Saluting the WASP - Women Air Service Pilots

By Faith Chatham - April 27, 201

During WWII, the U S Air Force recruited female licensed commercial pilots to fly cargo. Their missions were described as "short of combat." Male pilots were hesitant to fly the B-29. The Air Force brought in women pilots and trained them in two days to fly the large, complicated B-29. The male pilots are reported to have been "shamed" . Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas was a major training field for WWII WASPs. There were bases in many states in the USA. These women pilots were stations at air bases in Texas.

Twenty-eight experienced women pilots were recruited initially, in 1942. Between November 1942 and December 1944, an additional 1,074 women were recruited and trained to fly. Initially they were trained in Houston; then the training field was move to Sweetwater,, Texas. The women pilots flew every aircraft in the US aviation inventory. In subsequent posts I will list pilots stationed in other states.

Why do voters like Mary Wilson?

By Faith Chatham - April 23, 2018

More voters in Texas’ District 21 chose a woman who has always actively served people than any of the slicker, better financed candidates for Congress.

How shocking! The majority of the votes in the primary went not to the candidates with the most money or slickest campaign, but to Mary S. Wilson, a woman known in the community for serving people!

In a 4-way contested primary, she received 30.90% of the vote. She faces Joseph Kosper (20.3%) in a May 22nd Run-off for the Democratic Nomination for the open U.S. 21st District's Congressional seat being vacated by Lamar Smith.  This district includes part of Austin and San Antonio and many small towns in between, and runs west to Kerrville..

Why do folks like Mary Wilson?

She is a true progressive.

There is nothing Republican-lite about her. She has always worked for social justice. She has always lend a hand when folks needed one in whatever way she was able. She has always said people not having health care in a society such as ours, is stupid and unacceptable. She has always extended a welcoming hand to people, without classifying them superior or inferior according to immigration status, race, or the size of their bank accounts.

People in the District know what she stands for because they have seen her live it for years.

She is trusted to serve people in Washington because she always serves people here at home..

Donate at: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/marystreetwilson

I like her because she is the absolute opposite of the man who currently occupies that seat. Give what you can.

She knows how to stretch resources. Investing in her campaign is a demonstration that we believe that decency and kindness has value, that society can work for everybody, that pushing others down to make a buck is not the ideals we choose to live by.

Never heard of her? Neither had the Texas Observer. 

Learn more by visiting her website.

To donate to her campaign: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/marystreetwilson

She faces Joseph Kopser,, a former Republican, in the May 22nd Run-off. 

In a district surgically gerrymandered to favor Republican candidates, it is doubtful that Mr. Kopser can pull out a sufficient progressive base in November to defeat a Republican nominee. Why should a Republican vote for a "moderate Democrat"? They have choices within their own party whose positions lean toward the middle. Granted, moderates rarely win, because they have moderates of their own, should they favor them.

It will be an uphill battle for any Democrat running in that District. Mary Wilson has several things going for her: 1) Deep ties in the community. 2) Appeal to progressives who are mobilized in Texas this year, unlike previous election cycles. 3). She is a woman. For the first time, it is an advantage to be a Democratic woman running for Congress in Texas.  

Texas has Congressional candidates running in all 36 US House Districts this year Many districts, where GOP incumbents previously ran unopposed in the General Election, had contested Democratic Primaries. In every District where a woman was on the ballot for US Congress, the woman either won the Democratic Nomination without a run-off, or is one of the candidates in the run-off. In some districts where there were several men and two women candidates, the women are in the run-off. 

Texas US House candidates running in GOP controlled districts in Texas are raising money this year. Even the candidates with the smallest war chest have surpassed  most of the 2014 and 2016 Democratic Nominees's entire Primary and General Election fundraising totals combined already this year. For the first time in decades, we saw several US House challengers running in red districts raise $200,000 before the first of the year.

US Senate candidate, Beto O'Rourke is outraising GOP incumbent Ted Cruz!

More money was donated to Democratic candidates running in the District 21 Primary this year than has occurred in decades. Mary Wilson was third from the bottom in fundraising. Derrick Crow raised $177,695 and Joseph Kosper raise over a million. However, despite his war chest, the voters were not that greatly impressed with him.  

Now that Wilson has astounded herself, and most District 21 watchers, with her incredible 30.2% turnout with a cost per vote of $3.25 compared to her closest competitor's (Kosper) cost per vote of  $6.76 per vote, and she has made the Run-off, her financial prospects have significantly improved.

Derrick Crow spent $8.52 per vote. It is probable that now that Crow and others are out of the race, Wilson's fundraising will pick up. Donors rarely flock to candidate's unless they anticipate that they will be the front runner. If she comes through the Run-off on top, her "underdog not expected to win but did" momentum will probably capture volunteers, and some donors.

A Democrat does not have to match a Republican dollar for dollar to win. One has to run in a campaign cycle when voters are inspired to turn out, and to be able to appeal to the electorate. Mary Wilson has demonstrated that she has voter appeal.  More voters, candidates and activists are engaged in Texas this year than I have witnessed in my many years of political activism. Many are young people who are more progressive than the old "norm" for Texas voters. A candidate needs enough money to let the voters know she is in the race and has positions which work for them.

There is more than a Donald Trump factor at play in the Lone Star State. Texas activists were engaged in the Hillary Clinton campaign and propelled her to within 8 points of carrying the state, with the national Hillary campaign devoting  little leadership or investment into Texas. Hillary supporters organized themselves, acquired their own Hillary swag and yard signs, raised money for her campaign and defied the pundits to shut them down despite the tired old talking points of "how unenthusiastic" people were about her. In Texas, her supporters were determined and prepared to turn out the state for her, with or without resources from the national party. Experience gained during the 2016 General Election, when Texans astounded the nation by being "in play", despite being discounted by many within, and outside of the state, has created an army of experienced GOTV activists who are engaging more to join their ranks in 2018. 

In 2017, the largest number of demonstrators in the history of the state, turned out in Austin for the Women's March. In 2018, the number was less in Austin, but statewide participation in the Women's Marches in cities and towns throughout the state probably exceeded the number who marched in Austin in 2017. The movement moved from the State Capitol into communities all over the Lone Star State.

There is a saying: "Beware of a pissed off woman" In Texas the climate of oppression,  attacks on women's health care, decades of the state refusing to fund rape kits processing, cuts to teachers pay, escalating health insurance premiums for teachers, and Republicans voting down equal pay for equal work on April 9, 2014, and shootings in schools and other venues, has been bringing formerly passive women to the streets.

 Trump was merely the match that lit an already smoldering fuse among women in Texas. We are seeing women step out to run for office in record numbers on the Democratic ticket. We are seeing donors give to women this year, and in many instances giving more than they gave to men running for the same offices in previous election cycles, or who are running against them this year.. 

I will not predict the outcome of the US Texas 21st District race. This is by no means a "normal election cycle." Getting voters to turn out for a run-off is not easy. 

 We have a contested Governor's race on the ballot.  I lean toward believing that Mary Wilson will be the nominee. . 

Districts were gerrymandered to favor Republicans. The majority of people who are marching in these large marches are young people who   not registered to vote prior to 2016,  and women. Many  young people are turning voting age this year, and are involved in the March 4 Our Lives movement.  Many middle age, and older women, are becoming activists for the first time in their lives.

These districts were drawn with traditional Republican and Democratic turn-out and there is nothing normal these days about the numbers of traditional Republican versus Democratic voters. The rate of growth of Democrats in Texas is much higher than the rate of growth of Republican. Maybe we should say: "Beware of a pissed off woman and beware of pissed off teenagers who are tired of being targets for deranged shooters at school and shopping malls and movie theatres!"

It is possible that an underdog, a woman who did not expect to get into the run-off, who spent much less per vote in the primary than most of her competitors, may pull it off and flip the seat vacated by Lamar Smith from Red to Blue in 2018. Her supporters are engaged. The strongest force in an election is supporters who truly LIKE and TRUST and prefer their candidate to win. That describes the people who LIKE Mary Wilson.

To donate to her campaign: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/marystreetwilson

Destroying and Neglecting rather than Problem Solving

By Faith Chatham, April 20, 2018

I am a daughter of East Texas. My father's family settled on the north shore of the Cypress Bayou in 1839 and my mom’s settled on what is now the south shore in 1850. Although I no longer reside in the Piney Woods, I understand East Texas values. Common sense or what my relatives frequently referred to as "horse sense" was always held higher than "book learning."  There was a place for "book learning" but without common sense, we were warned, it would only get us in trouble. It takes both, we were told, to be successful.

As a people watcher and political scientist (perhaps that "book learning" get me in trouble), I watch East Texas politics and remain astounded. East Texas is in the deep south. It is definitely the Bible Belt. I grew up in Marshall, Texas and there was a service station and a church on nearly every corner. During the time I was there, we had three colleges, all church operated schools of liberal arts. These institutions each ran seminaries - two Baptist and one Methodist. Each of those schools taught religion. They taught the "Golden Rule." They taught how Jesus urged his followers to be merciful. They taught how He instructed followers to care for the orphans and widows and not to exploit the poor for profit. They taught about being a "good steward" and that mean more than just giving a tithe to the church. It means managing the resources entrusted to you, including budgets of the church and the community and government.

Having grown up in East Texas and knowing East Texas people and knowing that they were taught the same as I was, I am astounded at how many vote year after year for Louie Gohmert.  I was astounded that any of them voted for Donald Trump, but that has been hashed and rehashed to Infinium. Today, I am focusing on who my former classmates, neighbors and extended family and their families have consistently voted into Congress.

East Texans are usually patriotic. They wave the flag and honor our veterans. Most have either served in the military or have relatives who have or are serving. I could focus on the many stupid remarks that come out of Mr. Gohmert's mouth, but there are so many that no one would continue reading. Instead, I am looking at his record on attacking the fragile safety net our nation has constructed to assist our service men and women when they are injured or when they return to civilian life from active duty. It has never been vibrant enough to truly enable a smooth transition for those who are the most seriously injured, but it has always been a work in progress which most American's supported and were thankful existed. Veterans have always had to wait for services, but in recent years, the US Congress led by members of Mr. Gohmert's Freedom Caucus have worked to dismantle the fragile safety net which our nation extends to assist those most likely to crash to the bottom without some sort of social safety net. Veterans Benefits and Food Stamps and Housing Grants for Housing and Social Security assistance are among the programs which all Americans contribute to so that when Americans are faced with the "worst of times" it can be a journey where we have a chance of emerging from the other side of a very dark tunnel. Of these programs, the two most popular which almost every American of all political party's approved is Veteran's Benefits and Social Security. 

Social Security is a program where workers pay every week for their entire working lives and in return should they become disabled before reaching retirement age, they have a safety net. Once we are too old to work, social security is supposed to kick in to give us a safety net. We are not taking other people's money but drawing from part of what we earned earlier. It is not welfare. It is called an "ENTITLEMENT" because it is OUR MONEY and we are ENTITLED to it through an agreement with the Federal Government. However, Mr. Gohmert and the Speaker of the House and others in Congress do not think that Americans should get what we are ENTITLED TO.

A similar situation exists with Veterans Benefits. Our government through our Legislature for generations has agreed to provide a safety net for those who put their lives at risk to protect us. We have Veteran's Hospitals to care for injured soldiers and Veterans. We have veterans housing benefits so that those who serve will not be homeless when they return home. We give veterans preferences to employment in governmental jobs so that those who leave their jobs to go defend our country have opportunities to rebuild their lives by returning to work when their military service ends. We give them educational benefits so that they are trained for civilian jobs when they return from the military These benefits are prat of our contract with the individuals we enlist into service. To change them is to break the contract, to betray their trust.

When I was growing up in East Texas I was taught at home, church and at school that you come to an agreement first and once the service or job is done, you stick with it. You do not take from someone and then change the rules to their disadvantage after they have served you. However, that is what Mr. Gohmert and others in the Freedom Caucus in Congress are ALWAYS ADVOCATING and VOTING to enact. It is not right. It is not fair. It is cruel. It is dishonest. It may be legal, but being legal does not make it right, fair or honest. This is not a new practice with Louie Gohmert, yet people I know grew up being taught the same values I was taught, continue to vote for this many year after year!

                                    Photo from Steve Crain's Facebook Page
So, what alternative do they have? They have a very good one. They have an excellent alternative. She is a daughter of East Texas. She is a decorated former military officer. She is a very intelligent woman who has both "good ole common horse sense" (in the words of my Uncle Bill and Daddy) and lots of appropriate "book learning."  She is a woman of great faith and is known as a person who lives her faith. She is an educator. She is a business woman. She creates jobs. She solves problems, she serves people. She brings people together to solve problems. She is Dr. Shirley J. McKellar, PhD, US Army Maj. (Ret.), CNS, a retired army nurse corps officer. 

It astounds me that more East Texans voted for Louie Gohmert than for Shirley McKellar in 2014 and 2016. Before that perhaps they had not had enough time to learn about her. She continues to run. She continues to meet people. She continues to mentor, empower, equip and lead. Everywhere she goes she solves problems for East Texans. In the past 8 years she has created hundreds of jobs in East Texas through the businesses she founded and the initiatives she has led others to create. 

Here is a thumbnail of what I have witnessed her do while Louie Gohmert was campaigning for Donald Trump and voting to dismantle affordable healthcare and voting to reduce funding for Veterans Benefits and trying to cut Social Security.

Shirley McKellar returned from serving in Afghanistan injured and spend a year and half in the hospital having numerous surgeries and physical rehabilitation. She was with soldiers whom she had helped in the field when they were injured. As an officer in the Army Nurse Corp, she saw the sons and daughters of her friends and neighbors bleeding and at the point of death. She suffered as far too many of them died from their injuries or were permanently harmed. Then she returned home and saw them discounted by Congress and Louie Gohmert vote to cut funding for the VA when more of our Vietnam era vets were aging out and needing more services and we had new generations of soldiers Louie and his friends voted to send into combat returning home injured. She heard from veterans who were homeless. She learned that there were no mental health services for veterans in the 12 counties of East Texas where she lived. She saw nothing being done to address homelessness among the veterans who served. Instead of doing some of the much more which was needed, she saw Louie Gohmert and the Speaker of the House and others fighting to end or reduce the services which were already in place.

Shirley McKellar is a woman who lives the East Texas Values she was taught. She stands up for others. She lends a helping hand whenever and however she can to whomever needs it. So, she went to work. 

While Louie Gohmert was voting to reduce funding to the VA and to dismantle the affordable care act, Shirley McKellar was pulling together a team of mental health professionals, forming a non-profit organization and getting the federal contract necessary to bring mental health services to the 12 counties in East Texas which had none! Louie could have done that. But he didn't. Was it stupidity or selfishness or plain stupidity and ignorance -- I don't know. I do know that it was needed, and it was something that usually we look to the leadership of our Congressional Representative to help us solve. In East Texas the Congressional Rep was Louie Gohmert and Louie wasn't solving problems. Instead he was working to make them bigger!

Dr. McKellar recovered from her injuries, she continued to serve veterans. After she no longer needed to go to the Veteran's Hospital regularly for medical care, she continued to drive to Dallas from Tyler twice a week to volunteer helping other veterans get the services they needed. She began serving as an officer on the Veterans' Administration Mental Health Advocacy Board. When Congress moved to cut services to women, she spoke out and mobilized others to save some of the programs which were on the chopping block. She continues fighting to get others restored.

While in the military, she arrived in the European theatre and found almost no health services for women. She helped implement women's health services in the European Theatre She noted that there was soldiers were dying from breast cancer. More women than men contract breast cancer but the death rate for men is much higher than for women. She opened the only comprehensive breast center in the US Military to screen and treat soldiers for breast cancer. The death rate among minorities is higher than among white breast cancer patients. Back in the USA, she partnered with UT Medical School and co-founded the African American Breast Cancer Awareness and administered a $5 million dollar grant. She is a problem solver who understands how to get things done in government and in the private sector and in the community.

Last year she attended a ribbon cutting for a housing complex for homeless vets in Dallas. HUD Chair Ben Carson was there. Shirley was never a supporter of his political aspirations, but he is he person in the chair at HUD. She approached him and inquired "What will it take to get a similar housing program for homeless veterans in East Texas?" She worked with the VA and with HUD and drew together a steering committee of local stakeholders. She donated some of her own land. Last month they had the ground breaking for the condominium complex where veterans can use their VA benefits to buy their own condos. This complex is in US District 1 in East Texas. Louie Gohmert did not do this. Shirley McKellar did. She did it because she cared enough and knew enough to be able to make it happen. Louie served in the JAG corps but does not seem to care enough or know enough or be willing to exert himself enough to bring solutions to East Texans. Thankfully, Shirley McKellar cares enough. Thankfully, Shirley McKellar knows enough. Thankfully, Shirley McKellar is never too tired or unwilling to exert herself enough to pull together the people and resources to serve the people she knows need and deserve to be helped and served.

So, why is it that more East Texans do not recognize that there are many more differences which truly matter between the Republican Incumbent and the Military Veteran who are running for Congress in US Texas's First District than just gender and skin color? How can so many decent people who value "Common Sense" and decency continue voting for Louie Gohmert?

When you encounter someone from East Texas, please ask them "Why do folks in East Texas vote for Louie Gohmert?" If they say they did or do, quiz them. Ask them if they think veterans deserve to have health services? Ask if they feel safer when veterans have mental health services? Ask them if they think there are enough jobs in East Texas. Then challenge them to show you what Louie Gohmert has done to solve any of these problems.  

I’m just an ole gal from East Texas with East Texas Values who simply doesn’t understand the way so many people vote who grew up being taught the same values I was. How can so many people continue voting someone this stupid back into office November after November!

http://voteMcKellar.com 

Sanity and Common Sense above Partisanship - Thank you Mrs. Barbara Bush

By Faith Chatham, April 20, 2018

Husbands and sons rarely do everything their wife or mother advises, however, the influence of a wise woman with a strong moral compass usually tempers the excesses of many members of her family.  Mrs. Barbara Bush is a woman known for her understanding of what helps and threatens people. When it really mattered, despite being the "political wife" and eventually the "politicians mother", she spoke truth to power.

Country matters more than party. Family is the most important accomplishment in a person's life. It is not fame and power which is the measure of success, in her view, but the riches of relationship within your family.

Many spout off about "family values" without living it. Barbara Bush lived it, usually without spouting off that much about it. But when she did, it was usually personal, as a mentor, as a mother, as a grandmother.

Her warmth and decency, her intelligence, and those wonderful moments when she cast aside the code of silence imposed upon politicians' wives and spoke her opinion endeared her to us.

When the George Bush Library was being dedicated, I was honored to have Thanksgiving Dinner with a friend's family. My friend's brother was a chef and his team cooked for the dedication of the George Bush Library. He shared with me how astounded he was that day to look up and see Mrs. Bush and President Bush in his kitchen. They had gathered up every living former President and First Lady of the United States and brought them to the kitchen to meet the staff who had prepared their dinner. These are the realities of a thoughtful woman, of a woman who honors our nation and out state by honoring people where she met them, however she could, without fanfare or expectation of demands of praise for herself.

To the family, I send my condolences. To her, I say: Well done! Thank you for your example. Thank you for not keeping silent.  Thank you for touching people in the many ways which were natural to you! Thank you for helping to keep the people in your life in touch with reality while forces propelled them away from what you knew should really matter.

Wow! What an Army Nurse!

By Faith Chatham Feb. 15, 2018

An article in the Longview News Journal earlier this month discounted US Texas 1st District Democratic Primary congressional candidate Dr. Shirley J. McKellar, PhD, RN, Maj. (ret) as "just an Army Nurse."

My response is:
McKellar has created more jobs in East Texas than most governmental programs. In addition the two businesses mentioned in this article, she is responsible for helping meet the mental health needs of 12 East Texas counties military families and veterans. As an officer on the Veterans Administration Mental Health Advocacy Council, she is "at the table" fighting to restore cuts to women's mental health services and to expand mental health services for all veterans. 

Instead of just talking about supporting veterans, McKellar puts her talent and personal resources into helping veterans. Last year she attended a ribbon cutting for a housing complex in Dallas for Homeless Veterans. She asked: "How can we get a similar one in East Texas." She did not let the current party of the majority of Congress or the current occupants of the  White House deter her. She pulled together a steering committee of local stakeholders, donated some of her own land, and worked diligently with HUD and the VA to "make it happen." On March 3rd there will be a ground breaking for the new complex in Smith County where homeless veterans can use their VA Benefits to buy their own condos.

For 20 years she operated an early childhood education center in Tyler which provided care and education until midnight 7 days a week for infants through 13 year olds. When she was deployed to the Middle East that facility closed. However, she has tracked the progress of the children they served. EVERY child served by that center has graduated from High School and gone to college. One is currently in law school. That program could serve as a pilot program for how to do it right!

Shirley McKellar understands that the more responsibility you have the more you don't know which you need to know. Therefore she is always learning. She has a PhD in nursing, a MS in Criminal Justice and has almost completed a masters in Political Science.

Her expertise in economic development, small business incubation, job creation and non-profit organization equips her to serve the people of this district. During Mr. Gohmert's tenure the unemployment rate and number of persons living in poverty in most of the district has escalated. Shirley McKellar listens to people, verifies and researches, collaborates and brings solutions that serve people. This is the leadership we need in Congress. 

Someone with the Longview News referred to her as "just an Army Nurse!" 
--She is "just an army nurse" who implemented much of the women's health care for the US Military in the European Theatre. 
--She is just an army nurse who established the only comprehensive breast center in the US Military serving men and women. 
--She is just the army nurse who partnered with UT Medical School to determine why the mortality rate for men and women of color who have breast cancer is significantly greater than for white women and to look for treatments which give better outcomes. 
--She is also the Army Nurse who co-founded (with UT Medical School) the African American Breast Cancer Awareness. 

Somehow, I think the best outcome for East Texas in 2018 is for Louie Gohmert to be replaced with this "just an army nurse!"

Donate to Shirley McKellar for Congress at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/justarmynurse?refcode=ArmyNurse

Carolyn Chatham's words ring true today

New Release by Wise Woman Press on Barnes & Noble and Amazon

TCBD 2018 Virtual Town Hall - Part 1

By Faith Chatham Feb. 9, 2018
.
I was honored to be present when this town hall was videotaped. These six women are running for U.S. Congress in 2018 in the Democratic Primary in Texas. All except Dallas Councilwoman Carroway are running in districts currently occupied by GOP incumbents.

This year there are Democrats running in all of the Congressional Districts in Texas. Most of these women are in contested primaries.

If you are a woman or if you are a veteran or if you are a person of color, you have only 20% representation in the US Congress.  These women are articulate, accomplished, compassionate,  informed, persistent fighters for what we need in our communities and nation. They are neither "out of touch" or uninformed. Any one of them will be an improvement over most of the current members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Please share this video with your friends.

Resistance and Insistence Poetry released by Wise Woman Press

By Faith Chatham -- Feb. 3, 2018

This is not our grandparents generation's volume of sonnets!

Not everyone can turn the frustrations and disgust we live through into poetry. San Antonio Tri Centennial poet, Carolyn Chatham's anthology of Resistance poetry is not a collection of flowery lyrics. She tells readers that "I am not the sweet old woman that you think I am." Her words flow from the place human beings encounter when they won't be quiet and take it any more.

The title "Those Bones That Float About" comes from the East Texas idiom used when a person looks you straight in the eye and says: "I've got a bone to pick with you!" These are not words that are used lightly, and they are not prompted by trivilities. They spring when harm has seeped past the coverings to the very foundations of our existence. Once picked dry,  they surface and cannot be hidden.

Released by Wise Woman Press  Carolyn's book, Those Bones That Float About, is available for pre-order on  on Amazon.com, at https://bit.ly/CarolynChatham.

School shootings, fires in California, Hurricane Harvey, gender, racial, economic and immigration discrimination inspire her poetry. One poem, Let's Make America Great Again, is to Colin Kaepernick.

Let’s Make America Great Again

Let’s make America great again,

bring back those good old days.

A man was head of his household.

Kids all toed the line.

A boy could be a boy and fight,

and we all got along just fine.

A man could be a man back then

so long as he was white.

Make America great again,

Let’s put the lid back on.

A baby every year or so

will keep those women home.

Plenty of eager hands back then

to mow our lawns and clean.

No laws to tell us who to hire,

or serve or educate.

Let’s make America great again,

restore the proper order.

Let’s keep those undesirables

on their side of the border.

Let’s make America great again,

bring back the holocaust.

The hanging trees are yearning for

the fruit that they have lost.

I will not stand for this,

This living in the past.

It's not "make America great again."

It's make her great at last.

I will not stand for this.

Take a knee, America.

We should not stand for this.

© 2017 Carolyn Chatham Used by Permission

In The Commander-in-Chief Eats Cake, she makes her opinion of the current resident of the White House clear.

The Commander-in-Chief Eats Cake

The Commander-in-Chief eats cake and smacks his lips, commenting how great it is

from his Mar-Lago resort.

The dark chocolate and orange skin are Halloweenish,

a rotten pumpkin shell.

He shovels dark icing

down a pink throat between sniffs.

His pudgy fingers and reptilian tongue lick brown goop from his too small mouth

centered obscenely on his bloated tangerine face.

While he gorges on cake,

bombs level mountains in Afghanistan,

vaporizing people he has never met or talked with,

whose names he cannot pronounce.

People who may or may not have been terrorists.

People whose children, wives, nieces and nephews are now most certainly terrorists.

Unconcerned for life unlike his own,

he licks his fingers

and announces the “Mother of All Bombs”

has been dropped on Iraq.

Or was it Syria?

Or maybe Afghanistan?

Anyway, it was one of those countries

where he doesn’t have a hotel

and where the people aren’t pink and orange like him

and nobody is asking about his ties to Russia today.

He is a spectacle, an alien thing, surely not human.

He belongs in a side show or science laboratory,

an alien life-form to be studied

then sent back to its cell,

and safely locked away.

© 2017 Carolyn Chatham Used by Permission

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.

I Love Congressman Al Green

By Faith Chatham - May 26, 2017

During the past few years, I've had numerous occasions to "cross paths" with Congressional incumbents from Texas.  One stands out. Congressman Al Green won me over several years ago by being exceptionally gracious. I appreciated how easy it seems for him to extend himself  for other people. I've seen him encourage other candidates who are running for Congress. I've seen him step forward to put in a word to help others get podium time, even if their war chests were light and their name recognition a "work in progress." Once a challenger becomes our party's nominee, you'd think that incumbents would do what they could to help them defeat obnoxious GOP incumbents. However, I find that is not the norm. Most incumbent ignore challengers, even after they win their primaries. I've never seen Congressman Al Green snub a challenger. I appreciate that enormously.

I have always found Congressman Al Green to be exceptionally gracious, very intelligent, and solid through and through.  When I look at how members of Congress vote, I'm never surprised by Al Green's voting record. He is consistent. He's for Civil Rights, Human Rights, good affordable education, people having good health care, children and old people not going hungry, and good jobs for everyone and everyone getting paid good living wages in safe workplaces.

He doesn't seem to be a man who waste a lot of time with pretense. It is not necessary for him to spend a lot of time "forging a message." He is driven by a sincere desire to see people being treated fairly in business, in the courts, in the voting booth, in the community, in our schools. When it comes to gender discrimination and racial discrimination, whether in the workplace, education, pay, housing, or governmental contracts, I know how he'll vote. He always votes against it!

Al Green is truly passionate about policies which help people get and achieve what they need and deserve. He doesn't  have to think a lot about how what he says will sound. Instead he concentrates on how to get the job done. Instead of "forging a message", he practices doing everything he can consistently to further what is beneficial for the human beings in his district and across the Lone Star State and United States of America.

He's not a person who blows off his mouth to capture the news cycle. This past week, however, he emerged onto the national stage when he stepped forward and officially called for Impeachment Proceedings to begin in the House of Representative in examining the actions of President Donald Trump.  Others have discussed it. Others have tweeted about it. Others have posted videos about it. Congressman Green officially moved to get the Impeachment Process started.

When Congressman Green had seen enough. when he'd heard enough, when he knew enough,  he did not wait for others to discuss it for many more months. Instead, he stepped forward and called for the Impeachment against Donald Trump to begin, and he called for it to begin right now.

I am convinced that he isn't doing this to tear this nation down. He isn't doing this for partisan purposes. He has taken this action because he knows enough to realize that there is ample evidence to suggest keeping Donald Trump in the Oval Office is places our nation and her people in danger, and there are ample grounds for removing him for office. He knows that intelligence is being shared with governments which are adversaries, rather than close allies sharing our interests. Al Green understands the Constitution of the United States and he sees ample constitutional grounds for impeachment.

Some of the more violent supporters of Donald Trump have stepped forward showing the dark underbelly of racial rhetoric. His action has made him a target for hatred. His life is being threatened. The ugliness Donald Trump encouraged during the primary and general election validated some of the baser instincts in a segment of the American population. Congressman Green is receiving the full force of their wrath.

As for me, I am reminded that long before he stepped forward and called for the impeachment of a man I never thought should occupy the Oval Office, I already knew that "I love Al Green!"

In my estimation, of the people who occupy seats in the US Congress, Congressman Al Green is definitely among the creme of the crop. He is consistent. He never falters when it comes to the rights of people, the priorities which address needs of the people rather than feathering the nest of the large donors and members of Congress. He values the Constitution of the United States. He fights for justice for every person. He doesn't back down when he knows something is right. He doesn't pay lip service and lend support to those who harm vulnerable people or foster hatred, facism, or racism. He does not shy away from standing up and speaking up for what is right, and just and true and necessary, even when others remain silent. He respects people. When you respect people rather than power and money, your motivation differs from those who are motivated by their own ambition or for their own self advancement or profit.

I am thankful that Congressman Al Green, a man who doesn't normally seek the spotlight, emerges as a voice coming from the Lone Star State. I habitually monitor how the members of Congress from the Texas vote. I monitor what they say. Much of the time, most of the members, disappoint rather than inspire me, with their votes and their positions.  I suspect that until this past week, many people in the USA had never heard of him. Many from Texas, unless they are from the Houston area,  probably never heard of him. We have 22 media markets in Texas and do not hear a lot about most members of Congress from other parts of the state. It is good that people all over this nation heard from Al Green this week. It's much better to hear from Al Green than from Ted Cruz or Louie Gohmert!

My wish is that someday more people will associatae Al Green and his code of integrity with the Lone Star State instead of the antics of blowhards like Ted Cruz, Louie Gohmert, Rick Perry  and Joe Barton.

Al Green reflects the values of the state I grew up in much more than the selfish, stingy immoral, so called "moral majority" Freedom Caucus.

The Texas that I grew up in is where neighbors lend a hand up to neighbors and strangers when we know they need it. Seeing that value trashed is heartbreaking.

Instead of the "we can do it together" attitude, there is a cancer of faux religiousity which calls for more to be hungry, less to have health care, separating parents from children in the name of national security even when the parents have not broken any laws except for coming here, fewer to afford good education and job training, and for women to work for less pay than men who do the same jobs. A culture of discrimination and intimidation instead of justice and keeping the peace erodes our communities. Many in the Texas Legislature and US Congress favor policies which validate the worst instincts of some of our citizens. Al Green fights against such policies. He is a consistent voice speaking up for equality, fairness, justice, opportunity. My dad would say that what Congressman Green says and proposes is just plain old "common sense" or good old Texas style "horse sense." It makes such sense that it is amazing that so many people fail to comprehend the wisdom and necessity for creating a nation where our policies enable more people to succeed economically instead of making it harder for them!

If thinking about what is going on in Washington depresses you, then I recommend that you start following Congressman Al Green. It will show you that we still have some "good eggs" who aren't spoiled and worthless in the House of Representative. If you need to regain a little faith that Texas can send good people to Congress, then start watching Al Green. You'll see that  some of them still persist in doing what they were sent to Washington to do -- fight for policies which preserve the Constitution, are just to everyone, and which uses the treasury and powers of this nation for all of the people!  If you are tired of those who hog the  limelight and who knock others out of the way to get to onto the front row for photo ops, watch Al Green.  You'll probaby have to google a bit to find mention of him because he is  a man who focuses on getting the job  done for the people instead of posing for photo ops and pulling stunts to grab the news cycle.  I find that exceptionally refreshing. This old Texas gal is comforted to know that Texans have Rep. Al Green in the U.S. House of Representatives. I think the more you get to know him, you'll grow comforted knowing that he's in Congress. He's a man who instead of thumping the Bible and posturing as a "Christian", puts into practices some of the teachings we learned in Sunday School: "care for the orphans and windows," "extend hospitality to strangers", "heal the sick", "do not oppress the poor", "feed the hungry."