Defending Our Freedom: DON'T MOURN...ORGANIZE

-----Original Message----- From: bob.adapt@sbcglobal.net Date: Sun, 29 May 2011 02:11:47 To: Bob Kafka. sbc<bob.adapt@sbcglobal.net> Reply-To: bob.adapt@sbcglobal.net Subject: Texas Legislature Passes Budget | The Texas Tribune Advocates: Confused about what they did in passing the budget. Join the crowd. It is confusing and HHSC and DADS will have to calculate what they finally did. What is clear that nobody on a waiting list will get services because of new funding.  There will be reductions in state funded programs and some waivers. Durable medical equipment rates have been reduced. How this effects services remains to be seen. Attendants wages will not improve and reductions are inevitable. People will be harmed. The only way to know how people on current services are effected is if we start collecting these stories now. We need to document how real people's services are reduced. If individuals are forced into an nursing home, ICF MR or State Institution we must file an Olmstead complaint. We must fight back. The way we do this is by documenting what real harm Gov Perry, Lt Gov Dewhurst, Speaker Strauss, Sen Ogden and Rep Pitts orchestrated on families, seniors and people with disabilities.  We fought the cuts with statewide campaigns (INVEST IN COMMUNITY, LEMONS TO LEMONADE). We joined Texas Forward to broaden the coalition ADAPT and Community Now folks engaged in Direct Action and folks got arrested fighting for our rights. We did make a difference. Could we have done more?  Yes!  We needed more people with passion and focused anger. We intellectualize too much when the "enemy" repels logic for idelogical purity. Sometimes lobbying the old fashioned way needs to be coordinated with an aggressive well funded statewide grassroots effort. And targeted Direct Action. I asked a month ago what gets a Texan angry? I'm still not sure. Maybe the effects of this budget will spur us to Action before next session so we can say NEVER AGAIN.  Kafkaesquely yours http://www.texastribune.org/texas-taxes/budget/liveblog-texas-legislature-considers-budget/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=alerts&utm_campaign=News%20Alert:%20Subscriptions Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T