Why go public? Why them? Why does it matter?
When our founder was a candidate for Congress in 1992
he came to the decision that he would always seek to be transparent
even if it hurt. Many candidates say they will be transparent but
Robert really meant it. This was shown when he called contacts
he had at the two major local papers in his district to inform them
that his business office had been seized by the IRS in a move he
believed was completely politically motivated. By the way these were
not small local papers, one was the Los Angeles
Times the other was The Los Angeles Daily News, both published stories
about the seizure.
Being transparent is not always easy but it is often
necessary. It is sad that we feel that it has become necessary to
become even more transparent and post these Open Letter(s) and
documents. You will notice that some to the information like medical
record numbers and signatures have been redacted. Some of these were
redacted when originally sent and some needed further redacting before
posting here.
On June 11, 2011 Robert was diagnosed with diabetes
and diabetic neuropathy. As a man who had been self-employed most of
his life this was a severe blow. And, unlike in most cases of diabetes,
his nerve damage was sudden and severe.
He was a runner and distance walker and shortly before
this diagnoses he was forced to start using a wheel chair or crutches
to get around because of pain in his feet and balance issue caused by
nerve damage. When the neuropathy damage did not match
the length of time and severity of his diabetes, there was more
testing. It was discovered that the neuropathy damage was to the trunk
nerves in his arms and calves rather than the finger tips which is
traditional in diabetes when sugar damages the small
nerves. This also explained the severe pain he was always in and why it
felt like his feet were broken.
Not only did Robert lose his mobility but he lost his
150 word a minute typing ability as well. His fingers just did not work
the same anymore and the pain in them and his legs was a constant 8.
For those who do not know the pain scale used in the
medical world that is high.
While he was always a fan of voice recording now it
was a necessity for note taking and such. He also became skilled in the
use of voice recognition software and its limitations, slowness and
frustrating inaccuracies.
Now everything takes impossibly longer to do if he can
do it and if not he needs to get assistance or do some work around. At
the same time, the pain keeps his sleep irregular and he struggles with
fatigue which also eats away at the time he has for
getting stuff done.
Through this all Robert maintained his strong
Christian faith as God continued to guide and direct him. His
sleeplessness would lead him to start a prayer ministry. Nights he
couldn't sleep he would spend in prayer, much better than counting
sheep.
By God's providence he and his wife Gail had moved in
with her mother to care for her in 2003. So this diagnosis happened
while living there. Gail's mom later developed Alzheimer's disease
which would result in their first real exposure to the court
and legal system and how broken it is. For more on that vist OurLegalSystemIsBroken.com.
We are sharing all this personal information and being
very transparent because after losing battles to protect Gail's mom our
finances were depleted and after much counseling, thank you Dream
Center in downtown Los Angeles and others, we made the
gut wrenching decision that out of necessity we must go on General
Relief (GR or Welfare) and Food Stamps (EBT or SNAP) for the first time
in our lives. To qualify for GR you have to have less than $100.00 in
total cash, counting all your banks accounts
and the change in your pocket. That was our new reality and we walked
into the Lancaster DPSS office and applied for GR and EBT on August 17,
2012.
Robert never stopped being Robert he remained the guy
who was always a consumer advocate and the guy who ran for congress and
founded Citizens For A
Better America (R) because he did not want to see America
become like the country he left, Iraq. This meant when he ran into
issues he made waves. He fought for not just himself and his wife but
for all the other "customers" they served, and for all
those who could not fight.
That is what has brought us to the need to expose what
is really going on in the Social Service programs. Programs that most
Americans do not think about until they need them.
Through the years spent needing to use these various
programs we have seen there are some really noble public servants
working to see that those in need are served with dignity and
competence, but they are sadly the exception not the rule. And when
the system works against honest "customers" and makes it almost
impossible to stay the honest folks they were when they started, then
something is very very wrong.
While it is true there are some who defraud the system
most just desperately need the services these agencies provide.
Most Americans have no idea that it is the programs
themselves and the agencies that run the programs that make it hard for
those who are in the programs to stay honest. The agencies in their
attempt to prevent fraud end up hurting the honest folk who
can not get the information they need so they can stay qualified or so
they can get assistance.
Within a few months of quote "getting on GR", Gail got
very sick with a severe case of vertigo, she had never had it before
but her mother had. Robert already had medical coverage because of his
diabetes but no one informed us that Gail now had
medical coverage, or that anyone who is put on GR is automatically
qualified for Medi-cal and has healthcare. She suffered through that
vertigo episode and it would not be until months later that we would
find out she was covered all that time.
That is just one example of how information is kept
like it is a top grade military secret. It is as if those that provide
these services think you are a criminal and know all the tricks so they
don't want to give you more to work with. Instead of
treating you like an honest person who needs to know the services you
already have been given.
That is just a taste of why we are going public with
all that we have experienced.
For the sake of all of America, those who need these
programs, those who work for these programs, and for those who fund
these programs.
It is time to shine some light in the darkness!
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