Texas Ground Report: What do people in the Lone Star State think of Obamacare and our illustrious current president?
Dear HillBuzz,
So, had to go down to Humble {silent ‘H’, pronounced “Umble”}, TX, today, running errands.
My karma must be in the positive zone – I locked the keys in the FodGuy’s go-to-work car, and the couple who parked beside me when I realized it had AAA – they called and said ‘they’ were locked out, so AAA came in one of their CUTE little roadside service vans & popped the lock, no muss, no fuss. Of course, the lady who’d called them & I had held quite a conversation at that point 
.
She works in medical records for an absolutely MASSIVE hospital system here – she’s one of those unsung admin types in hospitals, who try to ensure that the proper papers go in each record. But, HEY! Under Øbamacare, within 10 years, it’s all supposed to be ‘paperless’ – our medical histories will be available via “secured” nets {we all know how well THAT works – Pentagon/NSA/CIA hacking, anyone?} or on CDs {which I really don’t mind, as long as *I* am given a copy of everything, whether via thumbdrive or whatever, to incorporate into MY OWN copies of my records}. Like our pharmacist, she sees the days of what Americans have enjoyed re: healthcare as being things of the past.
Our pharmacist, Mr. M****, when I asked him how Øbamacare would affect his business, said he wouldn’t HAVE a business; he’d either have to accept whatever miserly stipends the government offered, or quit. Now, he’s in his 60′s, so retirement isn’t too far off, but he LIKES his work – he’s old-school, remembers how to “compound” medications, and just an absolute doll of a man. {The Progeny was ill last week, & when I asked if she needed anything from the store, she said “Mr. M**** – HE can make me feel better.”} He treats us customers more as friends & patients than $$$, and will ALWAYS take the time to answer questions. He fired an assistant, because the man was rude to several of us, and was stealing meds out of bottles, so integrity is a big part of his charm. And THAT is the type of professional Øbama will put out of business, so Teh Won’s automatons can enforce the red tape/bureaucracy.
Had to go by Best Buy to return something, and a lady was walking in, in a really NICE, lightweight summer dress – I asked her where she got it, we got to talking – she’s a black lady, raised 6 children, recently remarried, told me how she & her new hubby had 5 acres & a nice house ~ 9 miles north of us – VERY eloquent lady, VERY independent, none of the attitude that anyone ‘owes’ her anything. They’re going on an Alaska cruise, her & hubby – we were chattering like magpies, so I didn’t ask if she was going to look up Sarah Palin . She & her husband view life thusly – they have worked, they have raised their children, now it’s time for THEM – they have the financial wherewithal to do WHAT they want, so they are by-God going to DO it. They help those in need {very family & church oriented}, but are sufficiently self-aware of THEIR needs, and are willing to open themselves to new experiences. In other words, the ultimate NOT-an-Øbot. We didn’t get a chance to talk TOO much, and she MAY relate to Teh Won on the most superficial of levels, but I just don’t see either her or her husband {by the manner in which she spoke of him} as being overly concerned as to whether or not Øbama is re-elected – since they’re not ‘on the plantation’, THEIR identity is sufficiently healthy that they don’t need the vicarious thrill of another 4 years.
Maybe that’s an approach, Kevin – the vicarious thrill factor {similar to Chris Matthews’ leg-tingle-thrill issues} – as in, do you REALLY want another 4 years of this incompetence, just to have some kind of sense of ‘investiture’ in the political process?
That’s about it for now – the Sharia thing I’m working on won’t be ready before the 10th; I have to get with my folks for the discussion, sometime ~ the 9th.
Semper Fi’
DM
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What are people talking about in your part of the country?
What do your friends and neighbors think of Obama and Obamacare?
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© 2011, Kevin DuJan. All rights reserved.
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Good piece. Enjoyed reading it.
I’m in rural Southeast Texas.
I have small conversations with people at random, when I’m out and about. My neighbors? They just don’t like to talk politics. Nor does my family much, only to grumble about things they don’t like.
However, I can safely say, that a good amount of people I have contact with, are not looking forward to it, and want repeal should we get control of the WH, and Senate.
Everyone I think is so scared, that openly talking about it, will make it worse. It probably could. Because I really don’t think we’ve scratched the surface of what’s in this crappy law.
Hate them both. Period.
First let me say welcome to the greater Houston area, it's a great place to live and work. As to your question people down here hate them both. Oh you have some areas that are liberal, even a great city like Houston has it's rats, but most down here are very hard working, look how fast we recovered from Ike, and realize that Barry is out to take our hard earned money away.
I work in the construction industry down here and to a man they hate him because lot of them can easily pull down 80-100k and that means their taxes are through the roof. Even most blacks in construction hate him because they feel he's never had to work hard like they have and they are sick of him telling them that they are basically to stupid to realize that they need him when in their book, and they are right, he's needs them a hell of a lot more.
So basically the Lone Star state is as close to a conservative Heaven as can be achieved on earth. Though sorry to tell you but if it comes down to Palin vs Perry, which I don't think it will because I think Palin will wait a few more years before making a prez. run, Texas will support Perry. Don't let people that say Texas hates Perry fool you. The man has never lost an election and the last one he beat Bill White, former mayor of Houston, like a drum even in Houston.
Hey, Dustin, what part of Houston are you in? We live north of Porter, but the FodGuy works over off of 290 & Telge. Our {kind of} son-in-law is an apprentice plumber, working all over the Houston metro area. {Work with me here – I'm trying to get Kevin, Justin, Panda, Joaquin & Sebastian to move down here – AWAY from the Stinking Onion's winters/draconian gun laws/overall corruption/etc.
They don't have to live in the city – there's The Woodlands, Cypress-Fairbanks, or if they prefer rural, there's Splendora, Cleveland, Cut-&-Shoot, etc. I know of a REALLY NICE property (the house – 5 bedroom, 3.5 baths, needs work) with 6 acres (1 barn need replacing, garage/barn has an apartment), that they could buy for a little less than one-fifth what Øbama's place in Chicago (with LESS than a quarter acre????) is listed for. }
Never could stand Bill White – throughout his tenure, I referred to him as "Mayor Witless", with his 'Safe/Clear' monstrosity {for those unfamiliar, if your vehicle breaks down in Houston city limits (?) Harris County (?), you DO NOT have the right to refuse to be towed, and a LOT of the tow truck drivers had rather concerning criminal backgrounds, ie, assault/rape/etc.}, installation of the red-light cameras, and his daughter's "pass" on underage drunk driving. Annise Parker seems to be trying to do her best, but between the city council & federal regulations, she's kind of between a rock & a hard place.
I'm not crazy about Rick Perry {I'm tired of "sin taxes" going up every time I turn around – I rarely drink, DON'T take drugs for recreational purposes, and my only "vice" is smoking cigarettes – I don't appreciate having to spend ever-more dollars on this ONE thing to subsidize illegals' anchor babies, under SCHIP}, but I'm about at the point of declaring "ANYBODY *B*U*T* ØBAMA!!"
Semper Fi'
DM
{Continued}
Øbama has NEVER "worked" as the rest of America, particularly a lot of black Americans, recognize the term. I seriously doubt Teh Won has ever worked a job, day after day, out in the elements {which here in Houston can be BRUTAL in the summer}, or where he was required to use muscles other than those utilized while playing golf {if there ARE any} or basketball. I wonder if he even has a clue how to use a hammer/screwdriver/drill/pliers/vises/shovel/hoe/etc., much less a forklift/bulldozer/ditch witch. He has no concept, other than at an intellectual remove, of the black American experience. I've a friend I haven't seen in a while – Junior is a drop-dead GORGEOUS black man, flirtatious as all get out, in his mid-40's, who makes custom cabinetry – when we DO see each other, we hug, as do his uncle & me {got to know Junior and his uncle fairly well when I was briefly working at a convenience store/feed store – it's a "Texas thang"
}. Now, Junior's uncle & his dad both grew up in the turmoil of the civil rights era, but NEITHER ONE claims 'victim status' – they are both still hard workers {even in their late 60's}, who raised their sons to be hard workers. Uncle wasn't overly excited when Teh Won was elected, but he DID request that folks give him a chance, which was totally fair – but he wasn't too enamored of Øbama the last time we spoke, almost 2 years ago. This is a man who has had at least one stroke – his left arm is just about useless, yet he STILL goes out everyday to clear land/cut down trees & haul them to the lumber yards. Uncle's son will kibbitz about "it's 'cause I'm black, right?", but there is NO malice in his manner.
We know VERY well what you mean re: earnings & federal taxes – he makes good money, but it ISN'T keeping up with inflation/gas prices – we've always had decent health insurance through the FodGuy's company, but OUR share keeps going up & up
– we're now paying ~ $400.00/month just for our health insurance, not factoring in the physician visit & Rx co-pays. I had FINALLY gotten him into the doctor in late March {I was worried about diabetes, as I was smelling ketones, which I remembered from my Dad's diagnosis} – he goes back to the exam room, doctor calls ME back, says either I take him to the ER or they were calling an ambulance – he was in atrial fibrillation {heart rate was 180}, which we knew he had, but didn't realize it was acting up – he's admitted to cardiac ICU, undergoes a cardiac cath {NO blockages}, and is discharged after just over a week, on a BUNCH of meds, one of which is Coumadin. Neither one of us was impressed with the cardiologist the hospital assigned, so I made his follow-up with one that we'd heard good things about. His first appointment with the new cardio was on a Monday, 10 days post-discharge; the Friday before, he texted me, asking what would turn his urine brown? I responded "Blood" – by Monday, he was passing candy-apple red. We go into the cardio, tell him, HE wants to see for himself, FG provides a sample, & new cardio IMMEDIATELY sends us to the ER at HIS hospital. FG is admitted {AGAIN}, goes through de-tox of Coumadin {he almost lost his left kidney}, another week passes, he's discharged, put on a new med {replacement for Coumadin – I can't emphasize enough to HillBuzzers – if you or someone you know is having issues with Coumadin, TELL YOUR DOCTOR YOU WANT TO TRY PRADAXA – it's 2 pills/day, and it's expensive (insurance companies may give some grief), but there aren't the dietary restrictions, the weekly blood level evaluations, or too much of ANY of the problems that Coumadin can cause} – I had to call the insurance company and put it to them THIS way – "He CAN'T take Coumadin, unless YOU want to pay $30,000.00+ every month or six weeks, when he starts bleeding internally, and you WILL eventually have to pay for a kidney transplant – OR, you can suck it up, pay YOUR portion of the $540.00/month it costs, we'll pay OUR portion {$70.00/month/60 capsules}, and my husband stays healthy – YOUR choice." When I explained it in my dulcet tones, they agreed {eyelashes batting} 
.
Semper Fi'
DM
Oh, people out and about are beginning to see what bills of goods they were sold from both sides. Yesterday, someone who I would suppose identifies as a D said something to the effect of: oh, we can just print more money to get out of this – as sarcastically as possible, she said it…indicating she isn't so thrilled with the policies we are seeing.
Not that Ds and Rs didn't do it, it's just so blatant these days.
I was talking to a friend at a recent birthday party event and come to find out she had worked for the Canadian Health System while her husband worked in the mining industry in British Columbia. Talk about horror stories of the "system" that is supposedly so wonderful! She is a lab technician and she told me that there were a whole two (2) people that worked in the lab of the largest hospital in BC. She stated that even though she and her co-worker did their best at all times, many times they were so tired and back-logged that the result "may not always" have been accurate. She got so guilt-ridden over that fact that she quit. She also stated that that is exactly what will happen with O-Care. Great future we have to look forward to, huh?
I have a few friends in Canada, and a few love their health care system, but others say…the key to getting great health care in Canada is…..don’t get sick.
None of them have had to endure any serious health issues as of yet. God forbid. But I’m sure the complaints will come in, when they do.