Why We Need Anti-Discrimination Laws

At Southeastern Oklahoma State University a professor was denied tenure and was fired not because of her ability to teach but because of who she is.

Transgender professor denied tenure, terminated
Daily O'Collegian
By Kim Dyer-Fischer
Opinion Columnist
Published: Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Updated: Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Despite the complete support of her colleagues and direct superiors within Southeastern Oklahoma State University's English, humanities and language department, Rachel Tudor, a professor of American and Native American literature, modernity and theory, humanities, composition and philosophy, has been denied tenure and informed that her employment will be terminated as of the end of this spring semester.

According to Claire Potter, a professor of American studies and history at Wesleyan University, Tudor has an amazing record as a scholar, teacher and colleague at the university and has been highly recommended by the tenure review committee. However, the dean and vice president of academic affairs deem Tudor's "lifestyle" inappropriate, so they have taken actions to make sure Tudor leaves.

So why is she being fired? It is because she is transgender. The Faculty Senate voted to give her tenure but was overturned by the interim vice president for academic affairs, Doug McMillan. He overturned the Faculty Senate recommendation even though he was required to follow their recommendation unless there was "compelling reason" or that "exceptional circumstances". The article goes on to state,

After her complete transition, the human resources department told Tudor she could only use the single handicap bathroom located quite a distance from her office. As a result, she could only assume that Douglas McMillan, the vice president of academic affairs, made such an outrageous request.

In the past, for instance, he had openly asserted that Tudor's lifestyle "offends his Baptist beliefs." Discrimination in the workplace is illegal, but when officials hide their true intentions in rewritten policies and administrative bullshit, such cases are hard to prove. Unfortunately, this is where Tudor finds herself.

When a person holds a government job, they must treat everyone equally regardless of their religious beliefs to do otherwise denies people of their rights to “equal protection” under the 14th Amendment.

My alma mater (I guess I can use that now even though I graduate on Saturday) does not have gender identity or expression in their diversity statement they do consider discrimination based on gender identity or expression (GIE) is protected under sex discrimination. In correspondence with the Office of Diversity and Equality (ODE) I tried to have GIE added to the diversity statement. They did acknowledge that GIE was covered under sex discrimination and that discrimination complaints could be brought under sex discrimination. However, I pointed out that they should be proactive and incorporate GIE in their policy.

So What Have I Been Doing The Last Couple Of Days

Today today I finally had a chance to rest and to read something that is not on a syllabus. To quote Alice Cooper…

No more pencils
No more books
No more teacher's dirty looks

Well we got no class
And we got no principles
And we got no innocence
We can't even think of a word that rhymes

Tuesday was my last day of class, I turned in my Capstone paper, my last homework assignment.

Thursday, I went to the Capitol for the Equality Day to lobby for HB6599 An Act Concerning Discrimination (If you live in Connecticut please help us pass the bill, you can find out more about the bill here and to find you legislator visit the Vote Smart). I was there to help out and to talk to my legislators, I had a an appointment to visit my Representative and he told me that he was 95% in favor of the bill, but he wanted to read the bill first before committing to vote for it. He said he had giving it a quick glance and he saw nothing that he would be against. That night I had a conference call with the planning committee for the Trans Health and Law conference, to make sure everything was a “Go” for the conference on Saturday.

On Friday, I went to a professional conference where I gave my first workshop to my peers. I only went to one workshop, it was the only Macro workshop, all the others were Micro (A little bit of background, the social worker’s world is divided into two subdivisions, Micro – i.e. the individual and groups, etc. and Macro – i.e. institutions, governments, communities, etc.) and the macro workshop was given by my former professor. My workshop was the last session of the day and I had 18 people sign-up and around 14-15 people show up. The workshop shop description said that…

Working with Transgender Clients
1.5 CECs/. 1 CEUs
The same concern is heard repeatedly—transgender people are afraid to be honest with their therapist because they fear the therapist will not understand what they are going through. This workshop will provide “Trans 101”, an introduction to the vocabulary and definitions used by the trans community.
Topics to be discussed include how gender identity and sexual orientation are separate and independent entities; how gender identity and sexual orientation are similar in some ways and quite different in other ways; how the transition impacts the client and their family; and how society andthe government have built barriers against the transgender community. Both micro and macro issues will be discussed and questions are invited.

and in the beginning of the workshop I said that the goal of the workshop was to create a cultural understanding of what a transgender client will face. There were a number of questions during the workshop about clients and I answered that I was not comfortable in answering those type of question since my background was Macro not Micro, but I answered then as best that I could. When I got into the discussion of macro issues two people got up and left. After the workshop, I quickly glanced at the workshop evaluation forms, most of them rated me a 5 or 4, except for two. They rated me a 3 and added a comment, “TOO MUCH MACRO”. When I read that my thoughts were… I hope I will never be one of their clients. If they thought that they only needed to know about how being trans affects the client and family, and not how society treats them, they are so wrong. I would hate to be their clients on come in for a therapy session after being fired because the Social Security administration sent a “No Match” letter to their boss which “Outed” them. They need to take a holistic approach to the treatment of their client, they cannot say to their client, “that’s tough, but I only treat the micro aspects of your transition.” You also have to realize that the Code of Ethics requires you to be culture competent, that you have to have an understanding of the community that you are working with these two do not. [End of Rant]

Once I finished the workshop, I rushed home and changed into my cocktail dress for the “Night to Remember” at school, it was kind of like a prom, but it was only for students. I usually don’t dance, but I was dancing that night. They played all young people song, a couple of weeks earlier they sent around a list to put down the songs that we want that night and I listed songs like “Devil in a red dress” and Santana. However, they did play any of them. I probably will not see them again after graduation and I many friends both classmates and staff that I will miss. There were lots of tears and hugs all around and I cried on the way home. Just as I am doing now just writing this.

Then Saturday was the Trans Health and Law conference which I have been on the planning committee since September, so I was there at 7:30AM to help out. I gave two workshops, one with my former professor and the other one with a friend. Both had very good turnout. The first workshop was with my professor who did my Independent Studies class and the workshop was on Working with Gender Variant Clients and it was packed. This workshop unlike my workshop the day before did cover therapy because my professor is a LCSW. I took a sneak peek at the workshops evaluations and they were all good. The other workshop was on the pilot research study that we did on the transgender population in the greater Hartford area.

Today, I goofed off and stayed in my nightgown until the afternoon.

Tomorrow, I have a Safe Schools Coalition meeting in the afternoon with the CT Dept. of Ed. and Tuesday I am going down to Southern Connecticut State University to do an Outreach.

The photo was taken by a friend and classmate, Shiri.

Saturday 9: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

Crazy Sam’s Saturday 9: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?




1. Have you ever been in a situation with a lover where you did not know what tomorrow would bring?
Nope, can’t that I have.

2. What worries you most today?
What the economy will if the Republicans do not pass the debit ceiling bill

3. Could I tell if you were lying to me?
No, I am very good at telling little white lies

4. What do you miss most about the 80s?
Being in my 30’s

5. What's going on that you can't understand?
Why we are in Libya

6. How would I know if you liked me?
I’ll tell you

7. If you ever won an award, what would you want it to be for?
I won a couple of awards for my community activism

8. What would we be surprised to know that you've done?
I’m not saying, you want to get me into trouble.

9. What’s the most exotic mixed drink you remember trying? Did you enjoy it?
Rum and coke or a Cape Coder… I not into fancy drinks

Friday Fill-ins

Janet’s Friday Fill-ins
http://fridayfillins.blogspot.com/



1. I love to _just day dream_.

2. _A hug_ and a smile.

3. It's how you _relax that makes all the difference_.

4. _How you did it_ don't tell me!

5. Well, would you _do it for a million dollars_.

6. _In my backyard, I can hear the_ spring peepers.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _going to the graduation prom_, tomorrow my plans include _helping out at the Trans Health & Law conference__ and Sunday, I want to _relax and savory the fact that there is no more homework_!

Now I am off the National Association of Social Workers conference, where I’ll be giving my first professional workshop. I’m not nervous about giving the presentation, just that everything goes according to plan, that the video projector works, that I can get an internet connection, that…

My Story Part 75 – Getting To Be Known

There is a down side to being an activist it is that Google sees all, Google knows all.

If I ever applied for a job and they did a quick search of Google there will be two facts that emerge from the search. One that I am trans and the other is that I am an activist. There is no hiding my past.

I attended a Campaign School a couple of weeks back and the woman who gave Friday’s presentation talked about having any internet baggage to worry about if you ran for office. My answer was yes, I have tons of it. I was at a meeting one day when a man came up to me and said to me, that he was so amazed with my story of my transition. It turned out he read my interview with the Gay and Lesbian chamber of commerce, the Connecticut Alliance for Business Opportunities.

I was at the deli counter at my local supermarket and the woman who waited on me said that she saw me on television. She saw the interview that I gave on WTNH news. A journalist student saw the interview and she was able to track down my email address and request an interview for a capstone paper that she was writing for class.

The moral to this story is, if you are going to be active in anything, guard you name and who you tell it to, because in this age of the internet you will lose your privacy. One of the things about this blog, you will never find my last name anywhere on it and if someone wants to contact me, I give them my cell number because it does not have my caller ID and my last name displayed.

Will Nevada Become The Fourteenth State To Pass A Gender Inclusive Anti-Discrimination Law

The gender inclusive Anti-Discrimination law passed the Senate in Nevada and moves on to the Assembly next.

Nevada Senate approves two LGBT protections bills, rejects a third
LGBTQ Nation
Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Nevada Senate on Monday approved two bills that would prohibit discrimination against gays and transgender individuals in housing and public accommodations, but rejected a third bill that would have added gender identity and expression to Nevada’s hate crimes law.
[…]
The other two measures, however, were approved: SB331 prohibits discrimination against gays and transsexuals in places of public accommodation including hotels, motels and restaurants, and SB368 prohibits discrimination in housing and other real property transactions.

I am disappointed in that they didn’t pass the hate crime law, especially in light of the beating that the trans-woman received in the McDoanld’s outside of Baltimore.

Some people argue that there should be no special crime for hate, that an assault is an assault. But I’ll argue that it is based on motive and we take into account motive on other crimes. Murder, has different degrees based on motive. If you push someone during an argument and they fall over and die, that is one type of murder. In a fight, you grab a broken beer bottle and kill someone, that is a second type of murder. If in a fight you go out to your car and get a gun, come back inside and shot a person, that is the strongest type of murder. So it is based on your motive, the first case you had no intent on killing a person, the second case you should have known your actions could result in death and the last case was premeditated. The same is true of a hate crime, an assault is not just an assault if the motive is bias or hatred, then and only then does it becomes a hate crime. A person can beat up a trans-woman and it is not a hate crime, (i.e. a mugger beats up a trans-woman to rob her, which is not a hate crime). However, what happened down in Baltimore was a hate crime because in the video you can hear the woman use sexual slurs while she is beating up on the trans-woman.

We Sometimes Forget About Trans-People In Other Countries

I have been part of a team that has been working on a research project to survey the trans-population in the greater Hartford area, but some of my team members and friends travel around the world. They work on surveys that study AIDS/HIV in far off places like India, Kenya, South Africa, and China and sometimes they are working with the local transgender community.

One of them sent us this BBC article on the trans-people of Pakistan…

Pakistan transgenders pin hopes on new rights
BBC
April 25, 2011

There has been little opposition to the decision by Pakistan's Supreme Court to allow a third gender category, apart from male or female, on the national identity card. The BBC's Aleem Maqbool meets transgendered people in Karachi buoyed by the ruling, but sceptical about whether it can really end the isolation they face

In the back streets, in a squalid neighbourhood of Pakistan's largest city, is a tiny, shabby apartment.

It is where we find "Shehzadi" getting ready for work.

Wearing a bright yellow dress, and scrabbling around her make-up box, she is doing her best to cover up her decidedly masculine features.

Shehzadi is transgendered: physically male, but psychologically female.
[…]
The reasons for a relative lack of opposition are complex. Despite the discrimination they face, transgenders have long been accepted as part of the fabric of Pakistani society.

Throughout the Indian sub-continent they have occupied a unique position since the era of the Mughal empire in the 16th Century, when they were given special roles in the royal court.
[…]
But Pakistan's Supreme Court now says that transgenders should also be allocated a certain number of government jobs.

It specifically recommended they be appointed as tax collectors to utilise their "special skills".

So what are these “special skills”?

"We tell them to pay up, but there are some who don't, so we stand on their doorstep and give them trouble and make a spectacle. Then to stop us attracting attention, they pay. I love the job, life's going well!"

It is not a job that I would want, but… it is another culture and we cannot not impose our western bias on them. For them this is a job that brings in a regular pay check and having a pay check might be something that the majority of Pakistani might not have. Therefore, having a pay check might elevate them up in social standings. What are the alternatives for them? Would they be a street worker if they didn’t have this job?

"Getting jobs and ID cards is great, but when I die, I know the community will have a party, spend all my money, and then it will be as if Shehzadi never walked on this earth."

"That will always be the reality of our life."

Sometimes It Seems Like We Are Tilting Windmills

This has been a bad weekend for transgender issue. Sometimes it seems like hate is winning, that for every step forward we take three backwards.

Friday there was the brutal beating at McDonald’s where a trans-woman was beating until she went into a seizure.

Then on Sunday there was an Opinion piece in the Hartford Courant from the organization that is fighting against our bill. I was surprised that the Hartford Courant printed an opinion like that without any proof of what the author wrote. I would have expected something like that from the ultra-right wing New Hampshire Union Leader.

I leave you with this YouTube video of “In The Life” from PBS…

I’m With Family Today – Update

I got home around five and I finished my last paper for school just now. I was up at my brother and sister-in-law’s condo in southern Maine and I left to come home at 2. My original plans were to get up there around 5 on Friday and finish the paper then, while they, my niece and her son were down in Boston on Friday walking the Freedom Trail.… However, my 3 hour drive took 5 ½ hours. First there was a 2 mile backup to get over the Charter Oak Bridge, then there was an accident on the Mass turnpike at the rest area where you get on the Pike in Sturbridge, then there was another accident on I-495 in Lowell and then I-495 was shut down for 90 minutes just outside of Haverhill. So I got to the condo just had supper and collapsed until my brother and crew go home.

I managed to squeak in sometime to work on the paper, but most of the time it wasn’t conducive to doing homework. Too many distractions.

I Am With Family Today

Please remember all those who are not with their family for whatever reason.

Saturday Six 367

Patrick’s Place Saturday Six 367

1. Do you still have your tonsils? If not, how old were you when it was removed?
Yup

2. Do you still have your appendix? If not, how old were you when it was removed?
Yup

3. Do you still have your wisdom teeth? If not, how old were you when they were removed?
Nope, I was in my late teens, early twenties. However, my brother, who is older than me, just had his taken out

4. What’s the worst injury you remember receiving, and how old were you when it happened?
Breaking my arm when I was a toddler.

5. Have you ever had to have surgery for any reason? Was the recovery worse than you expected, better or just as you expected?
Nope.

6. If technology progressed to the point that you could literally change any one thing about yourself and money weren’t an object, what change would you make?
My voice, I would like to sound more feminine.

Saturday 9: Sex as a Weapon

Crazy Sam's Saturday 9: Sex as a Weapon



1. Have you or a significant other ever used sex as a weapon?
No.

2. Tell us about the worst date you ever went on.
You mean the date that told me that she had to babysit and cancelled our date and I saw her later at McDonald’s with a high school football player.

3. If you were a god/goddess who would you be?
Diana, the Greek goddess

4. What crime from history fascinates you the most?
None.

5. Give us one random, but candid fact about you.
I can wiggle my nose and ears at the same time.

6. Who or what makes you laugh until you're weak?
This comedian had a skit about when he thought it would be a good idea to wax his body. He had me rolling on the floor laughing, because I been there done that and it HURTS like crazy

7. What is the most exciting adventure you’ve ever been part of?
Life.

8. Among the people you know, who would you choose to be able to read all your thoughts?
No one that are my thoughts and I want to keep it that way.

9. How old were you when you realized that other people's families live totally differently from yours?
When I was 58, I realized that everyone was different. Now really Sam, how are we going to remember something like that.

This Is Sick… We Have To Stop The Hate

In Baltimore a trans-woman was beating at a McDonald’s as she left the bathroom. This is the third attack of a trans-woman at McDonald restaurants, the others were in New York and Memphis.

Baltimore County McDonald's beating video goes viral
One woman has been arrested in attack that's drawn hundreds of thousands of views
By Justin Fenton
The Baltimore Sun
April 22, 2011

A video of a vicious beating at a Baltimore County McDonald's restaurant went viral Friday, garnering hundreds of thousands of views on websites and prompting the fast-food giant to issue a statement condemning the incident.

The video shows two women — one of them a 14-year-old girl — repeatedly kicking and punching the 22-year-old victim in the head, as an employee of the Rosedale restaurant and a patron try to intervene. Others can be heard laughing, and men appear to be standing idly by.

Toward the end of the video, one of the suspects lands a punishing blow to the victim's head, and she appears to have a seizure. A man's voice tells the women to run because police are coming.
[…]
An employee repeatedly tries to separate them, but the attackers continue to stomp and kick the victim's head. People yell, "Stop! Stop!" to no avail, though others can be heard laughing. An older woman at one point also attempts to pull the attackers away and is shoved.

About halfway through the three-minute clip, the attackers rip a wig off the victim and drag her by her hair to the front door. That is where the victim is sitting before a blow to the head causes an apparent seizure.

I am not going to post the video, it is way too graphic If you want to watch it, this is the link.

Friday Day Fill-ins

Janet’s Friday Day Fill-ins



1. Pardon me, _your slip is showing_. Wasn't that I title of Reader's Digest humor section?

2. _Two for one is a_ good deal.

3. I was surprised to find that I really like_Flan_.

4. _Reading_ is one of my favorite forms of entertainment.

5. Hi, my name is _Diana_ and I'm _graduating in two weeks_.

6. _Sitting by the lake is the best way to enjoy_ summer afternoons.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _being up at my brother and sister-in-law’s condo for Easter with my niece and her son_, tomorrow my plans include _having a lobster dinner_ and Sunday, I want have to _drive home_!

My Story Part 74 – The End

Yesterday was my last day at my internship at True Colors, that I started in early September and it was a teary goodbye. Even though I will see then again, I was very emotional. I will be seeing the director of the agency at the lobby day for the anti-discrimination bill, at the Trans Health and Law conference and at the Safe Schools Coalition meeting on the 2nd, I still broke down crying. I imagine that I will also be seeing the staff from time to time, but when I was saying my throat tighten up.

I don’t even want to think about graduation, I got all chocked up fill out the graduation forms, and I just hope that they have enough tissues at the graduation.

Now back to writing my Capstone paper, I want to have it finished by tonight.

I leave you with a of video about the Compton Uprising…

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs…

Yesterday, a large multination corporation here in Connecticut announced a layoff of 200 employees. Did they just do away with the jobs… no, they moved them to Singapore and Poland. Half of all the jobs that US companies created last year were overseas.

Here is something to think about, with the export of middle income jobs overseas. What will be left here in the United States? Also how can we compete with countries that pays their workers pennies a day, have no health insurance or retirement benefits. No environmental or workers protections. As the World Trade Organization pushes to remove trade protections, what will happen to us?

McDonald's Hiring Thousands of New Employees

Connecticut McDonald's Hiring 1,300

Hundreds in R.I. apply for jobs at McDonald’s hiring day event

McDonald’s Hiring Day in Marietta

Large crowd attends McDonald's hiring day event in Reno

Minimum wage jobs will not help us get out of this recession. We need to protect the manufacturing jobs.

Meanwhile, we need to look at raising to start taxing those who make over a million dollars. During the Bush administration, the Republican cut the taxes on the millionaires saying that it would stimulate the economy. During Bush administration we went from a surplus to one of the worst recession ever. Look at this graph from zFacts.com The Republicans are driving us in to becoming a debtor nation. It is time to start taxing the millionaires and billionaires.

This morning’s Hartford Courant has an editorial about raising the taxes on the millionaires verses cutting government spending…

Tax Hikes Less Of A Drain Than Spending Cuts
By Jim Stodder
The Hartford Courant
April 20, 2011

"Don't raise taxes during a recession — that's the worst thing you could do."

That's the common wisdom given to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. But the common wisdom is wrong. There is something worse — spending cuts do more harm.
[…]
But not all cuts are created equal. Low- to moderate-income people have less to spend when programs are cut. The wealthy, however, can pay taxes out of reduced savings, and leave their spending relatively stable.

A conservative estimate from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis puts the effect of Connecticut's multiplier at 1.4 for spending, and 0.4 for taxes. Now we can compare: a $1 billion cut in spending reduces total income in the state by $1.4 billion; a $1 billion rise in taxes reduces total income by just $400 million.

The comparison doesn't stop there. Both cuts and taxes lower state residents' income, and that depresses tax revenues even further. A penny saved (in program cuts) is not the same as a penny earned (in higher taxes). That penny saved winds up costing more in second-round tax losses, because it causes bigger drops in income.
[…]
Near the beginning of the current recession, Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz wrote a letter to then New York Gov. David Patterson. Referring to such analysis, Stiglitz noted, "Economic theory and historical experience give a clear and unambiguous answer: It is economically preferable to raise taxes on those with high incomes than to cut state expenditures." This letter was signed by more than 100 leading New York economists.
[…]
Conservatives see an opportunity, and are pushing for spending cuts on state and national levels. Curiously, they did not call for lower federal deficits in the previous (and much milder) recession of 2001. Congressional Republicans argued then that we needed deficit spending to boost the U.S. economy, and most Democrats agreed.

Here is my prediction, I hope I’m wrong, I see that if we continue with tax cuts for the millionaires and billionaires, cuts in government spending, and no curbs in the loss of jobs overseas, then we are going into a double dip recession and the deficit will continue to increase even with the deep budget cuts that the Republicans want.

How Would You Feel If Your Vote Didn’t Count Any More?

Well that is happening in Michigan, the governor is replacing elected office by people that he is appointing. Throwing out budgets approved by the voters, taking over the mayor office, the school system, and voiding the wishes of the voters.

Benton Harbor emergency manager strips power from all elected officials
Michigan Messenger
By Todd A. Heywood
04.15.11

The Emergency Financial Manager of the city of Benton Harbor has issued an order stripping all city boards and commissions of all their authority to take any action.

The order, signed Thursday, limits the actions available to such bodies to calling a meeting to order, approving the minutes of meetings and adjourning a meeting. The bodies are prohibited under the act from taking any other action without the express authority of the Emergency Financial Manager, Joseph Harris.

The voters no longer have a say in how their city is to be run. Instead the city will be run by an edict.

UPDATE: Tempers flare at Benton Harbor commissioners meeting
WNDU
Posted: Apr 19, 2011
Reporter: Kevin Lewis

The opinions and accusations were in full swing at Monday night’s Benton Harbor City Commissioner’s meeting.

They came following a new state law that allowed Emergency Financial Manager Joseph Harris to revoke all power from every city employee and leader.
[…]
"He’s not even an elected official and he's going to fire the mayor? How are you going to fire a mayor,” another resident questioned over Joe Harris’ newly established power.

“Adolf Hitler was a dictator. Now we have a dictator in Joseph Harris. We have allowed this man to be too comfortable in our home, in our city,” one man screamed out loud.

The Republicans and Tea Partiers rammed this state law through the legislature, they now have absolute control over all local governments. Because the way the law is written, if a local government has a deficit, the governor can appoint an Emergency Financial Manager with no oversight; he can pick anyone he chooses.

She Needs Therapy, Not To Be Charged With Murder.

A woman in Indianapolis was charged with murder when she attempted suicide. Why? Because she was pregnant and the fetus died.

Mom who ate rat poison seeks bond in baby's death
Indy Star
By Carrie Ritchie
Apr. 5, 2011

An Indianapolis woman accused of murdering her newborn baby through her own suicide attempt is asking a judge today to let her bond out of jail.
[…]
She [her attorney] said the charges are not only unwarranted, but they could prevent other troubled mothers from seeking the help they need.

"The charges are outrageous," Pence said last month. "This is an abusive prosecution."
[…]
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Women's Association and the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, among others, filed a brief in support of Shuai. They say the charges could set a dangerous precedent.

Shuai’s charges could deter other pregnant women from seeking prenatal care if they felt they could be prosecuted for mistreating their fetus, said David Orentlicher, Samuel R. Rosen professor of law at the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis and co-author of the brief.

I see this as a case of an overzealous prosecutor who has an agenda.

Are We A Third World Country When It Comes To Health Care

How many of you have heard of Doctors without Boarders?

But surely we don’t need to have anything like that here in America, the riches nation in the world!

No insurance required for many grateful smiles
Republican-American
BY Quannah Leonard
April 17, 2011

WATERBURY-- People arrived as early as 6 p.m. Friday to secure a spot on the first day of a massive, two-day free dental clinic at Wilby High School. They stayed overnight in cars, and by 5:30 a.m. Saturday, a line of 300 people deep extended from the entrance of the school, waiting for the doors to open at 6 a.m.

Evidently we do.

In the Hartford Courant…

Over 2,000 expected to attend free dental clinic
Associated Press
April 15, 2011

[…]
The Connecticut Mission of Mercy was started in 2008 by the Connecticut Foundation for Dental Outreach, the America's Dentists Care Foundation and Connecticut State Dental Association. Fourteen other states participate in similar programs.
[…]
Schreibman said about 95 percent of the patients are adults. Most have not visited a dentist in at least two years, and many have been without dental care for 10 years or more.

Here we are in Connecticut with the headquarters of many large multinational corporations like GE that didn’t pay any federal taxes. Many of people lining up for the dental care work over 40 hours a week at companies that do not offer health or dental insurance. The people here have to line up and wait overnight to get dental care like a third world country. Meanwhile the Republican and Tea Partiers look for ways to dismantle Medicare and Medicaid. Shame!

Saturday Six 366

Patrick’s Place Saturday Six 366

1. What was the last show whose cancellation really surprised you?
No, I don’t watch many television shows. So I don’t even know which shows are going to be canceled.

2. Many believe that the soap opera genre is quickly dying. Which genre do you wish would drop dead tomorrow?
Reality TV shows

3. What show do you watch most often or with the most enthusiasm each week?
The Mentalist, but I would say with enthusiasm. I also like Bones.

4. Which program that you watch regularly, if cancelled, would be the biggest blow to your weekly entertainment choices?
None, live will just move on.

5. Which show do you wish would go away, never to be seen (or remade) again?
All reality shows, including the one that Donald Trump hosts.

6. Which television personality would you most like to see banished to the world of cancellation?
What his name… Charlie Sheen