Yes siree, a day to get out that blender and crank out some margaritas to go with a big bowl of tortilla chips and salsa while reading what Ziggyman is rambling about. Well, I’m going to begin this ‘Ramble’ with a little story to illustrate the ripple effect of the massive cuts being made by the tRump administration. I got a call from my good friend Eduardo this morning telling me he had an example of what the cuts from RFK Jr. are doing to rural medical clinics. My friend moved to a small city in Arizona on the border of Mexico last year partially to get away from the wet and chilly climate of the Oregon coast which was having a negative effect on several health conditions he has. Like many small cities throughout the country, his city does not have a medical clinic, so he has to travel a distance for medical care. He had been to the medical clinic a week ago for his regularly scheduled blood draw, but as of this morning he had not heard back from the clinic with the results, which was odd, so he called the clinic. What he found out when he called was that the two doctors in the clinic just up and retired without informing the patients. The receptionist he talked with seemed sad and didn’t transmit her normal cheerfulness, telling my friend that there are now only two nurse practitioners left in the clinic and it is a result of the cuts to the funding the clinic receives from the federal government. My friend is not a low-income person on Medicaid, but he will now have to find a new primary care provider and travel much further for his health care. As I researched this after talking to him today, I can see that we have a crisis looming for rural healthcare in this country as a result of the turmoil being created in Washington D.C. That’s because many rural communities rely on federal funding to keep the doors of hospitals and clinics open. The Republican-backed congressional budget resolution has proposed $880 billion in health service cuts over 10 years, including Medicaid. Nationally, about 47% of children in rural areas use Medicaid. In an earlier Mountain Man Musings post, I talked about the number of Oregonians on Medicaid in rural Oregon counties like Malheur, Baker, Coos, and Jefferson running from 36% of the county residents to almost 50%. As of August 2024, 1,427,016 Oregon adults and children, 23% of the population were receiving Medicaid. If the proposals to make drastic cuts to Medicaid, federal funding to rural hospitals and clinics, and other health services is put into effect, then we are going to have a whole lot of people in deep doo-doo. Unfortunately, everyone is going to start experiencing the negative results of what is being done by DOGE and this administration in more ways than one in the very near future. As reality sets in and this BS continues with healthcare, the economy, the unconstitutional and immoral executive orders, the threats to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, we will all be affected in one way or another. Some are just experiencing it sooner than later.
But, hey! There are signs that things are a-changin’. Texas MAGA’s had a very bad day in many of the May 3rd local elections in Texas from school boards to city council races. MAGA-backed candidates got absolutely trounced across the state. The Tarrant County GOP went 0-for-11 in the county’s three largest cities: Fort Worth, Arlington, and Mansfield. The results of this election in Texas show what long-term organizing and coalition-building can do when people start getting fed up. Maybe the polls are more accurate than I believed and things are going to start turning.
It’s good to know that foreign movies are a National Security threat. In the latest tariff news, tRump has received solid research from his Hollywood Ambassadors, Jon Voigt, Sylvester Stallone, and Mel Gibson, that other countries are offering incentives to our movie filmmakers and studios to leave our country and produce their propaganda in foreign countries. So the Stable Genius jumped off the toilet and yelled at an aide to grab a sharpie and executive order notebook so he could write “Therefore, I am authorizing the Dept of Commerce, and the US Trade Rep, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.” This from the guy who doesn’t know whether or not he has to uphold the Constitution of the United States, but will check with his brilliant lawyers. You just can’t make this stuff up.
Time to go watch the Celtics vs. Knicks, so y’all have a fine evening. Ziggyman
Mountain Man Musings 