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| The Body of Abel, Found by Adam and Eve, William Blake |
Republican Presidential contender, Rick Santorum, is calling for an end to public education.
Can I hear a sigh? (and I'd be ever so grateful, if you're a Republican, if you'd tell me, why, why does your party stand for this man?)
Republican Presidential contender, Rick Santorum, is calling for an end to prenatal testing, using the religious/anti-abortion defense.
Can I hear an exhalation? (see parenthetical statement above)
The state of California is debating whether to help balance the budget on the backs of the ultimate money grubbers: children with special healthcare needs.
Can I hear some irony, disgust and despair?
Here's a bit of information about the last thing on my list. If you want to express your own irony, disgust and despair, click on the link and sign the petition.
Can I hear another sigh?
The Medical Therapy Program (MTP) is a special program within California Children's Services that provides physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT) and medical therapy conference (MTC) services for children who have handicapping conditions, generally due to neurological or musculoskeletal disorders.
Currently, children in California with one of these qualifying medical conditions qualify for services regardless of their financial status. Cerebral Palsy, Spina bifida, Muscular dystrophy, Rheumatoid arthritis, Spinal cord injuries, Arthrogryposis, Osteogenesis imperfecta, Head injuries.
The California state budget proposes to align income eligibility requirements for Medical Therapy Program with the broader California Children's Services (CCS) Program. Currently, there is no financial test for eligibility. Under the proposed eligibility standards, families with annual income more than $40,000 or with annual CCS related medical expenses less than 20% of their annual income would not be eligible.
This means, a family with two working parents who make minimum wage make too much money and are no longer eligible for medial therapy services. They would be responsible for finding these services and paying for these services for their children. This is a huge financial burden for any family, especially families with children who have special needs. A family with good medical insurance would still have to pay $200-500 per month on therapy. And, the therapy sessions would have a maximum number of visits, which is usually around half of the time the child needs. A family without medical coverage would likely not be able to afford services at all.
The Medical Therapy Program provides necessary physical and occupational therapy for children with medical conditions that effect their day to day life.
Addendum:
I urge you to go here and read these thoughts about disability and government. I could never say it so well.
The guy is an idiot. I know that sounds uneducated and too simplistic but the man just leave my mouth hanging open. I use to consider myself a republican, or at least I believed myself to be. Now, I am not sure what you would call me and my views on politics. A disgusted human being perhaps. Is there a party for that?
ReplyDeleteWell, if this passes, Zoey and so many like her, are screwed. And it potentially isn't just about those services that are provided, the ot/pt and such.Having CCS coverage is what assists in helping pay for equipment, orthotics, etc. As well as hospital coverage as a supplemental to your private. Not sure if these things will also be effected but if not, it will only be a matter of time I fear.
Disgusted beyond belief.
There is so much hypocrisy in the party of "family values" -- it is mind-blowing.
ReplyDeleteRick Santorum is saying those things which every hate-mongering neanderthal wants to hear...his views are so far from human that it would signal the end of times...life would no longer be worth living for anyone, except for Republican neo-conservative white males. He is an evil man attracting other evil men. The only blessing is that his chances of getting any position in government are less than zero.
ReplyDeletePar for the course is that many states will balance their budgets on the backs of the most vulnerable...which does not bode well for our society as generations look back. Simply, the powers care more about staying in power than in doing what is right...providing the best care for the most vulnerable.
Phil: I agree with you except that Santorum IS in government, and his followers are legion.
ReplyDeleteIn my state, we already have this. We get no government services unless we agree to pay a $1000+ per month "family co-pay". Stinks. Can't buy in, at that rate!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, I don't have a bad view of Palin or Santorum. I have seen evil designs on both sides of the aisle, and promises not kept. Why do we keep believing? On the other hand, I would rather not have a jaded view of people. I guess that's where "By their fruits you shall know them" comes in. Searching for some integrity...
It's all become just unbelievable. I said what I said on my blog this morning and it wasn't strong enough for how I really feel.
ReplyDeleteBut when you said that yes, Santorum IS in government and that his followers are legion? Proves my point which is that people are stupid sheep. Way, way too many of them.
I left a comment earlier but don't see it, forgive if there are two.
ReplyDeleteSantorum lives too privileged a life. If he and his loved ones had to suffer he'd be more in tune with reality. I don't wish tragedy on anyone but it's easy to see his personal religious practice doesn't include compassion.
California was in the forefront in providing children's services. Heartbreaking that the legislators can't find the will to raise taxes or cut other things.
There is a ton of waste in govt spending. Just today somebody sent me a link stating that people earning 60K / yr actually have less discretionary funds than the welfare / food stamp recipients. Can this be true? Our own PCA (whom we do pay $14/hr) gets mani/pedis, goes for a "spray tan" every couple of weeks, has satellite TV and a cell phone - all stuff I can't afford. It kind of hurts, but it would hurt more without the help she gives.
ReplyDeleteI don't know - Republican or Democrat or whatever, as SN parents, I think we all need each other too much to get into political battles. I don't want to lose friends or make enemies. I'm of the mind that there are sincere people on all sides who are seeking solutions, and there are scoundrels, too, who would use us and our kids to their own ends. Figuring out who is who - that's where the difficulty is.
ReplyDeleteJasmine Tea: Thank you for your comment and for visiting my blog. I agree with you about waste in government spending; however, that's not what I was bemoaning here. It's a fact that programs for the disabled, namely CHILDREN, have been and continue to be decimated. It's an easy target with virtually no electorate, only the very beleaguered parents and caregivers who have to literally fight every single system and perhaps don't have the energy to keep at it, day and night.
ReplyDeleteAs for the discretionary spending of your PCA and welfare recipients -- well -- I think it's a slippery slope of judgement. For every welfare prima donna, I imagine many more hard-working poor who don't earn a living wage.
I don't pretend to have the answers, but I'll be damned if I'll allow the likes of Rick Santorum to dictate my morality -- not to mention the laughable insinuation that he and many other conservative Catholics hold that their mighty church is somehow under siege.
Kate J: Thank you for your comment. I have to say that while I agree that as parents of children with special needs we must work together, I think it's naive to imagine that there aren't a lot of politics involved. I would love to think that everyone, regardless of politics, would "do the right thing," stand up and ensure that the rights and care of the most vulnerable are not up for debate, but that's not true. Not even close. One MUST be political and work within the political system to ensure these things. I believe that fervently and am grateful that as an American, I am given liberty to do so.
ReplyDeleteSantorum is a nightmare, but I think ultimately he's too extreme even for most Republicans. He has a lot of followers, but I think he's unelectable. Even in Pennsylvania he eventually lost his senate seat. Moderates won't go for him. If he's nominated, a lot of Republicans won't vote -- and I think the same is true (from the other end of the spectrum) for Romney. All of which makes me happy.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone on public assistance (aka welfare) is living a luxurious lifestyle. It's amazing how this "welfare queen" myth persists in our society. From what I've seen, people on public assistance uniformly lead hard lives.
1. Santorum is a freaking nightmare. I would wager that, while he thinks he has some special insight because he has a child with a disability, he has no real idea what it takes to care for this child, especially if you aren't fortunate enough to have boatloads of money.
ReplyDelete2. As the wife of a small business owner (albeit not in CA), I can say that there are major tax loopholes that can be closed in order to generate boatloads of money without harming the economy or convincing us not to hire more people. I firmly believe that if the politicians stop running scared from what they think is the boogeyman (lobbyists), they will discover that they can do a hell of a lot to change things for the better.
UGH! (signed the petition and passed it on)
Well, I don't think it's a big secret which way I lean, but he's right in one respect: Most women who get "bad news" following an amnio do terminate. I'm one of the 8%-ers. But his solution to this is to cut education funding (because we all know how much local school districts LOVE to pay for special ed), cut Medicaid/et al (because we should rely on our neighbors' charity as the good book says - nothing rallies a community like holding a bake sale for your kid's G-tube), and eliminate early intervention (if you REALLY loved your kid you'd stay home & do it yourself)... So the child in question may be left uneducated, unhealthy, & living on the street after bankrupting mom & dad, but they're alive, damnit. And nothing more than that is needed to call yourself pro-life.
ReplyDelete