Going Home, to Red Ink and Blues: "Washington is not just aloof from the pain out here in real America, but is making matters worse.
People across America will pay the price for Washington's indifference in lower-quality schools, fewer chances to go to college, less police protection and diminished medical care. The unlucky ones among us, like Douglas Schmidt, will never recover. A 37-year-old epileptic, he depended on drugs that cost $13 a day and were paid for by the state. State budget cuts meant he lost that benefit, and he ran out of pills in late February.
A week later, he had a severe seizure, his heart stopped, and he suffered permanent brain damage, leaving him in what doctors called a 'persistent vegetative state.'...
The bills so far for treating Mr. Schmidt? About half a million dollars, borne by taxpayers...
What's growing in Oregon is anger.
"This woman was saying to me, People should be on the streets with pitchforks, saying: `Revolt! Revolt!' " said Ms. Stern, the county commissioner. "There's a groundswell starting. I can feel this energy coming."
Will this fury be directed at President Bush in the next election? I'm not sure. People here complain vigorously about state or local officials, but Mr. Bush seems an afterthought. Still, when the topic comes up, many people are scathing about the Bush administration's spending $4 billion a month in Iraq while letting small towns beg for scraps. "
- posted by geoff @ #