Dallas' Clinic Closings

I've been watching with a lot of interest the developments of the city of Dallas closing three clinics that provide services to the poor and needy. The closings would save the city nearly $3 million, and city officials were claiming the services could be absorbed by the county. Many, including myself, were concerned the move would leave a lot of folks without an outlet for practical health services, including immunizations.

Some have said Parkland would be a perfectly fine alternative, but sitting in the emergency room for six to eight hours is hardly practical. Parkland's outpatient program, which operates clinics in various locations, is already so overburdened that new patients have to wait three months after they qualify to get a doctor's appointment. There needs to be a place for immediate attention outside of the total beating of waiting at Parkland.

I doubted the county could take on the burden immediately, and after seeing news reports in the Morning News that people were being turned away at city clinics because nurses were already quitting ahead of the closure, I became more concerned. Thankfully, it looks like the city is taking the welfare of the working poor seriously.

I emailed several councilmembers about the situation, and only District 1 councilwoman Delia Jasso followed through with me. She forwarded to me a memo from assistant city manager Forest Turner to city administration that they have been working with the county to transfer their state grants to them so there would be no lapse in service. The city has informed the state of the plan and the city will be briefed on the progress in early September.

I'm glad to see the city is actually taking the needs of its citizens into account here. It would have been so easy to pass the buck and make it someone else's problem, so let's hope this works without a gap in service. I was critical of Ms. Jasso during the election, but she and her staff have been great in addressing the issue and keeping me informed. Kudos to them for their work in following up and their professionalism.

Updates on my latest stories

LifeNews.com, a national pro-life news site, has picked up on my Examiner story about Planned Parenthood. You can read their story HERE. I've also been informed that a number of other sites are running with the story as well. I'm so grateful that word of this little-known provision of the health care bill is getting out.

Also, I have also posted my interview with Wade Emmert at Examiner.com. You can read it HERE. Wade is running for Dallas County Judge, which oversees the County Commissioner's Court. It is an important position, currently being held by Jim Foster, who has been such an absolute failure that even his fellow Democrats don't support his reelection. You can find out more about Wade at WadeEmmert.com.

Planned Parenthood in America's Schools?

I took the time to start researching President Obama's health care reform bill and found something interesting. The bill allows outside groups to get federal grants to run clinics in and near America's public schools. If you're wondering who the Obama Administration had in mind to run them, note that they've been meeting with Planned Parenthood officials all summer. For more information, please CLICK HERE TO READ MY REPORT! Be sure to tell others!

People Actually Vote for Sheila Jackson Lee

House Rep. Lee represents Houston, and they ought to be ashamed. She's the ultimate opportunist. She ripped Barack Obama back in the primaries when it looked like Hillary had it wrapped up. At Michael Jackson's funeral, she promised to get a Congressional proclamation saying how wonderful he was (the House refused). This week, she had an Obama DNC delegate in her town hall meeting pretend to be a doctor and talk about how wonderful the proposed health plan is. Here is how she treats normal people.

Dallas Morning News: A School By Any Other Name

My "guest blog" entry has been posted at the Dallas Morning News website, on their opinion blog. It addresses DISD board member Ron Price's attempt to name a school for Barack Obama and Sonia Sotomayor. For a direct link, CLICK RIGHT HERE. There is even a comments section for your feedback.

My Latest Morning News Column Is Online

Thanks to everyone for the great feedback so far on my Sunday column. In case you didn't get Sunday's paper, the column is now online at the Morning News website. Click here to read the column online now!