May You Have Health & Wealth in 2024

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It looks to be a good year for our nation under the leadership of Joe Biden as the economy has taken off chugging like the steam locomotives my Grandpa used to work on for Southern Railway. The stock market finished the year at the highest mark ever. So much for all the gloom and prophesying of a “recession the likes of which we’ve never seen before” from the other major candidate who obviously is talking to a crowd who doesn’t listen to anybody or anything BUT him. (When fools listen to con men, they get exactly what they deserve-bad information at best and being conned out of everything they ever hoped to have at worst.) What can we do? Nothing except go around them and do what is right.

Here’s the thing: they are not going to change no matter what we say or do. Period. That kind of change will have to come when they suddenly realize “Oh, my GOD, I was lied to, swindled, misled, …. and I was so wrong to have followed that line of thinking.” They are in a CULT. They will have to go through de-programming and it is not something for lay people to do. There may even be suicides from the deep depressions that some will go into. I’m not looking forward to that period of time, but it is coming.

In the meantime, we have our country to SAVE from that cult’s leaders. Since we cannot do anything about the unfortunate members of the cult, we have to do EVERYTHING we can to save our country. I’m going to run for office and I will need your active support. So will other candidates as we try our best to convince people that voting blue is in the very best interests of our cities, counties, states, and nation.

You do NOT have to have face to face contact with the public if that is what is holding you back. You can text people, make phone calls, write letters, write postcards, help drive campaign workers around, make up goodie bags to give out, bake things for bake sales, and just all kinds of things. If you are good on social media, there are things you can do there. (contact me!)

For those who do like meeting people, oh, boy, will you have fun! (Assuming I can raise enough money (hint!) to print literature for you to give to people! Handing out my literature either in crowds or walking through neighborhoods and knocking on doors is a great way to meet people and talk to them. Contrary to the expectations of some, the vast majority are quite nice. The ones who are “on the other side” just won’t have anything to do with you and will give you the cold-shoulder. I can live with that. A few will snarl. Just wish them a good day and move on. Prov. 25:22 It’s their problem, not yours. Follow the examples of President Biden and FLOTUS Michelle Obama.

We (Americans) have a job to do, or should I say jobs?

We need to:

Expand the Infrastructure Act. Unfortunately, the GOP members of Congress had/have very little in the way of future vision and really limited the projects that President Biden was able to get through with this piece of legislation. Yet what was done has been awesome. Just here in District 29, crumbling bridges have been replaced in several places. Many sections of I-85 were ripped up and replaced. The water treatment plant in Greenville is slated to begin renovations soon. The Griggs Recreation Center, LaGrange, got a big grant and is now under construction to completely renovate the entire facility and expand its capability which the people in the area had been told was “not in the budget” and would take years to accomplish-again. Hogansville working on funding for their parks and recreational plans and renovating the Royal Theatre. Manchester keeps working on their downtown area and the Presidential Theatre. Pine Mountain/Warm Springs are always lively and interesting places to be and they keep growing.
Guarantee Maternal and Pediatric Healthcare is available in rural and urban healthcare “deserts”. Georgia’s maternal morbidity and mortality rates are just atrocious to put it mildly and totally unacceptable. How this has come to be concerns me greatly. How anyone can say they are “pro-life” while neglecting the pre-natal, perinatal, and post-natal care of mothers is, frankly, cruel and heartless. I will not mince words. Do not tell me you are without supporting maternal healthcare. I’ll tell you that you are a liar to your face. Likewise, not supporting pediatric care at least to year 12 is also unacceptable. These children need nutritional, medical, social, and, sometimes, psychiatric support. It does take a village to raise children. Some people talk about “well, the churches should be stepping up”. Well, sugar, that would be wonderful, but until they do, somebody else is going to have to fill the gap, and that would be me and you. HELLO?
Guarantee that PUBLIC EDUCATION is a RIGHT for EVERY CHILD. Private education is NOT A RIGHT. Since private education is not a right, taxpayer dollars SHOULD NOT be used to pay for private education for the privileged. (Now if your child has a valid 501, that’s a different story altogether. The public system cannot help your child and they do need services that a private school will provide.) Note: I do not limit education to “just” children born to citizens. We have THOUSANDS of children in this country who, for all sorts of reasons, are here with their parents, other family members, or maybe even alone, and they need an education (and maybe a meal). Parents might be here as green cards or not. I simply do not care. The children did not make the choice. Do not punish them for a choice they are not responsible for. In the greater scheme of things, it’s not that much more money. We get a great return on the investment. These kids go to work at an early age and start paying tax. They’ll repay us in labor and taxes before the native-born kids will.
Involvement in our communities in various ways is so important. Whether you pick being involved in your City Council, School Board, Public Service Commission (or whatever they call the one that governs utility services), Insurance Commission, Labor Commission, Legislature, Governor’s office or another executive office, Congressional office (either Representative or Senate), staying on top of these public officials is like shining a bright white light on their activities and motivations. You can start by looking them on websites like these: Ballotpedia, OpenSecrets, GAGeneralAssembly, GAsecretaryofstate, House, senate, Meriwether, Troup, Harris, Muscogee/Columbus, and so forth. (If you have trouble, ask a kid, call a librarian, or call me.) Showing up for the meetings IS IMPORTANT. It is a natural thing for them to assume that nobody is watching and they can do whatever they jolly well please. So-prove them wrong! Show up and ask questions and ask questions. Make them squirm. They HATE IT.
Abortion is a necessary part of women’s healthcare. Women can get pregnant while on birth control because they were taking antibiotics, got a stomach bug and were throwing up and/or had diarrhea, missed a couple of days, or just had a few days with a lot of stress. If they are using IUDs, diaphragms, jellies, or barriers, things happen. There are also the vagaries of a woman’s life-the boyfriend who says he uses a condom then doesn’t, the man who starts out using one then pulls it off, the guy who puts one on too late, condoms that leak, rape, incest, and everything in between. Oh, and, btw, you don’t need actual penile penetration to get pregnant. Just proximity will do it. Or fingers. Those little swimmers can find the target on their own. And pregnancy DOES influence whether or not both the woman and the resulting children will live in reduced economic situations FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES. Forcing a woman to carry a pregnancy is a form of misogyny. Forcing any child to live in poverty is oppression. I’m not being blunt. I’m being honest. If that is offensive, that’s because you know I’m right and you don’t want to admit it. Not my problem. It’s the very same thing that the Ghost of Christmas Present showed to Scrooge in Dicken’s Christmas Carol. (See previous posts on this subject.)
Healthcare quality in rural areas and healthcare “deserts” in urban areas is of second and third world quality. Think I’m joking? Then I’m going to invite you down to just the county health departments in some areas. I don’t have a thing against county health departments. They are the ONLY healthcare some of the poor ever see at least until they qualify for Medicare. I’ve gotten vaccinated at county health departments. (Clayton, Fayette, Coweta – because they had the ones I needed.) But let me tell you something, folks, not a one of them is fancy. They do not repaint those places until they absolutely have to. The floors look like heck. The plumbing is sometimes for show. Desks are propped up and the drawers don’t close right most of the time. Staff and doctors are overworked and so underpaid. Supplies? You’re joking. I worked in healthcare so when I walk in, I ‘see’ with different eyes than most people. Our citizens are not getting the healthcare they deserve on the frontline BECAUSE THE MONEY ISN’T BEING SPENT WHERE IT SHOULD BE. It needs to be spent on primary care on the front line (preventative) care, trauma, and geriatric care. Then fill in the rest. If you do that, healthcare costs will fall like a rock. That’s as true at the state level as it is the national level.
Jobs, jobs, jobs — you hear this in every campaign. What can you do to create jobs? Well, individually, not much. Nobody can. If they tell you that, they’re lying to you. Why do I say that? Because companies coming in look at the BIG PICTURE. They don’t just come because you asked them to come. It’s not that easy.
- Infrastructure to support their needs for water, waste disposal, getting supplies delivered (railroad, interstate, highways), broadband, utilities, etc
- affordable housing for executives and frontline employees
- QUALITY schools for children
- emergency services for the company and for employees
- tax considerations
- location of available land and proximity to recreation
- available labor pool and training-just warm bodies isn’t enough
- jobs available close by for family members
- local amenities-shopping, amusements, etc.
- local political environment-e.g. some will refuse to relocate if local government is very conservative because it does not match their business ethics.
- availability of good quality nursery/daycare/after school care at affordable rates and hours

The real answer is that I can work with my colleagues and with county managers to endeavor to bring the necessary funds and resources to our district to make it into the most attractive place possible for businesses to WANT TO RELOCATE to our area. Plus I can help, as much as I possibly can, to provide funding and support to small business owners particularly women and minorities to start up and maintain their operations in small towns and cities. I will not lie to you and tell you that I can bring jobs in if I’m elected because I have no idea that I can do that. I do know that I can do this. One of the things that I do know is that people look for places that “fit”. Working together, we can make District 29 into the kind of place that “fits”.

2024 is going to be a BLOCKBUSTER year. Are you ready to get to work? I am!

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Paid for by The Committee to Elect Ellen T. Wright State Senate D 29
P.O. Box 3816, LaGrange, GA 30241 http://www.wright4georgia.com ellen@wright4georiga.com

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