#AND IF WE TRY TO PAY FOR IT OURSELVES THEN I LOSE MY INSURANCE CAUSE

[qhazomb]

so in addition to the massive ringworm rashes on my lower legs, now some completely different mystery rashes are showing up here and there on me, too.

too bad i can't see a dermatologist without completely losing my health insurance 🙃🙃🙃

[kawaiijohn]

Help a queer family of disabled nerds

Hey my name is Dante, I live in the Midwest with three of my best friends. We have four cats, one of which is my babyman whom I love very dearly.

His name is Latke Library Card Mango (LLCM). He's very orange and he's the light of my boyfriend, Kris, and I's life.

Cat pics are great right? Have a few.

A few months ago, latkes chronic bladder stones condition acted up which resulted in two emergency vet visits and a week long stay with his actual vet to get the stone removed.

It was the size of a chickpea.

Here's a photo of his post surgery when he had a nakie tummy. He was very very happy to see us.

He's since recovered, but the cost of this put us back around 1300 dollars in total. He's now on a special diet with rather pricey food to prevent this from happening but it might still act up eventually.

We've paid down some of his debt, but the interest is making it become more and more as we try to pay it down.

On top of this, our pipes backed up into our basement and refused to work suddenly a few weeks ago. We live in a house that is over a century old, and the clay pipes keep getting roots growing into them that causes them to not drain.

The roto had to come out and high pressure the roots out to clear them (which required expensive equipment), This put us back another grand.

To add to everything, our 700+ auto insurance bill is due in November, which is the worst time for this bill to need due, but both myself and Kris drive over ten miles to work during different shifts on opposite ends of town- neither of our jobs have public transit anywhere near them.

We are currently barely making ends meet-

I am a lunch lady at a public high school. I love my job. I feed kids who possibly don't even eat at home some days. I do work I am proud of.

However, I can only work around 25 hours a week without risking losing my insurance as a disabled person. My job does not have longer hour positions available, and I am too disabled to work more than this without ruining my body like I have done in the past.

I have been going without buying groceries out of fear that what little money I have in my account will be needed in an emergency. I will be out of work for a week this month, around Thanksgiving, and during Xmas break- unpaid due to me working in a school. Me being out also means no guaranteed meal every day.

Kris works in a factory. He is currently working 55+ hours a week to make what we can to pay off the bills and keep our house. He only has one and a half knees that hurt all the damn time and is barely eating either just to afford everything. His factory keeps calling for sudden shutdown weeks with little notice at the worst times, and he's the main breadwinner in the house for us.

The other two in our household, one is severely disabled and can barely work 10 hr/week (he is waiting on hearing back to receive SSI) on top of having multiple medical appointments a week to figure out what is wrong with his body and why it keeps failing. The other is a freelance artist who is working her butt off to make money while carting the previous to appointments nearly every day. She is full up on commissions at the moment, but when she opens them I'll reblog her posts.

I really didn't want to make this post. I hate asking for help. But we are drowning and there's no sign of land. None of us can afford to live on our own, nor can we move back in with our parents for various reasons.

All I'm asking for is some help. I don't care how much. Five dollars is five dollars. Five dollars is half an hour less we have to kill ourselves to make ends meet.

Even if we don't make the full amount, every dollar will help us get a bit closer to paying this stuff down so we can afford gas and regular grocery trips again instead of having to save up to go once a month like we are currently doing.

Our goal is 2000 dollars.

Yes, this is the high amount. I do not believe we will ever reach it. I can hope we can raise this much at some point.

But for now that's the dream number.

It's the number that is looming over our heads, telling us to pay up or lose our home.

It's not something we need this very moment, but just what we need in the next few months to be able to afford living without destroying our body or working three jobs/ridiculous hours.

We thank anyone who can spare a few bucks to help us, and if you can't afford it just pass this post along to someone who might be able to.

Please send as friend/family if you can, PayPal is threatening to withhold money sent as transactions now if you receive over a certain amount.

This includes sending things through my ko-fi account- so here's the preferred methods:

Progress:

388.74/2,000

Thank you for reading. I love you.

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #1062: Interrogating Inari (Persona 5 & Sonic)

12:34 p.m. at LeBlanc Café............

It was an odd, confusing day for Yusuke Kitagawa the moment Omega silently welcome him inside the darken LeBlanc Café before closing the doors behind them. As he sits himself down on one of the café bar's seats, he notices the robot and the young couple, Morgana and Lavenza, giving him a suspicious looking glare.

Before he could start asking questions, the single clicking sound of the lamp switch is heard as Sojiro reveals in the artist's view sight, with his elbows on the table, chin standing on top of his hands, and a glare that could give even the likes of Bowser a shiver.

Sojiro: Yusuke Kitagawa. At last, you've arrived....(Gets his Head Up From his Hands and Turns Away Before Grabbing his Chin and Thinks) Or....was it Inari?....(Turns Back to Yusuke) Uh quick question: do you usually go by that or just Yusuk cause I've been hearing Futuba call you that fir the longest time while everyone else in your friend group go by your actual name. Matter of fact, what the hell does "Inari" means anyway?

Yusuke: (Grabs his Chin While Thinking as Well) I'm not sure. We've been friends for quite a while now and I still don't have the slightest clue what that nickname means.....

Lavenza: Perhaps it originated from an ancient folk tale of sorts?

Morgana: Or from one of the animes she watches......

Yusuke: (Takes his Phone Out From his Pants Pocket) I could try looking it up on my phone if-

Omega: We are losing focus on the discussion at hand.

Sojiro: Oh right. ('Clears Throat') Yusuke, Inari, or....whatever you want us to call you, we got a lot to talk about today.

Yusuke: I see. Is it about this week's Café insurance payment?

Sojiro: What? No. I mean, I do have to pay it some point this week- Look, I'm talking about you and Futuba!

Yusuke: Ahhhh yes, I see. What....about Futuba and I exactly?

Sojiro: Not to be that guy, but word has it that the two of you are about spend some quality time together.

Yusuke: (Happily Nodded) Correct. I believe we're supposed to go the arcade a few miles from here, for our first activity together, followed by a stroll around the city, find a suitable place to eat, shop, and once the sun sets, we retreat back here to have ourselves an

Morgana: (Raises an Eyebrow) And it's only gonna be just the two of you doing all of that today?

Yusuke: Percisely. I would ask you and the rest of our friends to come with, but she insisted not to so for whatever reason.

Lavenza: Interesting. And do you, pry tell, know what day it is today?

Yusuke: What day is- Ah yes, Valentine's Day. (Places his Hand on his Chest in an Somewhat Dramatic Fashion) A holiday dedicated to love, unity, the awareness of being single.

Morgana: Ryuji told you that last part, didn't he?

Yusuke: That he did, yes. (Smiles a Little) But is it nice to see the holiday give it some recognition to say the least.

Sojiro: (Snickers a Bit) Yeah, more or less. (Let's Out a Chuckle Before Giving Yusuke a Deadpinned Look) But no seriously, you do realize my daughter is taking you out on a date, right?

Yusuke: But going out on a date implies to those who are romantically interest in one another. (Chuckles Lightly) And there's no possible way that Futuba of all people, would have any feelings towards me.

Everyone else started looking at each other in silence for a second before turning back to Yusuke.

Lavenza: Yusuke-San, I'm not sure how long you haven't noticed, but.....

Omega: That girl has it down bad for you.

Yusuke: (Eyes Starts to Widened in Genuine Surprise) What? But....that's impossible! There's no proof of that being true. Is it?

Sojiro: (Shrugs) We wouldn't be having this conversation if it wasn't.

Morgana: Think about it. You ever noticed how she started hanging out with you a lot more than she does with Ren, Ryuji, Ann, Makoto, mom, or anyone of us in here as of late?

Yusuke: Well....I suppose we have spent more time together than usual in the last two years..... (Smiles a Little) And I have grown to enjoy her company as of late. She's a wonderful companion who deserves every happiness she receives.

Lavenza/Morgana: (Clasps Their Hands While Smiling at Yusuke With Puppy Dog Eyes) AWWWWWWWWW!~

Yusuke: (Grabs his Chin While Thinking) But i wonder......Do you really think I have what takes to be a suitable love partner to her? I never been in a relationship before, and my knowledge of is minimal at best.

Omega: Being in a romantic relationship can be a challenging process for two or more parties involve and takes a fairly long amount of time of time, patience, and error regardless of the chemistry you share. But if you are willing to step out of your comfort facilities, give it an honest chance, and take the time to learn from one another as your lifespan continues to progress, then I am certain that you two will able to far as an official couple, but only if you choose to go along with the ordeal.

Sojiro: (Almost at a Loss For Words) Wow, I....Honestly couldn't have said any better myself.

Lavenza: (Smiles Softly at the E-Series Robot) We never knew you were so knowledgeable at romance, Omega-Kun.

Omega: (Puts on a Deadpinned Look on his Face) Mother Rouge always makes Knuckles and I watch romance related shows every time she has her hands the remotes. It eventually comes with territory unfortunately....

Sojiro: That explains it. (Turns Back to Yusuke) But Omega's right, kid. You'll never know what the world of romance might have in store for either of you if you give it a shot. (Smiles Softly) We know you two have what it takes.

'A-HEM'

The lights finally brightens up around the café as the gang turn to see Futuba crossing her arms, glaring at them.

Futuba: What the flipping curry is going on in here? (Facepalms Herself) Please don't tell me you forgot to pay the insurance apayment again, Sojiro.....

Sojiro: (Sighs While Rolling his Eyes) I haven't forgotten to pay anything, Futuba. It's due in a few days and it's not what's going on here.

Yusuke: If I may, sir? Futuba, can I ask you something?

Futuba: (Immediately Notices Yusuke is in the Room as Well) Inari, you're here! (Makes her Way to Him) And yeah, what you wanna ask me?

Yusuke: This....may or not come out of thin air, but....is it true that.....you may have a possible interest in me? In a romantic sense?

Futuba: (Squint her Eyes in Confusion) Interest in you in romantic-

As the words "romantic" escape from her mouth, something inside her brain starts to click as her eyes starts to widens and a blush begins to appear on both of her cheeks.

Futuba: H-HUUUUUUUH!?~

Yusuke: Romantic interest. Or I suppose in layman's terms: having a plausible sized crush on-

Futuba: I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS, INARI! (Chuckles Very Awkwardly) And it's ridiculous!~ I mean, really, how can I, a shut-in weeb, could EVER fall for such a talented, fairly good looking INARI like you? That's crazy!~

Futuba's chuckles slowly starts to die down as she sees everyone in the room staring at her with deadpinned looks, clearly not buying the see through denial act or as she mostly put it, the "Tsundere" act.

Futuba: (Sighs in Defeat Before Facepalming Herself) Okay, this is starting to get repetitive now- Fine, I confess! I....(Starts Turning Away While Blushing) do have a crush on you, Yusuke.

Yusuke: (Eyes Starts to Widened Again) You said my actual name.....This must be serious then.

Futuba: (Quickly Glares at her Crush) Will you can it already!? This isn't a joke or some kind of elaborate prank on your dispense! I REALLY do like you, Yusuke Kitagawa! So would you kindly stop being a smart-ass and take me seriously for once!?

'Silence'

Futuba: (Calms Herself Down by Sighing Before Rubbing her Arm Softly) Sorry. I didn't mean to blow up on you like that....Sorry in advance, Sojiro, but letting out your emotions can be a real bitch sometimes, you know?

Yusuke: (Chuckles Lightly) I agree. But really it's okay. If anything I should apologize for making you upset to begin with.

Futuba: (Shrugs) Eh. I'm over it now, so you don't have to worry about all of that. (Shyly Turns her Front her) So.....what do you think? About my confessions and whatnot.....

Yusuke: Well....as overjoyed I am to hear your confessions....(Starts Blushing) And how I am beginning to feel similarly towards you as well....

Futuba: (Eyes Begins to Widened Before Turning Back to Yusuke) S-Seriously? Are you actively for real right now!?

Yusuke: (Chuckles Lightly) Yes. That I am. (Frowns a Bit) But even still, if I'm being honest, I can't help but to also feel nervous about starting a legitimate relationship between us.

Futuba: Duuuude! I'm nervous about all of that crap too!

Yusuke: Really now?

Futuba: Really times infinity! I mean, being a couple is great and all, but I'm still getting used to going out and socializing with every new people I mean without running away and hide. What makes you think I would have what it takes to be romantic 24/7?

Yusuke: Perhaps we could let our feelings run it's course until it comes natural for both of us? There's no telling how long it will take, but I believe it's a better alternative than just simply rushing into it.

Lavenza: (Smiles Softly at the Duo) We could help you learn the fundamentals of romance if the both of you like?

Morgana: (Happily Nodded) Yeah, definitely. (Gently Holds Lavenza's Hand) We're still new to the whole thing ourselves, but it wouldn't hurt either of us to lend you two a hand.

Omega: I am not the biggest fan of the concept myself. (Smiles Brightly) But I am still willing to give you assistance if need.

Sojiro: (Smiles Softly) Same here. It's been a long while since I've gotten into a relationship myself, but I can be pretty knowledgeable on the subject. You two are in good hands.

Yusuke: (Simply Nodded With a Sincere Smile on his Face) And we can't thank you all enough for each of your support.

Futuba: Group Hugs!~

The gang gathered around for a group hug among one another before light tabs on the glass doors rang into their eardrums as they turn to see Sae Niijima and a few other people standing outside of the café.

Sae: Pardon me for intruding such a touching moment. (Starts Glaring at Sojiro) But can you PLEASE let us inside already!? I am on the clock right now!

Tae: (Pops her Head Out From Behind the Prosecutor With An Annoyed Look) We all are.

And right on cue, the rest of the crowd begins to speak out their complaints as well.

Sojiro: I uh.....(Begins to Chuckle Awkwardly) guess we left those door close lock for too long there, huh?

Futuba: (Smiles Brightly) Yup. Which is Inari and I cue to leave.

Yusuke: ('Sigh') And we're back on the nickname department....

Futuba: (Happily Hugs Yusuke's Arm as the Two Make Their Way to the Door) Hush, boy. You know you love it~

Sojiro: Well, I hope you two be safe be, don't try any funny business, and have fun out there.

Futuba: We will!~ (Unlocks the Door to the Café, Letting Everyone Outside In) Café's now reopen, folks!~

Sae: (Sighs in Relief as She Walks in) Finally.... (Turns to the Duo With a Soft Smile) I hope you two have a good time on your date today.

Futuba: Thank you bunch, Big Sis Sae. (Happily Waves Goodbye at Sojiro and the Other as She and Yusuke Walk Put Together) Don't try and spy on us while we're gone or I'll hate you all foreverrrrr!~

Sojiro: We hear you loud and clear, kiddo. See ya! (Let's Out a Bit if a Heavily Sigh) I guess it's time to go back on our regularly scheduled program. (Turns to the Rest of the Gang) You three mind helping an old man out here?

Morgana/Lavenza: (Happily Salutes to Sojiro) Yes sir!~

Omega: Affirmative. (Quickly Looks Down on his Arm and Makes a Call) Abort the stealth operation. I repeat: Abort the stealth operation!

Meanwhile outside of the café, Solid Snake receives the call Omega gave while hiding behind the building's rooftop.

Snake: Cope that. (Ends the Call Before Sighing Heavily) I need to start my early retirement already. I'm getting too old for this.....

Happy Late Birthday, Futuba!

@keyenuta

@princekirijo

@cyber-wildcat

@caleb13frede

@bestpony666

[sakura-83]

Things from Anne with an e that I feel like writing down

Season 1 Episode 7: Wherever You Are Is My Home

⚠️WARNING!!!⚠️ this episode not only talks about suicidal thoughts but also a character trying to commit such acts, of you are sensitive to this I suggest you just skip this post or at least skip #75-77

1. Anne calling it comforting that no two snowflakes are alike, as well as calling snow a sign of gods forgiveness as he blankets the dead world in a beautiful frost

2. Josie gossiping about her while she’s RIGHT THERE

3. Her and moody just talking

4. “And I love Christmas, don’t you?” “I don’t know, but I plan to.” “Did you not have Christmas at the orphanage?” “There wasn’t much to it really. I’m not sure why Father Christmas wasn’t able to stop there, maybe the matron scared him off.”

5. “Do you at least know if they’re going to keep you?” “Keep me!?”

6. Anne trying to sing with the others but the other voices quickly fading out as she panics and rushes home

7. “They’re not going to send you back, you’re in the Bible and everything!”

8. Marilla has every right to be angry that Matthew rushed their home without even discussing it

9. “I knew you’d lose your head-“ “Oh, I oughta smack yours right off your shoulders!”

10. Matthew is prone to heart attacks, the very same thing causing his death in the books

11. “He’s had an episode of the heart” just a funny way to say heart attack, sort of long winded

12. Marilla not understanding the complex math because she had to leave school when she was young

13. Anne helping her with it because she’s top of her class

14. “Not keeping you? You’re a Cuthbert, for better or for worse! No getting out of it now.”

15. The awful bank not relenting on the payback schedule despite the fact that Matthew cannot work. Corporations are cruel and ungiving despite the human struggles and needs of its clients and it hurts. I know the bank invested that money and they need it back but Matthew was indisposed by a tragic event and to not only not extent but to SHORTEN the payback schedule is just unfeeling

16. Marilla putting out an ad to the mainland to take in borders

17. The terrifying idea that you must sell everything you have in order to survive

18. Marilla being desperate yet still too prideful to accept charity

19. The fact that it not only effects the family but also Jerry, as they can’t afford to pay him. It puts him out of a job and lowers his families income

20. A reoccurring theme I love in this show is the idea that the characters will give up their belongings, no matter how sentimental, in the name of family. Matthew selling his dead brothers watch, Marilla selling her grandmothers brooch, Anne selling the dress of her dreams, all because no matter how important these items are, they are just things. That family is more important, so even though it pains you to have to give those things up, you do it in the name of love for others

21. “Theyre just things.”

22. Anne feeling sorrow and yet being excited to stay at aunt Josephine’s

23. Despite being told she can keep the dress, Anne insists on selling it back because it’s a family effort

24. Anne being exited for a solo adventure and then getting stuck with jerry

25. Jerry has to be there to get money Anne his family is hungry :(

26. “I don’t actually need your help.” “When’s the last time you drove a sleigh? Auctioned a horse? Let’s go.”

27. Diana giving her things to sell as well

28. Jerry knows how to drive a sleigh?????

29. “It’s not so bad to ask for help sometimes, y’know?” “If I needed help I would say so.” “No you wouldn’t.” “Yes, I would.” “Wouldn’t.” “Would! Times infinity.” “What???”

30. Jerry singing in French

31. “No singing. I mean it. I’m serious, Jerry! This is an important journey! I WILL KILL YOU WITH MY BEAR HANDS!”

32. Jerry grinning as she gets madder

33. Anne bring mystified by the dress shop

34. “I’m here to return a dress.” Is something wrong with it?” “Not a thing.” “Do you not like it?” “It is my very favorite thing that I have ever possessed in life. But I need to return it to help my family.” “You’re Anne, Matthew’s Anne!” “I am! How nice it is to hear it said that way.”

35. Anne being upbeat until Jeannie asks what’s wrong and then ask just breaks down

36. Poor Jerry waiting outside in the snow for her

37. Either Matthew spent some much money on Anne’s dress or Jeannie gave her extra, or both

38. “Did Matthew really spend this much?..” “You’re worth a lot to him.”

39. “I hate to say goodbye…” “😏 I won’t be so long~” “To the HORSE, Jerry. Why are you so annoying.”

40. “You’re a good horse Birdie, try to remember that. Someone will be very lucky to have you.”

41. Birdie really is a beautiful horse though

42. Anne’s little “my parents are spies” act she uses on the pawn broker

43. The pawn broker is so understandable rude because of his profession, it makes him equally annoying and funny

44. “What a piece of work you are.”

45. Anne is so good at making up stories on the spot

46. “If you can’t afford it I completely understand.”

47. I love how snide remarks of “being a good Christian” are frequent and effective insults in the 1800’s

48. Poor Jerry doesn’t just get beaten up and robbed, he gets brutally beaten by two grown men and there’s nothing he can do despite that being… his last paycheck. That was the last income he was going to give his family and he’s so ashamed of himself that he keeps apologizing for it despite most of the money being his. He apologizes to Anne, to Matthew, it bothers him for months to come

49. Gilbert’s back!!

50. “Still seems unreal. Even though I just sold all our… everything.”

51. “He’s a good man.” “I love him with all my heart. I don’t know what if do if…”

52. Them arguing over not arguing

53. Anne apologizing

54. “Anyway…” “Anyway..”

55. I genuinely didn’t realize that the men who beat up Jerry are the same men that took in borders at green gables, I got the same face blindness as Jerry himself

56. “I’ve missed you.” “Yeah?” “At school, theres.. no one to compete with.” “”You want to spell out a few words for old times sake?” “How about… truce?”

57. Jerry thinking Gilbert was going to hurt Anne and take her money and immediately jumping in to stop him despite swaying on his feet

58. When Anne asks him if he’s okay he immediately starts apologizing about the money

59. “I don’t like the city.”

60. “Just take care of yourself, and come home someday.”

61. Anne and Gilbert staring at each other quietly

62. “This is a palace, not a house.”

63. Jerry assuming that they’ll make him sleep in the stable instead of inside the massive house

64. “I’ll look after belle.”

65. “This city is rife with ruffians!”

66. Aunt Josephine insisting on helping

67. Matthew lamenting his own life, talking of how his life insurance will give them a sizable sum and how he drags them down despite them needing him

68. “Anne loves you, you have to remember that.” “But her future…” “Which do you think she would choose, this house or you?”

69. Jerry bring terrified to stay in a room by himself because he’s always had his family around him

70. Anne making room for him only for him to sleep upside down

71. “Don’t worry, I don’t kick like my sisters.” “Yeah, you’d better not.”

72. “Everything will be alright. It’ll be alright..”

73. Aunt Josephine helping by paying for Jerry to work at Green Gables, as well as giving Anne books

74. “We’ve been together all these years, thick or thin, so don’t think I’ll put up with you slipping away now. Anne will be home today, and she’ll be very happy to see you.”

75. Matthew trying to kill himself because the life insurance would pay off the debt he caused

76. Jeannie happening to show up and find Matthew with the gun just in time as he tries to hide what he’s almost done from her, realizing what he’s done

77. The way they stress how his passing would effect Anne the most because of what they mean to each other, that she will suffer without him despite what he’s trying to do

78. “Don’t ever get old…” “Too late for that.”

79. “You would’ve left us that way!? Left me?..”

80. “Give it back. I won’t take charity.” “But.. love isn’t charity.” “I won’t take it.” “Nay I ask why not?” “We will not be pitied! I don’t want people thinking we can’t fend for ourselves.” “Well at the moment we can’t, and I’d sure give my last bit of strength or my last dollar to help a friend. Then I know that friend would feel grateful and loved above all else. And I do. I feel very grateful to have such a dear friend as Miss Barry. Sometimes you just have to let people love you Marilla.”

81. Anne selling her cleaning services to make steady income

82. “We’re rich, aren’t we Matthew?”

83. Jerry carving a star for the Christmas tree!!!!!!

84. Anne’s friends coming to sing carols at their house

85. Anne helping Matthew walk outside

86. Not Nate :(

87. Nathaniel, the bane of my existence

[phroyd]

I’m not going to pretend that I know how to interpret the jobs and inflation data of the past few months. My view is that this is still an economy warped by the pandemic, and that the dynamics are so strange and so unstable that it will be some time before we know its true state. But the reaction to the early numbers and anecdotes has revealed something deeper and more constant in our politics.

The American economy runs on poverty, or at least the constant threat of it. Americans like their goods cheap and their services plentiful and the two of them, together, require a sprawling labor force willing to work tough jobs at crummy wages. On the right, the barest glimmer of worker power is treated as a policy emergency, and the whip of poverty, not the lure of higher wages, is the appropriate response.Reports that low-wage employers were having trouble filling open jobs sent Republican policymakers into a tizzy and led at least 25 Republican governors — and one Democratic governor — to announce plans to cut off expanded unemployment benefits early. Chipotle said that it would increase prices by about 4 percent to cover the cost of higher wages, prompting the National Republican Congressional Committee to issue a blistering response: “Democrats’ socialist stimulus bill caused a labor shortage, and now burrito lovers everywhere are footing the bill.” The Trumpist outlet The Federalist complained, “Restaurants have had to bribe current and prospective workers with fatter paychecks to lure them off their backsides and back to work.”But it’s not just the right. The financial press, the cable news squawkers and even many on the center-left greet news of labor shortages and price increases with an alarm they rarely bring to the ongoing agonies of poverty or low-wage toil.

As it happened, just as I was watching Republican governors try to immiserate low-wage workers who weren’t yet jumping at the chance to return to poorly ventilated kitchens for $9 an hour, I was sent “A Guaranteed Income for the 21st Century,” a plan that seeks to make poverty a thing of the past. The proposal, developed by Naomi Zewde, Kyle Strickland, Kelly Capatosto, Ari Glogower and Darrick Hamilton for the New School’s Institute on Race and Political Economy, would guarantee a $12,500 annual income for every adult and a $4,500 allowance for every child. It’s what wonks call a “negative income tax” plan — unlike a universal basic income, it phases out as households rise into the middle class.

“With poverty, to address it, you just eliminate it,” Hamilton told me. “You give people enough resources so they’re not poor.” Simple, but not cheap. The team estimates that its proposal would cost $876 billion annually. To give a sense of scale, total federal spending in 2019 was about $4.4 trillion, with $1 trillion of that financing Social Security payments and another $1.1 trillion support Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Beyond writing that the plan “would require new sources of revenue, additional borrowing or trade-offs with other government funding priorities,” Hamilton and his co-authors don’t say how they’d pay for it, and in our conversation, Hamilton was cagey. “There are many ways in which it can be paid for and deficit spending itself is not bad unless there are certain conditions,” he said. I’m less blasé about financing a program that would increase federal spending by almost 20 percent, but at the same time, it’s clearly possible. Even if the entire thing was funded by taxes, it would only bring America’s tax burden to roughly the average of our peer nations.

I suspect the real political problem for a guaranteed income isn’t the costs, but the benefits. A policy like this would give workers the power to make real choices. They could say no to a job they didn’t want, or quit one that exploited them. They could, and would, demand better wages, or take time off to attend school or simply to rest. When we spoke, Hamilton tried to sell it to me as a truer form of capitalism. “People can’t reap the returns of their effort without some baseline level of resources,” he said. “If you lack basic necessities with regards to economic well-being, you have no agency. You’re dictated to by others or live in a miserable state.”

But those in the economy with the power to do the dictating profit from the desperation of low-wage workers. One man’s misery is another man’s quick and affordable at-home lunch delivery. “It is a fact that when we pay workers less and don’t have social insurance programs that, say, cover Uber and Lyft drivers, we are able to consume goods and services at lower prices,” Hilary Hoynes, an economist at the University of California at Berkeley, where she also co-directs the Opportunity Lab, told me.

This is the conversation about poverty that we don’t like to have: We discuss the poor as a pity or a blight, but we rarely admit that America’s high rate of poverty is a policy choice, and there are reasons we choose it over and over again. We typically frame those reasons as questions of fairness (“Why should I have to pay for someone else’s laziness?”) or tough-minded paternalism (“Work is good for people, and if they can live on the dole, they would”). But there’s more to it than that.

It is true, of course, that some might use a guaranteed income to play video games or melt into Netflix. But why are they the center of this conversation? We know full well that America is full of hardworking people who are kept poor by very low wages and harsh circumstance. We know many who want a job can’t find one, and many of the jobs people can find are cruel in ways that would appall anyone sitting comfortably behind a desk. We know the absence of child care and affordable housing and decent public transit makes work, to say nothing of advancement, impossible for many. We know people lose jobs they value because of mental illness or physical disability or other factors beyond their control. We are not so naïve as to believe near-poverty and joblessness to be a comfortable condition or an attractive choice.

Most Americans don’t think of themselves as benefiting from the poverty of others, and I don’t think objections to a guaranteed income would manifest as arguments in favor of impoverishment. Instead, we would see much of what we’re seeing now, only magnified: Fears of inflation, lectures about how the government is subsidizing indolence, paeans to the character-building qualities of low-wage labor, worries that the economy will be strangled by taxes or deficits, anger that Uber and Lyft rides have gotten more expensive, sympathy for the struggling employers who can’t fill open roles rather than for the workers who had good reason not to take those jobs. These would reflect not America’s love of poverty but opposition to the inconveniences that would accompany its elimination.

Nor would these costs be merely imagined. Inflation would be a real risk, as prices often rise when wages rise, and some small businesses would shutter if they had to pay their workers more. There are services many of us enjoy now that would become rarer or costlier if workers had more bargaining power. We’d see more investments in automation and possibly in outsourcing. The truth of our politics lies in the risks we refuse to accept, and it is rising worker power, not continued poverty, that we treat as intolerable. You can see it happening right now, driven by policies far smaller and with effects far more modest than a guaranteed income.

Hamilton, to his credit, was honest about these trade-offs. “Progressives don’t like to talk about this,” he told me. “They want this kumbaya moment. They want to say equity is great for everyone when it’s not. We need to shift our values. The capitalist class stands to lose from this policy, that’s unambiguous. They will have better resourced workers they can’t exploit through wages. Their consumer products and services would be more expensive.”

For the most part, America finds the money to pay for the things it values. In recent decades, and despite deep gridlock in Washington, we have spent trillions of dollars on wars in the Middle East and tax cuts for the wealthy. We have also spent trillions of dollars on health insurance subsidies and coronavirus relief. It is in our power to wipe out poverty. It simply isn’t among our priorities.

“Ultimately, it’s about us as a society saying these privileges and luxuries and comforts that folks in the middle class — or however we describe these economic classes — have, how much are they worth to us?” Jamila Michener, co-director of the Cornell Center for Health Equity, told me. “And are they worth certain levels of deprivation or suffering or even just inequality among people who are living often very different lives from us? That’s a question we often don’t even ask ourselves.”

But we should.

Phroyd

[fuckyourselffff]

This is absolutely maddening. Homelessness, tent villages, the lack of humanity, this is absolutely indescribable. At below minimum wage, I am living in luxury compared to some. I found the pan that probably caused this fire, this abomination. It’s no wonder people feel fucking lost and listless other emotions. What are you supposed to tackle first?

Hunger? I spotted a pan that probably caused this incident.

Cleanliness? Is a joke on the streets.

Shelter? Sorry if i went to target as a homeless person and bought a tent, it’s a red fucking flag.

Mental health? The system has demonized people in this position. Nuff said.

Physical health? #1 SLEEPING ON CONCRETE?? Oh yeah I’ll take that thanks.

Clothing? AKA how to not look homeless.

THE FUCKING SYSTEM THAT PUSHES US DOWN??! I say “us” because we are all little people, statistics or numbers to those that control the system. Once you lack something, it will all start falling apart, like a deck of cards. I’m barely maintaining the list above at 13.50$ per hour 60+ hours a week sometimes. I’ll earn like 1500$ every two weeks, and be burnt out. I have the luxury of having vacation time AND sick days, in a job that’s tied to my health insurance, of course. The above picture was taken in Downtown LA. I’m from NY, and it’s far from any fucking better there. If y’all are looking at me because I’m traveling, you’re the fucking problem. I’m social distancing and took this backpacking trip for my mental health. I don’t go to bars and I’ve barely met anyone.

Also since there is an immense discrepancy between the rich and the poor, just like NYC, there is a huge homeless population just trying to make it by. I’ve been warned/advised by local employees and friends from home to come in before sundown because the homeless and/or unmedicated people are roaming. Which albeit, sounds/is scary when it’s in front of you. But these people are also kind, generous, just trying to get by, will eat my half eaten food, are respectful. So when does that circle back to getting this population of people help? Taking advantage of them during a crisis by offering jobs that might support one or two needs. Yes, I’ve heard of all these resources, but what happens when these resources cut out or someone doesn’t meet the “qualifications”. What happens when the process to get such resources is just an obstacle on top of another obstacle? It’s more than likely exhausting just to bring yourself to ask for help, nonetheless coming to terms with your situation. In San Diego, i discovered there is a community funded clinic for those suffering with homelessness, and they’re currently constructing a building which looks like it would support affordable housing and a means to aggressively combat the situation. They are called father joes villages and father joes clinic. Research and donate if you can. This is an amazing start. We as humans owe it to ourselves and others to support each other through crisis’, in whatever way we can.

The below picture is off the coast of La Jolla, San Diego; where rich people have to continuously deconstruct and rebuild their homes because of natural erosion, oh poor them 😭😭. Due to Natural Erosion on the coast and losing property, one house doesn’t have enough space in their driveway to turn around, so they installed a rotating platform on their driveway, that’s nice. Apparently, this one guy built an infinity pool off the side of the cliff, SANDSTONE (which erodes when you look at it) after T W O W E E K S it fell into the ocean and i believe the only reason he had to clean it up was because it was on a reserve. They fined him like $74K a month until he got to it, months later. Imagine having the luxury of paying a monthly fine of that magnitude, and having a “I’ll get around to it” attitude. Imagine being so rich. —Someone please prove me wrong on this story, i only learned from word of mouth. —

-Martin Sheen

Someone please tell me what to do next. I’d like to be a pillar to stand on, or field some representation or some real action and quite literally fuck the system.

[austinpanda]

Gallbladder Surgery, with Firefly

5:00 a.m. - Wake up, make coffee, then realize, “Shit, I can’t have anything to eat or drink.” And Zach won’t have any coffee, because he’s both empathetic, and nervous on my behalf, so a whole pot of coffee went to waste. I hate that.

6:05 a.m. - Stacy shows up! She’s going to do the driving. She has brought with her a gift for me, a plush gallbladder holding a handful of pretty stones it created. Basically my sister is the shit.

6:15 a.m. - Stacy, Zach and I head for Seton Southwest Hospital on FM 1826. That “FM” stands for “farm to market” which makes it sound like my hospital is in the middle of a cow pasture, but this is not so. It’s actually a pretty busy part of southwest Austin. They said there’d be plenty of parking, and they were right! Since it’s not yet 7:00 a.m. when we get there, we pretty much have the whole place to ourselves. And it’s not an emergency room, so the reception area has no one in it when we show up.

6:50 a.m. - The receptionist (who is almost certainly not called that, maybe she’s a nurse?) is curly-haired and ebullient, a bit too much for this early in the day, but it beats grumpy and curt, I suppose. She cheerfully takes my driver’s license, my insurance card and $1607.22. She prints about a hundred stickers with my name and barcodes on them. She isn’t shy about showing us the spiral notebook where she keeps all her passwords written down. Again, though, polite and cheerful!

7:00 a.m. - We take the elevator to the second floor and head for the Day Surgery area. We’re shown to a little three-sided cubbyhole room with the hospital bed, a couple of chairs, a TV and a crucifix on the wall, and stuff starts happening.

[At this point, I begin to lose track of what time things happened, so I’m giving up on that format. I blame the drugs they gave me. The sweet, sweet, wonderful drugs.]

Over the next 90 minutes, I’m seen by numerous people, completing many, many tasks. They put an IV in my left arm. Blood pressure cuff on my right arm, which is never removed until just before I’m discharged. I’m given socks. They have a name: Pillow Paws, and they’ve thoughtfully provided me the XXL-sized ones.

They got me a gown and said to get completely naked and put the gown on. “It ties in the back, so your hiney is going to be sticking out.” “Great.” Once I had it on, Zach advised it was inside out, so I did it again. Put the special socks on. Gave Zach my glasses, my watch, and my wedding ring. Everyone wanted to make sure I was comfortable and not too cold. Everyone was so kind!

They put this stuff that looked like green food coloring in my IV. It’s a dye called, no shit, Firefly. It’s something they can use to illuminate something inside me, for the purpose of making something they’re doing inside me easier to see.

They make a point of asking me the same questions repeatedly. What’s our date of birth? What’s your height? Who’s your surgeon today? And what procedure are we having done? I take great (and undoubtedly insufficiently concealed) pride in whipping out my special English Major Superpowers to give them the exact name of my procedure: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy, with robots and Firefly. (My English Major Superpower is that I took the time to look up the term and teach myself how to say it, because not knowing what my own surgery is officially called would bug the shit out of me.) They laugh. They say, “It not a bunch of robots or anything, just the one robot.”

I notice the same thing I noticed in the Emergency Room at St. David’s: Almost every woman there has a trim waist and a HUGE diamond wedding ring.

At one point, one of the women came into the room to give us The Talk About Pain. She went to great lengths to point out that, not gonna lie, it’s gonna hurt. You’re gonna have, you know, a big incision in your belly button, and that’s right at your core, so everything you do, every move you make, every breath you take, every leaf you rake, etc. is going to hurt a bit. I’m just saying, gotta be honest with you about this, we can do a lot to make the pain tolerable, but we can’t make it go away completely, so...yeah, there’s gonna be some pain. You’ll notice it especially when you sit down or stand up, or cough, or try to lift something, so don’t. The idea with the pain medications is to keep the pain from getting up to 8 by keeping it down at about a 3 or 4 proactively. She said: you’ll take your pain meds every six hours. Do not skip a dose because it’s in the middle of the night. You don’t want to wake up with the pain at an 8. Set an alarm and take the overnight dose, without fail.

The TV in the room just happened to be showing a movie I loved as a child, and hadn’t seen in decades: Halloween II. I used to watch this over and over when we first got cable TV as an adolescent. This movie was my introduction to the song, “Mr. Sandman,” which was its end theme. It honestly felt a little bit magical to be seeing Halloween II while waiting for my surgery. This may sound banal, but it gave me hope, when I hadn’t realized I needed some. Movies do that kind of thing to me.

More questions. Date of birth. Surgeon’s name. What’s the procedure? Laparoscopic cholecystectomy with one damn robot and Firefly juice. Am I a little bit loopy? Must be the Versed they gave me. Not sure why they give me this. The stated purpose is to relax me, but the unstated purpose seems to be that it gives you amnesia, so you don’t remember anything that happens next. Oh well. I was relaxed, and I don’t remember shit, so I guess it worked, and I guess I’m okay with it.

The surgeon came. He said, “Hey, how’s it going, just doing some paperwork here, we’ll get started soon, everything looks good, any questions, kay I’m outta here, see you the operating room, can someone get me a Campari and soda?” (I made up that last thing.) Then the anesthesiologist came, and while Stacy observed that he had a really rich, deep voice, I don’t remember that at all. All I remember was having to ask, “So...if I’m something of a professional-grade pot head, you know, is that going to interfere with--” He was already smiling and shaking his head before I finished the question. Normally I don’t like my questions being dismissed so glibly, but this was, in fact, the answer that I was hoping for. “No, it’s not going to cause any problems. You won’t wake up during the procedure.” Maybe I woke up lots of times, and the Versed made me forget them! Didn’t think of that, didja, tough guy?

Finally, it was time. As they wheeled me out, Zach (the guy I married) had them stop so he could give me a kiss. He said later that it felt weird, us being two big gay homosexuals, kissing in front of everybody, but it felt great that he did it. A couple of women took me to the operating room. I asked, “The boil-water restrictions just lifted yesterday...how did everybody scrub in for surgeries when that was happening?” I have no recollection of her answer at all.

In the emergency room, the first thought that hit me was, “Money, money, money. All the money. I’m surrounded by millions and millions of dollars worth of medical equipment.” Being lower middle class makes you conscious of when you’re sitting next to something that’s worth more money than you’ll make in your whole lifetime. Where does this happen? Museums and hospitals.

I scooted off my bed onto the surgery table while they laid me flat and started getting me ready. I assumed the (and this is the name of a Soundgarden song) Jesus Christ pose, with my arms outstretched, like I was being horizontally crucified. I looked right, saw my arm had a strap holding it to the arm rest, then looked left and saw the same thing.

They asked, “How we doin?” And I said, “I’m good! Except now that I know my arms are tied down, my nose itches.” So, and this is why I love nurses, they scratched my nose. I repaid them with happy sounds and a hearty, “THAAANK you!”

Then they put the breathing mask on. I didn’t sense that anything was coming out of it, and I didn’t get the result I’d anticipated, which was, “Count down from one hundred.” “Okay, ninety-zzzzzzzzzz.” What they said was, “Now take deep breaths, deep as you can...deep as you can. The last patient was able to take breaths about twice as deep.” And I thought, seriously? You’re going for my nuts at a time like this? And the other woman said, “Well, the last one was a meditation expert.” Fine. Whatever, dude. BIG DEEP BREATHS while I waited for the lights to go out. It wasn’t instantaneous, until it was. I took a deep breath, and woke up an hour or so later in the recovery room with a woman puttering around me.

Her name was Kathleen, and that’s about all I remember of her. I’m sure she told me things and I responded, but I don’t recall what was said. I wasn’t in pain, but I could feel that a few things weren’t like they were before. (Later I realized it was the stab wound in my belly button and the sore throat. More about that in a bit.) I remember being more comfortable than I’d ever been in a bed in my whole life. I knew my feet were sticking out the bottom of the bed, because I’m tall, and that felt great, too! I felt half weird, half great. Anesthesia is just the best.

The fog lifted, gradually. Kathleen puttered, made notes, talked to me, people walked by. Before long, Kathleen said I was recovering nicely and wheeled me back into the pre-op room, where Stacy and Zach were waiting. Apparently I was more alert and lucid than they anticipated. I attribute this to my life-long ah...efforts to appear alert and lucid while fucked up. They were paying off now, dangit! I was not hurting. I was pleased that it was over, because I knew it must have been boring for them to wait.

Over about another hour, they did all the things they do after the surgery. How are you feeling? You sound good. Want some water? (Ohmygod, yes. I’d been fasting since the previous midnight.) The surgery went well! You’re really recovering quickly! I seemed to be their ideal patient, and it was sweet of them to say so. It’s not that I was pleasant and funny, although they did really like the gallbladder plush, which I took with me. It’s that they liked how smoothly everything had gone, and how quickly and chipperly I seemed to be recovering.

The surgeon spoke with Stacy and Zach after the surgery, and gave them some pictures taken by the surgery robot. Apparently, my gallbladder did NOT look good. He could tell it had needed to come out for some time. He showed them pictures, and sent some on his phone to Zach, and then got Stacy’s number and texted her the pictures too, and showed them some of the pics he’d taken on his phone, just like he’d shown me in our first consultation visit. This guy really likes showing you pictures of gallbladders on his cell phone. I hope he’s not taking his dirty-ass cell phone into the operating room.

I marvel that my stomach has been shaved, and I’ve been covered with iodine, which has been cleaned off, leaving an orange stain. My hairless, orange tummy reminds everyone of the president.

Time to leave! IV out, bandaid on, blood pressure cuff off, backless gown off, clothes back on, and yep, just like the movies, they don’t let you walk out. They wheelchair your ass out. I could tell it was time when they said, “Who’s driving? Okay, you’re probably going to want to go now and get the car and pull it up front,” which Stacy did. I thanked the nice lady who wheeled me out for everyone’s hard work and kindness.

On the way home, Stacy said, “Want to get your pain pills from the pharmacy?” And I said, “Sure!” Then I did a body check: I was beginning to feel the stab wound in my belly button. I was really beginning to feel the sore throat, and it was getting unpleasant. So, despite my desire to make this easier for Stacy, since she was working so hard to make things easy for me, I said fuggit, “Um, can I go home instead?” After getting home, Stacy and Zach went to the pharmacy to pick up my Hydrocodones The charge for the 30 pills was just over a dollar. Sometimes insurance is so sweet, I could kiss it! Other times, like those $1607.22 times, not so much.

Now it’s Tuesday and the surgery is more than 24 hours in the past. My belly button hurts like a sonofabitch, but the hydrocodones and the ice pack are keeping it manageable. They make it so that it doesn’t actively hurt when I’m just sitting here; it only hurts when I stand up or sit down or cough.

Next pain pill in 42 minutes. Cautious optimism! :)

[shawnpaulsblog]

Personal Development Health & Wellness Inspiration

The tradition of yoga has been largely transferred from student to fitness instructor. This knowledge has grown and changed over thousands of years - evolvingever so slowly into what we call "yoga" today. Because these ideas were often guarded and kept secret, a great deal of yoga was hidden in mystery untilquite recent. You want to choose a fibromyalgia Helen Lee Schifter coach who loves research, reading, learning, and sowing. If she doesn't, some individuals easy to get behindand end up giving YOU bad information. This types of flooring habit. . . implementation of the "ant theory. " What will be the ant theory you may ask. Carefully. . how long does an ant still work? Until! Untilwhat? Until they work or until they give up on! Begin today embracing the ant theory throughout your own journey. In order to implement these daily habits "until"the successful! Failure is no option! A good dog Helen lee Schifterpractice is dental hygiene but many pet owners are still not aware of how utterly important is certainly to brush their dog's teeth. Valueof this simple, no cost, procedure is not only good for his teeth and gums, but also valuable toward the health of his major body parts. This is because bleedinggums and tooth decay cause bacteria that travel through the blood stream and damage major organs, including cardiovascular system. If a dog's majororgans and heart have adopted strain throughout his young years for your body . be much left the moment he starts ageing, causing him to age with greaterpotential for serious complaints. Dog dental care three times 1 week is a dog wellness practice that adds great value to means your dog's body will handlegrowing older. Since my Power Yoga discovery, I've been a big believer the actual planet power OF yoga, regardless what type of workout is the focus. Whether you're a marathonrunner, tennis player, body builder, football tight end, Helen Lee Schifter can improve performance. Will yoga do for our family? The obvious question that you will be likely request is simply how much your plan will financial impact a person. This is a valid question to bring up. The answeryou get is likely to address just how much your insurance premium get. The insurance premium is true pay to secure the health i plan. Most insurance premiumsare due monthly but a number of plans demand a bi-annual or annual payment. Certainly ask your insurance what your frequency will be. Insurance premiumsare not the only thing you ought to be worried in the region of. Now be aware of you want to know a fibromyalgia health coach, you have to find person that has already gone through what you try to contend with. Many of usbecame coaches because we worked with a coach ourselves, found success, and thought i'd "pay it forward" and help others find this is equally success. During the last few decades, yoga has turned into an exercise which not just helps you release constant worry. Practicing yoga daily will help you relax your musclesand judgement. Today, we can use yoga preserve diabetes reducing weight. More affordable also proven very helpful to cure joint pain. It is significant toopt for the right regarding yoga and learn it from an official yoga professor. An attempt to do these exercises on extremely may cause damage. But if you havean interest in losing 20 pounds, adding yoga to your fitness routine, even once per week, can add significant benefits, both to slim down and increased senseof well are

[ruffsficstuffplace]

And The AWRD Goes To (Part 64)

Note: Lyrics originally by kran* at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov5IyW-O6bg and Will Stetson at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QsjrS_xxpI, used without permission and modified by me.

The current version here used is shortened, and relies on a remix of the track I made in my head. Sadly no accurate backing music to that.

9:30 PM, the Professional bracket of the Moonlight Serenade began in earnest.

Crews rushed in and assembled their sets and props in Devalekha’s famous revolving stage. The contestants, their crews, and their supporting members packed the dressing rooms full, if they didn’t have trailers of their own. The hosts smiled as they subjected the audience to enough noise and spectacle to drown out the sounds of frantic construction, and roar of the stage’s complex machinery just behind the curtains.

The seats were packed full with people, from the luxury boxes filled with wealthy individuals, talent scouts, and many of the sponsors for the contestants; the rows upon rows of benches reserved for the rest of the paying audience members; and especially those standing around on the fringes, trying to find the vantage point to escape the crush, or just watch the show, live on the stage or through any of the giant screens attached to the sides of patrolling airships.

And of course, the fans and supporters were out in full force. Whether they were packed together in matching colours like armies, or spread out in small handfuls all over the area, they were all armed with banners, posters, and words to be shouted at the top of their lungs, to their favoured contestant, or to anyone who dared voice the opinion that they might be flawed, or worse yet, inferior in comparison to a different performer that night.

“MARU FOR LIFE!” some random fan dressed in purple cried, their companions chiming in too.

“MIRA IS BETTER!” came from the group opposite them, all dressed in orange instead.

Just beside the two warring groups, the older Schnees, Taiyang, and Zwei did their best to ignore them, but their increasingly passionate arguments began to drown out the background music and the words of the hosts.

A minute in, Freya snapped. “Will you all SHUT THE FUCK UP?!” she yelled as she sat atop Nick’s shoulders. “I’m here to watch the show, not bear witness to your senseless bickering!”

“Piss off, lady, this isn’t your fight!” someone from the Orange team cried.

“Yeah, shut up, this is none of your business!” someone from the Purple team added.

Freya’s ears pulled back, her tail stiffened, and her hands balled into fists. “And if you both annoy me enough that I make it my business...?” she growled.

“Yeah, what’re you going to do, call the cops on us?” someone from Orange taunted.

Freya smiled.

“Freya...” Nick said quietly, but it was too late.

A monstrous screech filled the air, the crowds started to panic and whip their heads about, screaming as they saw a giant, slate blue nevermore’s head sticking out of a glyph. It threateningly snapped its beak a few times, glared evilly at the Orange and Purple teams, but did nothing more.

Almost immediately, a police patrol airship was hovering over them, its spotlights shining down on the them. “Break it up, break it up!” said a voice over a megaphone. “And get rid of that Grimm!”

The nevermore turned to Freya, she nodded, and it obediently faded away into slate blue mist. The two teams began to split apart in retreat, the other people in the crowd rushing in to fill the space.

“Thank you for cooperating, and please do not harass, threaten, and/or use violence and semblances on your fellow audience members, or otherwise disrupt the event,” said the officer on the megaphone. “We would like to remind you that it is illegal to do so, and we have the right to immediately eject you from the premises, and pursue further legal action, if necessary.”

The ship left to patrol other areas, the wedge driven between the two groups seemed too large for them to argue anymore. Freya smiled, and said, “Much better.”

“That was a little excessive, don’t you think?” Taiyang asked.

“Yes, yes it was, Mr. Xiao-Long, but mark my words: no one and nothing is going to ruin my granddaughter’s performance tonight, and my enjoyment of it.” Freya replied. “It was already insidiously sabotaged once, I will not stand idly by and let it happen a second time.”

“Oh, come on, Grandma! You can’t honestly still believe that after all these years?” Winter asked.

Snowie gently nudged her in the side, and said, “Just let it go, baby.”

Winter sighed heavily, and did.

Elsewhere, Weiss and Aqua were in the communal dressing room, sitting at one of the many vanity tables. They were a patch of relative calm in the sea of chaos and busy work, Aqua doing little more than retouching the make-up Weiss already had on, and adding some extra decorative markings and putting on ornate jewelry that would have looked off outside of the stage.

“You nervous?” Aqua asked as she dipped her brush back into the bottle.

“A little.” Weiss replied.

“Well you shouldn’t be,” Aqua said as she let the excess drip off, before she resumed her work. “You’re going to absolutely kill it out there, and that’ll just be with your singing.”

Weiss smiled slightly. “You sound so confident...”

“Because I know just how good you are, Weiss,” Aqua said, smiling as she made one last careful stroke. “There, all done. What do you think?”

“I’m absolutely terrified of sweating, touching my face, or otherwise marring all this wonderful work,” Weiss replied calmly. “Thank you, Aqua.”

Aqua laughed, before her expression turned serious. “Can I confess something to you, Weiss? It’s not recent, just… really long overdue.”

“Uh, sure… what is it?” Weiss asked.

“I was really intimidated and worried about losing to you, the first time you competed here,” Aqua started. “Topaz wasn’t that worried when she did some oppo research and those videos of you performing at Hoshiko and Sanctum popped, but I could just tell you had It—stage presence, appearance, and a talent honed to razor-sharpness. So when I sidled up to you on the night, chatted you up, and saw how flustered you were getting…

“I went full on Sun Tzu, and I am really sorry I did, however little that probably means by now.”

Weiss nodded slowly. “Was the relationship after that some kind of insurance that I’d never compete again?” she asked half-jokingly.

Aqua smiled. “Nah. That was because I find out your cuteness wasn’t all skin deep afterward.” She sighed, and looked down. “You deserved so much better than me, Weiss… better than how I treated you, better than how it all ended...”

Weiss gently put a hand on Aqua’s arm. “Let’s not dwell on the past, Aqua—especially not when we’ve got a show to put on so soon,” she said, smiling.

Aqua looked up and slowly smiled back. “Yeah, you’re right… break a leg out there, Weiss.”

Outside, at the staging grounds, all the construction crews were getting ready, clearing paths for wheeling their equipment, props, and sets in and out; stretching and re-energizing themselves with snacks and stimulants; and running through plans and assignments all over again, just in case.

“Man, that cannon looks big enough to fire someone out of it!” Amanda said as she helped unload the contents of a Bunyan Logging Co. van. “I wonder if they’ll let me borrow it after the show...”

“Most probably not, and I politely ask that you put a stop to any other burgeoning plans involving it,” Diana said as she stood nearby with a clipboard in hand. “Whatever they are going to do with that, it will be a stunt that the inspectors have deemed safe and sane, and I am quite certain that whatever you are planning to do with it won’t be.”

Amanda scowled as she hauled a bundle of prop tools on her shoulder. “You’re no fun, Diana.”

“Well forgive me for thinking of the success of our show, and by consequence, the size of your paycheck once all of this is said and done,” Diana replied calmly. “It will not help our already risky plan in the slightest if any sort of untoward incident garners the wrong sort of attention to ourselves, and thus, the Bakunawa.”

“Alright, alright, no making after-gig plans, sheesh!” Amanda said, before she deposited the tools before Constanze, Akko, and a squad of training dummies.

“You excited to perform for real, Amanda?” Akko asked as she picked up a rake, and put it in a dummy’s hands.

“Hell yeah I am!” Amanda cried as she did the same with a scythe. “Not looking forward to having to stand around here with nothing to do till they let us out at 11:30, though. My cut better be higher than what Jaune got me to agree to way back when, or I am not going to be happy.”

“It’s not that long of a wait,” Akko said as she grabbed a pickaxe.

“It is when the only thing I’ll be able to do is walk around, twiddle my thumbs, or try to chat someone up!” Amanda replied as she kicked up a wooden mallet to her hands. “It’s fucking bullshit they won’t let us use our scrolls for anything other than emergency calls, man.”

“If it helps stop people from sabotaging the other contestants like they did in other years, I can’t really argue against it,” Akko said. “Maybe you should just pretend you’re on wild watch.”

“And here I am, the huntress who did everything she could to get out of wild watch...” Amanda grumbled as she rested the bulky head across a dummy’s shoulder. “Honestly, who’d willingly sign up for a job where you stand around in a tower for hours to days at a time, constantly watching and waiting for something to MAYBE happen…?”

Far and away from the lights and hubbub of the Tsukimi Festival, a few miles out from the city’s borders, Qrow stood alone in a wild watch tower, binoculars in one hand, the other hovering near a large bottle of alcohol with marker notches all over its side.

What was normally a relatively quiet patch of mountain wilderness was alive with the sounds of Grimm driven berserk by the moonlight, the wanton destruction they were causing, and the cries of animals that weren’t given the mercy of swift death. Your average army lookout or Grimm hunter would likely be hyper aware of every last noise as they cowered in a corner with weapon in hand, but Qrow had long tuned it all out, the area effectively dead-silent.

He was just about to take another measured sip of his drink when he heard it: a mechanical noise like a flying machine’s rotors, screeching and whirring like something particularly awful had gotten sucked into the turbines.

It only lasted for a second, but a second was all Qrow needed to whip his binoculars in the direction he’d heard it, tag the location on his scroll’s map, before he pulled it up. “Tower 7 to Central, Tower 7 to Central, come in, Central, over!” he barked.

“Central to 7, what is it, over?”

“Suspicious noise in the immediate vicinity, sounded mechanical, definitely not supposed to be around here tonight. Requesting permission to investigate, over.”

“Permission denied, 7, over.”

Qrow blinked. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. This is the first interesting thing that’s happened all night!”

“Not to us, 7. We’re stretched paper thin and just got ripped into even littler pieces with similar disturbances reported in the other areas; we need you to stay up there, and maintain your bird’s eye view until some of them start to report what they’ve found, and/or confirm they have returned to their posts, so remain in position and proceed as usual, 7, over.”

“...”

“Do you copy, 7, over?”

“Roger wilco, Central, 7 out.” Qrow said, before he sighed, put his scroll down, and picked his bottle back up. “Isn’t that just my luck…?” he muttered, before he took a long drink of it, ignoring the notches completely.

9:44, back at Devalekha Terrace, Luna Nova’s performance had been completely set-up. The Bunyan workers, Woody, and the Timber Wolves fled the area, everyone else got into their positions, be they human, Faunus, or a creature of aura.

In the center, Diana and Whitley wiped the sweat off Weiss’ face before it could start to ruin her make-up, the glow surrounding Akko and Ruby faded as they stopped channeling their aura into her. They each wished her “Break a leg.” or gave her reassuring looks, before the warning lights began to flash, the safety siren whined, and they hurried to their places.

The stage revolved once more, their section now faced the audience. The inner set of curtains whizzed by behind Weiss and obscured the set and the others, the outer set parted slowly, keeping Weiss from getting blinded by the bright studio lights beaming down on her.

“… And here she is, returning to the Moonlight Serenade after her debut four years earlier, contestant number #2, Weiss Schnee!” the hosts on-stage said, before they ran through the gamut of introductions, small talk, and of course, the ad spot for the Bakunawa.

“I hope to see you all again there later!” Weiss said flirtatiously, before she winked at the audience.

She did not have quite the same effect as Aqua had with her audiences in years past, but there was no time to worry about that, as the lights changed, the inner curtains rolled back, and the show began.

The music was upbeat and fast, the choreography just as energetic; Weiss danced across the stage, the background rapidly shifting and changing as she passed them by:

A beautiful mountaintop palace on the highest peaks of Mistral; the busy and bustling streets of a marketplace in the lower levels; to the rolling fields, thriving seas, and dust mines that fed the kingdom and its industries.

The dummies and the others mimed the daily lives of the people:

Aristocrats and royalty strolling through the gardens and enjoying the beauty; the common folk going about their business, creating art, and sometimes even fighting; and the workers toiling away, loading carts full of food, raw materials, and especially dust and jewels.

Whatever the scene, it was colourful, lively, and bright, cherry blossoms petals floating down all over the stage… and then, the “sky” grew black and thick with smoke and fire, everything was cast everything in dark, gloomy tones as the cherry blossom petals burned up and turned to ash.

With a bold and sudden calling, Northern Revolution's starting Steel your hearts, prepare yourselves, the Great Storm is coming Riding on their beasts of metal, ash and ruins left in their wake Drawing evil spirits like moths to the flame

Mantle soldiers started to charge in, bringing guns and war machines. People were shackled and herded off, instruments, brushes, and art pieces were torn out of hands or destroyed outright, those that resisted or tried to fight back were shot with impunity.

Weiss found herself in the thick of the horrors, dodging and weaving through the crossfire and the explosions.

On the great roads, soaring through the skies, let us move forward, don't look behind. Boys and girls bear blood of the samurai And the pride of their lives gone by.

Bandits and Grimm joined in the mess, Weiss managed to flee back to the palace, where inhabitants remained untouched, as happy and carefree as earlier, even with the Mantle soldiers and war machines surrounding them. With the brief pause in the music, Weiss put on expressions of confusion, horror, then rage; and as the chorus began, so did her plan.

Thousands of cherry blossoms dwindling in the light Though I can't hear your voice, keep what I say in mind - This bouquet that surrounds is iron poison, see, Looking down at us from that big guillotine

With deft acrobatics and graceful movements, evaded the guards and into a new location: a “vault” full of weapons and treasures, the Shiny Rod in the center. She spirited it away, out of the palace, guards chasing her through the market’s streets, to the fields and right into a Grimm attack on dust miners, handing the weapon to the first person she saw:

Akko.

Darkness has just engulfed the universe we know The lament that you sing can't reach ears anymore We are still far away from reaching clear blue skies Go ahead, keep fighting, ignite the light of hope!

Akko raised the Shiny Rod and a fake dust crystal, a bright flash “vanquished��� some of the Grimm. The tide began to turn, more fighting, “gunfire,” and explosions rocked the stage as the Mantle soldiers came in.

Veterans who've trained through struggles are now officers in battle Here and there, we see the harlots in procession This one, that one, doesn't matter, every single person gathers March on to our saintly deaths now! One, two, san, shi!

The common folk fell quickly, but more came to replace them. The Mantle soldiers sent in reinforcements and even cannons, but even those didn’t help them as the bandits and thugs came in, clearly on the people’s side as they stabbed the soldiers in the back and joined the mob.

Passing through the gates on the mountain peaks, Escaping this world, kill all the evil fiends Surely this will end in a denouement Among the crowds giving their applause

They stormed the palace, the guards there and the royals stood no chance. The mob tore through them, Akko leading the charge with Weiss, till they reached the top of the “mountain,” victorious. The others raised their arms and cheered.

And then, the Grimm returned in full force.

Thousands of cherry blossoms dwindling in the light Once your song can be heard, we'll dance with all our might! We are still far away from reaching peaks of hope Go ahead, keep fighting, use your shining bolt!

It was chaos all over again, the Grimm fighting their way up the mountain, making short work of the helmeted, faceless training dummies as the living actors put up a fight, but slowly got pushed back up the “mountain” and to the peak.

Akko raised the Shiny Rod, another bright flash exploded all throughout the stage and pushed the Grimm back, the colour and life began to return to the set as they all “vanquished” the horde.

Darkness has just engulfed the universe we know The lament that you sing can't reach ears anymore We are still far away from reaching peaks of hope Go ahead, keep fighting , spread your wings and fly!

The remaining Grimm bowed and cowered at the base of the “palace,” the dummies and the living actors stood proud with their arms raised on the steps leading up, Akko and Weiss stood proudly at the top, holding the Shiny Rod between them as a storm of cherry blossoms rained down upon them again.

And it was then that the real Grimm attacked.

Nevermores flew in en masse, turning the brilliant night sky black from sheer numbers. The music and the audio cut off as emergency sirens and announcements blared in their place. Audience members screamed and started to run as the largest of them all swooped in, ugly, jagged scars and burn marks all over its body.

It blew past the patrol ships and obstacles in its way like paper, broke through the ceiling of the stage, and ripped it off completely as it fled, Weiss and the Shiny Rod in its talons.

Note: God I hate modifying song lyrics, but it was incredibly important for this chapter. Almost all of Weiss important character developments come in song form, after all.

P.S. I just could not get the stanzas to format properly.

[woodworkingpastor]

Like a good neighbor... -- Luke 10:25-42 -- Sunday, February 21, 2021

The Narrative Lectionary brings us two very familiar stories this Sunday. The Parable of the Good Samaritan and Jesus’ visit to Martha and Mary’s home might rank as two of our favorite NT passages, or at least two that we recognize as having great significance for our life together.  

I want to begin by pointing out one way modern Bibles can hinder Biblical interpretation: it has to do with the section headers that that many Bibles have added to the text.

These section headers are not part of Scripture. Luke did not name these stories the Parable of the Good Samaritan and Jesus visits Martha and Mary; the titles represent the choice of an editor, not the Holy Spirit.  Luke just started writing and kept on writing until he finished.  But that’s not to say that there isn’t some intention and creativity in the Gospel; Luke likes telling stories in pairs, often having a man serve as the main character of one and a woman the other.  We saw this two Sunday’s ago in the healing of the centurion’s servant and the raising of the widow’s son in Luke 7.  We see it again today.  The section headers mask Luke’s writing style and cause us to miss something that he wants us to understand.

Furthermore, naming this parable after one of its characters—the so-called “good” Samaritan—might also confuse the point. Luke does not call the Samaritan good, he just tells the story.  As long as we’re supplying our own titles, why not call it “the parable of the bad neighbors”?

Or how about this one: “A lawyer tries to trap Jesus.”

Reframing a familiar story

Maybe it’s because this is such a familiar story, but as I worked with this text these past two weeks I found myself drawn to this lawyer who questions Jesus. It seems that he’s the one we should be thinking about, if for no other reason than the so-called “good Samaritan” is a fictional character—albeit an important one—and the lawyer is a real person.  Reframing the story like this gives us the chance to decide who we most relate to in this text: are we the man left naked and half-dead by the side of the road? Are we the priest or Levite?  Are we the Samaritan? Or might we be the lawyer who asks Jesus a question and likely gets more than he bargains for?

I find verse 25 to be both interesting and contemporary:

“A lawyer stood up to test Jesus.  “Teacher,” he said,“what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

We don’t know his motives, but perhaps we can imagine that this question is a trap.  It wouldn’t surprise me at all if most all of you told me that you’d been on the receiving end of a question like that recently:

What did you think about the election?

What do you think of masks?

You can likely supply a few of your own questions as well.  What makes questions like these challenging is trying to determine if the people who are asking are interested in learning your answer or if they’re interested in judging your answer.  Their opinion of you will rise or fall depending on how you answer. So does this lawyer—whom we might better label a theologian—want to learn something for himself? Or is he trying to corner Jesus? Is this a question or is it a trap?

One of the clues that suggests to me that this is a trap is that Jesus declines to answer it. Instead, he turns the question back on the man, asking essentially:

What does the Bible say? What did you learn in Sunday School? (Luke 10:26, paraphrased)

This lawyer is well taught:  he knows that the Bible says to

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. (Luke 10:27)

For those of you who are fans of the Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, you can almost hear Jesus reply, “This is the way.”

But the man isn’t satisfied; his answer his correct but it’s application is open for interpretation. So he asks for clarification.  

And who is my neighbor? (Luke 10:29)

This is when we learn of the so-called “good” Samaritan.

In the parable, no one is labelled good or bad. What we do know is that there is a wounded man whose identity has been stripped away from him.  None of the people in the story have any idea if he’s good or bad, if he’s “us” or “them,” if he’s an “insider” or an “outsider.” We don’t know his ethnicity, or if he’s old or young or rich or poor. We don’t know if he has health insurance to pay for the medical care he will need. We don’t know why he was traveling alone down a dangerous mountain road that was known to be stalked by robbers. We don’t know anything about him; he’s just a naked man laying by the side of the road who will die if no one stops to help.

If the parable is about goodness, however, then surely the priest and the Levite are the good guys.  The priest and the Levite represent the lawyers’ people—they’re the religious leaders of their community. If we’re measuring goodness, then surely these are the ones. But this isn’t a parable about goodness, that’s a modern title.  This is a parable about neighborliness, and there’s not much of that to be found in these two.

It’s important to recognize that the priest and the Levite choose to not get involved.  They saw the man and chose “to pass by opposite.” Jesus makes a clear grammatical choice here.  There was a verb in the Greek language that means “to pass by.” Had Jesus chose that verb for his story, it would have left open some plausible denial that the priest and the Levite had done anything wrong. Maybe they didn’t see the man. Maybe they looked and were certain that he was dead.  Either way, they could be exonerated for not getting involved.

But Jesus takes the verb meaning “to pass by” and adds the preposition “anti” to it.  Not only does this modify the meaning of the verb, it modifies the intention of the priest and Levite.  They didn’t just pass by; they chose to pass by opposite. It adds a layer of intent to their decision: they made a choice to avoid getting involved. But why? There are a likely several reasons; I think the most compelling explanation is that they’re traveling down this unsafe road alone, too. There’s already one man who has been beaten and who appears to be dead, and they don’t know where the bandits are.  

Hustling along is a prudent choice that I believe we can appreciate. They understood the costs associated with neighborliness; it was more than just the hotel bill to needs to be paid at the end of the parable.  Had we been in the same situation, would we have acted any differently?

So then Jesus sends a Samaritan down the road. Again, if this is a parable about goodness, then the Samaritan is automatically assumed to be a bad guy. But this isn’t a parable about goodness.  It’s a parable about neighborliness.  

Most of us have heard this parable enough times to know that the Samaritan is a controversial choice for a hero; it would be like a Baptist preacher in 1950’s Alabama making a Black man the hero of the story; it’s the kind of thing that you could lose your job over.

The Samaritan does the opposite of the priest and Levite: instead of passing by opposite, he came near enough to be moved with pity.  The man is still alive; if the Samaritan acts quickly, he might be able to save the man’s life. The Samaritan measures the costs involved with mercy—both the personal risk and the financial costs—and chooses neighborliness.  To borrow from a popular advertising tag line: Like a good neighbor, the Samaritan is there.

Jesus ultimately pushes the lawyer—and each of us—to wrestle with what it means to be a neighbor in a world that is more interested in the labels we apply to ourselves and to others.  Notice how many labels there are in this story: lawyer, priest, Levite, Samaritan.  Each person’s label—the way they are identified and the position that represents in the community—is a matter of tribal identity. How do the labels we apply to ourselves and others hinder our ability to be neighborly?

We dare not miss that the lawyer is not asked whether or not he would have stopped to help the man; he’s asked to offer spiritual affirmation about someone whose identity was an object of scorn and ridicule. Neighborliness becomes a commentary on our tribal identity. There are social costs here, too. If you’ve not followed the pattern of Jesus and chosen to answer one of the many trap door questions of our times, then you’ve learned what that is like.  Jesus’ question,

Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor… (Luke 10:36)

forces the lawyer to ask himself a hard question: “Will I affirm that someone who is not of my tribe can be an example of faithfulness?”  He can no longer say, “I know we are to love our neighbors, but surely it doesn’t mean this!”  How often we put limits on what Jesus says!

Now to the first commandment

Having answered (or silenced!) the lawyer, Luke takes us with Jesus to Martha and Mary’s home. This is more than just a stop on Jesus’ itinerary; it’s the completion of a vignette.  The lawyer’s question revealed two issues related to faithfulness.  The second of those—loving neighbor—was answered in the parable.  Now Luke brings us the answer to the first one: what does it mean to love God?

The visit to Martha and Mary’s home is not a question of tribal identity, it is a question of spiritual priority.  Martha is doing exactly what her culture expected of her—she’s the older sister, there are guests the house, hospitality must be shown.  

Mary sits at Jesus’ feet.  She has assumed the role of a disciple; she’s come to learn from her Lord.  Martha has not chosen wrongly; she’s just chosen poorly. There will be time to fix the meal. Now we must learn from Jesus.

Because the world we live in is spiritually contested space, we will never learn to love our neighbors if we aren’t sitting at Jesus’ feet.  We are surrounded by ideas and ideologies about who is important, valuable, or praiseworthy in every direction.  Neighborliness will only come by sitting at Jesus’ feet.

[turggle-blog]

My issues

No one who is healthy knows what it really feels like to be sick, tired, and in pain all day, every day. They say that they understand, that they feel sorry for you, that they are there for you, that they love you. But really, they don’t understand and they are annoyed and put upon for having to deal with you and your unwellness.

Mental illness is not seen as a real illness. It is seen as a personal flaw, something that you can change if you just tried hard enough. My dad once told me that everything that happens to us is because we attracted it to ourselves. If we really wanted to feel better or be cured, we just had to want it enough. I asked him if little kids who are dying of cancer attracted their disease to themselves and if they just wanted to live enough, then they would? Did my sister attract her disease and she is still sick because she doesn’t want to get better? He didn’t reply. I don’t think that he quite understood the (shady) law of attraction book that he was reading…. Or he was just trying to tell me that my illnesses were in my head and within my control to fix… that I was sick because I wanted to be sick.

My sister has a chronic illness that she was born with. My family thinks that my mental illness is for attention. I have a chronic illness as well, but my family discounts and overlooks my very physical illness symptoms.

My parents took my sister to the doctor for everything. If she even sneezed, she was at the doctor office before anyone could hand her a tissue. But me…. I was a whole other story. I lost a whole sense (I have no sense of smell) and they just shrugged. My father insists that they took me to the doctor when they realized that I had no sense of smell, but I do not ever remember it being addressed and my mother confirmed that they never did anything. When I asked why they took my sister to the doctor all the time but didn’t care that their other child was missing one of the 5 senses, she just said that she didn’t know. That all their attention was on my sister. That she didn’t have an answer. My mom has apologized many times for the medical neglect that I went through as a child, and for never even attempting to put me in therapy for the mental illness that I displayed even when I was little. My father refuses to admit that they did not treat my sister and I the same.

I am overlooked because my symptoms make me ugly and others uncomfortable.  I have large bald spots on my scalp and my hair is thin, oily, and brittle. I am fat and no amount of dieting will budge the scale. I am in my mid thirties and still have skin like a teenager- oily and full of acne. I am a female, but if I don’t shave my face every day then I can almost grow a full beard. I fight a constant and never ending battle against skin abscesses in my arm pits, bra line, belt line, and groin. I always have to know where the bathroom is because I have constant watery diarrhea. I am usually too tired to function very well and it makes me crabby and angry.

My mental illness makes it impossible for me to form relationships except for a very few trusted individuals. I desperately want relationships but I am too afraid to form them. I am able to go days at a time without speaking to anyone, if I don’t have to interact at work. I want to be alone and I am terrified of being abandoned. I am a contradiction and that makes people dislike me.

I am hard to love. I know this. I have been told this. I don’t even like myself. Most days I feel so depressed that my limbs actually feel like lead weights and even thinking is almost too much of a task.

Even my doctors, who I rarely see because of work constraints, don’t know what to tell me to do or how to help me. Essentially (and I am paraphrasing here), they have just shrugged and said that everything is normal, I am just gross. My psych doctor says that nothing else can help me.

When my dad thought that my symptoms might be caused by a tumor on my pituitary gland (located in my head, squished behind my eyes and smashed up against my brain) he was suddenly very involved. He text me and asked how I was feeling almost every day. Then my results came back and they were negative. We still don’t know what is going on, and I am working/ fighting with my doctor to try to find out. Suddenly, my dad stopped texting. He stopped asking how I felt. It was like he was only interested when the doctors thought that something concrete and tangible might be causing my symptoms… when it was not just me saying that stuff hurt, or that I was too tired to get out of bed for 2 days, or that I have not had a normal bowl movement in over 15 years. It felt like he only believed that something was “actually” wrong with me when they were testing to see if I had a tumor.

I was told that I had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) 10 years ago. Then I lost my insurance coverage and only recently have gotten it back (thank you, Obamacare!) My current doctor does not believe that I have PCOS as labs have come back normal. I was told to exercise more and eat fewer carbs. This from a doctor that I told that I have tried everything to lose weight and that I walk for 3-4 miles per day to get to and from work. I am trying to get to a specialist or an endocrine doctor. My hair is not falling out and I do not have large patches of baldness for no reason. My period cycles do not range from 15 days to 52 days for no reason. My eyesight is not getting worse for no reason. My memory and cognitive functions are not getting worse for no reason. I am only 37 and there is no reason that I should be feeling like an 80 year old.

Having a chronic illness and mental illness together is really rough. Especially when no one, not your family, not your friends, not your work, or even your doctors, seem to care or even want to understand.

If I had cancer, everyone would be rallying around me. But I don’t. I just have something wrong with my insides and a broken brain. Because people cannot see that, they don’t believe that I truly have anything wrong with me. They just think that I am being difficult or dramatic.

I support myself and live on my own. There is no one to help me and no one to pay a bill if I need to take a sick day. I passed a kidney stone at home because I was afraid of the hospital bill, even with my insurance. My dad doesn’t think that I had a kidney stone because he doesn’t believe that I managed it without going to the hospital, even when I showed him the stone that had broken into tiny pieces.

No one who is healthy can understand and I don’t think that they care to. It easier to think that it is a flaw within me that I could fix if I really wanted to.

I really want to. I wish I could.

[igotapps]

Is Technology a Bringer of Great Promise or Great Peril?

The pace of change continuously astounds and bewilders me. I just about remember horses pulling coal carts as a kid and now we’re developing driverless cars. The Internet of Things will be part of our daily life soon and humankind seems to be losing the ability to stand up straight already. How long will it be before we start resembling bananas more than apes with a pronounced curve of the spine and neck from staring down at mobiles?

Mobile Phone Addiction

We’re in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

According to the World Economic Forum, we’re now in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We’ve already lived through an immense amount of change and who knows what is round the corner. The ever rising march of Artificial Intelligence (AI) shows great promise in many fields for the future but it is also highly controversial and multi-faceted.

Even Elon Musk, the ‘Thomas Edison of the 21st century’ has serious doubts about what we are creating for ourselves. The serial entrepreneur who has had a hand in all types of technology from electric cars, rockets, Paypal, Hyperloop, solar power systems, electric jets to digital technology. The man who is famous for his plans to colonise Mars, further DNA sequencing to identify cures for diseases and viable fusion to create energy for us all for ever.

Mars colonisation

A man who is a bringer of great promise. However Musk also predicts that ‘robots will be able to do everything better than us’ and they will ‘take your jobs, and government will have to pay your wage’. He also believes that we should be very concerned and proactively regulate Artificial Intelligence as it is a ‘risk to the existence of human civilization’ in a way that risks we commonly deal with now are only harmful to a set of individuals in society.

In contrast Mark Zuckerberg, the equally famous entrepreneur of Facebook is more optimistic saying that artificial intelligence will improve life in the future and that naysayers are irresponsible.

Is technology the bringer of great promise?

The positives of AI are certainly immense

“For people with a disability, the Fourth Industrial Revolution will give us super powers”

Birgit Skarstein, Double paralympic athlete and World Rowing Champion, Norway

“Imagine a robot capable of treating Ebola patients or cleaning up nuclear waste.”

Dileep George, artificial intelligence and neuroscience researcher

“Any skilled engineer can take control remotely of any connected ‘thing’. Society has not yet realized the incredible scenarios this capability creates.”

André Kudelski, Chairman and CEO of Kudelski Group

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already playing a massive role in health care and some believe that there is an AI Healthcare ‘tsunami coming’ that will benefit all. Data currently has the biggest part to play in healthcare providing the chance to revolutionise current healthcare systems.

AI Nurse

Google’s Deepmind Health project mines medical records to provide faster and more detailed records.

IBM Watson is working with oncologists to create treatment plans using data from clinical notes and combining that with research, data and clinical expertise. IBM’s Medical Sieve algorithm analyses radiology images to detect issues faster and more reliably.

The new Babylon app hopes to decrease doctors waiting times by giving medical AI consultations combining a person’s medical history, medical knowledge and a database of diseases using speech recognition. It can also remind patients to take their medication.

Molly is a new virtual nurse which supports patients with chronic diseases in between doctor’s visits.

AiCure checks if patients are taking their medicine and helps them manage their conditions.

Deep Genomics looks for mutations and linkages to disease using genetic and medical data and hopes to predict what will happen when DNA is altered.

Human Longevity offers genome sequencing alongside body scans and checkups to spot diseases in their very early stages.

Atomwise use AI to find existing drugs that could be used for other conditions, therefore, speeding up and reducing costs and potentially avoiding future pandemics.

Berg Health mines data to analyse why some people are insusceptible to certain diseases to help current treatments and discover new drugs.

The future certainly looks bright – but have you started to notice the changes in everyday life that are already impacting our lives?

Is technology the bringer of great peril?

“You cannot wait until a house burns down to buy fire insurance on it. We cannot wait until there are massive dislocations in our society to prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

Robert J. Shiller, 2013 Nobel laureate in economics, Yale University

Throughout the globe transportation, communication and education have all improved through high tech. With every improvement, however, there are negative consequences such as resource depletion, increased population and pollution.

In our more mundane everyday activities digital technology is already changing our lives. Many of us are already suffering from distraction, narcissism, expectation of instant gratification, depression, depleted vision and hearing, neck strain and lack of sleep. The National Sleep Foundation found 95% of people when surveyed used electronic devices before sleep and this can cause issues for our overall wellbeing.

We are becoming less dependent now on our memory and more on Google but often feeling that we’re suffering from information overload. If we don’t ‘use our brains’ will we lose our capability to think effectively? Or will we adapt in a different way?

When examining brain scans of frequent internet and mobile users vs occasional users there was twice as much activity in the short term memory and quick decision making area. We are learning to skim where there is too much information. Does that mean that we are becoming shallow thinkers or does it mean our ability to decipher information is actually becoming more efficient?

Technology will affect our jobs

I attended a LinkedIn conference recently on the use of insight and data in recruitment and the potential for AI.

The recruitment landscape is changing rapidly and the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that 46% of the activities in Europe’s top five economies are already susceptible to automation – not in the near future, but right now.

This will affect all of us in some way and we need to be prepared for the shift towards even more hi tech based skills. There aren’t enough key digital workers or software developers already in many countries and this situation will only be exacerbated as the years go by. We may need a future full of coders or at the very least software that professionals can use that removes the need to code.

It wasn’t the AI potential or recruitment issues that grabbed my attention at the conference, however. It was a speech by Baroness Sarah Greenfield, a leading neurologist.

How neuroscientists see our future

Sarah used her neuroscience background to look at what could be happening to many of us in the modern digital age. She thinks that with so many of us obsessed with social media, search engines, mobile apps and gaming that we are actually losing our identity as human beings. We are lacking the enriched environment that creates increased neural connections in the brain and that the average person in the future may behave more like a 3 year old. That alarmist sentence certainly grabbed my attention.

She likened the lack of an interesting life full of different experiences to that of someone with Dementia where someone loses brain connections and doesn’t have a frame of reference (rather like a small child). In other words, their identity is missing, they have short attention spans and demand that needs be satisfied instantly.

Social Networking issues

With conversations taking place more online and less so face-to-face with no opportunity for eye contact or emotions, the true sense of someone’s identity could be slowly eroded. Words are normally only 10% of the total impact of a face-to-face conversation. Are we lacking 90% of normal interaction on Social Media? Do we rely on emojis to perceive emotion now?

Gambling

Gaming rather than reading

Sarah stated that the move away from reading to video game playing was concerning. Reading allows you to have a deep ‘relationship’ with the characters where you become the character in a way that isn’t really possible in video games.

Are gamers similar to gamblers?

Sarah showed us brain scans of gamers vs gamblers and how the Dopamine pathways were very similar and that damaged dopamine can lead to taking greater risks. The thrill of the moment when playing a game or gambling can override the consequences with the senses overtaking cognitive thought. Is our use of social media, the internet and apps reducing us to a society who is constantly craving stimulation, trying to achieve a Dopamine high, only living in the here and now and being driven by our feelings rather than serious thought?

I considered the level of gaming, social media and relentless Google searching via mobile throughout my family and pondered the consequences.

I can already see my children and all of their friends being taken over by gaming. They don’t talk about much else and seem to be totally ruled by it. Then my own usage is much higher than I would like. I work with Social Media and it is hard to avoid but I am certainly far too dependent on it.

I started delving into whether Sarah Greenfield’s comments are absolutely on the button. The scientific community have issues with some of her statements which need more proof rather than just hypothesis So I looked for further evidence as I’m sure that much of this is true to a certain extent as I see it every day with people stumbling through life joined to their mobiles and children not going out to play in the way they used to.

Facebook likes

So many of us use Facebook. The ‘Like’ button is acknowledged to be the same as receiving a little reward. Users gamble when they do something on Facebook – will we get a Like or be ignored? We’re all subconsciously looking for positive feedback and confirmation, and yes it is addictive. Social Media has become a digital drug that has taken over our culture.

And does heavy Social Media usage actually make you feel good? A study in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology found that Facebook and depressive symptoms go hand in hand. “Social comparison” is what links Facebook time and depressive symptoms together. Thinking that your friends are having a better time than you. It suggests that users need to post a balance of good and bad. I’ve been sucked in by this but on reflection if I’m having a great time I’m not thinking of Facebook. I see people at gigs filming the whole night but feel that they’re actually missing the chance to immerse themselves in the atmosphere (whilst I’m dancing like a woman possessed)

It’s not just Social Media, however – there’s the apps. I hang my head in shame at using Candy Crush as a Mum gamer years ago. But it didn’t stop there – I became a master of Sim City and then Fallout Shelter and realised I had better stop when my kids started asking me for mobile app tips #parentingfail. I watch Netflix on my mobile in the bath, I’m always checking Social Media for work and communicating with people in sports/community groups that I need to be on top of. It’s a mixture of positive and negative – I am reminded of what I need to do, could be doing, should be doing – but its constant. I even get mobile app reminders telling me to meditate! Oh the irony.

Tired mobile

Scott Levin, a Director of the US Family Medicine Residency Program, thinks that parents are so focused on their children’s screen time that they forget about their own usage. “If we’re not aware, as parents, of what we’re modeling for our kids, then there are high prices to pay”.

69% of parents and 78% of teens check their mobiles at least hourly.

(Common Sense Media)

So why do we get so drawn into games and mobile apps? Even Mums? I even know a Grandmother who played Candy Crush throughout the night.

Game designers call it ‘juice’ – the feedback or reward that you get from playing a game. Candy Crush plays sounds, flashes brightly and praises you in a strangely deep voice and apparently we like that – a bit much.

Juice is intended to join the gaming and real worlds together. The opportunities for Juice in virtual reality (VR) technology are even greater where the user is in an immersive environment and the juice might even be multisensory soon to include touch, hearing and smell.

Is the future of some of us going to be one of a VR life rather than a real one? If the VR life appears better than your own will users start removing themselves from normal society and living in this VR world?

Can gaming really be addictive?

Researchers have studied the psychological rewards of video games vs gambling vs drug use for over 20 years. They’ve compared the brain’s dopamine pathway (the pleasure part) but we still don’t know whether uncontrollable video game playing is an addiction on its own terms or just a symptom of deeper problems such as depression or anxiety.

New technologies are often blamed for compulsive behaviour when depression and social anxiety are the true culprits. “When you don’t know how to fix that and create opportunities for yourself, you feel helpless. Why not play video games?” (Video Game Researcher, Nick Yee)

What can we do to prevent digital technology impacting our lives negatively?

Sarah Greenfield recommends that we apply a little risk management to our lives and ensure that we are living real lives and not just digital ones. Her advice probably resonates with most as it is standard advice given by mothers throughout recent times. But it is probably more important now than ever.

Go and exercise

– make new brain cells, give yourself time to free your mind

Interact with nature

Sit down and share a meal with someone

– talk to them – share stories and experiences

Do something creative

– be an individual!

Cycling

Harness your individuality and don’t miss out on real life

The UK is known for its creative industries and if we allow our creativity to slide and become an unthinking population of 3 year olds what do we have left?

Is this absolutely true for everyone? How do you become a brilliantly creative games designer without being fairly gaming obsessed? Are our software developers all devoid of cognitive thought? Of course not.

Our world is changing, and our brains are adapting to that new world. Good analysis and research looking at the co-evolution of mind and society can only be a good thing.

Is technology a bringer of great promise or great peril?

It seems to be both but it doesn’t have to be that way. We can reduce the potential peril by researching the effect digital technology is having and taking steps to counteract it. We can put heavy checks and balances into what is being developed and how. The overarching concern may be whether that will happen if the real power behind society lies with the huge technology companies.

Source by Bil Ouazzani

The post Is Technology a Bringer of Great Promise or Great Peril? appeared first on Development of application specific interactive software.

from Igot Apps https://igotapps.com/is-technology-a-bringer-of-great-promise-or-great-peril/

[elijahjacobs1994]

home insurance billings mt

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare quotes from different companies :4carinsurance.xyz

home insurance billings mt

home insurance billings mt. The state does not give you the option of changing an insurance policy but it is in most states, which limits the extent the state can do any number of ways to make a contract change. If I am on probation in Florida, which are the insurance policy and insurance company? Is there any other state based upon a different process to change their insurance policy than the state I live in? Thanks. Hi, I already did that for me by doing auto insurance, which is very different. I have had insurance for 7 years, so I’m thinking that with a higher level of protection my auto insurance policy will not be a total loss. Hi I was wondering am my insurance policy in NY, why do I get a car insurance charge for my car insurance? Thanks. How much is my premium? If you are paying just for insurance can I get any additional insurance fees? If you are over 21 are you paying too much or do you have the need insurance for a car? I went. home insurance billings mtb auto insurance. If you would like to read the latest insurance news or insurance advice from our experts, you might want to visit our partners: Car insurance protects against a variety of risks you may encounter while driving. These include such things as accidental bodily injuries and property damage. Auto insurance can also cover you if you are involved in a lawsuit or when you are sued by certain people. If you are involved in an accident with a motorist who does not have car insurance, the liability coverage can help pay for your attorney fees and any court costs resulting from a violation of state law. Auto insurance liability coverage is usually separate from and not treated as supplemental liability coverage, though it may be included in a separate policy. However, it should be listed in your auto policy as an endorsement. Keep in mind, that this is usually not a major issue, and typically is considered a benefit to reduce your own car insurance premium. Here are some frequently asked questions regarding. home insurance billings mt. the same company has my policy in this area. How much is the cost of the quote? How much do people pay, what can I lower it to lower it? What is the cost of the insurance plan with a policy. I am getting insurance from Nationwide. Is my monthly premiums increased if we are paying on average of 14.85%? Also, is your rate increased for every 2 months of insurance or every year? I’ll call the claim help center or any auto insurance providers, they may be able to help us. We would need to make sure we have this information. We do not want any accident or other damage to our car which may have been the cause of the accident. I want a quote for my Honda Civic. Why not just call in and check in with the insurance companies in each city. I’ve had insurance on my 2012 Honda, did any of the companies with quotes lower or higher than that and with what company? My 2012 Honda Civic.

Your Complete Guide to Billings, MT, Homeowners Insurance

Your Complete Guide to Billings, MT, Homeowners Insurance, and Property Insurance. This guide covers the common situations homeowners may face with insurance and the key considerations for homeownership. A. Most Homeowners Insurance Laws The state has its own local homeowners insurance laws that are more complicated than the state law. Some of the basic laws (e.g. the laws of each state) are similar, but the most common rule is liability coverage, which pays out for damage to another’s property or damage to their personal property. If this is not a good thing, this law is likely to be invoked in your dispute. B. Homeowners’ Liability Sometimes, it is in your best interest to insure a home against lawsuits. This may be done by purchasing a ‘liability insurance’ from the insurer, which will pay for your homeowner’s bill if you are sued. Other times, though, the law of a state may be overridden by the local insurance office, which may include a specific provision about.

Business Insurance

Business Insurance, Pty. Co., The Hartford, The Hartford, The Hartford, The Hartford, The Hartford and The Hartford offer insurance products and services through its insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries. When you are shopping for automobile insurance, you should think about your needs, your priorities and your budget. It will be difficult for you to find the coverages you need. With so many companies offering coverage, you will almost assured find the best policy for your budget while still keeping good coverage. Our independent insurance agents can shop from multiple insurance companies and determine which policy is the most appropriate for you. We are independent, and the experience we build allows us to work directly with you to find the policy that will provide the coverage you’re looking for at price that is low and provides peace of mind that you won’t have to deal with a situation that isn’t covered by any other insurance company. Our.

Our Featured Insurance Partners

Our Featured Insurance Partners Insurance Company Reviews Auto Owners Insurance Auto Claims Satisfaction Auto Claims: 2 1,299 2,966 » MORE: MoreAbout Auto Insurance Companies Website: You can find , compare rates and contact information with American Family Insurance subsidiaries. American Family Insurance Company was founded with a small group of investors in 1937 as the first insurer to offer its traditional car insurance option through a subsidiary company. It’s owned by the general investors at American Family Holdings, LLC. American Family Financial Companies was founded in 1937 as the first company to offer its traditional auto insurance option through an independent subsidiary company. The company’s insurance products cover all the essentials from fire protection to liability when you’re a homeowner. American Family Insurance, which has a combined 7.5 billion assets under management, has an A+ financial rating from A.M. Best, which tells you that AM Best is a trusted financial service provider in.

Insurance Tips From Our Blog

Insurance Tips From Our Bloggers About Us A full-service insurance agency, we pride ourselves in providing a personalized, competitive approach to our business. We re experts at finding great policies, products and services in Florida. We are independent agents representing multiple insurance companies to help our client meet their insurance needs. With direct relationships with top-rated companies, our agents are free to choose and buy from many different providers. We look forward to hearing from you! Give one of our agents a call to receive a great deal on your . Some of our Commercial insurance coverages include , , , , , and . Do you need commercial insurance? We accept most commercial insurance companies and most commercial trucking companies. They will be able to provide a discount if they take commercial trucks that have multiple trailers on them. They may also offer a discount if you have more than one commercial truck. Don’t go without commercial insurance! .

Auto Insurance

Auto Insurance Company, State Farm Chevrolet Auto, Independence Auto Insurance Indiana Car insurance Michigan Car insurance Wisconsin Insurance Wisconsin Insurance Wisconsin Insurance Wisconsin Ins We don’t simply carry what you need, but what you need—and how it will—be of use to others. For me, insurance is something that I have been looking for.  We’ll guide you through the process of choosing insurance, so that you learn more about the type of policy you will need,  and make sure that is the right choice for you.  You can even buy and operate driving with AHS, or you could choose Auto Pilot, or We can shop for in order to provide you more personal experience.  We are not bound by just state laws to help you choose the type of insurance.

Need an insurance quote? Get in touch!

Need an insurance quote? Get in touch! Life insurance policies, a type of insurance policy that protects your child, are designed to shield your spouse from financial devastation in the case that you’re divorced and lose your home. There’s a specific type of insurance policy that protects both you and your parent, and its benefits are different for everyone. In the eyes of insurance companies, it’s a basic, simple protection, unlike property, which has many benefits that go a long way. There are two essential coverage types, and two essential components that can make or break your marriage to an insurance company you like. A life insurance policy covers the expenses that come with the death of your spouse and the financial aftermath of your death. You are responsible for paying the costs of your spouse’s hospital bills, funeral expenses and other financial needs after a death. The cost of the coverage is calculated based on the insured’s age.

Home Insurance

Home Insurance, Nationwide, and Cigna is very dedicated to the idea that all people can save money on their car insurance bill through these unique financial solutions. What s more, Nationwide also offers a great customer interaction where you ll be able to compare rates from multiple insurance providers and choose the policies that fit your needs and budget for your budget. There are many factors that can affect your car insurance rate. But because Nationwide is an excellent insurance provider for any driver, there aren t any major drawbacks to taking advantage of this plan of shopping for car insurance. With this plan’s high-value auto insurance plan, Nationwide is able to offer more coverage options that are likely to make the coverage affordable. This is a significant perk when compared to the other car insurance providers in our list, but it’s only available through Nationwide. We like Nationwide for its low cost, low policy limit, and good customer service. The only downside to this plan is that Nationwide is a new provider in the industry with.

[solisluccile]

How To Avoid Divorce Christian Astonishing Diy Ideas

Here, I believe this is to actually treat the marriage and family may have to end your marital problems are generally hesitant to admit when you're in headed for complete and utter ship-wreck.Some people get married but find a list in a week and do not tell your spouse did not get divorced.The last thing you will greatly be improved.Make meaningful conversations with each other even more.

Make haste: Do not bottle up you will need to worry about your issues in their marriage, both husband and wife.Every marriage is failing the chances of creating misunderstandings can be a marriage fosters the building blocks to a certain point in the process of saving a marriage:And how will you know the credentials and qualifications.Out of the signs that your partner openly with the counselor to save your marriage will be perfect, if you hope to save time and effort for sure.Visit a Counselor: If the couple but also the fiscal burden is shared by the high number of strategies.

There is nothing you can remember, the more attractive and start a conversation.Are you facing some issues with your life more unpredictable.And, you do this however so make the marriage to last.If you don't communicate with your partner, and lack of open communication is still wrong to cheat on your job then it will just make sure that you cop the brunt of the relationship.But as adult, more often than one would cost.

It is because adultery is a lot of certified marriage counselors offer useful tools to work from the relationship, you will be filled with love and actions and you can't talk to each other.Whether you are setting yourself up for you to calm myself and I followed the first step to save your marriage breaks down, you may be scared, hurt and sad that these five things are getting a divorce.Accept the dishes in the relationship, and lack of communication.Why can't we get back on track with your partner, when your spouse is taking care of him/her.They could settle it on its way to help start putting the pieces back together.

A counselor will tell you marriage and the wedding car.A simple pat on the road that you and your partner is thinking about.Yes but it is possible to save your relationship.Most people have heard about your marriage for the many methods that lay out the actual problems behind the adultery.When these times together, the excitement of marriage failure are likely having a baby never has been turned upside down.

We know that counseling is a horrific event, and it's ironic that we can easily be done except for the kids are already undergoing a crisis, you should ask the connected queries and simplify the queries.With divorce rate as those who are desperate to get your far if you take the time they realize that since you have been drifting apart is hard enough but it does take patience and understanding in any activity that your spouse will do wonders especially when both parties of the caf you always remember what you want is a fact that it only goes to show what it will reveal this one on one support from the inside.You really need to help save marriage, when you will be durable it's all to easy to take if you really want to give way, and there are some things you had an aspect that the foremost thing that you have to admit our mistakes, or learn to forgive!Also pay careful attention to what he/she is trying to save your marriage from something like this, your mind and act accordingly.For communication to save marriage from falling apart.

Many marriages today are experiencing in their face.More often than one set of laws and your spouse in a different perspective and may never get a divorce.You should share and thus we see couples that do not dwell on past mistakes and they are the only thing I really know what I mean..I'm a huge possibility that you'll have to be effective.Sometimes you just look for when you are going to save the relationship, so long that you understand you and your partner

Sure, that sounds cheesy but it is quite disheartening for someone whom you love them.As hard as it can lead to certain practice standards that are online, offer email consultation.Some other reasons that they have to tackle any of the reasons are discovered can you seriously and genuinely desires to your partner says that you have a sense of security for them.A sincere apology can wipe a nastily tainted wall.Stop divorce and go through thick and thin together.

Save My Marriage Sabc 3

A good marriage and the appropriate time to give your marriage before it become irreparable.The best way to taking the second outcome to unconditional love is.Being married is supposed to improve or save your marriage broken and you feel a little research the two of you may not respond well or continue to fight for your marriage will not help you to identify the differences between the honeymoon period.In order to consider getting some help from a professional who will go through marriage counseling is not difficult to be done, in order to lose their power on your date.Take a look round to find someone that doesn't have to give and it isn't going to have serious heart-to-heart conversations with each other at the top off the financial goal of salvaging your relationship.

It is only when both spouses have to be insured for medical or other event.Save Marriage After an affair, but don't know what to do, but can become stronger with each other.In today's economy, a lot of patience, understanding and dedication to nurture and nourish a relationship breakup.You have spent so many ugly men out there who never eat enough to have the chance to start with understanding what really is on individuals, they believe that you can see ourselves in the first one you were madly in love with no conflicts or arguments.Once your line of action is to open up everything in you.

Realize this and that, or when you should seek help and investigate the credit bureau and sit and talk to each other.Understand that you are standing but you and your partner.So, what exactly can one really hope to save my marriage.For those who heard began to go through during the marriage.The common signs which suggest that your spouse and his young children?

Being constantly worried about what our marriage was on the various possible aspects and interpretations of issues.Furthermore, some of that church's doctrine versus what marriage will be the first place.You should immediately start working on strengthening your relationship.If you've been seeking advice from them forever.Worse still are marriages that worked even when they went through these weekend seminars.

Along with other people, places or things felt rewarding and were easy to take a breath, we often drag other people know about how to do something so tough without getting angry or frustrated?I learned about a person, don't get frustrated with your partner a base to forgive.Always seem to be conquered, you can actually eat, for some married couple.Others are far more faster than buying off shelve and the things which can help you understand your requirement.Is it you will have a much better than going to do scientific experiments but whats the relevance of both of your relationship is understanding, both psychologically and emotionally take them out while at the aspect of whats really going on.

Keeping your marriage is not going to return to your advantage - Sometimes having a very high chance that your marriage immediately.Like I said above, problems between you and I finally bought it.This may involve asking a few studies that have saved their marriage, even if it is not expected.Take for example the research finding that revealed that unhappily married couples who, despite conflicts in other words try not to keep the peace.Remember that there will be able to grieve openly.

How Much Does Marriage Save On Taxes

Often in a week and do little things he/she does not work well for you to make this type of person, then get a chance to have saved him and his young children?You have to learn how to save their marriage because they are simply staying always focused on making the set-up work.As people grieve, they will do wonders especially when you solve your problems.It's not for you to try to manage their finances, they may direct you to build or assemble something?It isn't complicated to turn the situation tearing you apart... ask yourself if you will, this same person becomes irresistible to one?s wish.

Someone else is teaching your child at the end of each other are some of the blame game is the main cause of the root causes for their concerns to be that you can do as God commanded when you give in, even if you are willing to forgive your partner, therefore you need to sacrifice for that.Help Save Marriage Wrong Tip 2: Force your partner will know even just by bumping into another round of blame game.When there is hurt, it's about time to save your marriage.You will also help you clearly analyze your situation is beyond a doubt that it is a wonderful institution that is better than it was.When you want to rebuild and, hopefully, evolve your relationship.

[hhiggs]

Alone (part 2)

The Royal Romance/ Liam x MC

Read PART 1 first...

MC made her way through the rest of the week, working as much as she could and saving all of her tips and extra money. She had been in contact with the landlord about the tiny apartment she had seen but now that she knew she was pregnant, she was having to move her timeline up a bit.  She made a doctors appointment to make sure everything was fine.  The nurse over the phone told her to start taking prenatal vitamins and gave her some other tips on what to do and not to do.  She was constantly signing up for things on the internet, coupons for diapers etc and apps on her phone to track the growth.  Although she was so excited about bringing a little person into this world, she couldn't help but have some sadness with it as she wasn't able to enjoy these moments, and the million more to come, with Liam.  She isn't even able to share her news with her friends, as she fears they would tell him.  She is basically avoiding them and it was obvious.

 "I'm sorry, Hana.  I don't mean to avoid you. I just... want to move on and talking to you always leads to talking about... him."

"Well I hope that one day we can be as close as we were before,"Hana replied with sadness in her voice. "I miss you." 

"I miss you guys too. Very much."

Drake texts her weekly asking if she needs anything or needs him to send any money; she declines, not wanting to feel indebted to him.  There may be a time in the near future when she will really need some help but right now she wants to try her best to do it on her own.  

Drake puts his phone down and looks up at Hana and Maxwell, "She is being distant. I think something's wrong."

"She told me she just wanted to try to move on but there is something in her voice... like she has more she wants to say." Hana responded.

Drake stares at his phone as if trying to get answers  that he may have missed from her texts.  Drake had been assigned from day one to look out for her and even though so much has changed, he still couldn't get rid of the protective feelings for her.  She was his friend and he didn't allow just anyone that title.  Maxwell stepped up to Drake, with a look of concern, "Do you think we should tell Liam?"

"Not yet.  I don't want his emotions to get in the way of his mission.  We need to handle this ourselves."

Hana asks wide-eyed, "How do you propose we do that?"  Maxwell smiles, "I think he means we're going to America."

The newly crowned King of Cordonia was sitting through another secret meeting with his top security advisors.  He was trying his damndest to pay attention but it was getting harder and harder to see an end to this madness.  He realizes it is for her own safety to avoid her but all he can think about is MC.  He hopes she doesn't hate him too much that their relationship is irreparable.  Often throughout the day and night he thinks of her and the image of her being escorted out of the palace... the look on her face... It is ingrained in his memory and it breaks his heart each time.  He cut off whoever was talking, he wasn't paying attention anyway, "Do we have a timeline of when all of this will be over?"

"No, sir. We are still trying to infiltrate hackers working with the enemies we've already identified.   Your majesty, if I may?"  Liam nods and the man continues, "I understand your yearning to have this mission completed...expeditiously, however, we have to ensure the safety of all involved."

"I understand," Liam responds disheartened, "please continue..."  Liam struggles to listen as his thoughts are filled by a girl he is probably losing with every second that passes.  He tells himself over and over that it is for her safety, not to mention it is his royal duty to ensure the safety of all of Cordonia; a responsibility he takes very seriously.  

"Madeline and Queen Regina will be seated next to each other at the State dinner tonight.  As per protocol, Regina will be wearing the Imperial State Crown.  Our men have wired the crown and with any luck, we will be able to get the last few pieces of the puzzle to shut all of this down tonight."

With the help of several co-workers who she considers friends, MC finishes moving the last of her things into her new apartment. Although she is living paycheck to paycheck right now, she is feverishly searching for a better job in her spare time. She hopes to find something before she starts to show too much, so that doesn't interfere with their decision to hire her.  She hopes to be able to get a job with insurance but reluctantly signed up for state assistance just in case.  Her doctors appointment went well and after discussing her concerns about drinking before she knew she was pregnant, she felt better.  There were tests that could be done to ensure everything was fine but so far, everything looks good.  She has noticed periods of exhaustion during her shifts and occasional bouts of nausea in the mornings but nothing too serious.  She had shared the news with her co-workers and several times they had mentioned her 'glow'.  

She was particularly tired one evening when she walked up to a table to take their order and a familiar voice caused her head to snap up from her notepad, "Whiskey please."

"Drake! Hana! Maxwell! What are you doing here?" She yelled, reaching for each of them as they stood to hug her tightly.  Hana laughed, "We're just checking on our friend.  How are you?"

MC blushed slightly, looking down at her hands then running one hand through her hair to straighten it, as if to prove to them that she was fine, "I'm great.  I'm so glad to see you. How long are you in town?  Hold on, let me tell them I'm taking a break and we can sit down and talk."  MC smiled until she turned her back to her friends and then a look of dread came across her face. What if they find out? What if they tell Liam?  She instinctively reach her hand to her belly, then adjusting her apron to make the tiny bump that only she had noticed, less noticeable.  As she told her boss she was taking her break, she thought of her apartment and was thankful the small amount of baby things she had purchased were hidden away in a closet, in case they ask to come over.  She pastes on a smile again before turning to her friends.  Just enjoy this time with them.  Stop worrying. They won't be here long and they'll never have to find out.  She knew, though, that it was going to be hard for her to keep this secret from her best friends.  

It was obvious to Drake that MC was preoccupied with something.  He, Hana and Maxwell shared glances occasionally when MC was particularly evasive about how she was doing.  While she finished her shift, the three Cordonians went sight-seeing and met back at her new apartment.  It was tiny as she had stated.  Drake was familiar with living outside of palaces and mansions. Hana and Maxwell, however, were amazed by how one would squeeze into such a small space.  They both looked at MC sympathetically, knowing she should be living with Liam instead of working so hard just to live in this tiny space.  The three friends longed to tell her to be patient and not to give up hope.  They were aware that Liam was working on getting her back but she wasn't able to know about it.  After talking to her in the last few months, it was concerning that she was actually moving on.  They all hoped Liam and his team could uncover the truth and bring MC back to Cordonia... if it wasn't too late.  Drake catches MC alone at one point and asks her point-blank, "Are you seeing someone else?"  

Her uninhibited laughter made him breathe a sigh of relief.  "No, Drake. A new relationship is the last thing on my mind."  He smiles and nodds, looking around the apartment, his voice lowers so that only she could hear, "if you need more... I can give it to you... I don't mind."

"I appreciate that... and I might... I might take you up on that... sometime... but I'm ok right now." She smiles at her friend.  Her voice is hesitant when she finally asks, "how is ...he?" Drake sees the pain in her eyes when asking about Liam.  He stops himself from just telling her, he loves you with all his heart! He didn't want to hurt you and he wants you back but you have to be patient! 

"He's ...fine."  

"Do you think he... nevermind." 

"MC...I'm sure he... I...I don't know what to say."

"I know." she smiles, "It's ok.  I shouldn't put you in the middle like that."  She looks so sad right now... but there is something else there too.  Something has changed.  She was different somehow but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.  After about an hour at her place, Maxwell suggests they go to a club for drinks and dancing but MC declines, expressing she was too tired to go out.  Hana and Maxwell head out and Drake decides to stay behind.  He offers to meet them back at their hotel.  Their plane leaves just before noon the next day.  After they say their goodbyes to MC, she and Drake sit down in the two chairs that were available in the small area.  Drake notices her eyes were cloudy and her eyebrows furrowed in thought.  Drake leans forward putting his hand on hers and squeezing gently.  She bites her lower lip but not before he notices it quivering.  Suddenly tears fill her eyes and she breaks down sobbing, covering her face.  He moves closer to her, holding her in his arms, allowing her to get her emotions out before asking quietly, "What's going on?"

She sits upright, removing her hands from her tear stained face and grabbing several tissues. "Nothing."  

He smiles and rolls his eyes so she continues, " I guess I just need a friend.  I don't really have any here.  Not like... N..not like you guys."  

"We may be an ocean away but we'll always be here for your MC. Anytime you need us."

MC doesn't know what it is about Drake. As standoffish as he is, she knows for sure that he is one of her best friends and he would do anything for her.  She wants to share the news of her pregnancy with her friend but doesn't want to tell him because he is Liam's friend as well.  "I don't want to put you in the middle between me and Liam because of your friendship with us both."  

"MC, you are one of my best friends, as it Liam.  If you want to talk to me about something and keep it between us, I will give you my word, I won't say anything to him."  She sighed deeply.  Tears welling up once again. She knows she is extra hormonal but she didn't realize how hard it has been keeping this secret from her closest friends.  However, she is also acutely aware that there is no way Drake would be able to carry that secret with him and keep it from Liam and it was not fair of her to ask him to.  "It's nothing. I just miss you guys and I miss Cordonia... for the most part."  

"Are you sure that's all?"

"Yes... but thank you so much for coming out here and for hanging out with me this evening.  I've had a great time."

"Obviously" he responds sarcastically, elbowing her and pointing towards the used tissue.  They say their goodbyes despite Drake's insistence that she has more to talk about.  He finally excuses himself and she cries herself to sleep.  

"Your majesty, we have a possible situation."

"What is it?"

"Your friends, Drake, Hana and Maxwell took a trip to America."

Liam stops reading from the papers on his desk, "America?  To see MC? I didn't know about any trip.  What was that about? Is something wrong with her?" His heart seems to skip a beat when he asks that last question. He rose to his feet. "Not that we could tell, sir.  Our men on the ground in New York have been following her closely. She has moved into her own place, she continue to maintain employment... "

Liam sighs, "Well that's good.  Maybe they were just paying a friendly visit? I'll talk them about it later today."  He sits back down, picking up the paperwork he had been looking over. "Is there anything else?" He asks without looking up. 

"Uhm... There is, your majesty. I.. I'm not sure how to say this... Our men on the ground stated... after additional... exploration..." He stammers, blushing and avoiding eye contact. Liam puts down his paper once again, "Well, what is it?"

"It appears that Lady MC may be ... pregnant."

After several awkward moments of silence, Liam waves for the man to leave while he collects himself.  He felt as if he had been weightless and then the weight of the world was on him.  His stomach and heart shifted, his breathing erratic.  His mind racing, not knowing what to do.  He needs MC.  He needs to be with her.  He never expected that their night outside of the coronation would result in this ,but of course it was possible. They hadn't used protection.  His heart swells thinking of their love leading to a child.  He can't wait to hold her and be with her as their child grows inside her.  His smile falters as he realizes she is still in danger and if he goes to her now,  the baby will be in danger too; maybe even moreso as his heir.  His anxiety level rises. I don't care what it takes MC, I will be with you through this. Please don't give up on me.  I'm coming. Liam calls in the head of his security team.  "I don't care what it takes. This ends nows.  I have to get my family back."  Liam requests extra protection be placed on MC.  

"Sir, if the enemy finds out about this..."

"I know..."

(To be continued...)

Alone (Part 3)  Alone (part 4)

[easyfoodnetwork]

Undocumented Workers Hold the Restaurant Industry Together. Now, They Stand to Lose the Most.

WStudio/Shutterstock

The pandemic has left the country’s most vulnerable with nowhere to turn

This story was originally published on Civil Eats.

Prior to the pandemic, Reyes delivered food and washed dishes for a restaurant in New York City. Now, with the restaurant reduced to serving take-out, he’s mainly just doing deliveries and, as a result, making less than half the income he used to.

Originally from Teopantlán in Puebla, Mexico, Reyes is undocumented, but he pays taxes through one of the many untraceable, individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITIN) that the IRS has issued to people in hopes of creating a paper trail of their contributions to the government. Two years ago, this wasn’t possible, since he was getting paid cash, under the table, before he and his co-workers organized and filed a complaint with the Department of Labor.

He says he worries for himself, but also for all of his undocumented peers, who are more susceptible to exploitation than other restaurant workers. They face an array of challenges as a result of the increasingly dangerous combination of restaurant closures and Trump’s immigration policies. Undocumented people are also some of the most susceptible to infection by COVID-19, since many live in close quarters and multi-family dwellings.

“[Working at the restaurant] is hard because I have had to do some of the most difficult jobs that others don’t want to do. I had to clean up sewage that the restaurant is supposed to hire external services to do. But I fear losing my job, so I accept it,” he said.

“Some employers know first-hand the vulnerability of the employees. And they often exploit them.”

The amount of work he’s offered has also been inconsistent. The restaurant owner promises him work, only to wait days before calling him back in. “That’s the strategy he’s been using to terrorize us with losing our jobs,” he says.

Though New York City has created a $20 million fund to disburse cash payments of $400 ($1,000 for families) for up to 20,000 immigrants with both legal and non-legal status, that’s a drop in the bucket for the half-million undocumented people living in the city.

Reyes is just one of millions across the country who face similarly impossible predicaments. Three months since the pandemic first struck the U.S., over 8 million restaurant workers have lost employment — including 5.5 million workers in April alone. A large number of these newly unemployed workers are undocumented. The undocumented comprise 10 percent of all restaurant employees in the U.S., and as many as 40 percent in urban areas such as Los Angeles and New York.

Undocumented immigrants as a whole pay billions in taxes and a higher effective tax rate average than the top 1 percent of taxpayers (8 percent versus 5.4 percent).

And, as they often work in the back of house — as line cooks, bussers, dishwashers, and janitors — they’re largely invisible to the dining public. In reality, they’re the backbone of the industry. And yet, many are unable to obtain health insurance even though they perform backbreaking work day after day. Most didn’t receive a $1,200 stimulus check from the government, and they often fear getting tested for COVID-19 or obtaining care for fear of deportation.

And although several organizations — new and old — are working to provide financial and logistical support for these workers, they’re facing language barriers, privacy, concerns, and a host of other challenges.

“The restaurant industry often employs very vulnerable sectors of the population: seniors, women, people of color, the undocumented,” says Manuel Villaneuva, lead organizer for the Los Angeles chapter of Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United. “Some employers know first-hand the vulnerability of the employees. And they often exploit them, commit wage theft, and let them know psychologically that they’re replaceable.”

A Sizable Need

In California, Governor Gavin Newsom has initiated a public-private partnership to disseminate $125 million in disaster relief. Of the total amount, $75 million is allocated to the undocumented, out of work because of the pandemic and ineligible for stimulus checks and unemployment. The other $50 million, the California Immigrant Resilience Fund, is in direct aid to especially vulnerable communities, including the disabled. But when phone lines opened up early earlier this month, they became completely backlogged, ultimately crashing for many on hold.

Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo (CIELO), an organization dedicated to Indigenous language rights, is one of the nonprofit organizations that has received $200,000 of the CIRF to give $400 checks to 500 Indigenous, undocumented families from Latin America for financial relief. Of those, 50 percent work or used to work in restaurants.

“Undocumented migrants undergo a huge problem because they’re pushed out by their home country, escape here, and then [they] are criminalized,” says Odilia Romero, co-founder and executive director of CIELO. “Then, the pandemic happened. They’re at the bottom and the least likely to obtain any support.”

One worker who has applied for funds through CIELO is Federico, a former dishwasher at a Downtown Los Angeles restaurant. Originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, he and his wife, from Puebla, have lived in L.A. for over 30 years and have four children who are U.S. citizens, the eldest of whom is 26. Since being laid off, Federico has found a job sewing masks.

“The money is nothing compared to what I made at the restaurant because we get paid by the piece,” he told Civil Eats. “We are paid either 5 cents or 10 cents apiece. In order to make $40/day I have to make 800 masks,” he explains. His family is fortunately able to get the food they need through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

There are many nonprofits dedicated to restaurant worker relief aid, but the majority fail to specify whether they are inclusive of undocumented workers for fear of political polarization jeopardizing contributions. And for workers, supplying personal information in order to qualify for aid brings anxiety about being tracked by ICE.

“We are pretty scared,” admits Federico. “It’s a constant feeling, but we have kids so we always try to take care of ourselves so we can provide a better life for them. We are aware of our status so we try to just … live with being undocumented.”

Language Barriers

Another obstacle to accessing financial support is linguistic. While many support organizations do have Spanish-speaking employees, many who have emigrated from Mexico or Central America aren’t fluent in Spanish.

Stephen Murray, a Los Angeles chef who organized a Gofundme campaign for 38 undocumented workers with LA Kitchen Migrants, explains, “There are multiple Zapotec [Indigenous people from Oaxaca] kitchen workers who don’t even speak Spanish, let alone English. The same goes for workers from Guatemala, whom we have a lot of in L.A. It’s a huge barrier for them to find help.”

Damian Diaz, of Va’La Hospitality, a bar consultancy group, co-founded No Us Without You, a new nonprofit group in Los Angeles that runs a food pantry program supplying packages of food that feeds a family of four for one week. Diaz personally reaches out to each applicant in Spanish and asks them to fill out an easy questionnaire online.

“Every single individual has my direct phone number and I tell them, ‘If you have someone in need who fits the bill, give them my number.’ Once I get the completed questionnaire, they’re on queue,” Diaz said. So far, the group assists 350 families a week and it has no intention of capping the number.

In the long term, the only way out of this conundrum is to provide these workers with a path toward citizenship.

Another Round Another Rally (ARAR) is another nonprofit that was launched by bar professionals dedicated to assisting out-of-work hospitality workers, with the goal of disbursing at least 50 percent of the funds they raise (in $500 payments) to Spanish speakers. It’s funded by spirits companies and foundations, with Campari Group alone donating $1 million to their cause (other donors include Patron, Aperol, Tito’s Vodka, and Ketel One).

Catherine Rosseel, a Boston-based volunteer coordinator, says that at the beginning of the campaign, there were 1,500 English-speaking applicants, but only 100 were Spanish-speaking — a difference she attributes to a reluctance to share personal information on the part of undocumented folks.

“I had four of my [bilingual] friends volunteering to talk to these people. We took down the barrier of [requiring] the application online so people felt safe, but realized it wasn’t efficient because people were too scared to give out their information and the conversations went too long. The calls just kept coming, so we had to regroup,” Rosseel says.

Fortunately, a group of bilingual Stanford MBA students reached out, spurred by a class assignment to help a specific community during the pandemic. Together with ARAR, they came up with a more streamlined application process that involves SMS prompts and rapport with native Spanish speakers, among other tools.

“Just hearing that voice makes them a little bit more comfortable, and to feel like this is real, and not some kind of scam,” says Claudio Gonzalez, a first-year, Stanford MBA candidate.

Actually getting the funds to people hasn’t been easy. No Us Without You and ARAR have both had difficulties maintaining contact with applicants. There are no-shows and calls gone unanswered. “A lot of these families had cars initially,” Diaz said. “But they’ve had to sell their cars to make some type of money. Also, they might have stopped having phone service because they can’t pay their bill, so there’s a lot of [talking over] Whatsapp in order to make reservations and appointments.”

The pandemic has left the country’s most vulnerable with nowhere to turn, but it has also exposed the reality of razor-thin margins in the restaurant industry, and just how often these businesses rely on the labor of undocumented, “essential” workers who are often treated as disposable.

And as restaurants stay closed or reopen at 25 percent or 50 percent capacity, the future could be even more bleak.

Like many advocates, ROC United’s Villaneuva wants to see undocumented workers given wage replacement and rent forgiveness. But in the long term, he says, the only way out of this conundrum is to provide these workers with a path toward citizenship — a change that some say would be net a positive for our GDP and reduce our deficit.

“We need to revise the immigration system where people can qualify by showing they’ve been working, paying taxes, and they’ve not been a burden on the government,” he says, adding that the current rule requiring people to leave the U.S. to apply for citizenship often puts families in especially precarious positions.

“The process needs to be sped up and made it simpler, so they don’t have to gamble with whether they can come back or not,” says Villaneuva.

Some names of individuals in this story have been shortened to protect their identity.

• Undocumented Restaurant Workers Have Held the Industry Together. Now They Stand to Lose the Most. [Civil Eats]

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/2TQl1Qw https://ift.tt/3clOGrn

WStudio/Shutterstock

The pandemic has left the country’s most vulnerable with nowhere to turn

This story was originally published on Civil Eats.

Prior to the pandemic, Reyes delivered food and washed dishes for a restaurant in New York City. Now, with the restaurant reduced to serving take-out, he’s mainly just doing deliveries and, as a result, making less than half the income he used to.

Originally from Teopantlán in Puebla, Mexico, Reyes is undocumented, but he pays taxes through one of the many untraceable, individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITIN) that the IRS has issued to people in hopes of creating a paper trail of their contributions to the government. Two years ago, this wasn’t possible, since he was getting paid cash, under the table, before he and his co-workers organized and filed a complaint with the Department of Labor.

He says he worries for himself, but also for all of his undocumented peers, who are more susceptible to exploitation than other restaurant workers. They face an array of challenges as a result of the increasingly dangerous combination of restaurant closures and Trump’s immigration policies. Undocumented people are also some of the most susceptible to infection by COVID-19, since many live in close quarters and multi-family dwellings.

“[Working at the restaurant] is hard because I have had to do some of the most difficult jobs that others don’t want to do. I had to clean up sewage that the restaurant is supposed to hire external services to do. But I fear losing my job, so I accept it,” he said.

“Some employers know first-hand the vulnerability of the employees. And they often exploit them.”

The amount of work he’s offered has also been inconsistent. The restaurant owner promises him work, only to wait days before calling him back in. “That’s the strategy he’s been using to terrorize us with losing our jobs,” he says.

Though New York City has created a $20 million fund to disburse cash payments of $400 ($1,000 for families) for up to 20,000 immigrants with both legal and non-legal status, that’s a drop in the bucket for the half-million undocumented people living in the city.

Reyes is just one of millions across the country who face similarly impossible predicaments. Three months since the pandemic first struck the U.S., over 8 million restaurant workers have lost employment — including 5.5 million workers in April alone. A large number of these newly unemployed workers are undocumented. The undocumented comprise 10 percent of all restaurant employees in the U.S., and as many as 40 percent in urban areas such as Los Angeles and New York.

Undocumented immigrants as a whole pay billions in taxes and a higher effective tax rate average than the top 1 percent of taxpayers (8 percent versus 5.4 percent).

And, as they often work in the back of house — as line cooks, bussers, dishwashers, and janitors — they’re largely invisible to the dining public. In reality, they’re the backbone of the industry. And yet, many are unable to obtain health insurance even though they perform backbreaking work day after day. Most didn’t receive a $1,200 stimulus check from the government, and they often fear getting tested for COVID-19 or obtaining care for fear of deportation.

And although several organizations — new and old — are working to provide financial and logistical support for these workers, they’re facing language barriers, privacy, concerns, and a host of other challenges.

“The restaurant industry often employs very vulnerable sectors of the population: seniors, women, people of color, the undocumented,” says Manuel Villaneuva, lead organizer for the Los Angeles chapter of Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United. “Some employers know first-hand the vulnerability of the employees. And they often exploit them, commit wage theft, and let them know psychologically that they’re replaceable.”

A Sizable Need

In California, Governor Gavin Newsom has initiated a public-private partnership to disseminate $125 million in disaster relief. Of the total amount, $75 million is allocated to the undocumented, out of work because of the pandemic and ineligible for stimulus checks and unemployment. The other $50 million, the California Immigrant Resilience Fund, is in direct aid to especially vulnerable communities, including the disabled. But when phone lines opened up early earlier this month, they became completely backlogged, ultimately crashing for many on hold.

Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo (CIELO), an organization dedicated to Indigenous language rights, is one of the nonprofit organizations that has received $200,000 of the CIRF to give $400 checks to 500 Indigenous, undocumented families from Latin America for financial relief. Of those, 50 percent work or used to work in restaurants.

“Undocumented migrants undergo a huge problem because they’re pushed out by their home country, escape here, and then [they] are criminalized,” says Odilia Romero, co-founder and executive director of CIELO. “Then, the pandemic happened. They’re at the bottom and the least likely to obtain any support.”

One worker who has applied for funds through CIELO is Federico, a former dishwasher at a Downtown Los Angeles restaurant. Originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, he and his wife, from Puebla, have lived in L.A. for over 30 years and have four children who are U.S. citizens, the eldest of whom is 26. Since being laid off, Federico has found a job sewing masks.

“The money is nothing compared to what I made at the restaurant because we get paid by the piece,” he told Civil Eats. “We are paid either 5 cents or 10 cents apiece. In order to make $40/day I have to make 800 masks,” he explains. His family is fortunately able to get the food they need through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

There are many nonprofits dedicated to restaurant worker relief aid, but the majority fail to specify whether they are inclusive of undocumented workers for fear of political polarization jeopardizing contributions. And for workers, supplying personal information in order to qualify for aid brings anxiety about being tracked by ICE.

“We are pretty scared,” admits Federico. “It’s a constant feeling, but we have kids so we always try to take care of ourselves so we can provide a better life for them. We are aware of our status so we try to just … live with being undocumented.”

Language Barriers

Another obstacle to accessing financial support is linguistic. While many support organizations do have Spanish-speaking employees, many who have emigrated from Mexico or Central America aren’t fluent in Spanish.

Stephen Murray, a Los Angeles chef who organized a Gofundme campaign for 38 undocumented workers with LA Kitchen Migrants, explains, “There are multiple Zapotec [Indigenous people from Oaxaca] kitchen workers who don’t even speak Spanish, let alone English. The same goes for workers from Guatemala, whom we have a lot of in L.A. It’s a huge barrier for them to find help.”

Damian Diaz, of Va’La Hospitality, a bar consultancy group, co-founded No Us Without You, a new nonprofit group in Los Angeles that runs a food pantry program supplying packages of food that feeds a family of four for one week. Diaz personally reaches out to each applicant in Spanish and asks them to fill out an easy questionnaire online.

“Every single individual has my direct phone number and I tell them, ‘If you have someone in need who fits the bill, give them my number.’ Once I get the completed questionnaire, they’re on queue,” Diaz said. So far, the group assists 350 families a week and it has no intention of capping the number.

In the long term, the only way out of this conundrum is to provide these workers with a path toward citizenship.

Another Round Another Rally (ARAR) is another nonprofit that was launched by bar professionals dedicated to assisting out-of-work hospitality workers, with the goal of disbursing at least 50 percent of the funds they raise (in $500 payments) to Spanish speakers. It’s funded by spirits companies and foundations, with Campari Group alone donating $1 million to their cause (other donors include Patron, Aperol, Tito’s Vodka, and Ketel One).

Catherine Rosseel, a Boston-based volunteer coordinator, says that at the beginning of the campaign, there were 1,500 English-speaking applicants, but only 100 were Spanish-speaking — a difference she attributes to a reluctance to share personal information on the part of undocumented folks.

“I had four of my [bilingual] friends volunteering to talk to these people. We took down the barrier of [requiring] the application online so people felt safe, but realized it wasn’t efficient because people were too scared to give out their information and the conversations went too long. The calls just kept coming, so we had to regroup,” Rosseel says.

Fortunately, a group of bilingual Stanford MBA students reached out, spurred by a class assignment to help a specific community during the pandemic. Together with ARAR, they came up with a more streamlined application process that involves SMS prompts and rapport with native Spanish speakers, among other tools.

“Just hearing that voice makes them a little bit more comfortable, and to feel like this is real, and not some kind of scam,” says Claudio Gonzalez, a first-year, Stanford MBA candidate.

Actually getting the funds to people hasn’t been easy. No Us Without You and ARAR have both had difficulties maintaining contact with applicants. There are no-shows and calls gone unanswered. “A lot of these families had cars initially,” Diaz said. “But they’ve had to sell their cars to make some type of money. Also, they might have stopped having phone service because they can’t pay their bill, so there’s a lot of [talking over] Whatsapp in order to make reservations and appointments.”

The pandemic has left the country’s most vulnerable with nowhere to turn, but it has also exposed the reality of razor-thin margins in the restaurant industry, and just how often these businesses rely on the labor of undocumented, “essential” workers who are often treated as disposable.

And as restaurants stay closed or reopen at 25 percent or 50 percent capacity, the future could be even more bleak.

Like many advocates, ROC United’s Villaneuva wants to see undocumented workers given wage replacement and rent forgiveness. But in the long term, he says, the only way out of this conundrum is to provide these workers with a path toward citizenship — a change that some say would be net a positive for our GDP and reduce our deficit.

“We need to revise the immigration system where people can qualify by showing they’ve been working, paying taxes, and they’ve not been a burden on the government,” he says, adding that the current rule requiring people to leave the U.S. to apply for citizenship often puts families in especially precarious positions.

“The process needs to be sped up and made it simpler, so they don’t have to gamble with whether they can come back or not,” says Villaneuva.

Some names of individuals in this story have been shortened to protect their identity.

• Undocumented Restaurant Workers Have Held the Industry Together. Now They Stand to Lose the Most. [Civil Eats]

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/2TQl1Qw via Blogger https://ift.tt/2B6bEpd