Dreago

Social Darwinism

dreago — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:15:54 GMT

Diary

Just doing my little part in getting the word out in favor of social justice. My "favorite" part is how someone somewhere thought that hospitals would be the best place to sort out who was documented and who was not. Next time you're bleeding out, make sure to bring your passport!

Which reminds me of how Immigration Agents would hang out in the emergency rooms during epidemics and snatch fathers away from their families while they waited to have their American Born children checked out by a doctor. The law says you can't leave an unaccompanied child behind. So usually, breadwinning dads are taken away while Mom and little Johnny are sick and now, totally devestatingly upset.

No, wait, I have another "favorite" part. The part where undocumented workers would not be able to buy their own private insurance with their own hard earned money. Republicans really hate brown people more than making money. Thankfully, this part was defeated.

Immigrants and Health Reform Update – November 9, 2009

House Health Reform Bill Passes

On Saturday night, November 7, 2009, the House of Representatives passed an historic, though imperfect, health care reform bill. The bill is significant for many reasons—first, it moves the health reform debate forward and puts pressure on the Senate to pass a health reform bill of their own. Also, the bill exemplifies many of the goals of health reform – it will make health insurance more affordable for millions of people (including immigrants who are naturalized citizens and lawful residents), it helps to contain the skyrocketing costs of the health care system in the United States, and it includes many provisions to reduce health disparities and improve health outcomes. It is still a mixed bag in many respects for immigrants, however. While many lawfully residing immigrants would gain access to affordable health insurance and attempts to add a truly anti-immigrant provision were thwarted at the end, inequities for lawfully residing immigrants remain in Medicaid and undocumented immigrants are largely excluded from reforms.

Lawfully Residing Immigrants & Affordability Credits. Hundreds of thousands of lawfully residing immigrants in New York who currently make too much money for Medicaid or Family Health Plus, do not receive insurance through an employer, and cannot afford to buy insurance on their own will be eligible for the affordability credits that will make insurance more affordable.

Lawfully Residing Immigrants & Medicaid. Tragically, the final House bill does NOT restore federal Medicaid eligibility for lawful permanent residents within their first five years. This means that the most recent, lowest income legal residents will still not have access to a critical safety net benefit that their own tax money supports. Yet these same people will be required to buy insurance. Importantly, as a result of a lawsuit in 2001, New York extends Medicaid and Family Health Plus coverage to all lawfully residing immigrants who meet the income guidelines regardless of how long they have been lawful residents, and will continue to do so with state-only money.

Undocumented Immigrants. Undocumented immigrants are already restricted from most public insurance programs, including Medicaid and Family Health Plus in New York, and the House bill does nothing to change that policy. Undocumented immigrants are also not eligible for the affordability credits or subsidies that will make insurance affordable. But, in the final days leading up to the vote, some Members of Congress wanted to take it one absurd step further, as their colleagues in the Senate Finance Committee have done in their bill, and exclude undocumented immigrants from even being able to buy full-price insurance with their own money in the Exchange marketplace.

But prominent Representatives, particularly Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez and others in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, as well as health reform advocates and immigrant communities, scored a significant political victory in the health reform fight by successfully stopping the introduction of an amendment in the Republican’s Motion to Recommit which would have attempted to exclude undocumented immigrants from the Exchange. This provision is completely counterproductive to the goals of health reform. Health reform should allow opportunities for more people to pay into the health care system, not less. It is costlier to the health care system to exclude people – without insurance people avoid care until it becomes more serious, and more costly. Also, verifying the citizenship or immigration status of each person who wants to pay their own money in the Exchange would be very costly to do and to a ridiculous, inhuman end – to keep people who just want to keep themselves and their families healthy from buying insurance with their own money.

The Politics of Reform. Once again, illegal immigration was used as a wedge issue to divide support for the health reform bill, as it has been used in past policy debates. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus and other key Members, advocates, and immigrant communities sent a clear message that the politics of division and exclusion is not a winning strategy. Congress and the White House must remember this as the health reform debate moves to the Senate, on to Conference, and then to the President’s desk.

So the fight continues for real health reform that includes as many people as possible. And we can expect that the misinformation and emotion around immigration issues will be exploited until the end. But we will not tolerate the anti-immigrant politics of division and we stand with you to demand real solutions for the health care crisis.

As we look to the Senate, we have these priorities:

1) Lawfully residing immigrants must be treated fairly –the five-year waiting period in Medicaid should be removed, and legal immigrants should have the same access as citizens to subsidies for affordable insurance.

2) Everyone, regardless of immigration status, should be able to buy insurance with their own money in the Exchange.

3) Oppose additional unnecessary citizenship documentation and verification measures for health programs –these have been shown to only add cost to the health care system and barriers for citizens and lawful immigrants alike.

4) Protect the safety net health care system so that the millions of people who remain uninsured after reform passes still have access to health care.

We look to your support for these priorities! Many of you are already actively pushing for quality, affordable health care for all, and we are grateful for your efforts. In the next few days, we will be circulating a sign-on letter in support of these priorities. We urge your organization to sign on to build a stronger, diverse force behind this agenda.

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Sci-Fi fans of color are NOT unicorns.

dreago — Tue, 19 May 2009 01:18:35 GMT

Ta Da!

dreago — Sun, 03 May 2009 02:47:41 GMT

Diary

I finished one lampshade! I ended up finding the perfect sized lampshades for my irregularly sized bedside table lamps. The tricksy part on top of that was finding the right size shade that was made out of paper or really, really thin linen, so that when I covered the lampshade, I would still get some light. My bedroom walls are already a dark teal, so I need some light in there.

I've never had the opportunity to be a DIY kinda girl. But I'm pleased. My project didn't come out perfect, but I think I did really well for a first attempt.

I used paper, not fabric, to cover the lampshade. The paper is very fabric-y, as it is almost like a mohair type paper. When you turn on the light you can see all the little squiggly threads in it.

The paisley pattern you see on the table is me trying to free hand a henna type look. I have a jewelry box with glass photo frames and was thinking about framing the purple paper with indian designs instead of photos. I think I need more practice.

It also occurs to me that I never did a follow up to January's Painting Post. My kitchen is finished now- all walls painted, pictures framed, curtains purchased, huge stand up bass constantly in the way since someone keeps taking it out of the office. I moved it and now have photos of the finished kitchen!

You know, I was kinda iffy about the burgundy sheers. It's a weird color for a kitchen no? But because I'm in a railroad like apartment, sometimes the glare from the kitchen makes it hard to watch t.v. in the living room. And if I close the curtains then there is NO natural light in the living room. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that if I pull the sheers closed during the day, the light in the house takes on a rosy glow and one can barely tell that the sheers are a deep wine color.

Some people call the wall color a Split Pea but I like to think of it as Avocado. And because I am keeping it real, yes, those are dirty dishes in the sink and a bag of trash that needs to be taken out. So no, I didn't take a picture of the sink and cabinetry. You can look at my shrine/altar pictures for those.

Maddie's quite camera shy. I don't love having the cat tree block my windows, but the cats really love sleeping up there and now that I put in a windowsill garden, they need a ledge to look out the window. We mostly eat in the living room anyway and hide the cat tree in the office when guests come over.

And now, off to wash those dirty dishes and to put out the trash! Woo! Saturday night at chez dreago! I haven't finished the bedroom. Honestly, I'm stuck. I've changed the duvet, the rug, the curtains and even added an arm chair. The paisley and peacock theme looks surprisingly not crazy but I'm stumped as to what kind of art to put on the walls. Pictures to follow when I finally figure it out. There might be some kind of poll involved.

The Restoration

dreago — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:54:26 GMT

Diary

Watching the election results from California was painful. So much suspense. So much agony. And then? Ecstasy. Watching the crowds at Grant Park, I decided that I am going to try to be in Washington DC for inauguration day. Anyone got good hotel recommendations?

The best part of the night, for me, was when Obama started telling us what to do. He was calm, inspiring, and a little bit firm. We are to be congratulated. We are to stay positive. We are to be humble. We are to start working together. Implicit in that admonishment was "No Gloating." I sighed with relief. If America has been looking for a new Daddy, I think we got one who will give us some respect, some structure and some responsibilities. It was a nightmare being "parented" by a man we did not respect, an administration that ruled through fear and ridicule, alternating with a hefty dose of neglect, stuffing us with bread and circuses, so that we would ignore our own feelings of impotence and helplessness, and finally giving the silent treatment to those who did speak out.

Since I am a family therapist and am on a roll with this child rearing metaphor, let me warn that now, now comes the testing. Joe Biden was right. He was ridiculed, but he was right. America won't rest, the world won't rest, until we make absolutely sure that the new administration will retain its hopeful, inclusive and disciplined stance towards us and our global siblings, no matter what happens, no matter what people do.

Now, before I get too carried away with my "America as Family" description, I know that *President Obama* (eee! It looks so nice all typed out!) is not perfect. He will lose his cool and he will become, at times, too detached. Perhaps his measured approach to problems will cause us to miss critical opportunities or bungle challenges due to timing. It is most certain that President Obama's desire to find the common ground between opponents and to devise a compromise between them will, at times, leave everyone dissatisfied at some point. We will be disappointed when the President fails to live up to our expectations, when the problems that have taken years to ripen take years to die. When the very nature of expedient politics is to gamble with the rights of the individual in order to bring about the public good, our new President may be tempted and sometimes fall. The world will soon get impatient with us, having seen that America is full of potential, but we that we remain teenagers- with all the narcissistic idealism and self righteous aggression that goes with adolescence.

But the strength of a family is shown during the repairitive phase of a relationship, where we speak honestly, acknowledge mistakes or at the very least hurts, and we decide to move forward together. No grudges, no petty come backs, but rather we return to our original stance that this election proved was a winner- acting from our strengths: the grassroot activism of our citizens and the leading by hope that President Obama is so good at. Children are comforted that despite ups and downs, tears and time-outs, their parents remain available and accepting. Lovers realize that unconditional love describes the ability to forgive and reconcile, not the ability to avoid conflict and hurt feelings. People say that challenges teach us the most about ourselves. I say that healing teaches us the most about being better than ourselves. To heal is to grow, even if we were the ones to cause the hurt in the first place.

My wish for this administration is that it have the ability to bring about Restorative Justice- whether the world or the new administration erred, whether we as a country become distracted by the next shiny thing or hate finds another way to manifest itself. In America, all things are possible. I believe that. The world believes that. My hope lies in what is next for America. In America, we can achieve Reconciliation. Yes We Can.

And now I think I've worn this metaphor out.

“Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?'
Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?'
Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?'
But conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?'
And there comes a time when one must take a position
that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular
but because conscience tells one it is right.”
---Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Thanks Tavis Smiley for reminding your viewers of this speech!

More of the Same and More for the Change. Authority vs. Leadership, McCain vs. Obama.

dreago — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:10:19 GMT

Diary

I can't tell you how angry I was, watching the RNC and seeing everyone sneer at Community Organizing. I'm a social worker, so as Jon Stewart said, I saw this as a "fuck you, you dumb motherfuckers for thinking you could make a difference in your community." Community Organizing requires leadership, much like executive leadership, but it empowers everyone so that they too can become leaders. That's tough. That's social work. And that can be you. Most people lead by demonstrating authority. Community Organizers lead by exercising leadership.

Here is an example of what that looks like, as written by Ronald Heifetz, a business man who writes about this kind of leadership:

"The function of an authority figure is to right the ship, maintain equilibrium, keep things on an even keel. People expect an authority figure to be comforting. Someone exercising leadership is probably generating disequilibrium. Either he is raising issues or asking questions that disturb people and force people to come to terms with points of view or problems that they would rather not consider; or he's protecting other people in the organization who are creating disequilibrium."

"I define leadership as an activity, not as a set of personality characteristics. So what I'm interested in is developing people's capacity to perform a particular activity, and I call this activity "leadership." And the activity of leadership I define as the mobilization of the resources of a people or of an organization to make progress on the difficult problems it faces."

"Notice that I am not talking about routine problems; I don't think they require leadership. I'm talking about difficult problems. In those situations, someone exercising leadership is orchestrating the process of getting factions with competing definitions of the problem to start learning from one another."

This means that no one who wants to lead is intrinsically special. We don't need a mandate from anyone. All of us already have the tools to be leaders. We can all ask questions, cooperate with each other or play the devil's advocate. We can inspire others by example. We don't have to demonstrate our power by spending money, starting wars or intimidating others into silence.

Why the conservative sneers at Community Organizing? Because that kind of leadership not only challenges the status quo but puts power in the hands of everyone. Think about it. Democracy in action. It can be scary. No one is left off the hook. We are all responsible for the well being of our town, our city, our country, our planet. Everyone is held accountable. This is a humanistic and communal point of view, while conservatives tend to have a more individualistic or clan oriented point of view. So, Community Organizing has the potential to destroy the very foundations of conservatism, even though Community Organizing can be used to support "traditional" values. Check out my icon. Can you say that any of those people were against the "traditional values" of family, religion, hard work and independence?

What Community Organizing won't support is power in the hands of the few. That is something that some Republicans AND some Democrats can't stand. So the current people in power must mock, belittle and scare us away from Community Organizing. Mass Responsibility demands Mass Accountability.

So, if you want your vote to count, if you really want your voice to be heard, that means you have to be prepared to pitch in and take responsibility and demand accountability from ourselves and for each other. Is McCain/Palin the ticket that is going to encourage the "little guy" to be an active part of the process- even after the elections? The Obama/Biden ticket, which has already used the communal grassroots approach to include the "little guy" in the campaign process, is this the ticket that will give you more options, more choices, more opportunities to lead?

No ticket is perfect. But which ticket is more likely to empower you? Both styles will tell us how to solve our own problems, but which ticket will support and encourage your efforts, unafraid to offer the government's help/resources when needed and which one will say "Your are on your own. Good Luck with that!"

I'm dreago, I approve this message, I'm trying to find a social workers for change window sign.

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dreago — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:25:11 GMT

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