Applying for Social Security Disability Benefits 2009

Things don’t get much worse in life than having to deal with serious personal physical disabilities and being told that no public support could be forthcoming unless you are willing to jump through a bunch of hoops right out of a Kafka novel. The word on the street is that the process is so hard that two out of three poor people applying for Social Security disability benefits have their claims thrown out the first time around owing to some perceived deficiency in their applications. When people appeal the denial, they can be given the run-around for two or three years before they see some money. The main problem in all of this is that governmental requirements are never clear enough for ordinary folk. A system that is quite user-unfriendly is turned positively hostile by a lack of any accessible information on how to work the system. Let us do a little run down of some of the most common areas where people slip up when applying for Social Security disability benefits.

The first thing the pencil pushers will evaluate on your form is whether your particular disability actually appears on their list of approved problems; if it is there, because they do not believe that every problem is good enough for them, they need to see that you are so hobbled by it that you’re not able to make more than $940 a month for at least an year. After this they will want proof that you really can’t do anything else with your existing condition. If you have worked on a farm all your life until an accident lays you low, they will wonder why you can’t work the mail desk at a corporation; and it won’t be enough that you are in no position at this time to learn new skills.

People can do one of two things when they put their problem down on the form: they can make it sound worse than it actually is, or they can be too modest. Sometimes, people who have always been a strong rock to their families find it hard to admit in writing that they are not so strong anymore: their pride gets in the way. There are some people who believe that saying it worse than it really is or can put them quickly past the judges too. If you claim to have lost your hearing for example, they will sometimes ask to see your hearing aid to see how loud you have turned the volume up. It is not easy to make an embellishment hold up;the plain truth is the best policy sometimes.

When you go about applying for Social Security disability benefits, the evaluator really needs to see that your problem keeps you from working effectively. They need numbers, specifics, and proof: if you had surgery on the larynx that makes it hard for you to speak in a clear voice and your job as a data-entry operator does not need your voice, they will not accept this disability for a claim. Applications for Social Security disability benefits are often rejected, and that is a fact. But to poor beleaguered applicants, it is often never clear how and when they need to appeal the rejection. Basically when your claim is rejected, you’re given three chances to appeal against the judgment; and each time, you have two months in which to try again. If you happen to be too ill or too poor to go all the way down to their offices, your case is summarily closed and you’re asked to start all over again.

All applicants for social security disability benefits need to resolve today that they will never let the system get the better of them. When you show up at the hearing for the appeals process you’ll find that there is a backlog waiting to be heard before you. It can be very hard to overcome your problems and actually keep to the judge’s times. The important thing is to realize that what you obtain from the government is not a handout: it is what you earned through a lifetime of good hard work. If you give up on the process now, you’ll have considerable difficulty with other kinds of social support, Medicare and all. Armed with these words of advice, most people should be able to get off on the right foot claiming benefits.

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Posted under Interresting by Sr Good Tip on Monday 26 October 2009 at 1:13 pm

Las Vagas Hotels Still Going

Sin City, as Las Vegas is known, is one of the premier destinations for travelers both international and domestic. It offers a blend of nightlife, gambling, dining and other entertainment options that is unmatched anywhere in the world.

As a result, it’s always beneficial to look for the best las vagas hotels and hotel deals you can find. The key is realizing that not all las vagas hotels have to be hotel/casinos. It’s sometimes beneficial to stay off the strip, or away from downtown, in the likes of a holiday inn or a best western rather than in one of the monster casino/resorts that immediately leap to mind when people think of las vagas hotels.

Of course, there’s a reason people do think of the Strip when they think of las vagas hotels. It’s because these hotels are spectacular, nigh unmatched anywhere around the world. Take “The Mirage”, for example. It’s the first of the great las vagas hotels, built 20 years ago. Wikipedia tells the story this way:

The Mirage was built by developer Steve Wynn and designed by Joel Bergman. It opened in November 1989 and was the first resort that was built with the money of Wall Street through the use of junk bonds.

The Mirage was the most expensive hotel/casino in history, with a construction cost of $630 million. The hotel’s distinctive gold windows get their color from actual gold used in the tinting process. It was reported that the resort would have to bring in a million dollars a day to pay off a 7-year construction loan. But in fact the Mirage did so well, the loan was paid off in just 18 months.

Its construction is also considered very noteworthy in that Wynn had set a new standard for Vegas resorts, and is widely considered to be the father of today’s Las Vegas. Prior to the Mirage’s opening, the city was experiencing a decline in tourism that began in the 70s, especially around the time the state of New Jersey legalized gambling and tourists (in particular those on the East Coast) began to frequent the casinos of Atlantic City. Also, this was a time when Las Vegas was no longer considered a fashionable destination, so a new, high-profile, project was necessary to jump-start the ailing industry. When it opened, the Mirage was the first casino to use security cameras full time on all table games.

And what’s amazing is that some of the new places – like Palazzo, Bellaggio, Venetian, THE Hotel and the remodeled Caesar’s Palace – make Mirage look tiny and out of date! Las Vegas has changed much in the past two decades, and there’s no better example of how than by looking at the strip itself.

It doesn’t matter how you spell it, Vegas is known worldwide and there is no confusion that this is a unique vacation destination.

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Posted under Entertainment by Sr Good Tip on Friday 23 October 2009 at 11:48 am

A Million Little Pieces Book Rehab

One of the most bizarre refund stories is about a million little pieces book, a memoir, written by James Frey that explored the world of a drug addict through detox and rehabilitation. The novel sparked much controversy and readers can still write in to receive a refund for purchasing the book.

Hitting shelves in 2003, a million little pieces book received wide acclaim and was featured on the Oprah Winfrey show. Oprah decided to choose the book as part of Oprah’s Book Club and it became a best selling non-fiction book. The book made many recovering addicts and addicts have faith that they too could stay sober and healthy as James Frey had.

The story starts with James Frey’s recollection of being on an airplane, bloodied and bruised, on his way to rehab. 23 years old, he had been addicted to alcohol for ten years and crack for three years. He quickly decides he will not rely on the Twelve Steps program to stay sober, but knows he will have to take responsibility for his actions and his choices. We are told in graphic detail of his past with drugs and how he finds out his addictive tendencies may have stemmed from pain from chronic earaches as a toddler.

The Smoking Gun published an article about how a million little pieces book was not all true and how James Frey conned Oprah when he was on her show. Much controversy erupted and Oprah Winfrey had James Frey back on her show in 2006. She asked him a series of questions about the events in the book and why he lied. James Frey replied by saying that he wrote a lot of experiences as he remember them and was not if it would’ve been better to include a disclaimer or write the events in a different way.

Oprah interviewed the publisher who said a lot of what happened in the book wasn’t impossible and the details that were true or untrue still had the same effect when reading it.

The publishers stood by the book, saying that that overall message was more important than the details. Random House set was prepared to pay $2.35 million dollars in lawsuits, but when all was said and done, only 1,729 people requested refunds for a million little pieces book.

James Frey has written, My Friend Leonard and Bright Shiny Morning in addition to his a million little pieces book.

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Posted under Interresting by Sr Good Tip on Thursday 22 October 2009 at 3:41 pm

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