[AGL] Re: [FedUp] A bit more action-reaction kneejerkedness...

[Jon Ford]

kay, I'll rise to the bait (gulp). Kinky may be a lot of things, but 
dim-witted ain't one of them. Try this one, Jon:

<Texas ranks rock-bottom in providing for the basic needs of its youngest 
and poorest residents. More than one fifth of Texas children have no health 
insurance at all.

<In 2003, Texas legislators slashed the Children's Health Insurance Program, 
pulling the rug out from under 170,000 kids. Not only did this put more of 
our children at risk, it ended up costing the state <tens of thousands of 
health care jobs and $16 billion in lost productivity. Kinky believes this 
is reckless <and short-sighted—no way to invest in the future of Texas.

<We're a state that prides itself on friendliness and responsibility, but 
the message we're sending <our kids is that if you're going to be born poor, 
you'd better not be born in Texas.


Harry-- you are so right about Texas being a cruel place to be poor in. On 
the other hand, if you've got money, like my parents do, it's a great place 
to live. Kinky has observed these facts and gaps, and I'm sure any other 
concerned  politician or citizen  would have noticed them too. However,  
even if Kinky says he thinks these things are bad, I would say he lacks a 
coherent plan or the political experience to do much about them (for 
instance-- if you're a liberal governor, how do you deal with a right-wing 
legislature?). On the tv special I saw recently, Kinky was  at a fundraiser 
and tried to reassure the guests that "being Governor of Texas is pretty 
easy-- the governor doesn't have much power." (or words to that effect). 
Sounds like Kinky's idea of being governor is to ride around in a lim<o 
waving his ten-gallon hat. I'm sure that's part of the job description, and 
maybe if the state were in great shape and didn't have too many problems, 
that would be enough-- but still...

Jon