SICKO

I saw Sicko this afternoon, and it was brilliant satire!
Michael Moore returns to his old shenanigans of embarrasing The Bush Administration, and making Hillary both a saint of the of Universal Health Care Movement, and a subsequent sellout to the Health Care Industry in the United States.
Moore methodically goes about showing example after example of uninsured Americans being refused medical care, and of insured Americans being denied coverage. And he does this very well.
His examples of health care in France and in Cuba seem a little less well thought out.
In the case of France, a young men with cancer receives free treatment, and after his doctors declare him in remission, he decides that he would like to take three months off with pay in the South of France to recover emotionally, Moore thinks this is great, but he really did not explore, or to seem to care what this does to increase unemployment in the young, which is quite high and the cause of very serious rioting recently.
In the case of Cuba, which indeed has one of the world's best doctors and health care systems, he did not consider the high price Cubans are paying for this great care. Would anybody seriously consider trading their freedom for good health?
Canada, France and Brittain are democratic countries and their citizens are free to reward or punish their leaders, Cubans on the other hand are free to elope to the United States!
It is clear to me that Universal Health Care shall become a reality in the United States sometime in the future. In the meantime, Americans face the question of do we pay for health care? Or do we invade another country without weapons of mass destruction?
What a dilema!

BROADCAST UPDATE TO MEMBERS June 20, 2007

TEXAS STATE EMPLOYEES UNION
EMAIL BROADCAST UPDATE TO MEMBERS June 20, 2007
HAVE YOU VOTED FOR KIMBERLY ROSS EATON IN THE ERS RUN-OFF ELECTION?

Important note to all TSEU members:

ERS run-off election ends July 13th! Vote now! Spread the word!

Need a replacement ballot? Never received a ballot? Call 1-866-909-3549.

The run-off election is still underway for the ERS Board of Trustees.
TSEU members are battling to elect our union's candidate, Kimberly Ross Eaton, in order to unseat Don Green, House Speaker Tom Craddick's Director of Budget and Policy. If elected, Kimberly will be only the 3rd union member in history to serve and the first African American (appointed or elected) to sit on the powerful ERS Board. She is a front-line worker with nearly 20 years of state service in the TDCJ Parole Division. She works as a Parole Supervisor out of Abilene. As a TSEU activist, she has pledged to be an outspoken voice for state employee health care and pension benefits.

Around 90% of eligible voters DO NOT VOTE. Have you cast your ballot for Kimberly Ross Eaton? Ballots were mailed to the home two weeks ago. They arrived in a white envelope with the blue ERS logo. You must mail in your ballot in its original envelope and you must include your social, signature and printed name. Mail ballots must be post marked by July 13th. If you did not receive a ballot, please call this toll-free number to request a replacement ballot: 1-866-909-3549. You can also vote on-line at the ERS website at https://www.ers.state.tx.us/home/trustee_election.aspx . You may not vote twice; your vote will be discarded.

On-line voters will need to give their ERS Employee ID (NOT YOUR AGENCY EID). Yuo can find this on your Health Select card, if you are enrolled in Health Select. Just drop the letters and add 2 zeros to the end of your Health Select number. If you are enrolled in an HMO and need assistance if located your Employee ID, you may contact ERS at (877)
275-4377 or (512) 867-7711 in the Austin area.

Please share this important information with your co-workers, whether or not they are union members. We must increase the voter participation in this important election if we hope to elect a real advocate to the board. Kimberly is OUR candidate. Let's work together to get her elected. Want to be more involved in the Elect Kimberly campaign?
Contact TSEU Assistant Organizing Coordinator and Campaign Manager, Katie Romich, at (210) 354-2900 or kromich@cwa-tseu.org.

******************************************************************************
To add or remove your name to/from the list for these broadcasts (you must be a TSEU member):
send an email to tseubroadcast@cwa-tseu.org
Put "subscribe me" or "unsubscribe me" in the subject line
Put your full name and work location in the text of the email
Note: this address is only to subscribe to the TSEU broadcast network. For other issues
call your TSEU office

To contact TSEU for more information or for materials:
Austin: 512 448-4225
Houston: 713 661-9030
San Antonio: 210 354-2900
Dallas: 214 631-7863
Harlingen: 956 428-0251
Lubbock: 806 741-0044

For information about contacting your state legislators, go to the TSEU website
http://www.cwa-tseu.org/hhsc_fdstmp_contact.html

FINDING MY POLITICAL VOICE AGAIN

Although I have been silent on this blog over the past eight months, I definitely have not been silent. My close friends can verify this statement. Since I have a hearing loss, my voice tends to be LOUDER than that of most folks. lol.
Over the past eight months, I attended the TSEU General Assembly, and joined the TWC caucus, which is led by a very good organizer by the name of Mimi Garcia.
I also continue to be active in the HHSC caucus, which by the way is meeting in Austin on January 23th.
I plan on going, and I am also planning on stopping at Giddings at a restaurant right next to
Buc-ees, which is called either Chihuahua or Cuahila, anyway, this restaurant is only open for breakfast and lunch and has the best burritos, which are about a foot long and very reasonably priced.
But I digress, we still need to rebuild HHSC, and the recent legislative victories, which while sweet, are way too modest. We have a long way to go to rebuild this agency.
Mostly we need to go back to grass root organizing at our offices and ask all our co workers to join our fight.
A couple of months ago my organizer and I set up a meeting at my office and we signed up five people, they were ready, and I bet the folks at your office are ready too, ask them.

EMAIL BROADCAST UPDATE TO MEMBERS June 8, 2007

Employees Retirement System, Board of Trustees / Runoff Election / June 6 – July 13
VOTE FOR THE TSEU CANDIDATE


State Employee Groups Unite to Elect:
Kimberly Ross Eaton
Endorsed by: Texas State Employees Union & AFSCME- Correctional Employees Council



VOTE NOW for TSEU member Kimberly Ross Eaton to the ERS Board of Trustees runoff election!

Thanks to all who voted for Kimberly in the general election, she is in a run-off election this month. Ballots will be mailed to the home the week of June 6th.

Kimberly has been endorsed by two state employee groups: the Texas State Employees Union and the AFSCME-Correctional Employees Council. She has also been endorsed by current ERS Board member, Yolanda Griego (*HHSC Program Manager, El Paso), as well as 2007 ERS Board Candidates Mark Richter (*TDI Investigator, Austin) and John Wicks (*TDCJ Operational Reviewer, Huntsville).

Kimberly is an active union member who will fight to defend the health care and pension interests of all front-line state employees and retirees. With your vote and your help, we can get one of our own elected to the ERS Board.

(* Title and agency listed for identification purposes only *)

PLATFORM
Push for increased state contributions to our health care plans and pension fund
Oppose any plans to raid our pension fund
Oppose any plans to weaken our health plans or increase costs
Protect our pension fund through responsible investing
Be accessible to assist state employees with health care and pension issues

BACKGROUND
State Employee with over 19 years of service
TSEU Member since 1999
TDCJ-Parole Supervisor, Abilene, Brownwood, San Angelo and Wichita Falls
Chair, TSEU Statewide Parole Caucus Committee
Member, Holiday Hills Baptist Church, Abilene
Member, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority

ENDORSED BY
Texas State Employees Union-CWA
AFSCME-Correctional Employees Council
Yoly Griego, *ERS Board Member, HHSC-El Paso
Philip Mullins, *TRS Board Member, UT-Austin
Mark Richter, 2007 ERS Board Candidate (*Texas Department of Insurance-Austin)
John Wicks, 2007 ERS Board Candidate (*TDCJ-Huntsville)
Janice Zitelman, Former two-term ERS Trustee(Retired, FPS-San Antonio)

(* Title and agency listed for identification purposes only *)




Why it's important to vote for Kimberly in the ERS Election:

ERS controls our health care and pension plans. Kimberly will fight to make sure to protect these important benefits.

There will be increasing pressure from legislators to degrade our health care coverage, convert our pensions to defined contribution plans instead of defined benefits plans, cut the state contribution to our pension, and create destructive health savings account plans. Kimberly is a fighter, committed to stopping these attacks.

We need more ERS Board members who understand the lives of front-line state employees. Kimberly is a front-line supervisor who, like most state employees, relies on ERS health and pension benefits for herself and her family.

We need more ERS Board members who are ready to stand up to legislators, insurance companies, and others for the interests of front line state employees. As a TSEU activist, Kimberly has organized, lobbied, and marched alongside TSEU members for justice for all state workers.


To get involved, contact:

Katie Romich, ERS Campaign Manager, (210) 354-2900 / kromich@cwa-tseu.org

Kimberly Ross Eaton / kimberlyross1920@hotmail.com

******************************************************************************
To add or remove your name to/from the list for these broadcasts (you must be a TSEU member):
send an email to tseubroadcast@cwa-tseu.org
Put "subscribe me" or "unsubscribe me" in the subject line
Put your full name and work location in the text of the email
Note: this address is only to subscribe to the TSEU broadcast network. For other issues
call your TSEU office

To contact TSEU for more information or for materials:
Austin: 512 448-4225
Houston: 713 661-9030
San Antonio: 210 354-2900
Dallas: 214 631-7863
Harlingen: 956 428-0251
Lubbock: 806 741-0044

For information about contacting your state legislators, go to the TSEU website
http://www.cwa-tseu.org/hhsc_fdstmp_contact.html

TEXAN CHILDREN VICTIMS OF PRIVATIZATION OF HHSC

When Perry and his allies proposed several years ago that DHS should be privatized, progressive organizations, and some conservatives, raised doubts about how it would affect needy Texans.
Today we know what the effects have been, delayed food stamps applications, which have driven many needy Texans back to charity organizations for food; those organizations are barely coping.
We also know of many children who are being dropped from the Medicaid rolls due to the lack of staffing, and to the ineficiencies of Accenture. See today's Houston Chronicle article on the subject:

Battle to keep Houston boy insured as he fought cancer is poignant example of how bureaucracy can hinder carePutting a face on coverage crisis
By MELANIE MARKLEYCopyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

The looming legislative battle over how to fix Texas' problem-plagued child health-care system may center on a Houston boy with cancer who went four months without medical insurance because of bureaucratic mix-ups.


Most of the customer of HHSC are children, followed by the elderly and the disabled. So it is not surprising that those most adversly affected by this debacle would be the children.
What is surprising is that Perry does not care.
A politician can safely act against welfare queens, the homeless with alcohol and chemical dependencies, undocumented aliens, etc, but a smart politician of either party does not target THE CHILDREN.
Maybe he is thinking that no one will notice.
The election is in a few weeks, and a lot of folks are noticing. Hopefully, it will be enough folks.

IS CONVERGYS DOING IT'S JOB?

My sources at HHSC continue to tell me that Convergys is continuing to fail to advise workers whose leave is being maxed out, that they may be on the verge of losing their time.
HHSC staff have worked too hard for so long to risk losing time that they have EARNED, because of Convergys shortcomings.
Most tenured staff have learned to keep track of their leave, but continually having to see 20 plus clients a day, and working 12 hours per day, plus saturday, they truly do not have the time to be tracking their leave, and they should not be expected to.

EL GRITO DE DOLORES

FATHER MIGUEL HIDALGO

Grito de Dolores
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The Grito de Dolores was the call for the independence of Mexico given by Miguel Hidalgo on September 16, 1810 in the town of Dolores, near Guanajuato. The name is a pun in the Spanish language: "Grito de Dolores" can mean both "The Shout from (the town of) Dolores", and "The Cry of Pain", signifying the pain that the rule of Spain caused Mexico.
Hidalgo rang the church bell to gather his congregation, then called for Mexican independence, the exile or arrest of all Spaniards in Mexico, and ended by calling out, "Mexicanos, ¡Viva México!" (Mexicans, long live Mexico!) Shortly after this speech Hidalgo began an army and tried to take over the government but he was eventually defeated.
Mexico's independence was recognized by the Spanish viceroy in 1821. Since the late 19th century, a re-enactment has become traditional: the President of Mexico rings Hidalgo's bell (now at the National Palace on the Zócalo in Mexico City) and repeats Hidalgo's words (or a variant thereof) every year at 23:00 on the night of September 15.
President Vicente Fox traveled to Dolores to cry out the traditional "Grito" there on September 15, 2006, on fears that supporters of Manuel Lopez Obrador, the runner-up in the 2006 presidential election, would cause violence if the Grito were held in its customary location in Mexico

TSEU BROADCAST:TSEU Blockwalks for State Rep. Vo this WEEKEND, Sept. 16 & 17!!!

State Representative Hubert Vo has been a true friend to our union. He sponsored our university legislation last legislative session. He is a dues-paying TSEU member of our union. He won by a small margin of only 32 votes in 2004. He is a real life example that every vote counts. We need to ensure that he is re-elected by a greater margin than 32 votes this time around. We have endorsed Rep. Vo. We absolutely must re-elect him, and not lose this seat. The election is November 7; however, we are beginning to blockwalk for him now.

This Saturday, September 16, TSEU members will meet at the Vo Campaign Office at 12pm and blockwalk until 3pm.On Sunday, September 17, we will meet at the Vo Campaign Office at 1pm and blockwalk until 4pm.

The Vo Campaign Office is:11360 Bellaire Blvd. #880Houston, TX 77072Phone 281-564-2984

For a map to Vo's office, go to: http://www.hubertvo.com/contact.htm and click on "Click here for Map to our office."

If you plan on joining us this Saturday or Sunday, please let me know. Email Caroline O'Connor at http://us.f301.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=coconnor@cwa-tseu.org or call at 512-448-4225 and leave a message. We will provide food both days. We need your help this weekend, so we can keep Rep. Hubert Vo in office to help us win our pay raise, stop privatization, and fund our health care and our retirement systems.
To add your name to the list for these broadcasts (you must be a TSEU member): send an email to http://us.f301.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=tseubroadcast@cwa-tseu.org Put subscribe me in the subject line Put your full name and work location in the text of the email

Note: this address is only to subscribe to the TSEU broadcast network. For other issues call your TSEU office

To contact TSEU for more information or for materials:
Austin: (512) 448-4225
Houston: (713) 661-9030
San Antonio: (210) 354-2900
Dallas: (214) 631-7863
Harlingen: (956) 428-0251
Lubbock: (806) 741-0044

For information about contacting your state legislators, go to the TSEU website
www.cwa-tseu.org

LIVIN' LA VIDA MEXICAN

When I first came to this country-legally, I might add-some thirty odd years ago, I tried very hard to learn English, very quickly. I took esl at school, and in addition to that, I took esl classes at night, for two years at the Y.
I was a little hard headed, and it took me two whole years to learn to speak the language somewhat passibly. Since then, my English has improved a little bit.
Ironically, despite all my efforts to learn the language, most of my jobs have required that I speak Spanish, in some more than others, and in most, more than in my private life.
Which brings me to my livin' la vida mexican, living my mexican life.
Although I now speak English better than Spanish-shamefully-I still listen to Latin music on the radio, and I have a very sizeable Latin music collection, I also still watch Spanish language television. I also have a tendency to hispanize all my appliances, and electronics.
My tv has its menu in Spanish, so does my cell phone, my camera, and my dvd player.
The last one is the weirdest of them all. The menu on my dvd player is actually in English, but if the dvd includes Spanish in its language menu, the dvd player defaults it to Spanish, and plays it in Spanish, with Spanish subtitles.
I have since misplaced the remote control, so I really can not change the defaults on the darn thing.
I know Bush wants me to speak English, but my dvd player prefers me livin' mi vida mexican.
My apologies to President Bush, Pat Buchanan, and xenophobe extraordinaire, Mr. Tancredo, I am trying to speak English, but my dvd player no quiere!