My Dad is in terrible back pain. He has spinal stensosis, and 2 slipped discs. HIs Parkinsons keeps him moving so he's jarring his back over and over again
He had an visit with a pain doc for the first time in 2 years scheduled for Monday, but he just got a call. Since this visit is on his medicaid, and not the VA, they cancelled his appointment.
My Mom tried to help explain, she was told "I'm talking to Him, not you"
She finally said the doctor must be paid, and cancelled his appointment.
@NiveusLepus
Unfortunately, many doctors don’t accept Medicaid, because it pays so little. I’m unclear about why he was referred out of the VA system in the first place. Are there no pain doctors in the VA? Or is his problem not service connected?
@LnzyHou @Smccune55 They can for some issues. It's a bit of a morass.
Dad keeps getting denied for a greater amount of service connected disability assistance for instance, because while he was stationed in Iwo Jima running a Loran station for a year, and then did clean up duty on Guam. They lost all the records for his time in Guam, and so they can't verify his toxic exposure.
The benefits coordinator says this is very common as the computerization of records was imperfect.
This is west Texas. Trump country big time for the politicos... As to that is where it ends, maybe? They are on appeal.
All the records of his entire unit cannot be lost. Can’t they investigate conditions of other members of his unit?
@LnzyHou @Smccune55 They have to be able to verify he was there. He was assigned in Guam on temporary duty, independent of his unit, while rotating back to the states.
It's when they gave him his new assignment and he got a little tipsy that he got into a dispute with another enlisted man, which was fine until his temp CO got in the way of the first punch.
They reassigned him to New Jersey, where he met my mom.
They have found some deep in the weeds reason to yoga around approving him.
@LnzyHou @Smccune55 I'm honestly not sure buddy.
@NiveusLepus @LnzyHou @Smccune55
I wonder if #BetoORourke could help. I'm not being facetious. If he can't personally, I'm betting someone in his office or circle can. With zero cynicism, I think this crusade might be a boost for his campaign. Plus he just seems a very decent human.
https://betoorourke.com/issue/serve-veterans/
@wolfwoman @LnzyHou @Smccune55 That's a good idea.
@wolfwoman @NiveusLepus @Smccune55
Agree. Sure wouldn’t leave it to the VA.
@wolfwoman @NiveusLepus @LnzyHou @Smccune55 Isn't he one of the very rich people from a rich family that said they were not going to take big corporate money and run a grassroots campaign, but then he changed his mind because it was "important" and ran an oil money plus grassroots campaign that failed and now we have Abbot's Texas?
That Beto O'Rourke? Yeah. Seems nice.
But whose side is he on?
@AskTheDevil @wolfwoman @LnzyHou @Smccune55 Not to play Devil's advocate, but I do not believe any politician has clean hands.
@NiveusLepus @AskTheDevil @wolfwoman @Smccune55
Nor do I. Politics is a very dirty business.
@LnzyHou @NiveusLepus @wolfwoman @Smccune55 I think part of the way that is able to continue is that it's been allowed to continue so long that people just act like it's supposed to be that way.
I don't think it is. I don't think corruption and lies and broken promises and venality and moral failure are a natural and essential part of politics, I think they're diseases that we should get out of politics.
Why do we stand for it?
@AskTheDevil @NiveusLepus @wolfwoman @Smccune55
Another unanswerable question. I’m not sending 💰 next election. I’ve been driven mad by multiple/daily requests from every democrat running (and even trump) despite the fact I’m already contributing to key races for months.
The fear tactics are insufferable.
@AskTheDevil @LnzyHou @NiveusLepus @Smccune55
And this - I've read a lot on the #psychology of such things. Again, what to share 🤔
@wolfwoman @AskTheDevil @LnzyHou @Smccune55
Share whatever makes your wolfish heart happy ^_^
@NiveusLepus @wolfwoman @LnzyHou @Smccune55 That feels like a very serious problem all its own.
@AskTheDevil @NiveusLepus @LnzyHou @Smccune55 I have obviously not done enough homework.
@wolfwoman @NiveusLepus @LnzyHou @Smccune55 Note that what I presented here was a narrative, the way I see it.
That's what it looked like to _me_.
@wolfwoman @NiveusLepus @LnzyHou @Smccune55 We get a lot of smoke and mirrors and flag-waving and fanfare in these big expensive elections.
It's less that you haven't done your homework, and more that everything's a circus designed to fool people.
@AskTheDevil @NiveusLepus @LnzyHou @Smccune55
Will you please point me to any/everything that details this? We all know widipedia isn't accurate but I haven't found anything thus far ...
@wolfwoman @NiveusLepus @LnzyHou @Smccune55 I am just remembering what I can of his campaign. It felt like he popped up almost like a mushroom, made a big deal about grassroots and self-funded campaign, then when it looked tough, too corporate and big donor money, then lost his bid anyway.
Is that _not_ things that happened?
I mean, I'm not sure I remember which year he ran without looking it up, so I wouldn't trust my memory.
...
@wolfwoman @NiveusLepus @LnzyHou @Smccune55
But pretty sure I remember him being grassroots, then not, then losing, and now Texas is speaking Trumpian.
@AskTheDevil @NiveusLepus @LnzyHou @Smccune55
I'm very tardy getting back to this, but I didn't have time to dig deeply until just now. I'm saving up several links as I go along. Not sure if I should summarize what I learn, or just share the links. Still reading!
@wolfwoman @NiveusLepus @LnzyHou @Smccune55
I mean... my reference is "I was alive then and watched that election and campaign in the media and on the internet".
I mean... does nobody _remember_ his campaign?
@wolfwoman @NiveusLepus @LnzyHou @Smccune55 If you really want to dig, you'd want to look for early articles about campaign promised not to take donations, then go to one of the vote data sites and dig through. There should also be media articles from that time mentioning that he'd chose to walk back that promise.
I'm just going off memory, here, and thought it was likely shared cultural memory, but it's possible everyone missed it except the very cynical and alert.
Or I'm crazy.
@AskTheDevil @wolfwoman @NiveusLepus @Smccune55
You’re a lot of things. Crazy isn’t one of them.
@AskTheDevil @NiveusLepus @LnzyHou @Smccune55
OK, I'm gonna put this out in small bits as I learn. This has a LOT of info & although I didn't see the fb meme, I recall reading about all of these claims. And I'm going to hashtag now :) #politics
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/beto-orourke-reality-check/
1/
@AskTheDevil @NiveusLepus @LnzyHou @Smccune55
#politics
A senior adviser, David Wysong, said that O’Rourke accepted such donations through his first couple of House elections but stopped doing so before seeking his third term in 2016.
2/
@AskTheDevil @NiveusLepus @LnzyHou @Smccune55
O’Rourke’s campaign said he doesn’t plan to return the money because individuals wrote the checks. The campaign has not accepted a direct donation from the J Street PAC since O’Rourke made the pledge.
3/
@AskTheDevil @NiveusLepus @LnzyHou @Smccune55
Finally, I have to say that I like Beto and nobody is perfect. I learned a lot more about him thanks to your urging. I really, really want Ted Cruz gone! But I'm not in TX nor have I ever lived there, so I'm just a person who cares that someone more decent than Cruz tried hard to beat him. And dear God above, I wish Abbott would just ... vanish. So everything Beto does to help other candidates makes me happy.
4/4
@wolfwoman @AskTheDevil @LnzyHou @Smccune55
#politics Hare on the ground here in her home state of Texas.
I've been watching transphobic commercials from the Republican side of things about how the Dem Challenger to Cruz let boys into girls sports to beat them up.
That's pretty much the whole gist of the ad. At the end there is an obvious male silhouette standing over a girl he's knocked down on a softball field.
It is devoid of all nuance.
@NiveusLepus @AskTheDevil @LnzyHou @Smccune55
Yeah, there's no low too low. Disgusting.
@NiveusLepus @wolfwoman @AskTheDevil @LnzyHou @Smccune55 I saw one in #Ohio yesterday, same sort of garbage. I turned to my computer and gave $50. to #SenatorSherrodBrown
@Superstitionsee @NiveusLepus @AskTheDevil @LnzyHou @Smccune55
I don't have much to donate except my time. It does cost a little to buy postcards & stamps, but aside from monthly to Kamala, my few dollars happen like that!
Otherwise for me, it's mostly #PostcardsToVoters
@wolfwoman @AskTheDevil @NiveusLepus @Smccune55
You don’t say anything about Allred whose running against Cruz. Do you not support him?
I’ve been contributing to Allred campaign for months. That’s how badly I want America to be rid of Cruz.
@LnzyHou @wolfwoman @AskTheDevil @Smccune55 There's so much going on in politics right now, even keeping up with my home state felt overwhelming.
I've heard about Allred myself, and he seems a good alternative to Cruz, all while gaining good ground. He's got a shot, but that's largely all I know about him.
I don't normally do much with politics and have not been a registered member of any party for about 15 or 20 years.
@LnzyHou @AskTheDevil @NiveusLepus @Smccune55
I do support Allred! Just was concentrating that thread on Beto.
@wolfwoman @AskTheDevil @NiveusLepus @Smccune55
Understand. You referred to Cruz in Beto string.
@LnzyHou @AskTheDevil @NiveusLepus @Smccune55
Yup. I prayed for Beto to defeat him and I'm praying for Allred now!
@wolfwoman @LnzyHou @NiveusLepus @Smccune55 Beto, Allred, Mickey Mouse. I hope someone finally scrapes that turd off our heels.
I think it is very interesting that a man so loathsome he is even despised within his own party, has managed to stay in office this long. Someone explain this.
@AskTheDevil @wolfwoman @LnzyHou @Smccune55
Maybe you should check your files and see if a demon made a bad contract?
@NiveusLepus @wolfwoman @LnzyHou @Smccune55
I suspect this is more the kind of deal mortals make with each other for money and power.
Demons don't get into you from outside, by the way. It's when you let the worst parts of your own spirit take over and crowd the rest out that you become possessed by those spirits.
That's the thing about our demons. They're ours.
@AskTheDevil @wolfwoman @NiveusLepus @Smccune55
Power & money. The age old recipe for lifetime in politics.
@LnzyHou @AskTheDevil @NiveusLepus @Smccune55
Possibly also kompromat.
@LnzyHou @wolfwoman @NiveusLepus @Smccune55
Every time I see the name Cruz, I stop whatever I'm doing to imagine a day when he's no longer in the news.
Ahhhhhh.....
@AskTheDevil @LnzyHou @wolfwoman @Smccune55
I think of Santa Cruz. It's a groovy town with a neat restaurant that has vegan milkshakes and pancakes.
@AskTheDevil @LnzyHou @wolfwoman @Smccune55
We should meet up and head out there. Not only would it be rad to hang out, we could redeem the name. Kind of like a palette cleanser for your brain.
@NiveusLepus @AskTheDevil @LnzyHou @Smccune55
I went there all.the.time. When I was a teenager, my friends & I would pile into whichever parent's car we could finagle, and head out for the day. A 2 hour drive to the beach for the best day!
I couldn't go for years after it got so big and commercialized :(
Was there 2 years ago with DD2 and DGD2 and enjoyed it again. But it will never be as rad & groovy as it was in the late 60's early 70's.
@wolfwoman @AskTheDevil @LnzyHou @Smccune55 A lot of California is like that. The Rad and Groovy peaked in the 60's and 70s, and now you can see the evidence of that radical wave (To borrow from Thompson) but like all things, those times will never come quite the same way again.
@NiveusLepus @AskTheDevil @LnzyHou @Smccune55
Worthy of smiles through tears. Yes, this. I was 14 during the Summer of Love and I did go hang out in the Haight at times. And he was right on saying you could go anywhere & find the highs.
Having said all that, as I look back with more seasoned eyes, I know that not everyone had that experience. Probably POC really didn't. But I do love this writing, it is epic!
@NiveusLepus @wolfwoman @AskTheDevil @Smccune55
Purest of memories when we were kings & queens of the Universe…
Thompson takes a breathtaking snapshot.
@NiveusLepus @AskTheDevil @LnzyHou @Smccune55
You are so right. I just had a flash of insight: I began to resist ever going back to CA because I can't ever go back to those times! Same with my beloved ex-home in WA.
@wolfwoman @AskTheDevil @LnzyHou @Smccune55
You remind me of my Buddhist practice. Every moment is unique. They never come again.
People think of death and rebirth as one moment, but its really everyday. Everyday everything dies as we know it, every morning it is born again changed.
We are born again each day, ever building on who we were.
@wolfwoman @NiveusLepus @AskTheDevil @Smccune55
Nothing is as rad & groovy as those days.
We were rad & groovy.
@LnzyHou @wolfwoman @AskTheDevil @Smccune55
You are still rad and groovy.
@LnzyHou @wolfwoman @NiveusLepus @Smccune55
I support supporting people who get Ted out! : )
@NiveusLepus @Smccune55
Where is temporary CO? His records missing too?