of us; I never thought about what I really wanted to do when I became older. As a result, when I left high-school in my senior year I more or less just kind of fell into the trade.

Maybe I should start there, with one of the first major events in my life that I really had no control over. I had started smoking at around 13 or 14 I think, and all through my junior and high-school years I had never been caught smoking on school grounds. Well, my luck ran out, and I finally got caught.

It was the first semester of my senior year and as luck would have it, the school system had changed the “maximum” number of allowable absences from 9 (one day a week), to 7. This really sucked for all of us who were able to take a sick day once a week and still keep our grades up. I had missed 6 days for the semester, and only had a two more weeks left for my sick days to replenish.

The Dean caught me having a smoke break behind the Gym, that’s where we all went after lunch to have a smoke. He said finish that up and come to my office. So I went to his office and he said he was going to suspend me for two days. Well, that was going to give me an F in six fucking classes that I had pretty good grades in (Including trig – not bad for a long-hair at my school – full of surfin beach rats and stoners)

I explained to the Dean that this event was going to cost me several failing grades and that If he could wait till the next semester – only a couple short weeks away I would gladly accept the punishment (woohoo – two days out of school).

Well, even though I had never had any problems with this particular Dean, he was an absolute asshole and told me “Well, Buddy – I guess your pretty screwed – I hope that smoke was worth it”.

That pissed me off so bad I went off on this guy and told him what a shit fucking prick he was for not waiting till the next semester to screw me out of sick days. I went and removed all my books from my locker and returned them to his office – I threw my books on his desk and shoved them in his lap – with all the papers on his desk – and told him he sucked as a person and he could take his fucking school and shove it up his ass.

That was the demise of my Senior Year and my diploma. I am not so sure that I would have really been anything other than a carpenter if I would have graduated (I know have a GED and a Degree anyway) But my point is, this was just one of many hardships in my life, that if someone else would have any compassion or understanding for another fucking human being on this planet – that my life might have been just a little better.

Now that we have the beginning out of the way, I can tell you how the rest of a carpenters life goes.

My Basic Philosophy on Humanity (in the USA)

My Basic Philosophy on Humanity (in the USA)

I read a Blog the other day, and I am vaguely aware of the person past.  While reading through the Blog, said “person” mentioned the fact that they were going to change their voting party from Republican to Independent.  Is it because of their disgust with the current Bush/New World Order administration?

That we can only assume, however; During the beginning of the Blog this person mentioned the fact that there needs to be change.  They recognized the need for Healthcare Reform and better Education.  There may have been a few references to some other issues that are pertinent to Independents and Democrats.

You might think that someone gets what is really going on until you reach the end of the Blog.  The last few lines went on to mention the fact that said “person” doesn’t feel they should be “penalized” by paying higher taxes simply because he/she happens to make more money than most.  (Which is bullshit anyway because the asshole still owes my wife roughly $5,000 from unpaid child support in the last year – you would think this fucker wouldn’t be so far behind if he is so fucking well off)  OK, back on track – said “person” went on to mention welfare reform and how these people need to be taught how to fish so they can provide for themselves.

Now that sounds good, however; Every time I hear that line from a Republican it means force some poor single mother into some shitty minimum wage job cleaning toilets or being a waitress and rip any welfare “assistance” he/she may have away and force them to survive.  That’s not teaching a person to fish in my eyes – that’s taking their ass out in a boat and throwing them overboard to the sharks for chum.

And said “person’s” comment before that – “I shouldn’t be penalized because I’m better than everybody else”.  BULLSHIT.  It’s that fucked up mentality right there that makes the Good Ole USA the  shit-hole that it is.  Instead of thinking about how lucky they are to be in a such a better position they are than everybody else, and how they might actually be able to make a difference – they have to WHINE and BITCH about how much money they AREN’T going to take the grave with themselves.

It really pisses me off when the people in this world think that poor people are just here to fuck them in some way or another.  And I really get pissed when here some rich fuck say people are poor by choice.  NO! ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT! People are not poor by choice. I damn sure didn’t choose to be poor.

If some if these mightier than though rich fucking republican bastards would come to realize that some of us (90 percent of the population) actually can’t stand being poor, they might actually get off their high fucking horse.

I was a carpenter for 15 years, and for the 15 years that I was in the workforce busting my ass to stay alive; I was constantly getting screwed.  From the contractor that went bankrupt and screwed me out of a months pay, to the trailer park that I lived in being sold to these California assholes that evicted 60 families in one month all because they wanted “nice new trailers” in their park, to being constantly fined for either not having insurance or legal tags.

Everything that every poor person does in their life usually costs twice to three times as much as everybody else.  Have you ever seen somebody in a Mercedes get a “no insurance” ticket?  I sure as hell haven’t.  

I used to spend about $1,500 every year to re-instate my drivers license and another $600 - $1000 just to pay for insurance.  Why? Because I’m a criminal?  NO!!! Because I’m a poor fucking carpenter working for a living and constantly paying late fees and extra money for my SR-22 insurance.


Well, I actually gave up on that shit.  After having my 3rd vehicle LEGALLY stolen from me by the courts because I can’t fucking afford to pay any bills because I’m a poor fucked up carpenter I gave up.  I don’t have a car and I don’t drive anymore because I am too poor to afford it, and I got sick and tired of spending every last dime I make just to keep up with the insurance and the fins and the BULLSHIT.


Now after 15 years of shit servitude as a carpenter and another two years of re-education (Yes, you rich bastards – I went to college and actually PAID money to learn how to “FISH” as you republican assholes put it) and another two years of endless interviews and job searching – WAIT, my two years of re-educations is for a degree in a job that is OUTSOURCED over seas because you stupid fucking republican assholes can’t stand the thought of paying an American a decent fucking living wage. SO AFTER ALL THIS SHIT I STILL CAN”T GET A FUCKING JOB.

SO I did the only thing I know how to do.  I went back to being a carpenter (after having one back surgery already).  And guess what?  Yup, now my back is really screwed up and I get to fight for the disability that I paid for out of every paycheck I ever had for the last 17 years.  And you think I’m here because I choose to be here – FUCK YOU.

The last three years of my life, constantly begging from charities and fighting the power company is not the path I chose in life, and it damn sure isn’t enjoyable by any standards, so if any of you rich fucks that think poor people are here by choice – FUCKING THINK AGAIN.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel !!!

Well it finally happened. It only took six years too long but it happened. The people of this country finally sent the message that they are sick-and-tired of the disgusting Bush administration. THANK GOD !!!!

Now that the Democrats have control of our country again I might have a snowballs chance in hell of actually getting my disability, or at least living a little better life than I have recently.

It's no secret that I can't stand republicans. Every republican agenda since my birth has focused on abolishing any and all forms of public assistance or any form of help for those in poverty. They constantly bash the poor by giving themselves huge tax cuts. It's no wonder they need to get rid of welfare. The greedy bastards are stuck on the size of their wallets and how much money they can take with them to the grave.

I don't want to sound like I think I deserve a free ride, thats not my point at all.

There was a point in time when I was a go getter. I used to get up everyday and go to work just like everybody else. No, Wait. Not like everybody else. Since I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth I had to actually earn my money. Don't get me wrong, I really used to enjoy beaing a carpenter and building houses. It was good to see a result for my efforts at the end of the day.

But after 15 years of contantly never being able to keep up with my bills, and shady contractors screwing me; I never had the credit to start my own company. I never had the time to sit and breathe for a minute, I never had the luxury of a family vacation. I never had the opportunity to do anything with my life. Why? Because I was born into poverty.

I thought that maybe I could change my life, I went and got a degree after my first back surgery. It's only an AA, but it's a step up from being a dropout. Funny thing is, I never came close to making as much money as I did as a stupid carpenter. Believe me, their isn't a ton of money in the Information Technology sector unless you actually own the company.

After toughing it out for a while and not being able to keep up with the world I had to fall back on carpentry - which led to screwing my back up again - only for good this time.

I don't want another surgery, and I have been beat down for the last 17 years of my life - I just don't give a crap about much of anything anymore. And that really sucks because I used to care.

The last two years of my life since I have been fighting for my disability claim have been the worst two years of my life. The constant poverty has led to the loss of out two oldest children - no they didnt die. Our oldest two children just got sick of living like paupers and decided they wawnted a better life, so one of them packed up to go live with an aunt (The bitch from hell did some really shitty things behind our back to get him there) and the oldest, in his senior year went to go live with his spoiled princess girlfriend (after she was living us and couldn't handle a dose of the real world)

Maybe between now and the next two years something will go right in this country now that the democrats - the people who actually care about other people, especially those of us who are less fortunate - have control of this countries political structure again.

Well, if any of you made it this far - thank you for paying attention. As for myself, I don't really know how I am going to pay the next round of bills - so if you can spare a buck or two - send it via PayPal to rxhector2k5@yahoo.com.

thanks -
Joe the broke carpenter

When will it ever end?

Well, everything has pretty much gone full circle again. After we got moved there was a rough patch but we recovered from that barely. Then we had a good run without too many problems until recently.

My wife and I both are having a hell of a time with our health. We are a great match. Between her fibromyalgia and my bad back neither one of us can hold a job without getting fired.

We have both resorted to selling the few things that we had worth any value. I finally sold all my carpenter tools. What the hell, it's not like I was ever going to build a house again.

The really screwed up part about all of this is, having to wait up to two years before even getting a hearing for my disability. I mean, what do these people expect happens to those of us who can't provide for ourselves anymore. If we wouldnt have stumbled into this subsidized apartment we would be homeless.

And the rest of society just doesn't give a rats ass whether we live or die. We tried going to DHS (division of human services) for help, OH MY GOD. Those are the most ruthless, heartless people I have ever had to deal with. The fact that I had one back surgery already and live on morphine to kill the pain didn't matter to them at all. Short of out-right accusing me of being a drug addict and a bum they told me to get off my lazy ass and get a damn job. Hell, even if I was physically able to what they want, I still wouldn't get any monetary help for 45 days.

What a great country we live in (the USA). It is so much more important we liberate the IRAQis from their oil so some fucking beurocrat can stuff a shitload of cash in his pocket. IT would just be a shame to make sure that our own people are cared for.

Well, if you made it this far and you can spare a buck or two - send it via paypal to rxhector2k5@yahoo.com.

thx - the broke ass carpenter waiting for disability

Oh Crappy Day

It's that time again folks !! My wife's deadbeat ex. still hasnt sent us the 2k he owes for back support, the landlords we sued still havent sent us the 900 bucks they screwed us out of and its time pick and choose between which utility we get to fight with this month.

It looks the electric company will get all my aluminum can money this month, they shut us off over 60 bucks last time, and for some reason our bill is getting bigger every month. You would think the electric bill would go down in the summer. I think they are screwing us.

But you know how easy it is for some broke carpenter fighting just to get his disability to fight a huge corporation like the local power company.

So, if anybody wants to help me keep the utilities runnin for another month - send a paypal donation to rxhector2k5@yahoo.com.

Cool - thanks everybody.

The downward spiral.

Well everybody, here we go one more time. I stumbled into some part-time work at home internet stuff - freelance writing if you can believe it. But everything else has been hell.

I get to decide between power and phone - unfortunatley the loss of either one will pretty much kill any chance I have of making any money at all, let alone surviving.

Story of my life since this back surgery.

This power company has got to be the worst company I have ever had to deal with in my life, they are lucky as hell I can't afford a generator. I would be willing to buy my own diesel fuel just to have the satisfaction of knowing those bastards wouldnt get another dime from me.

So if anybody with the heart and a few extra could really help me out.

Thanks - Joe the broke carpenter.

Another giant company (Pacific Power) Fucks the poor man

The last couple years of my life have been an absolute nightmare. I have been "asked" to move once - those landlords kept my deposit, I sued them and won but we all know how small claims go - it has been almost a year now and still no return of my deposit. I have been evicted once - hey not that it matters, my credit is already ruined, that landlord is known locally for doing shady things anyway.

It has been two years since I began my battle for Disability benefits. 15 years of carpentry took a massive toll on my body and I have had one back surgery already. But we all know that back problems are the most abused part of the disability department.

Well, at least I have a lawyer now to represent me since I have been officialy denied twice. My lawyer tells me it will be up to 2 years before my case can be reviewed.

So until the day finally comes that I have my disability in hand I spend much of my time begging from the local charities to help me and my family get by. Believe me, for someone that was used to earning their own way in life - the last couple years of my life have been quite humbling.

My most recent battle was with my local power company. On May 22nd I had contacted them about payment of a late bill at which time I paid them $90. The representative at the time relayed to me that I had a balance of $40 left and everything should be OK for a while.

Since I had just paid a bill I was not real concerned with paying to much attention to my mail. BIG MISTAKE. The next bill that they sent 10 days later (June 2) was a disconnect notice for $59. But since I wasn't paying attention to the mail I did not open this bill.

Then on June 15 (22 days from the date of me paying a $90 bill) one of their technicians knocks on my door and tells me that if i can't pay a substantial amount of the $59 owed (I was never able to get how $40 turned into $59) that he was going to disconnect my service.

Well, my wife and I were not even expecting to get disconnected a mere 22 days after paying a $90 bill. My wife proceeds to call the power company on the phone to work out a payment arangement. After several minutes of her talking on the phone while being badgered by their henchman at the door (belive me, if you would have seen his attitude you would think the term henchman to be light) the technician lost his patience and disconnected the power while my wife was on the phone.

Well, that did not make things any easier for us. Since the technician took it upon himself to "officially" disconnect our power over $59, the only way we could get our power back on was to come up with the full $59 - plus another $30 "reconnection" fee.

My wife was on the phone for quite some time with the power company representatives and we always got the same story "we do not care about you" we want our money, and since you are poor - we want even more money.

When asked why there was a $30 reconnection fee - we were told that was imposed to offset the cost of sending more people to reconnect the power. Hmmm, maybe if they didnt jump the gun and turn it off - they wouldnt have to "offsett" anything to turn it back on.


Well, after I called around to some charities I was able to find one willing to pay the $90 to get my power turned back on for me and my family of 6.

It really amazes me that a company of that size would be so threatened by the temporary loss of $59 that they would have to shut off our electricity. And even more amazing that not only do we get punished by having to suffer the indignity of having our power shut off - that we get billed another $30 on top of it all. It is like being kicked when you are already down.

The biggest issue I have with is, when our local companies lose sight of the community they are here serve, what does that say about us as Americans. The representatives hands are "tied" so to speak. The system they use leaves no room for negotiation and if any employee were to be sympathetic to a customer and bend the rules over a mere $59 they may lose their job.

It is really hard for me right now - i don't really fit anywhere. I am not "officialy" disabled yet, so I am one of the those people that fall between the cracks in the system. It seems that as time goes on - the cracks in the system get wider and wider.

I know there may not be a lot you can do personally, but I just wanted to bring your attention a few things for thought.

1) Why is the Disability system so far behind? I recently read an artile about how that system is going through restructuring to make it better - obviously that didn't work.

2) There needs to be some way for people "in-between" working and disability - like me, to be protected and not fall through the cracks.

3) It amazes me to think that huge companies like the power company can be so callous as to just shut someones power off over $59 - and then charge them another $30 on top of that - If I didn't know any better I would think they are doing their best to force those of us already in poverty to remain there - or even worse still - force us into an even deeper state of poverty. Are these companies really "threatened" at the thought of someone just trying to survive?


This Country, this State, even this small County has got to change. If we as Americans continue to remain apathetic to these giant companies and allow them to blatantly steal from those who are impoverished - things are only going to get worse.

Its been forever

So, I get to wait for up to "TWO YEARS" before I can see the judge about my Social Security reconciliation. What in the hell is that for a process. I will be long homeless and dead in the next two years.

I dont know how in the hell anybody else in this country ever made it that far. I put my share in the pot for 15 years while I worked.

Now I have to fight tooth and nail to get something that is rightfully mine.

Well, hopefully I can keep my elictric and phone and internet for just a little longer.

More BS

There's nothing more exciting than getting another denial letter from the SSA saying that I'm not disabled according to thier standards.

Let me see, in the two years I have lost my house - been kicked out of more than apartment because I can't work. Had my car towed because I am too broke to keep up with insurance and registration and a drivers license.

I wouldn't think that anyone with a family would porposely go through this nightmare.

And now to make things worse the SSA is saying if they do approve anyone for disability benefits, they are going to make them wait for two years before paying them a dime.

It's just one more perfect example of this republican NEO-CON administration stealing from the less fortunate people so they can keep the never ending war machine turning.

Gas companies are reporting record profits - Is there a fuel shortage? Hell No !!!
Only 3% of our fuel comes from iraq and we are getting raped at the fuel pumps why? Because the fuel companies major stock holders are republicans who are stuffing thier pockets with your hard earned dollars.

This administration has got to be dealt with somehow. They lied about Iraq - sodam? I thought bin-laden was responsible for the twin towers?

When Will it End

Well, we had another successful begging session. Had to call energy assistance to get help with the electric bill.

Believe me, I hate being a bum. I would give anything to get up tommorow and not be in pain and be able to work. I feel Like crap. I am always in pain, even with the morphine (I do have a doctors appointment to go check on legal marijuana).

I never wanted to be a welfare case and a drain on society. But her I am. A carpenter with a fucked up back living (ha, barely surviving - believe me this is not living) on the handouts of others.

Maybe my appointment with my disability lawyer on the 17th will be productive, but I am still really screwed until I actually get the disability anyway. The bullshit that a person has to go through just to be a part of humanity. Ha, what a fucking joke - humanity.

With all these thieving backstabbing fucking republicans in office there will never be any humanity. Thats ok, they did such a good job fucking everything up for the last 8 years I think it will be a long time before any more republicans get elected into office. Or atleast God I hope so - if the rest of this country is so blind they can't see how bad they are getting raped and screwed I feel sorry for them.

Screwed Again !!!

So, here we are in our subsidized housing. It's really not as bad as you might think. We live in a rural area - hell, I can't believe they even know what subsudized housing is out here.

We stayed in a hotel for about 6 weeks after we got evicted, it was hell. We had to beg from every church we could think of - I must say, for a carpenter that was used to making O.K. money it was quite the humbling experience.

While we were in the hotel we managed to get our tax return, boy was it terrible. We usually get way more, but between my bad back and my wifes fibro we didnt make a whole lot to really put any in.

We got lucky and a friend of our oldest son told us that her mother manages these apartments, we didnt even know they were subsidized until we came to fill out the applications. It took us about 3 weeks from start to finish to get in, so we had spent some of our tax return on the hotel - that and just trying to stay alive.

We don't have a car, so getting around involves bumming rides or getting a taxi - that costs more money too. When we were getting the utilities turned on the electric company wanted like $400 fucking dollars - can you believe it. That was to pay for the last bill (We had them shut of the power when we got kicked out of the other place, we thought it would be easier to get it turned back on if we didnt just let them disconnect it) plus more for a depost. I said "well SHIT, if I'm paying the last bill in full - why the fuck should you need a deposit too." But you know how it goes - theres usually only one electric company no matter where you live, so they always got you by the balls.

That was pretty much the last of our money and we have just been living of my wifes child support (the oldest two boys are from her ex). We have stumbled across an odd job here and there but things are really hard right now.

Our apartment is not exactly close to any businesses. My back is so screwed up that I can hardly get around, and my wifes fibro usually has her in pain too. Se we have a roof over our heads, thank god. But we havent had enough money to pay the electric bill since we moved in - so they are threatening to shut us off.

It juts really pisses me off. I havent worked for a year, Im constantly in pain, and those Disability bastards treat the whole process like its some kind of damn game. Get denied twice, then get a lawyer to get your money.

So, any way - if you managed to read this far and you really care - help me keep the power on -

- thanks

Joe - the broke carpenter

Disability Sucks

This friggin sucks. At least we made it through the really rough part - being temporarily homeless and living in a hotel.

Now we have the next battle to wage. I have been denied disability benefits after filing for a reconciliation. So, I mean it's not like a surprise. I have read alot about how this porcess works and this is the next step.

The whole system is really screwed up though. A person should not have to go homeless because of anything, especially those with families. So now I have to go get a disability lawyer and fight some more.

TOTAL BULL SH**!!
There has to be soem way to level the playing field for the American worker. Think about it. There is only a small percentage of this countries population that can actually afford to live a normal life. And an even smaller percentage that actually enjoys any luxury.

Why does a person need to be born with a silver spoon in thier mouth to have a decent life. My parents couldn't afford to send me to college to be a doctor or lawyer or anything really. They just didnt have any extra money. After paying all the bills and medical insurance and health insurance and this that and the other, there just was never anything left.

So, like the rest of society; I went out into the world and found a job. You know how it goes, your right out of highschool and you need to make money. Nobody in thier right mind would give anybody with no world experience a job - let alone a career. Unless it happens to be manual labor.

So, I would up as a carpenter. Its actually a really good job. You have to be intelligent, at least with math anyway.

I worked 8 hours a day just like everybody else. Hell, sometimes I worked 12 hours a day 7 days a week. Why? Because at shitty minimum wage, a carpenter has to work longer.

Funny, doctors and lawyers can work to the ripe old age of retirement making a shitload of money and living a comfortable life. Meanwhile the carpenter is always broke and they almost never make it to retirement age because thier backs get so screwed up from the daily torture on thier bodies. So we end up fu*** broke and homeless fighting for disability.

There has to be a better way. Something needs to change. This country needs a revolution.

Don't get me started on the legalized Mafia - you know what I am talking about - Car insurance - if you don't have it becuase you can't afford it you get stuck paying fines through the nose and the rate of your corporate "extorstion" ends up being even more.

Sometimes I think if it wasnt for all the poor people getting fucked out of thier hard earned dollars, this country would go to shit. It's hillarious - almost ironic, that our forefathers came to this country to get away from taxation and we end up being exactly like the country that our forefathers fought so hard to get away from.

The only thing the poor have to look foreward to is disability. What a shitty life. I mean god forbid some poor person gets injured or too old to work. No savings, giant corporations stealing thier retirement. The one system that is in place for some sense of stability is so screwed up that those of us who need it have to go homeless and loose everything we own before we see light at the end of the tunnel.

No Thank You, Mr. Bush !!!

No Thank You, Mr. Bush !!!
I don't want your d*** in my a** anymore you fuc*** worthless piece of republican shit.

YOUR FIRED !!!
You heard me. As a natural born citizen of the united states, I can honestly say I want your resignation. You SUCK !!! You and your money hungry "war Machine" chronies have fucked up my country so much that I demand you resign IMMEDIATELY.

Thats all for now.

Too Much

What in the hell is going on with this world !!!
Think about this for a minute, if it wasnt for all the shitty minimum wage and blue collar workers what would all the rich people do? I don't think I have ever met a doctor or lawyer who could build thier own house, let alone build thier hospital or court house.

But here I am. I worked long and hard building custom homes and what do I have to show for it? Nothing but a fucked up back waiting for disability at 36. Oh Yes, this was my goal in life.

It's really funny how it seams that some of the most physically demanding jobs don't pay for shit. This country needs a change. If every low income worker decided to take a day off, NO. Make that if every low income worker decided to take a week off, this country would come to a screeching halt. There has to be some way to tip the scales so that everything is fair.

I broke my back just trying to make it from paycheck to paycheck. I used to think that being a carpenter and doing a good days honest work was the way to live. FUCK THAT !!! It's no wonder people stray to crime.

Not to mention that we have the worst economy with the worst president in history. What a bunch of morons we are in this country. Every body keeps bitchin and complaining about how shitty Mr "Bush" is doing - i say screw it - IMPEACH his ass and fire all his damn cronies.

I don't know how giving all the rich people a tax break helps the poor. Oh, wait a minute. I get it. If all the rich people have more money to go shopping with it's job security for us minimum wage dumb asses.

I tried to fix my path. I figured I would try to change careers at 30 something and go from blue collar to white collar work. Boy was that a fuckin joke. That dumb ass we call a president (by the way - I can bitch because i didnt vote for his republican steal from the poor ass) thinks its funny to give tax breaks to corporations who send thier labor over seas.

So now I have a degree but no way to pay for the student loan because all the jobs are in FUCKING INDIA. It's a good thing I'll never have a chance to meet Mr Bush or I'll probably end up in jail - I mean - somebody has to slap that asshole in the face and tell him what a bastard he is.

Well anyway, why I sit here and wait for my disability to get approved - If you have a couple bucks to spare so I can keep my electricity on - send it to rxhector2k5@yahoo.com via paypal.

thanks
Joe - the broke carpenter