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186-3 · 10 months

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courting antisemitism

so i recently decided to take a look at the latest stonetoss comics (probably because i love suffering). and while i was expecting some content on the israel palestine conflict, what i did not expect was how... standard it seemed. well, most of it at least, but i'll get to that in a second.

for context, if you don't know what stonetoss is, it's a (poorly drawn) webcomic known for having radical alt-right views - meaning it's incredibly racist, homophobic, transphobic, islamophobic, antisemitic. all that fun stuff.

so while i was expecting to see bad stuff, one of the first things i saw on the topic of israel was this:

terrible art aside, this comic is making a point that i usually see in left wing circles: that israel is pinkwashing genocide.

curious if there was more like this, i kept looking, and the comic right before that one was this:

again, this makes points that i usually see in left wing circles. that american healthcare is crazy expensive, that canada tells poor people to commit suicide, and that israel is bombing hospitals.

why does stonetoss, this well known alt-right nutjob, now seem to be bringing up left-wing talking points?

curious, i kept going deeper:

well this is... odd. clearly, stonetoss is trying to say that israel is on another level of bad, even worse than russia, iran, and north korea. i can possibly see someone on the left making the argument that the russian invasion of ukraine isn't as bad as what israel is doing in gaza, or that at least north korea isn't invading any other countries, but... iran??? the country that has a police force designed to enforce religious law, and gets away with murdering women who do not properly cover their hair? the country that props up paramilitary groups in countries all over the middle east, including lebanon, yemen, and yes, palestine?? that's completely ridiculous

but, given how much more israel is in the news nowadays than any of these other countries, i could see why someone would buy this

and now, we're starting to get to the crux of what stonetoss is trying to do. when someone sees this, they might be inclined to agree with it. they might begin to think that israel is the worst country on the planet

and that might not seem so bad at first. but the more you hate israel, especially irrationally, the more you feel allowed to dehumanize those who support it. the more you might be willing to agree with this comic, which came out two days prior to the one above

this comic says that jews, as a whole have no desire to exist with other people. it is blatantly antisemitic

i'm sure you could imagine some young leftist who sees the comics above this one and thinks, "this guy makes some good points". and then, when they get to this one, they might realize that this is antisemitism

or, they may not.

and that would start them down the road to becoming an antisemite.

this is what stonetoss and other alt-right nutjobs are hoping to achieve. to take left wing fury at israel, and direct it at jews.

we saw it with those neo-nazis at the palestine rally, and we're seeing it again here.

and if you've found yourself agreeing with what stonetoss has said so far, i would like you to see the last comic stonetoss put out before october 7th:

this horrifically racist comic is in reference to an environmental activist who was murdered by a black man in early october. this blatantly racist garbage is the kind of stuff stonetoss usually puts out.

but as soon as october 7th happened? these were his next two comics:

stonetoss completely changed the comic's tone as soon as the current crisis started. why?

to get as many people as possible to get on board with hating jews.

and i know many of you might be thinking that "well, everyone knows that stonetoss is racist garbage. nobody is going to fall for this"

except, as we saw with the neo-nazis at the rally for palestine, it's not always that obvious who the antisemites are and who is just rallying for peace. they are often a lot better at disguising it than stonetoss is.

AND EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE AWARE OF THAT

EVERYONE, no matter HOW much experience you have, can fall victim to propoganda. EVERYONE needs to be aware of what people around them are saying, and able to pick out hateful rhetoric, because even the stuff that is just kind of toeing the line of what's hateful is still putting your foot in the door

be cautious, everyone. and stomp out hate where you see it.

#israel #palestine #stonetoss #racism #antisemitism #tw racism #tw antisemitism #jumblr #rant #long post

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thezombieprostitute · 9 months

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Dream Come True - Part 1

Summary: The “Garbage Men” are the guys in the mob who get the dirt on others and clean up after the higher ups. They have many different ways of gathering intel by running legitimate businesses. One such business is Jefferson/Jensen’s cyber cafe where you regularly go to work. You’ve actually become good friends with Jefferson’s daughter and Jensen’s niece. You even volunteered as their after-school tutor. One day, there’s a robbery attempt where you get hurt protecting the girls. This is how you are introduced to Curtis Everett, the guy in charge of the “Garbage Men”.

A/N: Reader is plus sized, femme. No other descriptors used.

Warnings: Shooting mentioned, not written. American healthcare system. Bullying with an emphasis on fat shaming. Please let me know if I miss any!

Part 2

Series Masterlist

Curtis stormed into the manor. Normally he didn’t care for visiting the higher ups, surrounded by their opulence but this wasn’t normal circumstances. He headed straight for Steve and Bucky’s office, the folder Jake compiled for him under his arm. As much as Curtis wanted to act on this he knew he had to get permission first, as Mace kept reminding him.

As soon as he entered the office, the Bosses greeted him.

“The nieces are okay?”

“Yes,” Curtis replied. “We did a priority background search on the would-be thief. Found no connections to other families so he was likely just an idiot trying to get some quick cash.”

“And the guy who took the bullet,” Bucky asked.

“She is currently in the hospital,” Curtis felt his fists tighten, thinking about her situation. “It wasn’t life threatening, just a quick surgery but she’s not gonna be allowed to walk for a few weeks.”

The bosses nodded their heads, “you made sure Beck is her doctor?”

“Yup. But there’s a hitch that I need permission to fix,” Curtis took the folder out from under his arm. “She got fired for missing some big meeting. First person she called was her boss, to explain what happened, and the asshole fired her over the phone. Now she’s trying to leave the hospital way too early because she’s scared of not being able to afford the care.”

Steve and Bucky looked astonished at this information. “Who the hell fires someone for that? Especially when she has the proof to back her story,” Bucky huffed. “You got that information, right?”

“We got it months ago when she first started tutoring the nieces,” Curtis affirmed. “Had to make sure she wasn’t someone playing the long game.” He handed the folder to Bucky who opened it. The men took a few seconds to find her boss’s name. Curtis was pleased to see Steve’s eyes go steely with anger.

Steve looked at Curtis, “I’ll make sure he gets handled.”

Bucky cut in, “for now, work with Huffman to get the paperwork settled. Officially, she’s been employed by us, as a tutor, for months. We’ll make sure the backpay gets added to her account. Beck and Jensen can work to make sure her insurance goes back as well.”

Curtis nodded his thanks and left to go back to the hospital. Hopefully she hadn’t succeeded in leaving.

“Please,” you plead through tears, “please just let me go home.”

Dr. Beck shook his head, “that would be wildly irresponsible of me. You have no emergency contacts, which tells me you have no one to help you out at home. You need to stay off of your leg for at least a week and you need help to do that. If that means keeping you here for that week, so be it.”

“I can’t af-”

Dr. Beck interrupts, “I’ve been in touch with some people, namely the family of those two girls you rescued. You’re not paying for anything and they insist you get your full rest here.”

“I…” you’re flabbergasted at the news. Jake and Jefferson had always been kind but you never got the impression they were so well off they could cover someone else’s medical bills. You can’t stop crying. It’s been a tumultuous day.

There was a knock outside the privacy curtain and a deep voice asking, “is it okay to come in?”

“Yeah, come on in,” Dr. Beck replied. “Been expecting you.” He turns to the source of the voice. Walking to your bed is a tall, muscular man with a buzz cut, beard and the most piercing blue eyes you’ve ever seen. You blink back tears and try to compose yourself. Crying around medical staff is one thing. Crying around strangers who might not be used to tears is something else.

“I’m Curtis,” he holds out his hand to you.

“Hi,” you shake his hand, confusion written all over your face.

“I’m here to inform you that you do, in fact, have medical insurance. You also have backpay.” Curtis starts putting paperwork on the patient table in front of you. “You’ve been tutoring my nieces for several months. The least we could do is make sure you’re being paid for your time, complete with benefits. Just need you to sign a few things.”

“What?” Far from answering your questions, you find yourself even more in the dark. “I…I don’t understand…”

“You helped my family,” Curtis replied. “Not only did you offer your time and patience, you’ve given your health and well-being. The least me and mine can do is take care of you.”

“I, uh,” you hesitate, trying not to insult, “are you sure you can afford this?”

“Yes.” There was no room for argument in Curtis’s tone. His face was stern and you discerned no cracks indicating he was lying in any way.

“I don’t know what to say,” you whisper.

“Don’t say anything,” Curtis tells you. “Just sign here, here and here.”

With a look to Dr. Beck, who gives you a reassuring smile and nod, you take the proffered pen and shakily sign where Curtis tells you to.

“And, with that,” Curtis gently smiles, “you were officially hired by us three months ago as a private tutor for two of our nieces. When you’ve recovered, you will return to your work and we may have more for you to do.”

Ransom was having a great day. His ugly assistant missed a big meeting and he finally had grounds to fire her. She'd been hired by his grandfather so he couldn't just get rid of her without a reason. He even encouraged her remote work so he wouldn't have to look at her. Now he could hire an assistant on his own and actually pick someone easy on the eyes.

It's not like the job was difficult. He needed someone who could research stuff he needed to know for his writing. Anyone could do that. He could, too, but he didn't want to and could afford to hire someone else to do it for him.

He was in the middle of writing up the job ad when the door to his office slammed open, making him jump. Steve Rogers was glaring at him as he strode into the room.

“Rogers,” Ransom smiled. “To what do I owe the honor?”

“Did you hear what happened to the nieces today?”

“Jake and Jefferson's girls? No.” Ransom was genuinely concerned. Those girls were spoiled by everyone in the families but they still managed to be the sweetest people he knew.

“There was an attempted robbery at the shop,” Steve continued, walking closer and closer to Ransom. “They were nearly shot by the idiot. Thankfully, they were rescued and someone else took the bullet.”

As Steve sat down on the desk Ransom started putting some pieces together. He wasn't an idiot. The nieces almost being shot and his assistant actually being shot? It would also explain the rage emanating from Rogers.

“The woman who took the bullet requires a lot of medical care. But, of course, she can't afford it since her asshole of a boss fired her.”

Ransom gulped, “I can hire her back. Say it was a moment of anger, a mistake that never should've happened.”

Steve stood and pulled up Ransom by the front of his sweater, forcing him to stand on his toes. “Do you remember,” Steve growled, “why we had to send Lloyd into exile?”

“Too many casualties?”

“Close. He viewed people as expendable. This family got started by helping others. Helping the Unions. Supporting the communities. So when you treat someone like that, you disrespect all of us.”

Steve let go of Ransom’s sweater, setting him on his feet. Without warning, he punched Ransom in the stomach so hard he doubled over.

“You are on notice,” Steve told him. “You've been straddling the line for some time now. But one more slip, and you're gone. Understood?”

Ransom coughed, “yeah, I get it.”

“And you don't have to hire her back. We got her a much better boss.”

Part 2

Tagging @alicedopey because I promised I would.

@dontbescaredtosingalong

@icefrozendeadlyqueen

@texmexdarling

@veltana

@winter-soldier-101

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged.

#curtis everett x reader #mafia!curtis everett #mafia au #curtis everett x plus sized!reader #plus size!reader #mob!curtis everett

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triviallytrue · 2 years

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the trad-terf alliance is so fucking bleak, like check out this post

it's reactionary garbage, but the really fascinating part is the source it cites - the american college of pediatricians

and i thought to myself, well, that's real fucking suspicious, i haven't heard of this organization and i know for a fact that gender affirming care is broadly considered to be the standard of care by pediatricians in the US (which is not to say that the medical system does a good job of this)

and you wouldn't believe what i found out! (from wikipedia, though most of this can be found on the "about us" page on their own site)

these are the people a lesbian radical feminist cites on trans healthcare!

#allying with the leopards even after they've spent a while munching on your face

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victoriadallonfan · 1 year

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You know, I was joking about the Critical Drinker calling the Triumvirate “woke”, but god he would absolutely think all of WB’s works are SJW propaganda and part of the “woke mind virus”.

Especially the stuff that he focuses on for dramatic effect.

Worm - Would absolutely spend too much time harping on Taylor’s trigger involving tampons. “Why does the author beat us over the head with feminine hygiene products? Why does he want kids to be exposed to this garbage?”

Pact - Goes ballistic about Blake mocking the American Healthcare system and would imply but not say that he’s a groomer for hanging around Evan. “I’m just saying, it’s creepy that the author has this grown man bond with a child and be so emotional about it.”

Twig - Jamie and Jessie. I don’t think I want to even guess what word vomit would come out of his mouth.

Ward - A lot to choose from (two women raising a black daughter, trans!Furcate, Tristan kissing a boy on screen, Trans!Sveta, daring to discuss sexual abuse etc etc), but I think he’d zero in on that one time Victoria mentioned that police officers stereotype minorities. “She’s giving off major SJW Karen energies, talking about the extremes of some police officers as if it’s their fault, and not that statistically more crime happens in black communities.”

Pale - Brain melts at the revelation that all 3 protagonists are different minority groups and representation. Would think Brett is a better Dad than people think and is ignorantly villainized. “Yeah Brett is a bit of a dumbass, but I think anyone would lose their temper if they had a daughter like Verona who just refuses to listen.”

#Writing this made me sick #I’m gonna rewatch Pillar of Garbage mocking Critical Drinker to improve my mood #parahumans #wildbow #ward #worm #ward web serial #worm web serial #pact #pact web serial #twig #twig web serial #pale #pale web serial #Otherverse #twigverse

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qqueenofhades · 1 year

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i think the last few years have really destroyed any understanding of the work politics actually is. it's not as simple as having a particular position on an issue and being in office. so many people think biden and the democrats can just codify roe, or cancel student debt, or revamp our healthcare system, but they choose not to and instead sit on their hands. and i think bernie plays into that completely. politics is work, and it takes time. it's not as simple as "congress should do x" and "biden should do y" the way he tweets that it is. and you'd think he'd know that, being a congressman for this many years, but he doesn't seem to care. and the way he's convinced young people that it is as easy as tweeting about it and the democrats are just choosing to do nothing has done so much damage. our system has never worked like that. you can hate our system (believe me, i do), but you can't change the fact that it is what we have right now. that's what i think a lot of people just choose to misunderstand/ignore.

Yes, this exactly. The social media-ization/virtual gamification of society has done tremendous damage in a lot of places, but perhaps especially in politics. Whether it's Trump tweeting/Truth Socialing an endless stream of inflammatory fascist garbage, or the Online Leftists thinking that endless tweets attacking the Democrats counts as an actual policy platform/constructive political engagement, it has drastically reduced and degraded American civil society's understanding of basic democratic functions, at a time when they're desperately needed. Now, so I don't sound TOTALLY like an old curmudgeon ranting on a porch (although it's probably too late for that, lbr), this isn't altogether the fault of social media. It's just a tool that society chooses to use in a way that is convenient for it, and offers a way to easily magnify and accelerate trends that already exist in real life. However, the idea that you can just post a Tweet and be done with it is absolutely one of the worst misconceptions about how the American political system works, and yes, Bernie is very guilty of the idea that you can just use the right hashtags and that will something something cause everything to magically fix itself, or would if the Democrats cared enough to try. Etc.

It's the same thing as when he spends his time in an online echo chamber that is predisposed to agree with him anyway (hence all his constant Guardian op-eds on obvious subjects, as I was talking about in the last post), is not going to challenge him, and allows him to look like he's talking about it/drawing attention in a productive way. Because his fans all want to look like the Best Bernie Supporter, they also take his rhetoric, aggrandize it as much as possible, and redistribute it in a way to make sure that everyone knows THEY ARE COMMITTED TO THIS, THEY ARE POSTING ANGRILY ABOUT IT ON TWITTER! WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT FROM THEM?!?!

Obviously, this is a symptom of the total collapse of ordinary politics and civil society that has taken place in America throughout the Trump years, and which we are likely to take decades, if ever, to fully recover from. It's not Bernie's fault alone, or entirely the fault of his fans, even the loudest and most obnoxious ones. They're just participating in what seems like the only way to do things, especially since Trump literally did make policy by posting a deranged tweet and expecting his administration to implement it. But for the last time: a left-wing version of Trump is not a good thing, and we don't need to make the same mistakes just because they're easy, comfortable, involve no substantial challenge of our pre-existing views or venturing outside our comfort zone, and don't, in the end, actually change anything or help anyone. So. Yes.

#anonymous #ask #politics for ts

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kouhaiofcolor · 11 months

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Something funny my understanding has been humbled ab after learning this morning:

Did y’all know that one of the smaller grievances foreigners have ab immigrating to/living in the US is how casually hideous they feel most ppl are here? Like, they literally feel like Americans are ugly. That’s so funny to me I actually laughed ab it in public bc, welp. They expect to come here & see a society of ppl predicated by what they see constantly portrayed to them ab America, thru American media & by American citizens — & are absolutely disgusted by how unattractive we aren’t aware we are in actuality.

Add that to the laundry list of other largely fundamental inefficiencies here (gun violence & mass shootings are top tier for a lot of ppl, as well as trash healthcare, bogus education, garbage infrastructure, the normalizations around accumulated filth, our food proportions (serving sizes & how gluttonously ppl eat here), housing crises and homelessness, lack of real worker’s rights, poor customer service, how generally nasty we treat each other here, national debt, racism’s a big one, wastefulness, no real freedom, our policies on immigration, the smell of our major cities (yikes), how terribly we treat public restrooms, the taste of our food — & well. They’ve got more than a few truly valid ass points.

Didn’t know they were further nauseated ab this country by the way we look tho. That shit funny as hell 😂

#mine.txt

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lnane · 2 years

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zero pressure to explain this to my american ass if you dont have the energy, but like.

whats sweden like, as someone who lives there? im always fascinated to hear about other parts of the world from the people who know them best, and i dont hear much about sweden in general, so ive got a lot to learn.

if thats too broad of a question, some suggestions: how do you feel about the weather, or the politics, or the holidays?

whats a nuisance yall joke about (like, over here in usamerica, its usually the military-industrial complex, or costly healthcare)?

or, whats something unique about sweden, or something that you think more people should know about it?

well we can do this in order of things that pop in my head, very disorganized.

to start of with weather: its getting too hot. the weather is actually pretty comfortable most of the time, and these last summers have been the best ive managed in my experience with heat, but you can tell by the climate that its too hot. its too dry, and theres very little snow during winter. its still cold as fuck, but no snow somehow. I wish it rained more. but on a day to day basis, weathers comfy. A bit windy sometime.

holidays i got very little thoughts on myself. theres a few of them and most are just days off. Im not too fond of the way we celebrate them but then again ive only been allowed to and wanted to drink for 2 years worth of them, so i havent gotten into it yet (yea alcohol is the biggest reason we actually still celebrate things i think)

politics is a fucking hellscape rn. the barely disguised neo-nazi party recently got the most amount of votes in the election so the right wing parties is in control. Theyve already started talking dumb shit about climate politics and immigrants. Not looking up. Beyond that i dont know much about the political landscape.

I dont know what a typical swede complains or jokes about because i dont hang out with a lot of them. I know gas prices is a common thing right now. We also have a trend in comedy calling norwegians idiots, which doesnt make sense because we hate denmark way more.

Its hard to say whats unique or special bout sweden because to be all of it is normal. Only real things you need to know is 1. if a swede tries to claim they cant speak english with you, only plausible conlusion is that they didnt finish middleschool (passing grade in english is mandatory), 2. anything that is a traditional swedish meal is pretty much garbage. Its mostly mildly spiced meat, potatoes, and some sauce similar to gravy.

I guess one thing thats a big difference from the american perspective is how our education looks through the years. First 9 are mandatory, ages 7-15 grade 1-9, in stages called Low, Middle, and High stage. After that, you legally have the choice to keep studying or to do something else (socially and economically you dont have that chocie), and at that point you choose your own education. The most common ones being things like Civics, Naturesciences, Technology, and Fine Arts (Art, Dance, Photo, Music, and theatre). Theres a bunch more but these the top picks. Usually lasts 3 years which after you should be around 18 years old and most of the time expected to apply for uni. And during that time you do get money for going to school (seperate from loans, and not a lot of money).

I can probably provide some more detailed information about what its like here with questions about specific parts, but keep in mind that i also know very little about this country. I just live here

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disgruntled-detectives · 2 years

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Just. When will people actually be responsible for themselves?! Like. I’m SORRY your pharmacy benefits changed. I’m sorry my PBM company won the contract to handle your employers insurance plan. It’s after the first of the year and you received a letter saying they will, with new cards to reflect the change, and wouldn’t you know it? Person after person has straight up admitted to me that they saw the letter and just tossed it without reading. So then they call 2 weeks later pissed off at ME cause the pharmacy doesn’t have your new info that is on that card you tossed without looking at it) or that expensive drug you needs a prior authorization. THE LETTER YOU GOT AT THE END OF NOVEMBER TOLD YOU THAT THAT EXPENSIVE DRUG WAS GONNA NEED A NEW PA IN JANUARY. YOU HAD TWO MONTHS TO CALL YOUR DOCTOR AND HAVE THEM FAX OVER A FORM! THEY DONT EVEN HAVE TO TALK TO ANYONE! CAUSE YOU ALREADY HAVE A PA. ITS BASICALLY A FORMALITY! BUT NOPE! Couldn’t be bothered to read a form letter!

So you got a letter from your insurance company with new cards and info inside and you just go. Nope. Not necessary. Into the garbage! Like. I wanna live in your world, babes.

I get it. I hate that we even have this system. The American healthcare system is a broken shithole. Privatized insurance sucks soooo much. I WANT universal free healthcare for all. But come on. Take some goddamned responsibility. It’ll make your life so much smoother. I had a member yesterday who actually did do everything they needed to do and was actually prepared, but her retail pharmacy itself was messing up entering her new info. It was a five minute fix. All I had to do was call them. Bam. Simple. The doc had already faxed over her new PA form and there was zero interruption to her care.

If you can’t be bothered being responsible with your own healthcare, don’t fucking scream at me about it. K? Mmkay.

#adventures in customer service #PBM #pharmacy technician

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mina-van1104 · 16 days

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Super angry today eventhough these are cute pictures of me. Cute pictures make me happy so it distracts me from everything. Anyways, a garbage truck saw I was coming & I saw them see me and they purposefully reversed their garbage truck super quick to try to make it seem like I hit their truck. He kept reversing his garbage truck purposefully trying to hit me.

Then I went home & the garbage truck stayed in front of my house for like 10 minutes. Arrest the people in the garbage truck for attempted vehicular assault and stalking. I want those idiots in that garbage truck arrested think they're an old neighbor who got kicked out a few years ago on 2235 back in 2017 on my street who worked in Waste Management. License plate number Nevada 107923P.

Then on my way to Smith's while I was walking towards the store a red truck with Las Vegas Raiders License plate didn't stop for me at a stop sign and I was a pedestrian & almost ran me over. I yelled at them & told them how stupid they are.

I rushed to the Smith's Pharmacy Baring BLVD because this is the 3rd time my dad tried picking up his eye medication for inflammation & they said it was ready 3 days ago. This is the 3rd time we went to try to pick up his medication & they & before in the past kept discriminating my dad and that made me extra angry 🔥& I yelled at them saying my dad has lived in nevada for 45 (forty-five) years & I'm not stupid that I know you're discriminating him because english is not his 1st language.

I asked for the manager & that idiot was the manager & had the guts to say "we did try helping him" -no they did not! Grrr! I know the prescription is ready & Angel the supposed manager said it wasn't ready even though I called earlier & they said it was ready. Angel is so fake! Arrest Smith's Pharmacy for discrimination & not giving my dad his medication in time! Grrr! Mess with my family, you mess with me first! What a joke Smith's Pharmacy & Smith's on Baring Blvd is. That's why I haven't shopped there in years because they're filled with unprofessional people. Not even any apologies to us. They are such unprofessional low lives. I'm glad I didn't grow up to be a low life like Smith's Pharmacy & Smith's.

Hope you all have a better day than me.

Always needing some prayers again.🙏 I, Mina Van 文风英 Woon Foong Yin (in Hakka Chinese).Nevada born & raised.Proud nurse, coach. Family living in Nevada for 45 (forty-five) years.Spread kindness.❤️

In the name of the Guan Yin, Ong Lee (meaning Buddha in Hakka Chinese langauge), Yay-Su (Jesus Christ), Ty-uh- ma (Mother Mary Virgin Mother Mary)

In the name of Jesus, Amen!🙏

Then my other successful blood-related family of doctors in my family,🇺🇸veterans,doctors,nurses,coaches,news reporter,lobbyist,good singers,dancers,good photographers, good writers,artists,a cop,a dentist,teachers, etc.Mixed family of Asians & white people.Spread Kindness.

Again, half of our family is Asian half our family is white. Even-though my parents look Asian we have some Chinese, Vietnamese, Native American, small portions of French, German descent, Ashkenazi Jewish descent DNA Ancestry

✞♡ #Selfie #Nurse #Coach #NativeNevadan #StopAsianHate #Biden2024💙 #JesusChrist 🦂 #Buddha #GuanYin #MotherMary #NevadaBornAndRaised #HakkaChineseRaised # ProChoice (though, in politics) #Equality #Justice #Healthcare #Running 🏃🏻‍♀️ #NevadaNative #athletic #HomeMeansNevada #Nevada #UNRnevadaAlumnaMay2016 #3collegeDegrees #3MedicalLicenses

•2019:OlderSisterCatherineVan&Adam Schwartz’sWedding&TheirWebsiteOn: https://www.theknot.com/us/catherine-van-and-adam-schwartz-aug-2019•ReminiscingMoreThan200PeopleCame.

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docmerry · 18 days

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Health is on the ballot in November

I’ve seen the gurney from both sides now (with apologies to Joni Mitchell)

In the early eighties, I studied Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University. A beloved teacher of mine often joked, "If you ever get diagnosed with cancer, don't call your doctor, call your travel agent." That line always got a laugh. Then, I was diagnosed with cancer.

Thirty years later, as I was being wheeled into the operating room, my wonderful surgeon, Joanie Hope, leaned over the gurney and reassured me, "I'm going to take good care of you."

"I know you will," I replied.

That’s what medicine is supposed to be about. A trusting relationship between patient and provider. At no point should the grinding stress of financial ruin be layered on top of the hard work of not dying.

In my practice, I've often told patients, "I can't dictate what you can afford, but this is what you need." When I was a student, I didn't realize the significant impact cost would have on deciding which tests and procedures, even routine ones, to order. Like many in the medical field, my primary desire was to assist people in line with my training.

If nothing else, COVID-19 has shown that our healthcare providers are exceptional, with nurses donning garbage bags, refrigerator trucks filled with bodies, and a sense of building the plane while flying it. They have indeed risen to the occasion.

It also revealed a couple of glaring flaws. Not everyone has access to care, despite the Affordable Care Act, and it is unbelievably expensive when compared to the rest of the world

The United States held the unfortunate record for the highest number of Covid cases and deaths globally.

May 2021

COVID hit us hard. But did it hit hard enough to convince us to take some strong medicine?

Even though the US spends more, a lot more, on healthcare than any other country, we are not a nation of healthy people.

I cannot go through the whole "Medicine according to Marx " lecture here. For now, I will borrow the words of Yashaswini Singh, a Healthcare economist at Johns Hopkins University.

"There has been a longstanding tension between medicine as a profession and healthcare as a business. The key concern has always been that business obligations to shareholders might not align with physicians' obligations to patients"

Healthcare expenditures, measured as a percentage of GDP (the total value of goods and services produced annually), have risen from 5% in 1960 to 17.3% in 2022, according to Vankar. While I am not an economist, this represents a significant sum of money, predominantly managed by private equity funds, hedge fund managers, and pharmacy benefit managers. One might wonder, what could possibly go wrong?

Financial crisis of 2008-2009

HEALTH CARE ACCESS

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, also known as the ACA or Obamacare, has made strides in addressing the issue of access to health insurance for those who cannot afford it. The strategy includes expanding Medicaid—a move adopted by most but not all states—establishing a marketplace for individual health insurance, and offering subsidies to reduce the cost of policies. The uninsured rate decreased from 17.8% in 2010 to 8% in 2022, according to Tolbert, marking a significant benefit for the insurance industry.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, enacted during the Trump administration, mandated continuous Medicaid enrollment throughout the COVID-19 public health emergency. Upon its expiration at the end of March 2023, an estimated 25 million individuals, including a significant number of children, were disenrolled from health coverage, according to KFF.

Under the Biden administration, the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act have extended ACA subsidies until 2025, offering an average annual saving of $800 to 13 million people. (Dept. of Health and Social Services)

MAGA and Republican members of congress

Currently, the campaign is light on details, but it's known that in the summer of 2017, Congressional Republicans attempted unsuccessfully to dismantle Obamacare. This time around, Trump isn't focusing on repeal and replace rhetoric, but he claims to know how to fix our healthcare problems-because of course he does.

Project 2025 is an initiative developed by the conservative Heritage Foundation, aimed at influencing a new, like-minded President. Despite Trump's denial of any knowledge of this play book, many of the over 400 scholars and experts involved in Project 2025 have ties to his administration. The healthcare aspects focus predominantly on contentious cultural issues such as abortion, gender-affirming care, and fetal tissue research. It also proposes extensive changes to agencies like Health & Human Services, National Institutes of Health, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Further details will be covered in my upcoming issue on reproductive health.

In March of this year, the budget proposed by the Republican Study Committee in the House of Representatives, if enacted, would have cut $4.5 trillion from the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Additionally, it would have removed certain protections for consumers, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities. (White House briefing 3/26/2024)

Biden/Harris

The Biden administration has primarily concentrated on managing the costs of prescription drugs such as insulin for Medicare recipients. While this approach may be beneficial in the short term and on a superficial level, it does not address the core issue. To effectively tackle the problem, the administration might need to heed the counsel of Republican Teddy Roosevelt to "speak softly and carry a big stick." The negative impact of banks being "too big to fail" is well-known, but the consequences are far more severe when hospital chains reach such a magnitude. This principle also extends to medical appliance manufacturers, Big Pharma, and hospitals that claim non-profit status.

During her tenure as California's Attorney General, Harris was an active opponent of healthcare consolidation for seven years. It is anticipated that she will seek methods to restrict private equity ownership of healthcare facilities, prioritizing public health over shareholder interests.

During her 2020 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator Harris endorsed a "Medicare for all" plan among several proposals. Subsequently, she has aligned with the Biden Administration's strategy to expand upon Affordable Care Act. The progressive members of the caucus are expected to persist in their strong advocacy for a single-payer option.

My Take:

It has been seven years, six months and twenty-one days since I was wheeled into that operating room and had that exchange with my doctor/friend Joanie Hope, and to date I have no evidence of disease. I am lucky. I know that.

I believe everyone deserves equal access to quality care and expertise. That's why I pay attention to what political candidates promise, but I place greater importance on their actions. Health is on the ballot.

Bibliography

DHHS, Inflation Reduction Act Toolkit. retrieved 9/2/2024

KFF.otg, Medicaid Enrollment and unwinding tracker, (8/24/2024) retrieved 9/2/2025

Tolbert J, Sing R, Drake P, (5/28/2024), The uninsured population and health coverage. KFF.org retrieved 9/2/2024

Vankar, Preet (2/16/2023), US Health expenditures as percent of GDP 1960-1922, statista. retrieved 9/1/2024.

Whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statement-releases/2024/03/26/fact-sheet-us-house-republicans-release budget-to-increase-health-care-costs. retrieved 9/2/2024

#health & fitness #politics #obamacare #covid 19 #2024 presidential election #president trump #president biden #vice president harris #governor walz #private equity

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foolishfalls · 1 year

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I've been kind of just chucking my feelings out into many a void today and I guess I'll do it here. Who knows where I'm likely to get a response??

below the cut i'll be discussing repeat injuries, chronic pain, how my mental health interacts with/contributes to them, and my growing rage and exasperation with the american healthcare system.

I feel like for much of my life I have been grappling with nebulous burgeoning health problems that were rarely serious enough for me to really seek out a doctor, plus, my parents are both notoriously bad at seeing doctors and taking care of themselves too, so living with them into adulthood definitely didn't help. (It's tough as hell being a PDA autistic up against all these very harsh hierarchical systems so full of barriers and demands amirite?)

given the autism with a pretty heavy PDA slant, making and keeping appointments has been a harrowing process for me for my whole entire life, as long as I can remember. It doesn't help that I am also terrible at advocating for myself and have been consistently dismissed by doctors over stuff that I experience... I've just kind of learned to take it lying down which is not a good habit but i get easily exasperated trying to explain myself to doctors. i struggle a ton with even talking to people i see as holding authority over me (i attribute this to ten years of catholic school kind of breaking me mentally and emotionally. if you have been to a religious or catholic school perhaps you have an understanding of this kind of mistreatment)

anyway, i just feel like the pandemic and the ongoing collapse of the healthcare system has just really brought this to a head for me recently. In the last 6 years or so, i've injured both of my ankles several times, rolls and sprains. honestly, the first few times, i was being dumb and not paying attention (i went through a terrible binge drinking period during my 21st year, hadn't yet discovered that i literally cannot wear most shoes besides flat-soled sneakers) but even when I tried to be careful after one or two bad sprains that went unchecked, mostly, I would end up hurting myself. Two of the subsequent times I hurt myself while moving between apartments (I've always lived in walk-ups and have usually moved everything myself with little help aside from friends) and bc of pretty bad cracks on sidewalks (big city infrastructure is total garbage, big surprise!)

like, as my repeated injuries got worse, my capacity for physical activity has too, and I already struggled for years as a kid and teen to develop a decent exercise/activity routine. I think I also have low muscle tone and really slow recovery time due to autism or some co-morbid condition (such as EDS or something. i have weird, weak, clicky joints, but i'm not really typically hypermobile?)

anyway, every time i went in for an x-ray or to see a doctor, i basically got told just to RICE and take care of it at home, so I didn't seek further help. the one time i did was last year, and it took a lot of advocating and was quite hard for me, and then it took months of waiting to even get an appointment with an ortho. This is after 5-6 sprains on my right ankle, and 2 on my left. when i sprained my left ankle the last time, i landed quite hard on my right knee and definitely hurt that too, because it still clicks and acts up.

of course, last august, my ortho appt finally approaches, and i get fucking covid literally the day before. i was so sick and tired i just no-showed and honestly forgot about it. if I miss an appointment and dont reschedule immediately, the likelihood that I will do that is very low. once again, PDA is a bitch.

but, at least since then I haven't actually injured my ankle. However, who knows what the effects of covid were on my body, my joints, who tf knows?? we know it causes and exacerbates all kind of conditions in people. I barely have been able to get doctors to take me seriously about the stuff I'm chronically experiencing, so even bringing up long-covid has felt kind of scary and pointless, tbh.

Fast forward to april of this year. after working in office jobs and sitting for two years straight, which caused me a ton of awful burnout, i end up working part-time at a cafe. while I'm working there, i injure/strain my hip and low back while slipping on a wet floor. this pain keeps me in bed consistently for about 3 weeks and I go to see my doctor about it. he diagnoses me with sciatic pain because it seems to be running and radiating down from my leg and hip. (mind you this is my right hip, which is attached to the knee i've hurt maybe twice, and the ankle i've injured 5-6 times!)

Up until then, I had been receiving some PT at my previous job to help stabilize and strengthen my hips, which my PT determined as the main cause for my ankle injuries. my hips shake when i walk and tend to cause a lot of instability. I made some progress, but I was receiving PT at my old job, and my insurance changed when I left it, so i was uninsured for like three months in the beginning of this year while trying to get new coverage. my hip pain was bad for about a month, after seeing my doctor, i got x-rays and they came back clean but the pain wasn't fully subsiding, so he writes me referrals for PT and pain management.

Because of my shit association with PT due to my old job, and the fact that the pain finally began to subside after the x rays came back (I kind of thought, oh, maybe it was lingering mostly due to my stress, guess im good) I dont make a PT appointment right away. I look into one place i'm referred to and it turns out they dont take my insurance which is bullshit. Then, I go to my last option, the hospital system I see my PCP out of. It's basically the lowest quality medical care you can access with medicaid which is what i currently have, and due to my experience working in a high-end PT office i know what the difference will be. this mental block kind of keeps me thinking it will be pointless so i took a while to make an appointment, trying to do exercises at home for now since i had a baseline from my old job.

While all this is happening, as my hip pain is subsiding, i get a weird lump/bump where my heel meets my right ankle, my bad ankle. it has been this way since about the end of May, now, and it has been the source of some of the most disarming, weird, confusing pain I've ever experienced in my life.

I also didn't talk yet about how realizing I'm autistic helped me make sense of my weird pain tolerance. on one hand, i've always been notably sensitive to even the slightest pain. would sob and sob over the smallest things as a kid. i think due to the reactions of adults around me, i gradually learned to dissociate in order to bury my pain. so, i feel like i both experience pain very strongly and intensely, and at times it can be so debilitating and distracting that i can focus on little else and it almost causes me brain fog and fatigue, while at other times, it is kind of distant and i tend to dissociate from it.

with this new pain in my heel, there's definitely some nerve shit involved, i think... i get twitches/spasms sometimes, numbness, tingling, sharp pain, dull pain. and it's seemingly unpredictable. i wear compression socks or a sleeve almost every single day because it's all that helps. it's past the point of icing helping it much because it's not swollen.

basically every time i have seen a doctor about my pain leading up to now, I have brought up the possibility of some underlying cause, but i always get dismissed. told I'm digging too deep or thinking too hard and just stressing myself out, despite the fact that I've always been clumsy and injury prone and had coordination issues. I guess bc those coordination issues haven't been well documented, and i am not officially diagnosed with autism or anything that could support my claims, i just don't get taken seriously, despite my experience being quite abnormal from what i understand when talking to others!!!

idk where I'm even going with this. today i was at a PT appointment for my hip and was on the verge of tears the whole time. I have to go back to my primary doctor in order for them to even begin attending to my heel despite that being the worst pain, and despite the fact that my hip/knee/heel/sciatica are all definitely related. I'm assuming this is because of insurance bullshit, i know it's pretty basic procedure, but it's exhausting that the american healthcare system is set up this way. it's really hard when you're autistic also and struggle with making and keeping appointments. it doesn't help that i've been dismissed by so many doctors that i just get intense anxiety about even having to go back again.

i'm also looking for a new PCP anyway because i don't like that mine doesn't take me very seriously and i am also transitioning and very scared/a bit paranoid about facing any transphobia or disclosing that fact to him if we have to run any blood tests. so maybe I'll have a better experience elsewhere, but this heel stuff has gone on for so long that i just have to bite the bullet and go back to the same place if it will be quicker to do so anyway.

and like, all procedural/red tape/insurance bullshit aside, bottom of the barrel PT treatment here is like. so dismal. once again maybe it's just bc i have the point of comparison from my old job, but i feel like the treatment is really just. so lackluster, doctors are seeing multiple patients at once, you're rushed through your visit, you don't have time to ask questions. the whole time i've been there no one has so much as taken a closer look at my heel. i know i'm there for my hip and you have to say that on paper for insurance, but like, damn, not even just a quick check??

I am afraid it's because I'm habitually downplaying the pain to cope and because i'm terrified of doctors. so maybe it's my fault.

still, the system is downright hostile to people who struggle with that stuff.

i don't have much else to say. just wanted to dump this somewhere and see if anyone else can understand or empathize with my experience. i don't talk about this super openly or readily because I don't even feel like i can call it chronic pain sometimes despite this being a several month long problem and really an issue that is about five years old, despite it being inconsistent... mostly because i just don't have the affirmation of a medical diagnosis. i have considered getting a cane/mobility aid very thoroughly recently because i know it would help me (and maybe even force doctors to take me seriously) but there's a part of me that feels like i can't or shouldn't. like i'm not valid enough for that, or i can function without it, but i know that's dismissive and so not the right way to think about mobility aids

i mean, it doesn't help that my dad has been limping and had chronic pain for years and has one and still refuses to use it... the internalized ableism runs deep. it's fucked. i'm trying hard to undo it but it's hard when you're already just hard on yourself.

anyway, just sorely needed to get this off my chest. thanks for reading if you do.

EDIT: i also wanted to say,, if you have gone through anything similar, just know you're not alone! so if you want to share your experience or talk about it with me pls know my asks and dms are open.

#personal #chronic pain #healthcare #idk #autism

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thezombieprostitute · 9 months

Text

Dream Come True - Part 2

A/N: Reader is plus sized, femme. No other descriptors used.

Warnings: Shooting mentioned, not written. American healthcare system. Insecure reader. Bullying with an emphasis on fat shaming. Please let me know if I miss any!

Part 1 -- Part 3

Series Masterlist

It's only been a few days but you find yourself unable to follow the advice of the medical staff and get some rest. Your brain won't let you. You've got budgets to consider, a resume to update, and follow up appointments to schedule. Thankfully when Jake and Jefferson had brought the girls for a visit they made sure to bring your laptop.

Because you hated not knowing, you opted to spend your time researching to see about how much you might be getting from that back-pay promised by Curtis. Jefferson had assured you that Curtis did, in fact, have that kind of pull but "please don't dig too much into it." You got the impression not everything was on the up-and-up but you have bills to pay so you agreed.

On day four you got a notice of deposit from your bank. You took a look and your jaw dropped. That couldn't be right! You'd done the research. There's no way even an experienced, highly qualified tutor would ever be earning that much! There must've been a mistake! You immediately make a note to tell someone who knows Curtis.

Curtis and Mace were going through their weekly itineraries. Between the two of them nothing got lost. Mace would, occasionally, grumble about needing a vacation but the two of them were the only people who keep all the moving pieces in mind.

"At least we can check a few things off the list this week," Curtis grunted. "Hal's got the bugs planted in the Smith law building. Jake's confirmed they're working."

"Fowler confirmed McMann won't be a problem," Mace reported. "Apparently the guy's busy trying to hunt down the guy that ran away with his wife."

Curtis chuckled at that. "That was Nat, right?"

Mace smiled, "yeah. Nat called "dibs" and we didn't have a counterargument."

"McMann's gonna spend a long time searching," Curtis shakes his head. "Nat's the best at not being found when she doesn't want to be."

"And the Missus is definitely better off," Mace agreed. "Nat's setting her up for life."

"That reminds me," Curtis interjected. "How's the back-pay for Hero doing?"

Mace double checked a few things on his phone before replying, "it's been deposited into her account."

"Good. One more thing we can cross off the list."

"Not yet, actually," Mace hesitated. Curtis gave him a curious look. "Turns out, she's trying to get ahold of you to talk about the amount. Beck says she's adamant that it's too much."

"Huh," Curtis's eyebrows raised. "There's something you don't hear every day. I'll talk to Barber and got some legal-ese that'll explain without explaining."

Mace nods and the two continue their meeting, switching to ongoing tasks.

"Excuse me?" It's been a few days since the money hit your account and you've finally gotten a visit from Curtis.

They kept you at the hospital longer because your stress levels made it "irresponsible" for Dr. Beck to discharge you, lest you have a heart attack as soon as you get outside. At this point you're certain Dr. Beck wants to get as much money from your stay as he can. Everyone who visits, however, says otherwise.

"Hazard pay," Curtis patiently repeated. "That's why there's so much more money than you expected."

"You can't expect me to believe that!" You are indignant. "That's not how hazard pay works. I've done my research Mr. um, Mr." you pause because you realize you don't know his last name. You feel the pang of embarrassment because you've been saying you've done your research but you don't know something as simple as a last name! You push past it and continue, "I've done my research, sir!"

You open up your laptop and bring up all of your documents of notes, focusing in on the bibliography. "I've got data from reputed tutoring websites, the Department of Labor, Glassdoor, even the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and none of them support the amount I was given."

Curtis finds himself smiling. He's been talked back to plenty of times, but never like this. "You're cute," he blurts out.

Thinking he's making fun of you, you look away from him and try not to show too much hurt. Curtis assures, "I'm not saying that to belittle you. You really have put a lot of work into this."

You shake your head, "it's besides the point, sir. You've grossly overpaid me. I know you've overpaid me. Yet you are refusing to acknowledge this."

"That's partly because I'm not sure why it's such a big deal to you," he calmly states.

"Because I don't want to cheat you!"

"Are you saying there's a price limit for saving my nieces?"

"I mean, technically there is. Could probably use some actuarial tables used in life insurance policies to find it out." Curtis gives you a hard glare but you persist, "I'm not saying that your nieces aren't priceless. I'm saying that I don't want to take what isn't mine. This is a lot of money and I don't want you going hungry or something because you feel you owe me when you don't. I only did what any decent person would do!"

"It's been my experience that decent people are rarities," Curtis stated. "As such they, and by extension you, should be treated well and given plenty."

"That's another part of the problem," you sighed. "I have not been told anything specific but I've seen and heard enough to suspect that this money might not be... legitimate."

Curtis's jaw tensed up. He'd have to have a word with the J's about being more careful. "I assure you," he nearly growled, "that the money you received was honestly earned by us and then you. All tax forms have been taken care of. All employment paperwork is settled."

You meet his gaze, undeterred by the intensity in his eyes. You see no signs of trickery. Nothing in those icy blue eyes indicating he was hiding the truth from you. You nod your acceptance and he relaxes a bit.

"Now," he says in a much lighter tone, "was there anything else?"

"Um, just one," you replied. "You said that I'm officially employed? That you might have more work for me? Who am I employed by and what other work should I be ready for?"

"The official name of my company is Everett Enterprises," he explained. "That's the company title on your W-2. As for the "other work" that was implied, it's simply a notice that I may have other employees in need of a tutor. I know Hal has been looking at getting his GED."

"So all you would need from me is more tutoring?"

Curtis can hear the tremor in your voice. You're a good person who doesn't want to get mixed up in anything illegal and he's happy to accommodate that. "Yes," he asserts. "Though that may involve helping some of my people learn how to cite their sources like you did."

That gets a half smile from you and Curtis considers the conversation done. "Now please follow the doctor's orders and rest up," he pleads. As he turns to leave he says, "make sure to get your beauty sleep."

Because he's facing away he doesn't see your face fall at the comment.

Part 1 -- Part 3

Tagging @alicedopey because I promised I would.

@dontbescaredtosingalong

@icefrozendeadlyqueen

@texmexdarling

@veltana

@winter-soldier-101

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged.

#curtis everett x reader #curtis everett x plus size!reader #plus size!reader #mob!curtis everett #mafia!curtis everett #dream come true

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