CONCERNING TED

"Wake up, Ted. You wanna go for a helicopter ride? Come on, get up! "Ted? . . . . . Ted?!"

   Ted Kulongoski, the Governor of Oregon, the great 'Trailer Park' of the United States, is only awakened for parades and funerals. There is even a rumor circulating 'round Blue Collar Corner that good 'ol Ted has moved to Idaho.

   Maybe you might, just might, remember Ted from last summer when he announced that he would live, for a week, on a Food stamp allotment to show his empathy and draw attention to the plight of the 'common' man. There were other Governors from various states, even a few Senators who jumped on this bandwagon to show that they really do care about us poverty STRICKEN folks.

   It took less than a week for the 'Guvna to proclaim that he couldn't understand how people survived on this system. So what happened? Wait! Wait for it . . . . . . . . . ? Hear it? Yep, that's what happened. Wanna hear it again? Okay. In our household, our Food stamp allotment was reduced by $40.00.

   Anyways - where was I ? Last night we watched the news blurb about Ted going under the knife for Gallbladder removal and it kinda struck a nerve. I recently underwent Gallbladder surgery, after 18 months of misery and two episodes where I nearly died. 

   Yep, the state health plan in action. In theory, I was put on the state health plan because I asked my government for help. But, the Oregon State health plan is closed, and has been for a few years, to adults. They enroll children and old folks, but no-one in between.

   I was able to receive this benefit because I am a single father and the sole support for my son. The problem is, there are very few, very few doctors who accept the Oregon Health Plan, and the reason for a closed enrollment is because then state doesn't pay it's bills because it has no money for these services. They have all their money tied up in grants for wineries, distilleries and housing where only Hispanic people are allowed to live.

   A year ago I was told by an emergency room doctor that he could do an ultra-sound, but He knew there wouldn't be anything wrong. So they didn't do the procedure. This was after he asked me who my insurer was. "Fill him full of morphine and send him home," the doctor said, waving my file over his head.

   Realizing that the county clinic 'doctors' were not helping, I finally found a good doc who ordered an ultra-sound. (That order took almost a month to be okayed by the state health plan). Guess what? Bad Gallbladder. Bad. Ordered surgery. This took another month for the state insurance to 'okay'. (bad, bad Gallbladder).

   All the while, public assistance was breathing down my back wondering why it was taking so long for me to get 'well'. 18 months.

All I needed was some help. To get back to work. To get back to paying taxes.