It is with an extremely heavy heart that I write this, but I must share-to let people know the real Texas, in case you do not. Monday night, when I was making posters for Jamies execution, I took an emergency call from a very close friend of nearly 46 years. He was on his was through Houston to Austin to be at his brothers side. His brother had fallen the day before with a seizure and had been taken to the hospital. I left the poster making to meet him to find out about the latest crisis. Several months ago, the brother heard the devastating news that he had Stage 4 cancer of the colon and liver. His one kidney had been donated by my friend nearly four decades ago. The seizure was caused by the cancer spreading to his brain--the doctor at the County hospital had failed to order the correct tests to see if the cancer was spreading. The ambulance had taken over an hour to arrive and get him to the hospital. He was on a ventilator and my friend had to make a decision to disconnect him. Tuesday, on the way to the Death House, I received a text that the decision was made to disconnect the ventilator. He died an hour ago. So, let me tell you some things about the great State of Texas. In addition to the poignant letter Petra wrote about the inhumane conditions on Death Row, people with no money suffer much the same fate. Not exactly the same, of course, but dying needlessly because of Rick Perry. Over 700 CEOs rate Texas as the best place to do business, however, there is hardly any environmental control in Texas--look to the devastating disaster in West last year. Texas has a debt of $81 billion dollars, despite the fact that Rick Perry tells everyone we are creating the most jobs. 19% of the population of Texas lives in poverty--we rank 6th in the US. Texas ranks 49th in the US on public education spending, but yet, Perry wants to open a branch of his alma mater, Texas A & M, in Israel. Rick Perry lied to the public to bring the lottery to Texas, telling the voters it was going to be spent on education. Most school districts in Texas have an active lawsuit against the State to recover the money promised. But, what I am concerned with now is the healthcare. There are 6.2 million in Texas uninsured--that is 25% of our population. When you uninsured, you get little or no care. There is no preventive care to find out if you have cancer before it reaches to Stage 4. There is little or no proper care once you get to the County hospital. No proper tests run to see if the cancer is spreading. Ambulances do not come on time and leave people in seizures on the floor with friends helpless around you. And, so you end up a statistic. Rick Perry does not care about Jamie. Rick Perry does not care about my friend. F*CK YOU, RICK PERRY AND F*CK YOUR MAMA, TOO. Rest In Peace, Jamie--you will never be forgotten. And, Rest In Peace, my friend, Junior--you will always be remembered. To my buddy of so many years--stay strong.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 20:56:25 +0000
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