A Visit to my State Capital #SundaySalon
Happy Sunday! Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at ReaderBuzz. Check out her post and the links to see what other bloggers have been up to in the last week.
How’s the weather?
Spring is springing. The first lilacs in the neighborhood bloomed this week and they smell amazing! We’re also enjoying dogwoods, cherries, and redbuds.
What are you reading?
I started the audiobook of John Green’s Everything is Tuberculosis. This is fascinating history and horrifying present.
What are you watching?
I’m enjoying the latest season of Call the Midwife. This is always one of my favorite shows because it’s all about strong women supporting strong women.
What are you doing?
I went to Jefferson City this week with a couple of friends. I visited with the representative and senator from the district where I live now and from the district where I grew up. I talked about rural hospitals and the impact that Medicaid cuts would have on them, including the distinct possibility of closures. Medicaid cuts don’t just harm people who are on Medicaid and their families. In rural areas where many people use Medicaid to cover health care costs, the entire medical system is impacted. When rural hospitals close, every person in the region is in more danger during times of emergency (including mothers in labor and young people in car accidents).
That’s me on the left with my representative in Jefferson City.
We watched for quite a while from the rear gallery of the Missouri House of Representatives
Did you know that there was a Hands Off! rally last week in Trafalgar Square? I wrote a post with information that I gathered about that.
I continued the A to Z Challenge with more posts on my theme of Activism:
- F is for Feelings
- G is for Give Generously
- H is for Humor
- I is for Idealism
- J is for Join
- K is for Keep
How are you this fine Sunday?
The speed and ferocity of the dismantling of government services has every head spinning! Medicare and other healthcare cuts are very menacing, as you say.
Our small town hospital closed twenty years ago, with promises that there would be a new hospital (even a sign for a long time) but nothing has returned. It’s a long half hour to the nearest hospital. Thank you for speaking up, Joy.
And now I need to catch up on your posts on activism.
Good for you to become active in making yourself heard. I’m a Call The Midwife fan as well. Have a good week Joy.
That’s horrific about Medicaid and how it impacts a community. Unbelievable how he has torn apart so many good programs in such a short time. I keep reading about people who voted for him who regret it because they are feeling the effects.
One of the main reasons my parents moved to Cherokee Village, Arkansas when my dad retired was because the community had a hospital so they wouldn’t have to drive 3 hours to one. Not long after they moved, that hospital shut down.
Way to go Joy! Talking with your representative …. and I hope we have more Hands Off rallies …. definitely needed. Thx for your words on my site recently. much appreciated.
Glad you got a chance to meet with your representatives! We will be meeting with our former NY representatives in DC on our drive back. They are both swing districts and can use all the support we can muster! I’m hoping to read Everything is Tuberculosis sometime this year.
I’m not sure I can keep up with everything that is happening in the US at the moment. Well done for speaking up!
Everything is Tuberculosis is really good, I highly recommend it (as someone who is moderately expert in the topic — I wrote my undergrad dissertation on TB, and have now studied it as one of my specialities in my MSc!). I hope you enjoy it.
Fantastic job on speaking up Joy!!! We need people like you out there fighting!
I just got back from Canada. When I was there I went to The City & The City Books and bought a signed copy of Everything is Tuberculosis. I plan on starting it tomorrow. I’m happy to know you enjoyed it!
I bet the audiobook of Everything is Tuberculosis is good! It isn’t necessarily the type of book I normally gravitate towards, but I may have to pick it up just the same. I do like John Green. I am glad you were able to visit with your representative and senator and voice your concerns. I call mine just about every day. They may be democrats, but I want them to know I still want them to fight with everything they have for the good of us all.