Preparing for 2019

By Faith Chatham - January 1, 2019

It is 2019. What are the most important things to experience and accomplish this year? What must be done to for each of us to individually enjoy what we want to enjoy, and to accomplish what we want to accomplish?

For me, one thing on my to do list is cleaning the kitchen. I let things slide when I'm involved in causes or projects. The exterminators treated the apt. while I was in San Antonio. Everything is out of the cabinets. I've been running the dishwasher continuously since getting home. Each load of dishes placed in a recently cleaned cupboard shelf, each tray of silver arranged, instead of hastily flung into a drawer, moves me closer toward being ready to proceed with the new year. By the end of today, the kitchen and dining area will be probably be in better shape than it will probably be any other time in the coming year. Then I will move to bedroom closets. Hopefully within a week this rare obsession with orderliness will spill over into the studio.

I am not a tidy spic and span priority person. I live in creative, mental, research, literary, political and artistic worlds. When in those creative zones, I am oblivious to food, clocks, germs, clutter, sleep. So, whenever a rare spell of obsessive straightening and scrubbing overshadows me, I try to ride it as long, and as far, as it can be sustained, because it may be months before it enters my door again. The longer it remains outside, the harder it gets to find space to work inside.

This year there is lots of work to be done. I feel characters, images, causes, and projects pushing to get out.

There are relics here of people and causes I respect and value. I still have evidence of activism in Ready for Hillary and Hillary 2016 intermingled with 2018 buttons for Lupe, Kim, Terry, Gina, MJ, Vikki, Victoria, Shirley, Sheryl, Sylvia, Rhetta, Beverly, Ana Maria and others scattered about.

It is nice to see that the phrases on cards and posters have changed from messaging in 2014. Then we were trying to help Texans understand how few Dems, minorities, veterans and women Texans sent to Congress. We need to acknowledge the scope of a problem before we can inspire enough people to help change it. Now the messages are targeting getting specific Democrats, specific women, specific veterans, specific minorities elected to office.

This year, despite the harm wrought by Donald Trump and his enablers, we have victories to celebrate. On Jan. 3rd in DC over 100 women will be seated in the US House when the new Congress is sworn in.  I look forward to being in the gallery of the Texas Capitol Jan 8th to see friends seated as newly elected Senators and State Representatives. We've made progress. We have a long way to go. Now we have a few more warriors in place to watch the backs of the ethical and brave and to carry the torch in legislative relays.

I want 2019 to be more than just the year when we share our stories and say "Me Too!' I want it to be the year when those who enable or refuse to pursue and punish serial rapists are removed. This should be the year when instead of 1 out of 3 women and 1 out of 5 men being survivors, it becomes the year when the majority of perpetrators are stopped and prevented from every violating any boy or girl, man or woman every again. Instead of #METOO I want to see #ZeroTolerance.

I truly hope and pray that the Trump administration comes to a speedy, and abrupt end. We need to rid this nation, and our psyche, from the excesses, corruption and violation of that man and his henchmen and enablers. I hope both Trump and Pence are nothing more than a footnote by March of this year. We need to push the RESET button and begin anew. These are some of the things which are on my heart. They are goals and causes worth working for, worth enduring clutter and other inconveniences to accomplish jointly with others who care and sacrifice. Caring also means helping worthy people have the means to step forward to run for office and to win in 2020. Those of us who are older owe it to those who protected and nurtured us when we were young and to those who are younger and deserve to be nurtured and mentored.

Since when does taking Medicaid away from children promote education?

By Faith Chatham - July 24, 2017

A lot of heresies come out of the Texas Legislature. We've watched legislators who claim to be "pro-life" ignore infant mortality and maternal mortality. We've watched a man who was already indicted for Security Fraud "serve" as Attorney General. We've seen time wasted during the regular session.  Now we are seeing the special session crammed with so many different items that it distracts people's attention and focus.

Yet, it is impossible to ignore what they are considering, and what they are proposing.
1. The Texas Teachers' Retirement Fund had been grossly underfunded for a VERY VERY long time. Teachers continue to elect Republicans who continue to refuse to fund it. This year some of Austin's "finest" elected officials decided to try to placate teachers by proposing a $1000 a year pay increase which was to come out of the local school districts' funds. Teachers did the right thing. They showed up in force and said: "No Way!" You haven't restored the funding you stole from the schools several sessions ago. They said: Fix our Retirement fund. Restore school funding.

2. In the Special Session they have already backed away from taking it out of local school funds. An alternate proposal was to transfer fund from Medicaid under Health and Human Services to fund the $1000 teachers' pay raise. Ooops. Thankfully, teachers are more concerned for children than many of our legislators. They know that many of the most underserved children in our state rely on Medicaid for speech therapy, and other critical rehabilitate services! The teachers said: NO Way! Don't make these children suffer to fund this pay raise. RESTORE OUR RETIREMENT FUND!

3. The Legislature is attacking the right to organize. They have a proposal on the table to prevent payroll deductions for union dues. The bill would exempt first responders. The First Responders have objected. They know that if they are exempted this year, they may not be exempted next session. They do not like being placed in a special class while all other unions and associations are discriminated against by the legislature!  Teachers and First Responders have already shown up in Austin for this special session saying: NO WAY.

The Legislature hasn't fixed anything so far in this special session. They have proposed things which will things worse.

After yesterday's Senate Hearing they seem to have backed away from forcing local school district to fund a $1000 a year raise for the teachers and they have probably backed away from transferring money from the Medicaid fund, but they have not done anything substantial to fix teacher retirement. They have not dedicated any of the state's funds to funding a deserved raise for the teachers. They have not restored the money they stole from schools a few years ago. They are basically saying: We'll give whatever is LEFT OVER after we compete the budget to schools.  Gee. When they don't have enough to go around, that is a really lame proposal. We'll be sure to give NOTHING toward solving problems they have ignored for much too long.

4. Funding Special Education - The same legislators who propose cutting Medicaid funding for children propose allowing several thousand dollar stipends for parents to choose private schools for special needs children. If the child goes to public school the funding will be only $500 per child!!! Here, is the cherry on the cake -- the real zinger: the private schools for special needs children will have no standards.

Basically they made suggestions that any reasonable public servant would know would be unacceptable to reasonable Texans. This is a ploy to make it appear that they tried to solve a few of the problems which they have ignored for decades. However, it was not -- it is not a good faith effort. They deserve to be called out for such a pathetic show with has no substance.

5. Infant mortality and maternal mortality are both higher in Texas than in any place in the developed world. A child born in Texas is six times more likely to die in the first year than a child born in California. A woman who gives birth in Texas is six times more likely to die within a year of giving birth than a woman who gives birth in California. California has addressed factors which impact infant and maternal mortality. Texas has "studied it." They are discussing studying it some more but many of the men don't even want to study it. None of them are pushing to implement solutions which have been proven to help keep new born and their mother's alive. One bit problem is that women who are on Medicaid only have 90 days of post-natal care and the rate of death in many new mothers occurs during the first 6 months after birth. Follow-up medical care can prevent some of these deaths. Many of the very same politicians who play to the Pro-Life Crowd and fight against abortion the most publically lead the charge to limit funding for Medicaid and vote against funding initiatives to address the infant and maternal mortality crisis in this state.

Old people, poor people, and children with special needs to seem to be consistent targets for Republican legislators. When Special Education programs work they get defunded.

The bill hasn't passed yet. It should not pass. It should not have even been proposed. These guys in Austin should be watched. We need to watch them closely, like you'd watch a rabid dog. The things they propose have the same impact as bite from rabid dog.

There is nothing Pro-Life about refusing to solve our state's infant mortality and maternal mortality problems. There is nothing pro-life about refusing children and old folks decent medical care. There is nothing pro-life about refusing to fund speech therapy and physical therapy for special needs children. There is nothing pro-life about stealing money from school children and transferring what little funding there is to private institutions who are not given any guidelines.

If the people who were proposing this were totally stupid, we could attribute it to that. Instead they are callous and self-serving. They must be watched. It is our responsibility to see that they are replaced by human beings who have hearts to serve, and compassion, and determination to solve problems for every man, woman and child in this state. When one of them claims to be pro-life and votes to slap down those who are struggling, those who are literally gasping for breath, we need to slap them down.  We need to be sure that every citizen of Texas recognize them as the duplicitous cold-hearted wasteful pathetic panderers that they are.