The Best of Times and the Best of Times

Finding a pot of gold .. .. Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by Trebor Snillor
I’m shocked that my 3-day July 4th weekend is almost over. The sky was overcast most of the 3 days and rain was threatened but never delivered. This is our summer of weirdness with cloudy skies and temps about 10 degrees below normal. I think for the sake of consistency we should return to blue skies and 100+ degree temperatures.

LAST WEEK OF JUNE

The last week of June is one that will live in infamy with staunch conservatives. The confederate flag took a hit for being (possibly) a symbol of racism. And then Obamacare and same-sex marriage were upheld by the Supreme Court. Adding to the overall excitement, Donald Trump implied with a broad brush that Mexicans are rapists and drug dealers. As it stands, the Hispanic Voter’s alliance has requested clarification from the GOP Chairman as well as other candidates to see if they all feel the same way. We know that Ted Cruz has chimed in as agreeing with Trump.

When blacks were integrated into white school districts 60 years ago, it released the furies of white southern indignation. Eisenhower had to send the National Guard so a little girl could attend school in Little Rock. Governor George Wallace tried to physically block a school entrance being approached by black students. The times were changing but the guardians of Southern status quo could not cope or concede.

I’ve sensed a similar vibe with Attorney General Ken Paxton and Governor Greg Abbott here in Texas of 2015. They would like to take arms against the onslaught of same-sex marriage and Obamacare. The "Sound and Fury" will proceed as it did before. Racism didn't end with judicial progress -- neither will homophobia or health care scare tactics.

OBAMACARE

I have a particular nit to pick about Obamacare. Given this situation – an 8 year old girl is diagnosed with a form of leukemia that is treatable but only with expensive, state-of-the-art medical equipment and drugs. It shouldn’t matter if the little girl is white and from University Park or black and from Oak Cliff. Even a “Rockefeller” Republican will concede that an uninsured girl should still get tax-funded treatment at a state-affiliated hospital.

Aye but there’s the rub. When we make it distant, vague and lacking specifics, Republicans have a smug certitude (based on history) that the girl at the county hospital will actually be given third-rate care. She may die in the waiting room with a four hour wait. She may finally see a less well-compensated, overbooked doctor who misdiagnoses her condition. Another doctor at the same hospital might despairingly give inadequate service knowing that expensive treatments are off-limits.

The “horrific” thing that Obamacare does is take vagueness out of the equation. The Oak Cliff girl will now have insurance that mandates an appointment with a “good” doctor in a non-emergency setting. No county hospital needed. If she needs $100K in high tech imaging, Blue Cross will pay for that as they would for any paying customer.

Part of giving people their dignity is telling them that their lives matter. Surviving leukemia shouldn’t be something that goes to the highest bidder like oil paintings at a Sotheby’s auction.

Symbols of racism coming down, gay people marrying and everyone getting quality medical care – what’s the world coming to?? Next we’ll have medical marijuana and animal rights. Conservatives everywhere – take a cue from Rush Limbaugh and find your OxyContin pain pills.

© 2015 Snillor Productions