TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalMy Early Christmas List
By Dr. Brian CarrPresident, Behavioral Health Associates, Lubbock, Texas, 1991-Present
Chairman, City of Lubbock Board of Health, 2013
Submitted on August 20, 2013 - 8:17am
I have benefited in the presence of mental health issues over my 27 years of private practice as a psychologist. Depression is the “common cold” of life and I have shared sorrow and joy as people find their pathway to a better place.
However with other instances of dysfunctional thought process the person is their own worst enemy. Such delusional disorders can rise to the point where they harbor fanatical commitment to a belief system that is completely lacking in reason or reality.
Such is the case of those on the Extreme Right.
Now I am not talking about many in the Republican Party who have chosen to avoid confronting those in their midst that have hijacked their political party. Those are people who are conservative but reasonable…prepared to seek solutions and compromise over harmful “all or nothing” campaigns that are a disservice to our country.
Sometimes you have to let the person go forth and bring action to their dysfunctional beliefs. Like a person who is struggling with alcoholism or drug abuse they must “hit rock bottom” so that a moment of clarity can occur. Then, and only then, can one appeal to them to find another way.
In this effort to advance to solutions I offer this “wish list” for the Extreme Right. I believe it helpful for the country to showcase the level of delusional fantasy that their leaders profess. I am hopeful that:
1. Senator Ted Cruz will be successful in shutting down the federal government in the fall. When this last happened in 1995 it created havoc among the Republican Party and led to a second term for President Clinton.
2. Governor Perry will continue to operate with a heavy hand that favors his cronies and moves operational debt and responsibility onto municipalities across Texas. Don’t like your property tax now, just wait until Lubbock has to pay to maintain ALL of the roads running across our region.
3. That Congressman Neugebauer will successfully strip food stamps bare and ban from any public assistance those in need so that we as a community will see exactly how our charities and churches are overwhelmed by the demand.
4. Back to Senator Cruz (a person whose actions provide an endless source of references) I hope that he will continue to defend himself regarding “birther” questions. Perhaps Donald Trump will adopt him and share hair grooming tips.
5. That the Republican leadership in Austin will ramp up their war on women and minorities. Can you name things that are less regulated in Texas than a woman’s uterus? See (1) college tuition, (2) gun shows, (3) bottled water, (4) texting while driving, and (5) fertilizer plants that explode.
6. That efforts to suppress the vote in Texas (already at the bottom of voting percentage) will wipe out early voting and require photo ID and correct color of ink. People hate being able to vote early and this I’m sure will be greeted with warmth when no longer available.
7. That the talking heads will continue to shout out their paranoia and fear of Obamacare and how we each will be implanted with a crystal in our hand that, at the age of sixty, will start to glow and we will have to board a train for a EPA camp in New Mexico where we will be given a last meal of Soyent Green and then electrocuted while being videotaped for pay per view.
8. That those who post comments (or blogs) about how bad the president is…or his false birth certificate…or his brain implant from the Muslim Brotherhood…or how he wants to crossbreed your children with farm animals will get some idiot in Washington to start impeachment proceedings against him. That would be my most favorite gift.
I know it is still several months until Christmas but it never hurts to start early.
TAGS:
LubbockOnline Blog
Abbott likes to sue and lose millions
Angry Old White Doctor Guys are delightful
Christmas is grand
crazy
death is cost containment
Everyone hates early voting
Lubbock
make all the roads in Lubbock tollways
Perry stares in the mirror for hours
stakes out on an ant bed might help
Ted Cruz is my hero
Texas
we need the reason of judge head now
Women and children are chattel
http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/dr-brian-carr/2013-08-20/my-early-christmas-list
Cross-posted in Good Reads Forum.
Hispanics Stand to Gain the Most from Health Reform, But Are Also the Hardest to Reach
Even in the state with the highest uninsured rate in the country, Hispanics in Texas stand out as having among the worst uninsured rates of any population. Almost 60 percent of the uninsured in Texas are Hispanic, representing over 3 million people. Though much of this group will be newly eligible for health insurance in October, translating eligibility into enrollment isn't as easy as it sounds.
According to the Texas Tribune, two-thirds of Hispanics in the U.S. say they do not have enough information about health reform to know how it might affect them. On top of a lack of information, 22 percent of Hispanics in Texas will remain uninsured because of Rick Perry's refusal to expand Medicaid.
The Affordable Care Act provides funding for "navigators" to help walk newly eligible people through the enrollment process, and Texas just got over $10 million to train them. But Texas has also 5 million people who will be newly eligible, who can't all be reached through navigators alone - especially the harder-to-reach populations. And according to the Washington Post, many "Hispanic health centers and community organizations say they don't have the funding or resources to carry out the complicated sign-up process." But several organizations are rising to the challenge.
Enroll America is reaching out to particular communities that have the highest uninsured rates among Hispanics: women, youth, laborers and mixed status families. Specific campaigns will center around faith, labor, farmworkers and targeting young Hispanics with a strong social media campaign. According to Ashley Allison, Enroll America's Director of Constituency Engagement, "When we let people know that the access to healthcare is going to fit their needs and budget and bring security to their family they are eager to learn more about their options." To expand their reach, Enroll America is partnering with groups like the National Hispanic Medical Association, the National Council of La Raza, the Hispanic Access Foundation and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC).
More at http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/13959/hispanics-stand-to-gain-the-most-from-health-reform-but-are-also-the-hardest-to-reach .
Greg Abbott and Latinos - an unrequited love (and stinkweed)
By O. Ricardo Pimentel
San Antonio Express-News
Ardent wooing is the best part of any courtship. But, hint: Pretty ribbon around stinkweed won't make the bouquet smell any sweeter.
Gregg Abbott is said to be courting the Hispanic vote in his quest to be Texas' next governor.
Mr. Attorney General, it is more than coquettishness that prompts me to tell you how flattered we are by the attention. I've thought for awhile that my sashaying to and from ballot boxes in Texas and elsewhere had gone unnoticed by the GOP.
Good to know I've still got it after all these years.
Continued at http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/13963/pimentel-greg-abbott-and-latinos-an-unrequited-love .
What is Microsoft 365? A way to keep to keep you tethered to the workplace forever.
If you’re like most people today, you probably don’t come in to work at 8:00 in the morning, log in on your desktop, and work at your desk until quitting time at 5:00, when you promptly forget all about work until you return to your desk the next morning. As businesses move farther from the old factory model toward greater mobility and more flexible schedules, it becomes ever more challenging to maintain access to documents and stay connected to coworkers.
Office 365 is a cloud service designed to give round-the-clock access to your business computing. Over the years, it has grown to incorporate several types of software. The main one is Office Pro Plus, which makes Microsoft Office tools like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel available through the cloud. This way you can work on your documents, presentations, or spreadsheets even if you don’t have Office software installed on your computer. You can even access them on smart phones and tablets with Office Web Apps, another component of Office 365. (The name Office 365 is Microsoft’s shorthand for suggesting you’ll be connected all the time—every day of the year.)
The demand for Office 365 stems from this: if your only access to Microsoft Office tools like Word and PowerPoint is limited to the software you have housed on your servers at work, once you get home—or anywhere outside the office—you’re not going to be able to open and edit the document you were working on at the office. It also means that you won’t be able to work on the presentation you and a colleague were collaborating on.
Of course, most of us have Word on our computers at home too, so if someone sends us a Word document as an email attachment we can open it, edit it, and send it to someone else. Not many of us, however, have Word installed on our tablets or mobile phones. And without Office 365 you don’t have as many tools for sharing and collaborating on documents in real time, because they aren’t available with traditional versions of the software.
More at http://blog.apterainc.com/bid/328264/What-is-Microsoft-Office-365-A-Simple-Straightforward-and-Jargon-Free-Answer .
[font color=green]It wasn't enough to keep you busy in your cubicle 40 or 50 hours a week. Now you can take your work home too! So long to family time on the weekdays and the weekends. Hello exploitation 24/7/365![/font] 
Upgrades aim to extend B-52 bombers' already long lives
Despite the bomber's more than half-century of service, the Air Force believes that modifications and overhauls have made the B-52 ageless. Now engineers and technicians are working on a contract worth up to $11.9 billion for an array of upgrades to bring the B-52 Stratofortress fleet into the 21st century.
The plane's computers are only as powerful as the original PCs in the early 1980s. Bombing mission information has to be uploaded before a flight. It can't be changed in the air — even if the target on the ground changes.
Now Boeing is expanding on the bombers' limited capabilities by providing an upgraded communications system so aircrews can send and receive information via satellite links. This enables the B-52's five-person crews to change mission plans, re-target weapons in flight and interact better with ground forces and other aircraft.
Nobody can say for sure how many of the government's 76 B-52s — down from 744 in the plane's heyday — will survive three more decades. The most recent variant of the plane, built between 1960 and 1962, has undergone more than 30 major modifications.
More at http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ageless-b52-bomber-20130819,0,6642110.story .
Victoria, TX: 4 protesters call for Obama's impeachment (Video)
As her daughter, Autumn, 3, rests on her shoulder, Nicole Lowry holds a sign protesting President Barack Obama and his policies on the corner of Navarro Street and Sam Houston Drive. Lowry and her two children joined three other protestors Saturday morning to share their disapproval of the state of the country. "My husband fought for this country, and if he can go to Iraq and spend nine months there, then I can spend an hour and a half on a street corner holding a sign for our rights," she said about her involvement Saturday.
http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2013/aug/17/aw_obama_protest_081813_217446/
[font color=green]Okay, I can understand that people have the right to assemble and free speech, but the funny part of the video is where the woman claims that in less than a week they got all the people assembled there to protest--all four of them.
Did you see the protesters Ilsa? I hope they didn't cause a traffic snarl.[/font]
New Training for School Personnel to Promote Mental Health Intervention
Until recently, talk about mental health policy in Texas was focused on treating serious mental health disorders rather than on assessing disorders before they escalate without treatment, Saxton said.
About 288,000 children live with serious mental health conditions in Texas, according to 2010 figures from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. And those students, according to the Alliance, are more likely to drop out of school.
-snip-
Under the new law, school districts will be required to provide teachers, administrators and staff with training on mental health intervention and suicide prevention to help them identify red flags in a child’s behavior and respond effectively.
The complete story is at http://www.texastribune.org/2013/08/19/new-training-promote-mental-health-intervention/ .
[font color=green]Another assigned duty with no adjustment in compensation. Good luck to all of the educators and staff as they have even more training to attend.[/font]
Perry to headline California GOP convention
The California Republican Party says Texas Gov. Rick Perry will headline its fall convention in Anaheim.
The GOP made the announcement Monday. Perry's office did not immediately confirm his attendance at the event from Oct. 4-6.
The party said Perry was invited for Texas' history of job creation.
Perry makes frequent trips to California. Some of the earliest support for his 2012 presidential bid came from major Republican donors in California.
More at http://www.themonitor.com/news/state/article_e8e0b967-1849-5ec1-8445-893aec8d967d.html .
Perry to headline California GOP convention
The California Republican Party says Texas Gov. Rick Perry will headline its fall convention in Anaheim.
The GOP made the announcement Monday. Perry's office did not immediately confirm his attendance at the event from Oct. 4-6.
The party said Perry was invited for Texas' history of job creation.
Perry makes frequent trips to California. Some of the earliest support for his 2012 presidential bid came from major Republican donors in California.
More at http://www.themonitor.com/news/state/article_e8e0b967-1849-5ec1-8445-893aec8d967d.html .
Houston Traffic Alert: Big rig wreck at I-10 and 59 to tie up rush hour traffic
Details at http://www.chron.com/news/article/Big-rig-wreck-at-I-10-and-59-to-tie-up-rush-hour-4743823.php?cmpid=hpbn .
Good luck getting home this evening.
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
Home country: United States
Current location: Bryan, Texas
Member since: Sun Aug 14, 2011, 03:57 AM
Number of posts: 112,160
