^B00:00:58 >> The following program may contain strong language and brief nudity. But don't get your hopes up. After all, this is Public Access TV. ^M00:01:08 [ Rooster Crowing ] ^M00:01:09 This program was made possible from the support of VSA Texas and Amerigroup. ^M00:01:19 [ Music ] ^M00:01:32 >> Rise up Amerigroup. >> Hello folks. I'm Gene. >> And I'm Dave. >> And we're the-- >> [Simultaneously] Gene and Dave show. >> Well, welcome folks. We're here today with guess Jennifer McPhail from ADAPT and Dennis Borel, the executive director of the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities. >> It's great to have you both here. I feel that my-- just by having your presence on the show, my IQ has went up by a hundred fold. So, thank you all for being here today and we really appreciate you taking your time and let's talk about the ADA shall we? >> Let's do it. >> Let's do it, yeah. >> This is 2015, marks the 25th year anniversary of the ADA and my claim to fame with the ADA was in 1990, I was in-- one of the 101 people arrested in the rotunda in Washington D.C. when we were trying to bring attention to the Congress that we needed the ADA passed. But the past 25 years, we've seen a lot-- Dennis, I know you commented earlier that it's hard to believe before 1990, it was legal to discriminate against people with disabilities. >> Sure it was and that's what's almost unbelievable and I know-- I think you were at the ARCIL event a couple of weeks ago and I talked about this about what is, you know, the greatest achievements in 20th century America and it really wasn't like Patton's military victories that we are talking about early-- >> Kind of feel like that right now or-- >> Yeah, or cars. >> Cut down. >> But-- or space travel to the moon. It really was civil rights. You know, that's what would deliver on the promise to make this a great country that everybody participated. But it's really shocking to think the very last of those Civil Rights Bills was Americans with Disabilities Act and before 1990 perfectly legally discriminate based on a person's disabilities. You know, I mean, what were we thinking? >> I don't know. >> And, you know Jennifer, I know that we've talked about 25 years after the ADA, what are we thinking now when we still continue to discriminate against people with disabilities. >> Absolutely. I think one of the greatest changes that the ADA is responsible for is in the souls of the individuals with disabilities and that's very, very different than what we had when I was coming up or the generations before me were fighting for what they needed at that time. >> Do you think they're getting a little complacent if you will-- >> No. >> -- or-- >> I don't think it's complacency. I think it's the next level of what you get when you have a civil rights movement is that you now expect to be equals. You're invested in making sure-- because you've always had it, you're not willing to let it go. >> So, now you know that you can fight-- >> Right. >> -- rather than before you were like, well, you know, my place is in the home. I'm not supposed to go out because there's these rules. I need to just stay at home. I know that I can't really get in that restaurant so I just not going to go to eat there. My place is staying back here back in the wings. >> Yeah. And one of the other things that happens is now that it's spread quite a bit throughout the community, I mean the access, people are now able to do things other than, you know, fight and struggle to be free. Now, they're actually doing the kinds of things that people do when they are free and equal like going to school and getting jobs and raising families, and that's very different. >> You know, Dennis, you mentioned complacency, I remember in February of last year in 2014, we had the Civil Rights Summit here in Austin. Some of the great civil rights leaders of the country were here, several past presidents, but at first, they denied people with disabilities to speak at the conference and pretty much saying, well, you've got your civil rights. It's no longer an ongoing issue for you and-- but we managed to lobby them and they invited Lex Frieden to speak for us but it seems like some folks are acting as if, yeah, we've got the ADA passed, now we no longer need to fight, but in reality, we need to keep pushing our legislators and making sure our leaders know that our-- what the law is, reminding them what it is. >> Yeah, definitely. We don't want to go back. We want to keep going forward and that takes a lot of work. >> You know, that Civil Rights Summit is almost a great example. I call this thing the last ones invited to the party. You know, it's like, oh, we're going to have a big civil rights summit. We're going to talk about race and gender and religion and country of origin, and that's how we're going to celebrate civil rights laws in this-- in the United States. You know, one thing I didn't know before last year is that people with disabilities were included in the original Civil Rights Act, LBJ Civil Rights Act in 1964-- >> I didn't know that. >> -- but were deleted. >> Yeah. >> But were deleted and then because there was-- I believe at that time, there was-- they thought they couldn't pass the whole bill so they cut out equal rights for people with disabilities and let that basically lay dormant until 1990 when it was the Americans with Disabilities Act. So, late to the party, last invited. I will say one thing for those organizers, once there was protest made, they kind of said, yeah, we were wrong, and did invite Lex Frieden and quite a few other folks and I think we still had the news-- >> Yeah. >> -- event in front of the Civil Rights Summit as well. So-- >> Yeah. >> I can't imagine LBJ not standing up for that. >> Well, he's been dead for a while [laughter]. >> No, but back then. >> Yeah. Well, you know, when you think about it, he was a master, tactician in getting things through so I suspect he knew that he was giving up that but in return getting the foothold of civil rights. But he should really-- in retrospect, they should have never have singled out people with disabilities do not be included in that. >> Speaking of getting invited to the party, I think our own local celebrity Jennifer McPhail got invited to a party in Washington D.C. and celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ADA. Do you want to tell us about that, Jennifer? >> Well, actually, we had to kind of fight for that one too, but once we kind of pushed our way in, it was really very cool to see they-- the Obama administration really didn't have anything until the last minute to acknowledge the ADA 25th Anniversary. So, a bunch of us in the disability rights movement kind of pitched a fit and I was the guest of a guest and that was pretty awesome. It was one of the best experiences of my life because I've never seen anything more shiny in my entire life. I was like, please, don't drop anything or, you know, spill something on the carpet. It was one of those moments where you just kind of tiptoe and it was like being a little kid again because even the bathrooms had like libraries attached to them. >> Wow! >> It was awesome. >> And it was accessible? >> Yeah. >> The bathroom. >> Well, they made it accessible. Yes. It was-- The bathrooms were very accessible. They had to bring in portable ramps so you can get into the east wing of the White House but it was pretty awesome. >> Did Obama get to meet you? >> Actually, no. I got to talk to the vice president and he called my mom for her birthday. It was pretty cool. >> Oh, get out of town. >> No, I'm serious. It was pretty awesome. So, Joe Biden is a cool guy. >> He must be running for president. >> Yes. >> I don't know. Do you think? >> Yeah. But that's the big question in the air now, so. >> Yeah. >> Beginning of next month-- >> I haven't seen anything yet. >> So, we'll see. >> I know my mom is pretty big fan now. ^M00:09:23 [ Laughter ] ^M00:09:24 >> What's been the biggest improvement that you've seen Dave in the past 25 years in terms of the ADA? >> Oh, there's so many things. I mean in-- a lot of it like Jennifer said, you know, were-- we kind of take advantage of it now. We don't always think about it. You know, just something as simple as being able to go out to a restaurant and have a meal with friends or family and then just being able to get one place to another. I take the train to work almost every day. You know, I love to be able to take public transportation, gas is expensive, traffic is horrible, but I can get on the train and I can start working. ^M00:10:07 You know, I can make phone calls or check email, whatever right from the train and I can just roll on without any-- >> Yeah. >> -- any issues. I mean, just the door opens and I just roll right on. I don't have to worry about a lift or a ramp or-- I mean, it's just accessible the way it is to everybody else. So, it's just-- it's there. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Which I love. It's great. >> And then you had train-- accessible transportation is huge. That's where the attractions for me that-- that's one of the things that brought me to Austin but you still got a ways to go. Dave, you and I did a show on accessible lodging here in Austin and we found some good lodging but there are people still today, you make a reservation at a hotel for accessible room, you show up and they don't have it. >> Or they gave it away to someone who doesn't need it. >> They gave it away to someone who doesn't need it or they decided to do construction on it and not tell the person that scheduled the room. That happens way too often. >> Yeah. That happened to me in Dallas. We didn't have anywhere else to go. So, I would have to go to the restroom out in the lobby-- it was just a big pain in the tuccus, in the middle of the night having to go to the bathroom in the lobby and then go back to my hotel room. Those are real pain. >> Kind of made you have to get dressed, didn't it? >> Yeah. Well, that's the only way to go-- >> Yeah. >> -- when you're having to go through the lobby. >> Yeah, I guess so. Yeah. >> And you folks at home know that on our website, www.thegeneanddaveshow.com, we caption all of our shows. Yet, the movies that we see on TV are supposed to be captioned but there are lots of times they just fall short. Certainly, the video content on the web hardly ever is captioned. So, we definitely need some enforcement in a number of areas. >> If people ever need help with that kind of thing, feel free to call the ADAPT office. The number is (512) 442-0252, and just ask for me, Jennifer, and we'll try to help people with problems that they have and try to straighten things out. >> And also, Dennis' office is? >> (512) 478-3366, Coalition of Texans with Disabilities and we partner all the time with ADAPT shoulder to shoulder try to make this world a little bit better place, right? >> Absolutely! >> And if you go to our summary page on our website, you'll see both of their web addresses. We'll put them on the screen here, but you had-- definitely make use of this two valuable resources. Any more thoughts on the ADA before we move on to passing the torch? >> Well for me, the thing that struck me as I'm sitting in that shinny White House is how much things have changed in my life and I always say this like in city hall or at the state legislature, but I've lived two lifetimes. The lifetime that I had before the Americans with Disabilities Act and the lifetime that I've lived after the passage of ADA and the two are starkly different. My life before I had liberties and protections under the law was just an existence. We would always have to call ahead. You would assume that you couldn't get into a classroom without a fight. You could assume that you weren't going to be able to get on that bus on a busy day because it would be one of the ones without the lift or something like that and now, what I have now with the advancements that we made is spontaneity in my life. I no longer have to call ahead and make sure unless the taxicab or a hotel but I can just go on and do what I need to do during the day and not have to think and not have to plan and not be so rigid. If I want to go out to a restaurant, I can go out to a restaurant. If I want to go to a movie, I don't have to sit in the aisle. If I want to go, you know, kayaking or skydiving or whatever, I can do all those things. May be somethings are easier than others but-- >> Yeah. But still it's a total change in freedom and that's wonderful. >> Absolutely! >> I see it as a bit of a yin and yang and some of my most favorite experience is related to the ADA are like I ran into the guy who in the produce section of HEB, not only he couldn't handle a wheelchair, he's on a gurney getting by and just-- >> Wow! >> -- you know, the common interaction, the sort of the regular person interaction I think is really cool. >> Yeah. >> But I'd also like to see society accelerate through full participation-- >> Absolutely. >> -- with people with disabilities and I think that's the next challenge we go to. >> We know recently, Hilary Clinton was interviewed and this was in reference to a Black Lives Matters when she said, "You can't change people's hearts." Well, you can and we have, you know. Before we became so accessibly infrastructure of the city, you rarely saw people with mobility impairments out and people would say, "Well, why do we need to have ramps on the sidewalks. We never seen one-- anyone out in a wheelchair." Well-- >> Yeah. >> -- duh, you don't see them out there because there's no ramps. But I mean, Dave and I get comments all the time. People say, you know, we watch your show and we didn't realize this is why you need certain things, why you do certain things, and now we know and now we can back it. So, yeah, I think we have changed people's hearts and I think we are going to move forward in this improvements to ADA but we got to keep reminding our leadership that we're here, we got our eyes on 'em. >> Yeah. >> Speaking of leadership Dennis, you want to tell us about the change in leadership that legislative-- >> Yeah, the-- >> - level? >> This years' Texas legislative session, yeah. There was a lot of change at the top, a new governor and there was lieutenant governor. A lot of new key chairman and supposedly, a year of opportunity, a year where there was going to be money in the state budget to address some of the issues, not just for people with disabilities but for school kids even transportation, water, environment, all this things that they could have done and yet, I kind of come to the end of it and felt like they felt a lot more undone, a lot more undone that they could have done. And the classic example really is in health and human services. That part of the budget they had great opportunities to address, waiting lists in our Medicaid Waiver programs to address these attendant care issues which I've come to say is the worst compensated legal job in Texas. >> Absolutely. >> And a myriad of other things and it's shocking to me that the issues that emerge is what were called important really weren't. There was a lot more discussion about open carry handguns and there was about seniors and people with disabilities living lives of dignity. That's just not right. >> You're absolutely right. It wasn't right and it's very shameful that in a session like that one went all that financial-- all those resources that we didn't advance the ball a little further. You never really expect for them to greet you with open arms and do everything that you say is the correct thing to do even though you know it is the correct thing to do. But a little bit more acknowledgment of the crisis that people are facing because if you need attendant services right now in the state, even if you are in a program, there's no guarantee that someone is coming because the people who are reliable and people who have done it for years are getting older, aging out of the system and have really the-- some of the worst working conditions known to humanity and they're wondering why people are not succeeding in finding attendants. Well, they need to be compensated for what they do. It's a physical job and it has to be done on a regular basis and they need compensation and relaxation and they're not getting it and as a result, we're not getting what we need. >> Well, you know, it's-- this is like incredibly wrongheaded and I'll call it stupid public policy to ignore this workforce. You know, and we've talked about this. They essentially took the very lowest paid classification of attendants and, you know, accorded them a raise of 14 cents, OK, 14 cents. >> That equates $8 an hour but-- >> Yes. >> -- in September-- >> $8 an hour and what-- are there any benefits that come with this job? >> No. >> No. >> No healthcare, no, you know, no -- not-- >> No paid sick leave. No paid holidays. No-- Things that we take for granted in the workplace is just being the most basic benefits that, you know, if December 25th, this falls on the day of the week and you get it off, you don't get docked pay. >> Right. >> But if you're an attendant you do take-- if you take Christmas off. >> Right. >> Yeah. >> You know, so this is a matter of-- you know, they think they're saving little money. Actually, what they do by starving this workforce is putting people at risk of institutionalization which is far more expensive and far more damaging to us as human beings. >>Absolutely. I mean-- and we're talking also about the potential for falls. If you're doing more things by yourself because there's no one coming, or the potential for pressure sores because you're forced to stay in your chair overnight because no one's coming, those types of things. So, society pays for it anyway even if-- we pay more for it if we ignore it and let it get to a crisis situation. ^M00:20:20 >> Dennis, if people wanted more information on this, where would they go? Will they find a document that would help-- >> Well, as a matter of fact-- ^M00:20:28 [ Inaudible Remark ] ^M00:20:29 >> -- they can. This document I hold right here, which is our report on 84th Texas legislature that was issued, can be found at txdisabilities.org, txdisabilities.org, downloadable and, you know, I'm believer that you just cannot have a report that looks like legislation because it's so boring, no one can ever read it, so. >> Yeah. >> Right, right. >> So, what we do, there's some pop culture references who kind of do the house of cards thing going through here. But you'll find it very readable and you can scan through relatively quickly and it is important for all people to pay attention what goes on in the capital. And these are decisions that impact everybody's lives and the decisions that were made this year, you know, I think were harmful not only in the short term but in the long term too. >> Absolutely. It's going to have repercussions for generations to come. >> Absolutely, yes. >> Yeah. You mentioned-- One of the things you mentioned in your report, Dennis, is that the legislature cut taxes and the biggest problem we have with that is when there's a downturn in the economy, when we start to have problems, nobody is going to raise taxes. That's political suicide. What you're going to do is cut services and that's dangerous. So we-- we're not getting some of the services we should now because the taxes are cut. And if there's a downturn in the economy, it's going to be even worse. >> Yeah. And you know that could happen as soon as the next legislative session, you know, that could happen in 2017. Certainly, I think by 2019, we're going to see, you know, basic drying up of state revenues that will cause them to cut services further and for what? You know, the-- part of the tax cuts went to home owners with-- that amounted to 10 bucks a month. You know, who's going to even notice that? And the bulk of the tax cuts went to big business and the majority went to, you know, the larger the business is. So, they got a big tax cut and, you know, they always say they do that to create jobs. These are jobs creators. So I know a jobs and could wait to create jobs would be the raise that attendant wage so that-- >> Absolutely. >> -- people filling these jobs which are now vacant. >> Right. >> You know, and those people, you know what, they spend their paychecks. >> Absolutely because they're so poor. It goes right back into the local economy. >> Yeah, yeah. >> And speaking of local, Jennifer, you-- you're very active in city hall. You've seen the change there. >> Yeah, there's quite a bit of change. There's only one incumbent serving on the city council this year which means a lot more time and effort to educate people about very basic stuff. And what we have on our local platform for issues is we're supporting a recommendation of $9 million for sidewalks and curb cuts. One of the problems about that is that if they run out of bond funding next year so they're going to have to look for additional funds to keep the program going. We've created a lot of accessibility through the years in where one of the most accessible cities in the country but our sidewalk networks needs a sprucing up every year, it's very cyclical. Those projects need a lot of attention to be maintained and be available to everybody and unless we find a funding source beyond the bond funds, we're in big trouble. So, for people that are watching, if you like accessible sidewalks and that's most of us because most-- everybody has used the sidewalk at least once in your life no matter what your situation, then please let the city council know that it's a priority for you and your neighborhood and keep being vocal about it because frankly, I'm personally sick and tired of turning on the news and seeing someone get hit by a car because they were in the crosswalk or on their way to a sidewalk that might work for them. And then one of the other things that we're working on is improving accessibility of the parks network throughout the city. And as part of the lawsuit settlement, there's an agreement to create a transition plan which is something that they had to have since 1992 but didn't. So, they're creating a transition plan that will include an inventory and an action plan on how to remove those barriers. So, helping to encourage them to keep that process going and to approve those funds would be very helpful. >> Now, when you say educating the councilman and at the state level as well, what that means is going to each individual person and the 10 councilmen or going to each legislator and visiting with them and explaining to them what our needs are and why we need the things we do and the importance of it, the value of it, and every time there's a change in leadership, someone new gets elected, going to start the process all over again. >> Yeah. >> So, you're pretty busy. >> As soon as you break a minute, seems like it's time for a new set of-- I mean, you'd like, oh men, my life just got very interesting and really quickly. But it is a very exciting time though because we have those advancements and because we're not just talking about pennies, we're talking about major overhauls of the community and keeping things going that are established and recognized throughout the country as the standard by which everyone else is held to. So, it is a very great place to live but we did have a lot of challenges and one of the biggest is affordable, accessible, integrated housing especially with the unregulated boarding care homes now, the conversation is more services attached to housing again and it's going to be encumbant upon us who want people to achieve the most independence to make sure that housing is not attached to services because that gives landlords and provider agencies a lot of control over the individual. If you have a disagreement about your housing, you could lose your services that they're attached or vice versa. If you have a disagreement about your services and it's attached to your housing, you can lose a place to live. So, we want to make sure that people get the services that they need and the housing that they need but that they have individual choices about how to be served. Sort of person-centered planning kind of stuff but at the local level and making sure that the two services and housing are separate. >> Well that reminds me now, you know, we've talked about the ADA, we've talked about local issues, maybe I'm thinking my mind the next step would be go after the fair housing administration and see if we can get them to improve their standards, to make housing more accessible, more available. >> Yeah. One of the most difficult things I think is, even beyond the barriers in the housing itself, is the affordability issue because this is not an affordable city to live in for pretty much anyone who's of working level income or below, you're going to have challenges, and because so much of the federal governments' funds have been cut towards housing because they figure, well, you know, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, go work harder or whatever, not realizing that grandma probably worked all of her life and there comes a certain time when grandma needs to take it easy and that she lives in affordable housing sometimes. And so, what they've done is pass on the responsibility to local government and anytime that happens on a large scale like that local government has challenges in providing large scale funding and programs because it's less challenging for the federal government because they have more money available to them and local governments don't, so that's the next thing that we have on the horizon. If you're not dealing with it now, you're going to deal with it in the future and there's no magic bullet for that either. We have done creative things at the local level and used bond fundings to provide affordable housing which is great. We're the first city in Texas to have done that and it was a really creative way to solve funding gap but that's running out too. >> Well, Dave found a way to beat the high cost of accessible housing, Dave moved out of town. >> Very true. I moved up to Leander. So, I still get to be in Austin or close to Austin but yeah, I live in Leander. >> Would you ride the accessible train and-- >> Sure. >> So that works out, that works out well. >> You know I can't help but link to the things you said Jennifer. You touched about this board and care homes which have been in the last-- certainly in the last week, 10 days in Austin, there's been three cases-- one was a halfway house for ex-offenders but two were these board and care homes where people are shocked at the conditions our fellow citizens are living in. And the reason why they're there is they can't find alternatives and these boards homes, which by the way, are unlicensed and unregulated-- ^M00:30:05 >> Right. >> -- are one of these deals where people swap their Social Security check for theoretically shelter and meals-- >> Food, yeah. >> -- and meals, OK? And in an unregulated environment which sets people up to be exploited and then when people do come in and call attention, oh my God, how horrible this is. Well, then what are they doing to solve the problem? They're not. So, you know, the way to solve the problem is provide some affordable accessible housing. You know, make sure that every housing situation like that does have to meet regulations and, you know, frankly, a lot of people are hearing this stuff and they are associating it with group homes for Medicaid Waivers and are using that as an example of why we should institutionalize people with like intellectual and developmental disabilities because it might end up in these board homes-- >> Right. >> -- which are being called group homes in the media but they are not group homes-- >> Right. >> -- for the purposes of the Medicaid program but allows people to think, oh God, if that's a community environment for the Medicaid Waivers, that's a terrible place to be, and that would be a wrong assumption to make. >> Right, absolutely. It's very dangerous because what we-- >> Very. >> -- want to do is provide people the services that they need but also the independence that they deserve because when you regulate the life out of people and rigidly expect the individual with the disability to do it here to a certain environment, then what you've done is just trade one institution for another. We want people to be safe but we also want them to be engaged in their own living situation and take some independence. No matter who you are, you have the right to decide what you want. And everybody that I've met in the entire time that I've been an activist with ADAPT and helped a lot of people and no matter what the disability, the person knows what they want. They may communicate it differently than I might because I'm more verbal than some people. >> Oh, yes. >> But-- >> Oh, really. >> -- that doesn't mean that they don't know what they want, you know. >> Of course. >> Everyone knows what they want, what they desire, how they feel, what they love, what they hate. It just may take a person a few more minutes to get it out but that doesn't mean that that individual doesn't have the right to choose. My father happen to be a paranoid schizophrenic but he always knew what he wanted even at the lowest point in his life and you can't take away that individual's dignity no matter what their situation is. >> Isn't that a basic-- humans are basically like that, right, that have a desire to want to have some say into how their own life goes on about them. >> Yeah. >> And, you know, to deny that to people because the disability is-- well, it's flat out discrimination but also it's counterproductive-- >> Right. >> -- in the long run. >> To say that a person in a board and care home that substandard deserve to be in a more sheltered environment and needs to be more regulated because someone else failed is an injustice. >> It's an insult actually, you know. >> Absolutely. >> It is. Yeah. >> To everyone with a disability and to anyone who cares about disabled people, you should be insulted by the idea that the individual with the disability needs more regulation and not the actual service itself. >> We did come away with some good things in this past legislature. Dennis, you've got it in your report here. Do you want to tell us about the ABLE program? >> Yeah-- >> The ABLE Act. >> Yes. The ABLE Act is a significant improvement and it's-- it was actually a Federal ABLE Act passed last year which only takes effect if each individual state enacts their own version, which Texas chose to do this session, and will allow people with disabilities who incur their disabilities up to age 26, interestingly enough, that's the departure-- >> Yeah. >> -- from typical developmental disability age limit, to have accounts or savings accounts literally where they could deposit their own earnings if they're working or their family might put money in there and that account will not count against their eligibility for Medicaid or Social Security. >> Also-- >> Now, that's awesome because our current system kind of relegates people who are dependent on, say the healthcare benefits and Medicaid, to live into forced poverty because the prospect of giving up critical healthcare services often causes people to like turndown job offers-- >> Absolutely. >> -- to turndown raises, to turndown the opportunity to move from part time to maybe more hours at work. >> Absolutely. >> You know, we're forcing poverty on that. So, the ABLE Act is an important and a really excellent development and we're excited about that. It's going to-- you know, it's in the process of going through regulations or probably come on line, well, early next year. >> Cool. >> Look for it. >> And then we've got MAMMA, Mothers Advocating Medical Marijuana for Autism. >> Yeah. >> There was a-- >> Marijuana. Well, you know, it wasn't so long ago-- and I'll tell you this, our own organization always steerred away from medical marijuana legislation. Why? Because if you were involved, well, the people looked at you like you're some sort of French weirdo who is supporting recreational use of marijuana. >> Yeah. >> Well, now, the fact is that marijuana has been proven to have positive medical benefits for many different kinds of populations and then in fact the majority of states in the United States already have legalized marijuana for medical use. More than 36, I believe, so. So, this was the first effort to actually legalize marijuana for medical use in Texas and it did pass. It passed it. If very limited, it's going to focus on people with intractable epilepsy but it works and I'll tell you the hearings were awesome. >> It's a pill form, right? They-- >> Yes. >> -- take it in a pill form-- >> Or oil. >> -- or oil-- >> Yes. >> -- that you can rub on different parts of your body or do you drink it? >> I think you can rub it on or, yeah, drink it. Yeah. It's pretty incredible stuff. The hearings were-- some of the most compelling hearings I saw during the whole session where had parents talking about children with 50 to 100 epileptic seizures a week and getting it under control, there're even two parents that came back from Colorado said, "I moved, I left Texas to go to Colorado so my daughter could access medical marijuana. And you know what? Her seizures are essentially under control, she's in school, she's says she has friends, she's doing after-school activities, none of that was possible with any of the failed therapies available in Texas." So, I keep coming back to what was once a fringe issue is now a mainstream issue. And I think Texas ought to actually take this first step and move forward and the moms with children with autism are begging for it. And you know what, we shouldn't criminalize a mom who wants to access marijuana to give to their child with autism, yet we do. >> One of the other things that we have to do is come up with easier ways to have cutting edge therapy or something like that [inaudible] can be more integrated in the community no matter what it is. I think that no matter what the substance is, we stir away from the new ideas because we've always known the old way and the more people with disability integrate in the community, the more we're going to have to embrace new ideas and different approaches and that scares a lot of people whether it's, you know, medical issues or attendant services or physical access to transportation or anything like that. >> Yeah. And, you know, we need to get passed any of these knee jerk reactions and see the possibilities are out there. You know, we can have much a better accessible society, much more inclusive, more people with disabilities in school, more of them in the workplace, more in elected office. >> Absolutely. >> And this is not-- we're capable of doing it today if society will do it. It's a choice. >> It absolutely is and it's time for it to happen. You all right? >> You know, I heard that some people-- >> Earthquake, everybody [inaudible]. >> Yeah. >> -- with disabilities can have TV shows too, you know. >> That's the rumor. >> Yeah. >> But they'll have to be very good [inaudible]. >> I hear you guys are going to broadcast television next year, is that right? >> We would love to. >> Syndicated in multiple communities across the country? >> That's right. So, yes, you're out there watching, give us a call and we can talk. >> We are available. We're not free but we are available. Well Jennifer, you mentioned advanced therapies. Well, Dennis, there was something this recent legislature called it Gila Monster-- >> Yes. >> They referred to as Gila Monster Bill. >> The Gila Monster Bill, yeah. >> Gila Monster Bill. >> This is a relatively new kind of medicines that are biologic in nature instead of compound chemical drugs. So that means they're made out of some existing plant or animal-type product and we call this the Gila Monster Bill because one of these medicines is made from the saliva of Gila monsters and that's used for diabetes control. Yeah, I know, I know. I mean, who discovered it. >> Yeah. Someone in the Amazon got spit on or something like that, yay, that works. >> Yes. Yes. And there's a lot of promise to these things. I think most of you are acquainted with Chase Bearden who's our advocacy guy at CTD. Well, you know, he uses stuff at biologic for a decubitus ulcer and he had it-- it kept it under control for like six months. ^M00:40:09 >> Cool. >> Where he would have had go into surgery and then-- and it kept working, and then when they took some time off and he was able to heal without surgery after that. So, yeah, these things work and what this bill did, it allowed, you know, more access to these kinds of biologics and what's called biosimilars which are kind of like generic versions, in other words, less expensive medicines. So, these are new things coming on to market. It's exciting. It's fun, you know. It's kind of like-- >> Yeah. >> -- Gila monsters, you know. I mean, what else are they going to find out that-- >> Yeah. They got to hurry though. We're losing forest everywhere so-- >> Yeah. >> -- They did a documentary about that and start getting your antibiotics now, you can't stock up on them because soon there won't be any forest left. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> So, we had some really good stuff come out of the legislature, but as you mentioned before, there was a lot of talk about open carry handguns and same sex marriage discussion. So, what does that say about your priorities of our leadership? I mean, why do they get out of it. Why are they moving in that direction? >> Well, the more they talk about fluff, the more popular it is with a lot of people that aren't paying attention because it makes a good sound bite to be fluffy and no one really asked you any substantive questions. They just hear the sound bite and then you can flittter on about your day and go play golf with someone who has money or whatever they do when they're not doing. >> I guess there's more Twitter traffic. >> Yeah. >> In open carry and same sex marriage than there is and-- than the needs of people with disabilities or health issues or-- >> I think this is a direct result of the people who vote. You know, we have something like the lowest voter turnout in the nation, into that our second lowest. People who are making sure they vote are ones that care about things like open carry or against same sex marriages. So, these politicians are-- see that and they're playing to that small part of our population. You know, if you look at anyone of those issues and they take a general survey, well, you know, what do you think about, you know, open carrying? Most people in Texas do not favor of it yet it passed. Every president of every state university in the state opposed campus carrying yet it passed. Same sex marriage, majority of people in Texas don't really care. No one cares, they see that it's not their business, yet these people don't get out and vote. The ones who get out and vote are, you know, elect people who are going to respond to that so it's up to you out there to register and vote and ask questions and find out what this people stand for. And if they're going to duck serious problems based on the state of Texas, to me, they don't merit a vote. Vote for somebody who's willing to take on the serious problems of Texas and it's not guns and it's not same sex marriage and it's not a bunch of this other, you know, red meat kind of stuff as they call it. >> Well, and it's very painful, you know, for me personally because for many years, we had to protest and sue and fight for the ability to get into the polling place. >> Yeah. >> So, to know that people just kind of blow off the responsibility of going to vote after all the vote that we've done to make sure that people could, that's painful. And to hear them when you're fighting with them to make the polling places accessible, talk about the low voter turnout when there's been instances in which I sat out in a parking lot and yell for the polling place workers to come out and let me in the building, because when they move polling places a lot of times even when they're supposed to inspect and make sure they're accessible, sometimes they fail to do that and it takes away my ability to exercise my democratic vote and that's always been one of the most painful forms of discrimination that I've ever experienced. >> And my guess is you keep voting though. >> Yes, absolutely. Well, we sued and so as far as I know, it got fixed but-- >> Yeah. >> -- if people have any problems with it, please call me at ADAPT office at (512) 442-0252. >> Or at the Coalition of Texas with Disabilities at (512) 478-3366. Nothing will change in a state until voters become more engaged and elect, as I say, people who will deal with the real issues. In my opinion, there are four major issues in Texas that dwarf everything else, public health, public education, transportation and water. And in fact, most experts totally agree with that. Yet this session, three of the four were ignored. The only one that paid any attention to are roads and I think that's because so many people are driving on roads that they raise so much hell that they had to do something about it. >> Yeah. >> And, you know, what they did about it is basically they dedicated a bunch of money that could have been used for other things to highways. Now, see, that's going to hurt us too in the long run because it prioritizes those roads ahead of public health, public education and water. To me-- >> And transportation for that matter. >> And public transportation. That's right. That money was more for highways than it is for public transportation which was short sighted to say the least. So, yeah, we need to get our act together people. It's on us. I know we're all voting-- >> Yeah. >> -- so do too. >> So changes needs to be made obviously from what we've talked about today. And, I don't know, maybe it's just the flag that's behind me but, you know, I feel inspired to get out there and try to help to join in and I hope that you are too. We need to do our part whether it's just-- it's going out to vote or it's joining up with the-- a grassroots organization such as ADAPT that Jennifer is so highly involved in. I noticed as she talked through this whole episode, you know, she always used the term we and us. She's not alone in this fight. None of us are alone in this fight. If we join together and we get out there and go to ADAPT, we can go to ADAPT house meetings. They meet at the capitol in the cafeteria and then they break apart to-- into smaller groups and go see their legislatures and talk to them as a group not just as one single person but it's a grassroots organization. And if you come together, you know, one person, it's going to be hard to make a change but when you come together in a larger group such as ADAPT and then you join with other groups like CTD, there's strength in numbers and that's how it works. So, please, reach out to these organizations. These people that we have sitting with us today and do your part to make a difference. >> Thank you Dave. >> Thanks Dave. >> That's where we go from here. That was a-- >> Yeah. >> Sounds like a-- >> Please. >> -- conclusion. >> I think that's the end. >> That was a-- >> It's a wrap. >> It's a wrap, yeah. Excellent Dave. Great wrap. >> Do we have any closing comments from our esteemed guest, Jennifer McPhail from ADAPT and Dennis Borel from Coalition of Texans with Disabilities? >> It's about all of us really and it is-- and by the way, these aren't just issues of people with disabilities. These are community issues, you know, and it's just like the whole inclusion to civil rights we talked about. You know, strong America involves everybody and that's why everybody needs to be involved in these issues. Two-way street folks. >> Absolutely. And, you know, there may be an issue that's out there in the community that we haven't began to work on but if people come to us and want to get involve and they want to work on a particular issue that we haven't tackled yet, you're always welcome to do that too. The only thing that we ask is that people be involved and be engaged because it's hard to be at city hall at 2 o'clock in the morning by yourself trying to speak for an entire community when you're just a handful of people. So, we need more people to be involved whether it's sidewalks or affordable housing or something at the legislature or being able to vote or, you know, transportation, whatever it may be, like I said, there might be something that we haven't worked on yet that requires creativity from everyone and you can only participate if you're actually involved and available. And everybody is welcome no matter how weird or wonderful because that's what we run on. So, if you're interested, (512) 442-0252, that's the ADAPT number. >> And this will be the last show that Dave and I broadcast from channel Austin, Public Access will be managed by the Austin Film Society starting September so we're not sure where we're going from here but we still have our webpage up, www.thegeneanddaveshow.com and we'll have captions on there so you can join us there and keep up with what's happening in the disability community in Austin. So, thank you folks for joining us today. >> Thank you. >> Thanks. You know, my favorite show is the Gene and Dave Show, you know. >> Fantastic. All right. So long folks. >> Bye now. ^M00:49:51 [ Music ] ^E00:49:55 ^B00:50:02 [ Music ] ^E00:50:41