disabilities

Sen. Kirk Lays Out Struggles After Stroke

Posted on 02/6/2013 by | Washington Watch | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal Health | PoliticsIn a sort of mini-memoir, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) lays out the struggles and introspection that sprang from his year-long battle to heal from an ischemic stroke. “I’m different from what I was,” Kirk writes in a first-person story for the Washington Post. “My left leg and left arm might never work like they once did, but my mind is sharp. I’m capable of doing the work entrusted to me by the people of Illinois, but I am forever changed.” Kirk …

Why Inflation Matters for Social Security

Posted on 12/13/2012 by | Social Security | Comments

Bulletin Today | Money & Savings | PoliticsOne of Social Security’s great strengths is that it offers meaningful protection against inflation. Each year, the program considers how prices are rising [as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers]. If prices go up, the Social Security benefits people have earned tend to be adjusted as well. For a typical household, this protection is huge – a point I tried to emphasize in my book, “Social Security for Dummies.” It helps people keep …

GOP Opposition Downs UN Disability Treaty

Posted on 12/4/2012 by | General News | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsBy Jim Abrams of The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Led by Republican opposition, the Senate on Tuesday rejected a United Nations treaty on the rights of the disabled that is modeled after the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act. With 38 Republicans casting “no” votes, the 61-38 vote fell five short of the two-thirds majority needed to ratify a treaty. The vote took place in an unusually solemn atmosphere, with senators sitting at their desks rather than milling around the …

Technology Making Strides for Disabled People

Posted on 11/2/2010 by | General News | Comments

TechnologyThe Chicago Tribune has a great piece today how technological innovation is creating new opportunities for disabled people. And boy, are they: “Sophie Prunty has a rare neurological disorder that makes it difficult for her to get around and communicate. But fastened to the front of the teen’s wheelchair is a computer that has changed her life. Looking like an overgrown iPad, the touch-screen tablet allows Sophie, 16, to control devices such as a television and an MP3 player. Most …