Sound Politics: State's taxpayers paid for a sex change

1.
"Health Care is a basic right"
-Chistine Gregoire.

Posted by: Andy on February 10, 2006 08:53 AM

2. The best thing I liked about the article was what was not there. There was no mention if Sonntag was an R or a D. The rag never thought it was a partisan issue.

Posted by: swatter on February 10, 2006 08:58 AM

3. I take offence to calling it a 'sex change'. It is mutilation. Plain and simple.

It is physiologically impossible to change someone from one gender to another.

Posted by: Jeremy on February 10, 2006 09:14 AM

4. Outrageous. That operation has proved to be so bogus that John Hopkins stopped doing them some time ago. what a complete waste of taxpayer money!

Posted by: Misty on February 10, 2006 09:15 AM

5. swatter: That's because everyone pays taxes.

Posted by: Organization Man on February 10, 2006 09:16 AM

6. "...even thousand of dollars that might go missing are immaterial", Porter said.

NEED WE SAY MORE ABOUT THE ARROGANCE OF BUREAUCRATS WHO DON'T WANT TO BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANYTHING EXCEPT TO COLLECT THE PAYCHECK?????

Your state employee union at work...(thanks, but no thanks, pal)

Posted by: Misty on February 10, 2006 09:23 AM

7. Sorry Man, but what you said doesn't compute in this day and age. Yes, you are correct that everyone should be concerned about taxes and how to make the best use of the ones that are collected.

But... and I'll leave the rest off.

Posted by: swatter on February 10, 2006 09:43 AM

8. It does not list the name of the transformed? Maybe it was Goldstein? At least that would explain her/his voice.

Posted by: Jeff B. on February 10, 2006 09:53 AM

9. Well, David Castrati probably did get the penile implant. But somehow I think they botched it and implanted one from a hamsters.

Posted by: pbj on February 10, 2006 10:29 AM

10. I wonder what Ed Murray thinks about this?
According to him, these are not sex change operations, these are body corrections to correspond to gender expression different from that traditionally assigned at birth.

Posted by: Bleeding heart conservative on February 10, 2006 10:51 AM

11. wait....it's not a story about the taxpayers hard earned money unless it was a sex change for a Walmart employee!

Posted by: Andy on February 10, 2006 11:14 AM

12. Well, let's have another parade for our wonderful friends at DSHS. We have thousands of children suffering from REAL illnesses, but we pay out thousands of dollars so "Pat" can no longer be an it. Yippee. Now, let's figure out how many people suffered and died because DSHS didn't have the money to pay for a doctor's visit or medicine. Of course, DSHS allowing someone to suffer and die is nothing new for this agency.

Someone explain to me why I continue to live here...

Posted by: SnoCo Voter on February 10, 2006 11:50 AM

13. As a foster parent we get to deal with DSHS on a continual basis, that's the downside, making a difference for the kids far outweighs the hassles.

For a parent to regain custody they need to go through various programs, e.g. parenting classes, drug rehab, etc... since the State took custody of the children the State is obligated to fund the programs provided to the parent for them regain custody.

DSHS is cutting funding at the program level, for example fewer drug treatment slots. This leaves the kids in limbo. The parent can't get the require treatment accomplished so they can't regain custody, or fail on their own to complete a treatment program and the kids are permanently removed. The Courts won't allow kids to go back or removed permanently without the required services having been provided.

There are time limits on cases, if services are not provide in a timely manner the court may just order the kids returned (not likely where the kids would be in physical danger but not unheard of) or finds the case worker and DSHS in contempt of the Court ordered treatment plan.

DSHS will pay for entirely voluntary operation, i.e. "gender assignments," but can't pay for Court order treatment programs that are really and truly for the "good of the children."

Earth to planet Gregoire...

WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT

Posted by: JCM on February 10, 2006 01:04 PM

14. Transformation is the name of the game.
Men to women, women to men, private property to protected woodlands, Rossi ballots to Gregoire ballots, your paycheck to someone else's meal ticket, unborn fetuses to dead fetuses....

Posted by: Steve on February 10, 2006 01:32 PM

15. I emailed the Gov.

Honorable Governor Gregoire,

I am the foster parent to two boys. The younger of the two boys was beat against the steering wheel of the car his parents were living in at the time. He was 4 months old at the time of the beating. He had other injuries that were in various stages of healing. The boys were taken into protective custody when the mother took them to Children's for treatment. He had at 4 months given up. He would not cry because either nothing would happen or something painful would happen.

DSHS is cutting back on services to parents. This means that Court ordered programs are becoming limited. Programs like transporting children to visits with parents, drug treatment, and parenting classes to mention just a few.

The lack of these services means the case cannot be resolved until the Court ordered service are provided. The children's cases are in limbo until services are provided, or worse returned to the parents because DSHS is in violation of the Court order.

DSHS lacks the funds to provide the Court ordered services that protect the most vulnerable of Washington's Citizens, the children. Yet at the same time DSHS has the funds to provide completely elective surgeries. Auditor Sonntag's very limited audit of DSHS revealed in excess of $150,000 of elective surgeries.

If I may ask as politely as my outrage at this report will permit;

What is going on at DSHS?

Sincerly

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/259076_sexchange10.html

Posted by: JCM on February 10, 2006 02:18 PM

16. The state has no business funding breast augmentation nor sex changes, because it is a form of cosmetic surgery and is not life threatening. We are becoming more like San Francisco it is appalling. They too, pay for sex changes out of taxpayers expense and provide hormones to the recipients for the rest of their lives. Personally, I believe sex change operations are a sex hate crime. You hate your God given sex so much that you mutilate your body. Your X or Y chromosomes cannot be altered and you are what you are. Go visit a retirement home or nursing home and see for yourself how well they are run under medicare or medicaid assistance, because there will be a day you will be there. Ask the nurse aides if they think they are staffed enough to handle the workload and whether they are receiving enough compensation for what they do. Ask the patients, how long they were lying in their waste or how long they were waiting for a drink of water. I have done this and am alarmed. I would like a monitor on the patient's buzzer to record the time it takes to respond to clean them up or assist them that only law enforcement can have access of to prevent tampering by DSHS or the care facility staff.

Posted by: JWA on February 10, 2006 02:45 PM

17. Howsyoudoing,

Heres your GENDER DYSPHORIA, bada-boom bada-bing
stap it on.

Forgetaboutit.

Posted by: Joey bag of doughnuts on February 10, 2006 03:49 PM

18. Dino Rossi - are you listening ? You have a campaign issue, if you decide to run for Governor in 2008. It appears that the current Gov is going to give DSHS a pass on this, as will the Legislature. If they do, that is a campaign issue for the Repubs. for the State House and Senate.

However, they are going to have to effectively make a campaign issue out of this - are they up to it ?

Posted by: KS on February 10, 2006 09:10 PM

19. You know what's worse? Medical insurance doesn't help couples pay for fertility costs. Normal people can't get help trying to have babies but whackos can get sex operations. Nice.

Posted by: Easycure on February 10, 2006 09:32 PM

20. You are all a bunch of bigots, right wing wackos that don't want some poor she-man to live as she-he feels. I'm going to sue you all for discrimination.....damn that is funny.

Posted by: Dengle on February 10, 2006 11:20 PM

21. Dengle is a leftist reactionary. This is no laughing matter - I hope that Brian Sontaag's findings trigger some responsible government action and take the ax to this unnecessary aspect of health care.
Health care costs are destined to go up-up-up without this additional non-physical health burden being added in.

Maybe the Canadian doctors will give a lower price or even a discount for sex change operations or work out a deal with the City of San Fran-freako where they do alot of those operations. I am eagerly anticipating the results of the performance audit on DSHS.

Posted by: KS on February 11, 2006 01:10 PM

22. PBJ you're coments made me chuckle!! Sounds like Chrissy is showing her true colors again too bad there's not enough malfeasnce to pull a Grey Davis surprise! DARN!!

Posted by: Laurie on February 11, 2006 05:23 PM

23. DSHS is a bad joke and so is the legislature and the Governor that managed and created them. I applied for educational assistance under DVR (Department of Vocational Rehabilitation), a program managed by DSHS and funded by the US Department of Education.

DSHS denied my request for a college education inspite of the fact that the program has no income requirements and is funded specifically by the US Department of Education for educating disabled people so that they can go to work.

I filed an appeal and DSHS testified educational assistance is not a right and that their program is not an entitlement. In addition, they testified in court that the US Department of Education never contacted them after I filed a formal complaint against them for discrimination.

Apparently a sex change is a right while getting an education and going to school is not. I find horrifying that we have elderly and sick people that can't get their medication without the predatory state refusing them or going after their estate for getting assistance and now the State is going to pay for their sex change.

As far as I am concerned, someone should go to Olympia and change the sex of the entire legislature and the governor. They obviously are confused now and perhaps they would be less jaded
after their balls are cut off.

I am opposed to the State paying for a sex change. And I am shocked that people can't get help going to school or for their medication. My neighbor tells me that the US Department of Education wouldn't even help her daughter.

DSHS is disgusting. How come someone doesn't start an initiative to overhaul this dicrepid agency? I would like to become involved with a citizen group that is really interested in completely overhauling DSHS. I would like to see the DVR division abolished and transfered to the State Department of Education. In addition, I believe DVR should be managed by a website.
I would like to see DSHS be required to send out all of their notices by e-mail unless a client ask for regular mail.

DSHS has a budget of over 8 billion and much of that money is spent on postage and the people that work their. Someone needs to go through that agency with a fine tooth comb.

Disgusted in Renton.

Posted by: Randal South on February 15, 2006 05:57 AM

24. DSHS is a bad joke and so is the legislature and the Governor that managed and created them. I applied for educational assistance under DVR (Department of Vocational Rehabilitation), a program managed by DSHS and funded by the US Department of Education.