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handeaux · 8 months ago

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Bye-Bye, Boss! And The Unsung Socialist Hero Of Cincinnati’s Charter Movement

Where are the parades? Where are the celebrations? Election Day this year marks exactly a century since Cincinnati voters rose up to finally end boss rule in the Queen City.

From the 1880s right up to 1924, Cincinnati had been run by what amounted to a criminal syndicate, with George Barnsdale Cox, known as “Boss Cox,” and his minions controlling every aspect of city politics and – most importantly – city finances through their stranglehold on the Hamilton County Republican Party. The Cox Gang siphoned millions of public dollars into their own pockets, let city schools and public services languish, allowed gambling and prostitution to flourish under police protection, and nationally besmirched the reputation of our city. Just how powerful was Boss Cox? Here is a major national magazine, Collier’s, from 24 September 1910:

“No public officeholder in Cincinnati is allowed to name his own deputies. Cox himself appoints these underlings. He has in each public office his representative, who is in real charge. In one case it was disclosed in a legislative investigation that the regularly elected official was not even allowed the combination of his office safe. That was the property of Cox’s agent.”

And here is The New Republic from 7 May 1924 describing a major source of the Boss’s ill-gotten gains:

“Cox was a grafter. It was definitely proved that he had pocketed many thousands of dollars, bribes paid to him by banks for illegally depositing with them Hamilton County funds.”

By 1924, Cox himself had been dead for eight years, but the ironclad Republican machine he had constructed still sputtered along, led by burlesque impresario Rudolph K. “Rud” Hynicka. It infuriated local progressives that Hynicka didn’t even live in Cincinnati but pulled all the strings – political and purse – in Cincinnati from his office in New York City.

The entire boss system came crashing down on 4 November 1924, when Cincinnati voters marked their ballots by a 2.5 to 1 margin to adopt a city manager form of government eliminating the ward-based city council.

In the years since, mythology has enshrined a conventional explanation of how this peaceful revolution prevailed. In this telling, independent Republicans like Murray Seasongood assumed the founding father roles. Here is a typical summary of the traditional narrative, from an article by William A. Baughin from the Winter 1988 issue of Queen City Heritage:

“Under the direction of Seasongood . . . the Charter Committee conducted a successful campaign to bring about these changes in the fall elections of 1924. After this victory, the Charter Committee remained in existence, completing its transition to a de facto political party when it endorsed and campaigned for a slate of councilmanic candidates in 1925.”

Though not exactly inaccurate, the standard version ignores decades of organized opposition to Boss Cox from Democrats and, notably, Socialists. It is not too strong a statement to assert that Cincinnati’s successful charter vote in 1924 would have been impossible without concerted action by the local Socialists and their allies.

Rarely mentioned these days is a radical reformer who devoted half a century to a campaign for social and economic reform. Herbert S. Bigelow was a provocative and controversial figure throughout a long and eventful life. He opposed United States involvement in the First World War and was kidnapped and horsewhipped because of that. He lobbied for old age pensions, for fair taxation, and for municipal control of utilities and transportation.

Bigelow set the stage for the political coup of 1924 as far back as 1912, when he helped organize a progressive, statewide constitutional convention. Bigelow headed a delegation to that convention from Hamilton County, was elected president of the convention; and guided the convention toward submitting to the voters an Initiative and Referendum amendment, and a Municipal Home Rule amendment as well.

As a young man, studying for the ministry at Cincinnati’s Lane Seminary, Bigelow’s social consciousness was awakened, and he dedicated his life “less for the gospel of heaven above and more for justice here on earth.” As pastor of the old Congregational Church on Vine Street, Bigelow’s social agenda so alienated the old-time congregants that he created a totally new “People’s Church” with no theological dogma, only a commitment to progressive causes. He preached, he said, the Social Gospel.

Bigelow’s church spawned what would today be called a political action committee, known as the People’s Power League, organizing liberals and radicals of every stripe from labor unions to Socialists to disenchanted refugees from the major parties. When the United States entered World War I, Bigelow loudly protested the forced enlistment of men through the draft, a position that almost got him killed. As Daniel R. Beaver relates in his 1957 biography of Bigelow, “A Buckeye Crusader”:

“The minister's outspoken attitude aroused the opposition of many patriotic organizations around Cincinnati and finally brought about a physical attack on him October 28, 1917. Bigelow was kidnapped as he was about to address a meeting of the Socialist Party in Newport, Kentucky, taken to a deserted field and horsewhipped, ‘In the name of the women and children of Belgium.’”

Bigelow that year backed the Socialist Party in Cincinnati’s municipal elections. He was convinced his attackers were egged on by the business and industrial interests of Cincinnati. Bigelow expressed a lifelong antipathy to any cause, no matter how popular, that had the support of Cincinnati’s established capitalists. This prejudice, according to biographer Beaver, affected his involvement in the Charter movement:

“His attitude was clearly shown in 1924 when a battle was begun by moderate Cincinnatians led by Murray Seasongood to introduce the city charter form of government into the political life of Cincinnati. [Bigelow] distrusted the motives of the reformers because of their business connections and remained aloof until it became obvious that he and his followers were needed to circulate petitions for a charter election. Though subsequent events are disputed, it seems that he and his associates exacted from the Charterites a promise to include a plan for proportional representation in their bill in return for the support of Bigelow's organization.”

Despite the essential contributions from the People’s Church, Charterites downplayed the pastor’s involvement because Bigelow, in addition to building grassroot support for municipal reform was also campaigning quite vocally in 1924 for Progressive presidential candidate Robert M. LaFollette, who had the backing of the Socialists. Still, Bigelow was able to influence the Charterites to adopt several reforms that originated in his progressive campaigns.

A much more nuanced version of the victory of 1924 would acknowledge the contributions of organized labor, women and Socialists in addition to the traditional political parties, and especially the role of Cincinnati’s lifelong firebrand, Herbert S. Bigelow.

#boss cox #rud hynicka #herbert bigelow #cincinnati elections #cincinnati politics

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rpgadverts · 4 years ago

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No progress is without resistance. Society learned to integrate supernaturals, but enforcement is still strict, often besmirched with bigotry; supernaturals continue to fight for their freedoms, many outraged at the injustice of it all. Only one thing is sure, no matter where we stand, there is Fire in Our Veins! HOME • PLOT • SPECIES • CANONS • WANTED ADS

SITE-WIDE EVENT IS CURRENTLY TAKING PLACE! THE COUNTY FAIR IS HERE!

#jcink #rp #mature rp #city rp #modern fantasy rp #original rp

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yobaba30 · 6 years ago

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CLEVELAND -- Of all the regions in all the states in all the country, Jim Jordan got dragged into ours. There was no good reason to punish Greater Cleveland by making the person who’s now the second most contemptible human being in the entire U.S. government part of the region’s delegation to Congress. Worse yet, the betrayal was bipartisan.

When Ohio’s political and legislative leaders were drawing new congressional boundaries prior to the 2012 election, Democrats wanted a district that would protect U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge. Republicans wanted districts that would elect the maximum number of GOP congressmen. And some people from both parties wanted a district that would likely lead to the defeat of longtime Cleveland Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

They all got what they wanted.

But to make it work required drawing a hideously gerrymandered district for the southwest Ohio congressman, one that meanders some 200 miles from near Dayton north into Lorain County near Cleveland.

And now it’s fitting that Republicans have given this seven-term sycophant a starring role in the televised House Intelligence Committee impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump. The assignment comes as Jordan is being credibly accused by some of knowingly turning a blind eye to sexual abuse by a team doctor when Jordan was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University from 1987 to 1994.

At least five people – four of them former wrestlers and one of them a longtime friend – have said Jordan had to have known former OSU team doctor Richard Strauss was on a sexual rampage that would include -- according to OSU -- 1,429 sexual assaults and 47 rapes of student patients during Strauss’ time at the school (1978 to 1998) prior to his suicide in 2005.

That makes Jordan an ideal candidate to lead the defense of a malignant president who has bragged about physically abusing women and who has been accused by two dozen women of sexual assault or misconduct.

Jordan was appointed to the Intelligence Committee the same day, Nov. 8, that NBC reported on a lawsuit filed early this month in which a former wrestling referee alleges Strauss masturbated in front of him in the shower following an OSU wrestling match in 1994.

When the referee told Jordan what happened, he alleges that Jordan blew him off with, “Yeah, that’s Strauss.”

As the allegations pile up, Jordan’s denials remain unchanged. He dismissed the latest one as “ridiculous.”

People have every right to believe Jordan’s angry dismissals. Common sense suggests they’d probably be better off believing five men who have no reason to lie.

When Jordan slithers out from under his rock each morning, dons a shirt and tie - sans the jacket, lest he be mistaken for Joe McCarthy - his life’s work is to besmirch everything America stands for in service of Donald Trump.

If it takes undermining yet another principle of democracy by condoning attacks on men and women who have devoted their lives in honorable service to this country, Jordan is always ready and willing.

If it takes changing the Trump defense strategy on an almost daily basis because facts keep getting in the way, Jordan is the ideal bootlicker. Trump’s support is all that seems to matter to the man former House Speaker John Boehner regularly referred to as "a legislative terrorist” – along with a whole bunch of other descriptions unfit for print.

Why would Jordan so readily ruin what little was left of his reputation? One theory holds he hopes to inherit Trump’s base for a presidential run of his own in 2024. The swamp will be a crowded place in four years, overrun with loathsome folks angling to continue the dastardly business of shredding the Constitution.

Michael Gerson’s credentials to analyze Jordan are impeccable. He is an evangelical Christian, lifelong Republican and onetime chief speechwriter to former President George W. Bush.

In his Washington Post column of Nov. 14, Gerson showed his keen understanding of Jordan, describing him as “the Truly Trumpian Man – guided by bigotry, seized by conspiracy theories, dismissive of facts and truth, indifferent to ethics, contemptuous of institutional norms and ruthlessly dedicated to the success of a demagogue.”

Gerson applied the identical description to Stephen Miller, the White House resident white supremacist.

Everything about Jordan reeks of a man willing to cast aside common decency and fairness in service of a corrupt and cruel president.

He may be the most unfit man to ever represent part of Greater Cleveland in Congress.

Brent Larkin was The Plain Dealer’s editorial director from 1991 until his retirement in 2009.

#brent-larkin #jim-jordan #ohio-state-university-wrestling #richard-strauss #osu-sex-abuse-scandal

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wolfpawn · 6 years ago

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When Ghosts Come For Us

Chapter 58

NOTE This is based on the movie Crimson Peak, so if any of the subject matter in that was uncomfortable for you, you will find this similar. I will *NOT* be describing incest in this, it will only be implied, same as the movie.

Also, I do not own any image or gif used in this story.

HERE is the link to Chapter 1 on Ao3

Rating - Mature

Charlotte was practically shaking with excitement as she watched the carriage making its way up the road to Foxgrove. She had been waiting for her brother excitedly for a few days, knowing that there would be no way for him to respond by post before their arrival. The room was readied for them and for the past day, Charlotte waited patiently. A rider was sent ahead from the closest town to alert them that Edward and Joanne were there and awaiting permission to come to Foxgrove. As soon as the carriage turned up the path, she ordered tea and food be readied.

When the carriage came to a halt, she had to force herself to remain where she was, knowing that rushing forward was completely against social construct. To her side, Thomas stood stoically, though the manner in which his hand was on her was almost as though to assist her to remember that she could not simply rush forward. They watched patiently as the coachman dismounted his position to the front of the carriage and walked around the side to open the door. It felt like an eternity to Charlotte before finally, the occupants of the carriage came into view.

As soon as Edward began to disembark, Blake gave an excited bark and seemed to plead with his master, who had the good sense to have him put on a lead so not to rush into the freshly prepared soil for the new plants, to say hello. When Joanne came into view, Charlotte’s smile became all the wider and she walked forward, forcing herself to remain formal. She stood in front of them, Edward giving a slight bow and Joanne giving a slight curtsey. Thomas walked forward and received similar.

“It is wonderful to see you both.” Charlotte forced her tone to be merely pleasant and calm when all she wanted was to embrace her brother and his wife.

“And us you. Thank you, Lady Sharpe, for your kind invitation.” Edward, knowing the gathered staff would be watching them carefully, acted as though it was not as personal a meeting as it truly was. “Sir Sharpe.” Thomas bowed his head slightly. “Dr Thompson, thank you for accepting our invitation. I hope the southern English coast was to your liking.” “It is colder at this time of year but not near as crowded, so we had a wonderful time.” Edward looked lovingly at his wife.

Charlotte looked at her brother and Joanne and to the quaint wedding bands they both donned on their hands. “We are most elated that you made time for us on your journey back north. Please, come in and get settled.” She encouraged the pair inside. “This is Mrs Matthews by the way.” The housekeeper stood forward on her name being mentioned. “She keeps this house in running order, her husband Mr Matthews is the butler and between them, I could not ask for a better pair to run Foxgrove. If you have any issue in your time here, do not hesitate to inform them, they are most able and facilitating.”

“I will have one of the servants bring the bags to your room.” Mrs Matthews offered. “Why don’t you get a warm cup of tea? I know Littleton’s tea leaves a lot to be desired.” “That sounds heavenly, Mrs Matthews, thank you.” Edward smiled. “I do not wish to speak ill of anyone but Joanne and I found their tea a tad…lacking.” “It is like pond water, there is no need to try and save feelings, it is horrid.” The housekeeper stated, causing everyone to give stifle their laughs. “I will have it brought out immediately.”

They all walked into the reception room where a fire burned, heating the room to a comfortable temperature whilst they sat down. “How was the coast?” Charlotte asked brightly.

“Wonderful, I...I never saw something so beautiful.” Joanne responded.

“I told Joanne that it is far more beautiful in the summer,” Edward added.

“Well, do not tell her, show her,” Charlotte smiled. “She deserves to see it.” Edward looked adoringly at his wife. “She most certainly does.”

The talk was very basic and light while they waited for their tea and such to arrive. After the last of the trays were left down, Thomas looked at the maid, “Thank you, Margaret, please inform Mr and Mrs Matthews that we do not wish to be disturbed.” “Of course, Sir Sharpe.” Margaret curtsied as she spoke and did as she was told, knowing that it was not unusual for Charlotte or Thomas to speak in private with the doctor and his now-wife. “If you require anything…” “Thank you, Margaret.” Charlotte smiled as she walked out of the room.

“I see Margaret is increasing her vocabulary,” Edward noted.

“She is liking it here,” Charlotte stated. “She is a very able young woman in every manner.” She looked at her brother. “Congratulations to you both, how are you finding married life?” “Wonderful, thank you,” Joanne answered.

Edward cleared his throat. “We’re sorry to have not waited for your return, however…” Charlotte waved her hand dismissively. “Please, to have to wait months for our return would have been madness. You were right to do as you do and I could not be happier for you both.” her smile was genuine. “I cannot believe you have achieved everything you have wished for in life, Dear Brother, I cannot express how happy that makes me for you.”

“I have some things I still wish to achieve, but overall, I can genuinely say, I could not be happier.”

“You are so capable, you will achieve anything you strive for.” Charlotte smiled.

Thomas smiled, seeing her same encouragement for her brother as she had for him. It was Charlotte’s way. She wanted to see those she loved happy and achieving.

“Where is Master Thomas, may I ask?” Joanne asked curiously.

“Thomas is usually asleep at this time. I have instructed for him to be brought to me when he is completed his afternoon ritual.”

Edward noted the displeased look on his sister’s face as well as the similar one on Thomas’. “You do not fit the role of a wealthy wife of a baronet.” “It means I am not supposed to tend to my son and I have to act as though I am incapable of basic emotions.” Edward chuckled. Charlotte always hated the propriety of upper-class society. He suspected that as long as she had enough to actually live, she would have been happier, and in his opinion, better suited to being the wife of a farmer over the wife of a wealthy businessman, or indeed, a baronet. “One would think you wish to return to Cumbria.”

“I do. There are too many people with too many ulterior motives here to enjoy the lesser cold.”

“You could always rent a house closer to Cumbria but not as north?” Joanne had heard of wealthy families doing such from time to time, even the nefarious Mr Brown did such when he entered an area.

“There are matters that must be attended to here, this winter. Even if the snows melt before it is dealt with, Thomas will have to return North alone. I cannot leave until it is all settled.”

Edward was somewhat startled by his sister’s words, but when Thomas nodded slightly in agreement, his expression both solemn and determined, he knew there was a deeper issue than his sister was willing to discuss at that present moment.

“Did you miss me?”

Thomas Jr beamed brightly at the woman talking to him, his arms bobbing up and down as he smiled and babbled at his aunt. She could never be acknowledged as such but as Charlotte explained to her brother, she very much wanted Joanne to be a part of Thomas Jr’s life. When he was older, she had informed them previously, she would tell her son of the familial link between him and the town doctor but only when he was old enough to understand that to say such a thing to any that was not a member of the family would have consequences for the doctor’s reputation.

“I think it is safe to say he recalls you somewhat.” Charlotte smiled.

“Or perhaps he simply is as pleasant and personable as his mother,” Joanne smiled. “Or is simply glad of a new face.” She looked around as she spoke, noting the stoic and expressionless face of the woman that was his nursery maid in the corner, giving her a withering look.

“I think that the situation for us all here,” Charlotte gave a warning glance at the employee who seemed to look at the far wall for a moment before stating she would check the nursey was being cleaned and left the room. “How is married life treating you?” “It is odd. For the first time in my life, I am not sharing a room with my sister but my husband. I….even saying such a title…” Though she sounded uneasy, there was no way for Joanne to hide the smile on her face. “It is wonderful.” “Good, I am so happy for you both. Thomas can tell you, I was like one that had taken leave of my senses as I rushed through the house to inform him of your impending marriage.” Joanne smiled as she thought of Charlotte’s insisting that her brother explain the odd relationship between himself and the wealthiest woman in the county, imaging her rushing through the large house they were now in to find her husband excitedly to tell him her brother’s news. “What news in Cumbria?”

“Very little. Mrs Phillips came to Edward’s a lot after your leaving, as you can imagine, you know how she and Mrs Davies are.” Charlotte nodded slightly. “Young Mr Grant, do you recall him?” “The undertaker’s son if I am not mistaken?” “You are not,” Joanne’s tone went cold. “I thought him a good man, I...He has besmirched my sister.” There was shame in Joanne’s face.

“Is she alright?” Charlotte asked worriedly.

“Perfectly so, she was all too happy for it. I knew she was smitten with him when he was interested in me but…” “You cannot control the actions of others.” “It made me so angry when I received mother’s letter. I get married, I do what is required before marriage and I am no sooner out of town with my husband and my sister acts in such a manner. It angers me so.” Charlotte nodded and simply listened to Joanne, suspecting she simply wished to vent. “Is she with child?” “Heaven’s alone only knows. I hope not, she is too silly for such a thing, she has not grown enough to tend to another’s needs, much less a husbands and a child's.” Charlotte nodded silently. “I’m sorry, the last thing you need is to listen to me discuss my wayward sister like some common…”

Charlotte patted Joanne’s hand. “Whatever your concern in this world, Joanne, you can speak to me.” “I am sure there are a few things you do not think that regarding.” Charlotte frowned for a moment before she noted the slightly embarrassed but also sly look in Joanne’s eyes, causing her to laugh, which in turn caused Joanne to laugh. “I concede, there are indeed some aspects of your life that perhaps we cannot discuss your woes of,” Charlotte acknowledged. “But I am a pen and paper away at all times, Joanne, please never hesitate to write me should you find yourself fretting anything.”

“Thank you, all things considering, I feel I can indeed speak to you on different matters.” Joanne smiled. “Actually, considering the topic of conversation, where is my husband?”

“And indeed mine?” Charlotte pondered. She had thought Edward would join them soon, if not both men, instead, they were joined by neither. She very much doubted that Thomas and Edward were in each other’s company as she knew they disliked each other at best and merely tolerated one another for her sake.

* “What do you think?” Thomas asked, showing it to Edward.

Edward, for his part, observed the object in his hand studiously. “You put a lot of effort into this.”

Thomas scoffed. “How could I not? Will it work, do you think?”

“According to the gentleman I spoke to, there is a possibility. It will be a first but being honest, none thought a machine could singlehandedly excavate an underground mine yet you have engineered one to do so. All discoveries are the result of someone’s engineering a single situation that allows it to occur. What does Charlotte think?” “I have not told her yet.” “Edward looked at him suspiciously. “Whyever not?” “I did not wish to until I was sure I could even begin to engineer it.” “And now?” “Now I fear to tell her also, for fear it fails.”

“What was it the inventor Thomas Edison stated, ‘I have not failed. I've just found ways that won't work.’?”

“I have found ten thousand ways that don’t work,” Thomas corrected.

“If this fails, then it fails, but you are trying, she respects that. She never ceases to commend your ingenuity and mind.” Thomas looked at him curiously. “My greatest error was asking her in politeness what you were doing whilst you were here only to get more information on your plans to revolutionise your machines than on her and my nephew. I think it came to just shy of three pages about some turning….thing to do with mechanisation. I have no idea what she was referencing, I have no idea what it is and I have no idea ho she knows what in Heaven’s name it was but she was adamant it would revolutionise some part of a machine you have. Not even the full machine, no a part. I do not know if you realise just how much my sister loves and respects you and your work.”

Thomas could not contain his smile at the reference to his work by his wife and of her clear interest in his work and in him as a husband.

Tags: @sigridlaufeyson @ilovekingt @perpetual-fangirl @lokiloveheart @whovianwookie86-captainxev @wolfsmom1 @texmexdarling @lokilover9

#when ghosts come for us #chapter 58 #thomas sharpe #lucille sharpe #crimson peak story #crimson peak

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cetacean-content · 8 years ago

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James Cromwell arrested at SeaWorld protest days after completing jail sentence

Oscar-nominated actor James Cromwell was arrested Monday for joining a PETA protest at a SeaWorld San Diego orca show, one week after he served several days in jail for a 2015 sit-in.

The "Babe" actor, armed with a megaphone and sporting a T-shirt with the words "SeaWorld Sucks," interrupted a show called "Orca Encounter."

"They are suffering, and you have to know that," the 77-year-old yelled to the crowd before he was taken away in handcuffs.

PETA said in a statement their presence at the family-friendly "abusement" park was in protest of the park's treatment of its sea creatures, in particular, the small tanks and the fact that the animals have been given the drug diazepam to manage stress-induced aggressive behavior.

The noted animal rights group said its goal is for the park to release the orcas into coastal sanctuaries.

"Orcas deserve a full life in the ocean, not a life sentence of swimming endless circles until they drop dead from disease," Cromwell said in a statement. "My friends at PETA and I want SeaWorld to move these intelligent animals to seaside sanctuaries without delay."

SeaWorld has long been under scrutiny for its treatment of animals. The controversy was highlighted in the 2013 documentary "Blackfish," which told the story of Tilikum, a SeaWorld orca that was involved in the deaths of three people.

The park’s director of communications David Koontz, however, dismissed the day’s events as nothing more than a PETA publicity stunt.

“We promptly managed the disruption and our guests were pleased with our actions,” he said in a statement. “The truth is that all our animals, including our orcas, are healthy and get extraordinary veterinary care from a dedicated and loving team of experts... While only seven protestors were trespassed at SeaWorld today, tens of thousands of people have been inspired by our animals and our new ‘Orca Encounter.’"

Cromwell's presence at the protest comes just days after he was released from jail after being sentenced for obstruction of traffic for taking part in a 2015 sit-in at a power plant in upstate New York.

Cromwell was one of several who took issue with the construction of a 650-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant in Wawayanda, N.Y., close to his home.

The actor was sentenced to a week in jail after he refused to pay a $375 fine and complete 16 hours of community service. He entered the Orange County Jail July 14, and was released the morning of July 17, according to the Times Herald-Record.

"Once you commit yourself to commit an act of disobedience, you know there is going to be consequences," he told People. "They imposed this ridiculous fine and 16 hours of community service. What seemed incongruous to me was why should I admit guilt and thereby besmirch the whole idea of what we were doing and the importance of it. So I said I'm not gonna pay the fine, I'd rather go to jail."

Cromwell also admitted that his brief stint in the big house would have no effect on his plans to continue standing up for what he believes in.

"I can't really talk about them, but as soon as I get out of jail, I'm going somewhere else to do another action," he told People, likely referring to Monday's SeaWorld stunt. "I don't separate things in my life. Who I am is what I do — I act, I practice my craft and I also stand up for the things I believe in. That's what we all have to do."

Cromwell, an accomplished actor with roles in films like "The Green Mile" and "L.A. Confidential," will next appear on screen in 2018's "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom."

The funny thing is that these people paid a shitton of money for a ticket into SeaWorld, just to protest at Orca Encounter (which is the most educational show I’ve seen at SeaWorld, ever). This is what you support if you support PETA, and this is what you support if you support animal rights organisations that work together and support PETA. You’re not supporting a good cause, you’re supporting shitheads.

#peta #seaworld #seaworld san diego #this actor is gross bye #stop him #stop peta

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royal-red-asks · 6 years ago

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sallytations · 6 years ago

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BHUMIKA

I came back to see Jan this week on Tuesday, bringing with me the printed version of the story I told her about my short but intense career as a dope dealer, which she wanted a copy of. I read the story to her and the home health care aide and her friend, who had come to visit. We all laughed a lot. Jan was sitting up in bed and following the story, although quite frail and nodding off occasionally, which I think is the result of the morphine she is taking. Friends continue to come to say goodbye, but not her biological daughter.

Then on Wednesday, I went with Helena, my friend, to the GEO/ICE Detention facility to visit women imprisoned there awaiting immigration hearings. We were there as volunteers for Casa de Paz, a place that offers housing , food and clothing to recently released immigrants.

Years ago, I spent five days in L.A. County Jail – not as a prisoner, but in training in their classroom facility there for a civilian position with the Sheriff’s Department. I was still in court reporting college, accumulating my hours before I could take the licensing exam. So, the sheriff hired me on a cut rate basis to take testimony in personnel hearings. For this, I had to go through sheriff’s department civilian training.

What I remember about the training was the crime scene simulator. I was given a fake gun and put into a dark room with a video of an alley playing on all the walls. On the film, a suspect jumped out from behind a trash can with a hostage. I raised my gun and shot everybody, my partner, the hostage and the perp. I still don’t know why they put me through that, since I was never going to carry a gun. Obviously, I was completely unnerved. Thing is, I was a very good shot at one time, if shooting rattle snakes in the horse pasture on the ranch is any indication.

So, I had some familiarity with what jails were like. Nothing prepared me for the ICE Detention facility, particularly the annex for women. Jerry and I had represented someone in an immigration hearing last year at the facility, but the courtroom and the interview room were not oppressive. We got our client out on bond and he went to Chicago, so that was a successful outcome.

But the visiting room for women was small and crowded. We huddled in chairs abutting a low counter and small windows, where we had to lean forward and look up to see the women on the other side of the glass wall. There were scratchy, low volume telephones we had to use to talk to the detainees. It was hot and hard to hear anything.

The first woman I talked to, Bhumika, had married in India below her caste. So, her family (brothers and father) decided she should be killed because she besmirched the family honor. They tried to get her, but she escaped. She and her husband made their way through South America and Central America and Mexico and applied for asylum at the border. They were separated and he was sent to Washington. She was sent here. He applied for asylum and was denied, but is appealing. Bhumika is applying for asylum based on a credible fear of harm – that she would be killed if she returned to India. This was only one of the stories we heard. Other women cried when relating how they wound up in ICE custody.

Afterwards, Helena and I went home exhausted and wrote to the attorney for Bhumika, asking what we could do for her, including being sponsors. But we have heard nothing. Her immigration hearing is April 8.

Bhumika said one of the saddest things is that she hasn’t talked to her mother in months because it costs $2 a minute and she has no money. So today, I went to the post office and got money orders and sent them to her at the ICE facility.

When I was filling out the paperwork to get the certified, return receipt requested, letter containing the money orders sent to her, I had to keep wiping tears out of my eyes. The postal clerk was very kind and pretended that he didn’t notice.

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dailyjcink · 4 years ago

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No progress is without resistance. Society learned to integrate supernaturals, but enforcement is still strict, often besmirched with bigotry; supernaturals continue to fight for their freedoms, many outraged at the injustice of it all. Only one thing is sure, no matter where we stand, there is Fire in Our Veins! Senhelm, WA ● No Word Count ● LGBTQIA+ Friendly ● Active ● Est. Aug 2020 HOME • PLOT • SPECIES • CANONS • WANTED ADS

SITE EVENT: THE COUNTY FAIR IS HERE! BRING THE FUN OR BRING THE MAYHEM!

#jcink #jcink ad #jcink site #jcink rp #site ad #supernatural #1 year

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rpgadverts · 4 years ago

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No progress is without resistance. Society learned to integrate supernaturals, but enforcement is still strict, often besmirched with bigotry; supernaturals continue to fight for their freedoms, many outraged at the injustice of it all. Only one thing is sure, no matter where we stand, there is Fire in Our Veins! Senhelm, WA ● No Word Count ● LGBTQIA+ Friendly ● Active ● Est. Aug 2020

HOME • PLOT • SPECIES • CANONS • WANTED ADS

SITE EVENT: THE COUNTY FAIR IS HERE! BRING THE FUN OR BRING THE MAYHEM!

#jcink #rp #mature rp #city rp #original rp

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waynebomberger · 7 years ago

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A Report For Your Consumption

A few months back I received an email from one Ted Bongiovanni at Consumer Reports. He had noticed that I ride past their headquarters in Yonkers with some frequency. Given this, and the fact that I too conduct highly scientific testing on consumer products, he thought I might like to come by for a visit, see the facilities, and chat with some of the office bike nerds. I had no idea Consumer Reports lay right on my regular ride route, nor did I even know much about them. It was one of those names I just took for granted in the context of safety and integrity, like the American Dental Association or whatever organization gives out those "World's Greatest Grandma" awards. However, Tom's pitch was intriguing, and as a semi-professional bike blogger who telecommutes from the couch I'm always willing to help people with actual jobs waste time at work. So I accepted his invitation. Consumer Reports is indeed under 10 miles due north from my Bronx manse, and it's a straight shot on the South County Trailway, which is a paved rail-trail that runs from the New York City line into Westchester--a convenient ride, but not necessarily a thrilling one. However, by tacking on a few extra miles and zigzagging a bit you can also get there via the unpaved Old Croton Aqueduct trail, so that's what I did:

This afforded me an opportunity to feed the bloated tires of the Jones some dirt, as well as to admire the brilliant splashes of autumn foliage on the Palisades across the Hudson, which you can barely see due to my lousy photography:

It's a truly glorious time to ride a bicycle along the Hudson, but you'll have to take my word for it. Anyway, I rolled up at Consumer Reports at exactly the appointed hour:

By which time the weather was positively glorious:

Ted showed me to one of the bike rooms (they've got another one with hooks and stuff elsewhere in the building), where I backed the ample rump of the Jones into the rack:

The tire didn't fit into the wheel slot, so the Jones had to sidle up alongside a cutting-edge-for-its-day Titus complete with fresh Brooks saddle:

As it turned out, the building's unassuming exterior and mundane office park locale belied a bright, airy, and modern workspace that evoked California more than Yonkers:

Then we began my private tour, and I was excited to witness my first product test until my guide politely informed me that it was just someone painting the wall:

"The labs are this way, idiot," my guide was kind enough not to say:

Here's where they test the washing machines:

Oh, sure, this may be a bike blog, but I'm willing to bet there are at least one or two Laundry Freds out there who debate the relative merits of vertical and horizontal drum setups just as passionately as they do those of Shimano and Campagnolo, and who find a fast spin cycle just as seductive as a buttery-smooth hub with ceramic bearings. And for the weight weenies out there, that black platform next to the machine is a scale so they can measure how much water the machine is using--though as a Laundry Fred myself I don't use the public water supply and instead hook my machine up to a reservoir which I fill with H2O that has been bottled and distilled. Here are the test fabrics, which get besmirched with various contaminants and bodily fluids and then laundered, and I can think of no job more thrilling than that of Washing Machine Test Pilot:

And this is just the washing machine testing room, mind you. They have a whole other room where they test the detergents! I was in Laundry Fred paradise, but reluctantly I moved on...to the helmet testing facility:

You know how I feel about helmets. That said, I'm not a physicist or a structural engineer or a materials specialist--I'm just a guy who likes riding bikes and who's really into laundry. So I won't attempt to analyze, interpret, or critique their testing techniques:

All I'll say is helmet goes up, helmet goes down, and there's an accelerometer in the "head" that tells them stuff about what happened:

And here's your's truley gesticulating in the immediate vicinity of the apparatus:

(Ted Bongiovanni)

There's a long tradition of me visiting workplaces and not knowing what the fuck I'm looking at:

The tag sticking out of my sweater tells you everything you need to know. By the way, golf really is the new cycling:

Crash helmets need to be worn by golfers, says health & safety expert https://t.co/qQIaZASxK6

— Phil Hecken (@PhilHecken) November 2, 2018

Next it was on to where they test the cameras:

The mannequins actually move and fans blow their hair so you can really put the cameras through their paces. I've even got video, which I'm currently too lazy to upload. However, it was all rather captivating, and I'd never have imagined such amazing things are happening in Yonkers. Oh, did I mention they really like to drop things at Consumer Reports? Here's where they drop the phones:

And here are all the various surfaces upon which you might drop yours:

I didn't see a toilet, but they did have this pressurized container to replicate submerging devices at various depths, so presumably they could replicate dropping your phone in the shitter there:

Here are all the new iPhones:

And here are like all the phones from everybody:

Usually if you check out new phones you do so at a store that only carries a few models, so it was genuinely fascinating to see so many in one place. Of course now that smartphones have taken over our lives we're now using them to operate everything else. Behold--this $8,000 smart fridge!

Picture this: you're at the supermarket wondering whether or not you're running low on broccoli. No problem, all you do is check your phone and you can actually look at the contents of your fridge!

Now I know I'm supposed to lampoon the laziness of buying an expensive fridge instead of simply, you know, making a shopping list, but as a busy parent of multiple human children here's all I have to say about that: Fuck shopping lists. But of course there's another reason to be skeptical, and that's privacy. What if your fridge starts spying on you? What if you start getting texts from [insert brewery here] saying, "Why the hell are you drinking that cheap swill in your fridge? Buy our beer instead!" Well, now that we live in The Future, a lot of what Consumer Reports does now is test these connected products to determine exactly how much of your personal data they may be sharing. As it is, there's no standard for that, so in this respect they're performing a crucial function. So presumably if you're in the market for a connected fridge you'll be able to check in with Consumer Reports to find out if it's sharing your shopping habits with General Mills. From there it was onto the audio equipment testing area, complete with man-tastic tan Speaker Fred velour couch:

I didn't see the vape pens, but you know they're hiding somewhere:

Then, when they're sufficiently vaped up (is that even a thing?), they go into the anechoic chamber:

This room is completely free of ambient noise, and it basically sits suspended inside the Consumer Reports building, completely isolated from all noise and vibrations. As soon as you walk in you feel like you're in an airplane, because apparently when you don't have soundwaves buffeting your eardrums at all times it's like being under different atmospheric pressure. Plus, when you talk to others it sounds kind of like being underwater...then there's this trippy wall pattern:

Weird:

It was like being in a strange combination of solitary confinement and a sensory deprivation tank, and when nobody spoke all I could hear was my tinnitus. Oh, by the way, this is what professional blogging looks like:

(Ted Bongiovanni)

In any case, I don't know how long I was in there, but it must have been years, because I finally emerged into a twisted, dystopian future in which Donald Trump was president and Jew-hating was back in style. Then it was time for lunch!

They've got a pretty swank cafeteria up there at Consumer Reports. I had the grilled salmon:

Once we'd filled our trays we adjourned to a conference room, where I bloviated for like an hour to an intimate group of people who I didn't worry too much about boring since no doubt they were just looking for an excuse to ditch work:

Such a fun and informative brown bag chat with @bikesnobnyc at @ConsumerReports today re: cycling, safety, scooters, and more. Thanks for stopping by and thanks @teddyb109 for making it happen. Let's all ride soon! pic.twitter.com/PUJlsZVEcb

— Kevin Winterfield (@kmwinterfield) November 1, 2018

I enjoyed meeting everybody very much, I was grateful for the invitation, and I headed home with buoyed spirits. At the same time, as someone who hasn't held a real job for going on like 10 years now I sort of envied the plush accommodations and the camaraderie that comes with working alongside a bunch of people. (Being a semi-professional bike blogger is like being a squirrel who's constantly foraging for nuts, and you feel especially squirrely when you're among lots of grown-ups who have offices.) Then again, here I was pedaling home on a dirt trail, while they were all going back to work for the afternoon:

Suckers! from Bike Snob NYC https://ift.tt/2RtAjXN

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nancygduarteus · 8 years ago

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45 Crazy Days: Selling Obamacare in the Era of Trump

For the six weeks leading up to December 15, the work calendar of Laura Holdrege, a health-care navigator in Salt Lake City, Utah, was booked solid. She and her colleagues at the Utah Health Policy Project worked overtime helping people sign up for insurance on Healthcare.gov.

Because of cuts imposed by the Trump administration, other navigator organizations in the state had reduced their ranks and were sending their clients to Holdrege and her team. She warned some that she could squeeze them in, but they would have to share their appointment with someone else. Toward the end, she ran out of appointment slots and began simply referring people to Healthcare.gov.

When they did sit down for their appointments, some people would ask, “Obamacare is gone, right?”

So went the first full Obamacare open enrollment under President Trump. It was surprisingly strong, with 8.8 million people signing up during the six-week period that ended last week. That’s 96 percent of the total during last year’s open enrollment, which was twice as long.

“These numbers debunk that theory that people don’t want it, that it’s not a good product,” said Emily Barson, a senior advisor with the national group Get America Covered, which assisted the cash-strapped navigators in spreading the word about open enrollment.

It’s also somewhat surprising, given the Trump administration’s many efforts to undermine and besmirch the law that’s named after the president’s predecessor. It slashed funding for advertising about the open-enrollment period and cut grants to navigators. It also halved the enrollment period and shut down Healthcare.gov, the site people use to buy insurance, on several Sundays during open enrollment.

In October, Trump announced he would end payments to insurers, the so-called “cost-sharing reductions,” that help cover expenses for low-income customers. Without them, some insurers threatened to raise their rates or pull out of the Obamacare marketplaces. That same day, he signed an executive order encouraging the sales of skimpier insurance plans, which could undercut the more robust plans sold by Obamacare.

“Obamacare is finished. It’s dead. It's gone,” Trump said in October—just weeks before open enrollment for Obamacare began.

“That kind of misinformation is very difficult to combat in a state where most people voted for the president and tend to believe the president first,” said Shelli Quenga, the director of programs at a South Carolina navigator organization called the Palmetto Project. To persuade people that Obamacare was not quite dead yet, she would gently walk them through the “window shopping” feature of Healthcare.gov, where they could see plans that were available.

But with half as many navigators as the Palmetto Project could afford in past years, it was tough. Quenga and her colleagues simply couldn’t reach some rural parts of the state. “It makes you sad for people who need information and you know just aren’t going to get it based on where they live,” she said.

Interviews with healthcare navigators across eight states this week revealed a frenzied time in which navigators were forced to do more with less. People came in confused about whether their insurance would be cut off mid-year. Some received letters quoting premiums that were much higher than they turned out to be. Still, almost all said they saw enrollment figures that were better than expected. (Eleven states have extended deadlines for enrolling; none of the navigators I interviewed were based in those states.)

Before open enrollment starts, navigators go to community events and phone-bank to raise awareness about the Affordable Care Act. In some places, they also place radio, TV, and social-media ads. Much of that advertising effort was reduced this year, some said, because of the cuts to their grants.

Holdrege, in Utah, doubled down: She and her colleagues made flyers and spent part of September calling back past clients to tell them to come in during the new, 45-day period.

Others simply pared down the number of counties they worked in, or laid off staff. This year, the Utah Health Policy Project’s budget was cut by 60 percent just a few weeks before the start of open enrollment. “It’s a school superintendent looking at the school year, and not knowing how many teachers he can hire,” Matt Slonaker, the director of the Utah Health Policy Project, said. He said they were told their budgets were cut because of performance, which he found puzzling because they thought they had been performing well. They ended up cutting their navigator ranks in half.

I asked one director of a Missouri program, Catherine Edwards, why her organization opted to remain in the navigator program this year, despite seeing a 62 percent budget cut and the attendant layoffs and gutted social-media presence. Her organization, which otherwise focuses on senior citizens, could have simply sat out open enrollment.

“I tell you what,” she said. “Our case managers and outreach workers are dedicated to helping people in their community live better lives. If we could give people more access to health care, hopefully when they do age, they’ll age more healthily.”

After enrollment starts, navigators guide people through the process of signing up for health insurance, either through in-person appointments or on the phone.

Livbier Pearson, a navigator in Arizona, saw a smaller budget cut, but her team nevertheless worked Monday through Saturday, from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on some days. Her phones had 50 or so voicemails almost the entire six weeks, she said. She and several navigators said they ultimately couldn’t fit in everyone who needed in-person help.

Some people mistook Trump’s ending of the cost-sharing reductions as an end to the tax credits that individuals receive for buying health insurance. Meanwhile, because of a strange quirk in how the law works, the end of the cost-sharing reductions actually made the more generous “gold” plans cheaper this year than skimpier “silver” plans, in some parts of the country.

Leslie Bachurski, a director with the navigator group the Consumer Health Coalition in Pittsburgh, had explained to her enrollees that the different metal-tiered plans are like rings—a gold ring is nicer than a silver ring. But she then struggled to explain why something better might cost less than something worse. She settled on, “just for this year, the gold ring is on sale!”

Several navigators said insurers had sent letters to customers quoting them wildly high prices for renewing their policies, potentially because they had overcompensated for the end of the cost-sharing reductions. For some, this created a chilling effect—a needless one, since the prices some of these individuals ultimately paid were much lower.

Sandy Dimick, the director of Get Covered Tennessee in Nashville, forwarded me a letter quoting a woman a monthly premium of $1,242. She said the woman actually paid nothing for her plan when she entered her information into Healthcare.gov. Another letter quoted $1,045 for a policy. That person got a silver plan whose actual premium was also $0, with a $20 deductible.

There was also confusion among people who fell into the Medicaid gap—a salary range, in states that didn’t expand Medicaid, in which people qualify for neither Medicaid nor tax credits to buy insurance. Navigators would try to problem-solve with them, Quenga said, asking if they could visit a low-income clinic or ask someone else to claim them as a dependent.

Though news coverage of the Affordable Care Act throughout the year often made repeal seem like Lazarus—rising from the dead over and over again—it also seemed to inadvertently publicize the law. Slonaker, in Utah, said that if open enrollment had been longer, his organization likely could have enrolled more people. “All this talk about healthcare made people interested in finding out what alternatives were,” he said.

Even before the enrollment figures came out, navigators said their phones were ringing off the hook. They said most customers were happy with their plans and their cost, likely because they were getting hefty tax credits to buy them. (Many of those who didn’t qualify for the tax credits faced “a terrible reality,” one Iowa navigator told me, of premiums above $1,000 a month.)

Dimick, in Tennessee, said some of the navigators worked six and seven-day weeks. One navigator was packing up his desk at a public library, where he had been enrolling customers, late at night on the final day of open enrollment. A woman came running in. She had been driving by the library when an NPR report about open enrollment came on.

“She thought she still had until the end of January,” Dimick said. He enrolled her in a plan with a very low premium. “She started crying and said, ‘oh my gosh, to think that I almost missed this.’”

from Health News And Updates https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/12/45-crazy-days-selling-obamacare-in-the-era-of-trump/549107/?utm_source=feed

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ionecoffman · 8 years ago

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45 Crazy Days: Selling Obamacare in the Era of Trump

When they did sit down for their appointments, some people would ask, “Obamacare is gone, right?”

“Obamacare is finished. It’s dead. It's gone,” Trump said in October—just weeks before open enrollment for Obamacare began.

Holdrege, in Utah, doubled down: She and her colleagues made flyers and spent part of September calling back past clients to tell them to come in during the new, 45-day period.

After enrollment starts, navigators guide people through the process of signing up for health insurance, either through in-person appointments or on the phone.

Article source here:The Atlantic

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