#government health scheme news

[kyuala]

HE TOLD US HE'D BE BACK!! YOU CAN'T BURY THE LEFT WING IN THIS COUNTRY

[mostlysignssomeportents]

SoCal Gas spent millions on astroturf ops to fight climate rules

Today (19 Aug), I'm appearing at the San Diego Union-Tribune Festival of Books. I'm on a 2:30PM panel called "Return From Retirement," followed by a signing:

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/festivalofbooks

It's a breathtaking fraud: SoCal Gas, the largest gas company in America, spent millions secretly paying people to oppose California environmental regulations, then illegally stuck its customers with the bill. We Californians were forced to pay to lobby against our own survival:

https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article277266828.html

The criminal scheme is spelled out in eye-watering detail in a superb investigative report by Joe Rubin and Ari Plachta for the Sacramento Bee, which names the law firms and individual lawyers involved in the scam.

Here's the situation: SoCal Gas is California's private, regulated gas monopoly. They are allowed to lobby, but are legally required to charge their lobbying activities to their shareholders, and are prohibited from raising customer rates to pay for lobbying.

The company spent years secretly violating this rule, in the sleaziest way possible: working with corporate cartels like the California Restaurant Association and BizFed, the monopoly paid BigLaw white-shoe firms to procure people who posed as concerned citizens in order to oppose climate regulations that are essential to the state's very survival.

The bill topped $36 million – and it was illegally charged to its customers, the Californians whose immediate health and long-term survival these efforts opposed. SoCal Gas refuses to disclose the full extent of the spending, as do its lawyer-procurers, who cite legal confidentiality and a First Amendment right to secretly seek to influence policy in their refusal to disclose their profits from this illegal conduct.

The law firms involved are a who's-who of California's most prominent corporate fixers, including Reichman Jorgensen and Holland & Knight. The partners involved have a long rap sheet for anti-climate dirty tricking, most notably Jennifer Hernandez, notorious in climate justice history for an incident where activists claim she posed as one of them, infiltrating a campaign to force corporate despoilers to clean up their pollution in order to sabotage it, while secretly on a wealthy, prominent landowner's payroll.

Hernandez claims to care about the environment and says that her longstanding, corporate-funded, extensive campaigns and lawsuits against state environmental regulations are motivated by concern over their impact on working people. Her firm, Holland & Knight, denies serving SoCal Gas in opposing gas regulations, but it received $594k in ratepayer dollars, and submitted comments opposing the rules on its own behalf. Those comments were nearly identical to the comments submitted by SoCal Gas.

Hernandez also represents an obscure organization called The Two Hundred for Home Ownership in "a flurry of lawsuits" over California Air Resources Board rules on pollution, seeking to overturn the state's landmark climate change regulations.

Two Hundred for Home Ownership was founded by Robert Apodaca, who told the Bee that Hernandez's work for him is pro bono and not funded by SoCal Gas, but his entry into the fray occurred just as SoCalGas was founding an astroturf group called Californians for Fair and Balanced Energy (C4BES), which pretended to be an independent organization, disguising its relationship with SoCal Gas.

Apodaca is also founder of United Latinos Vote, an organization that had been largely dormant for seven years, not receiving any donations, until 2018, when the California Building Industry Association gave it $99k. The CBIA is a large-dollar recipient of donations from SoCal Gas, and its CEO insists that it was not acting on SoCal Gas's behalf when it made its unpredented donation to Apodaca.

The CBIA donation to United Latinos Vote was forerunner to a flood of corporate donations from the likes of Chevron, Marathon and Phillips 66. Shortly after receiving this cash, United Latinos Vote ran a full page ad in the LA Times, accusing the Sierra Club of pushing for anti-gas appliance rules that would harm working class Latino families.

This ad, in turn, featured prominently in advocacy by the SoCal Gas front group C4BES, funded with $29.1m in ratepayer money, which it then spent seeking to link clean appliance rules with anti-Latino racism. A quarter of California's carbon emissions come from home gas use.

SoCal Gas is regulated by the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC), which tolerated this mounting illegal conduct for many years, even as the company circulated internal memos as early as 2015 discussing its plans to oppose electrification in the state on the basis that it constituted "a significant risk to our business."

But last year, CPUC fined SoCal Gas $10m. Now, CPUC's Public Advocate office has filed a damning, extensive report on SoCal Gas's unlawful conduct, seeking $80m in rate cuts to compensate Californians for the funds misappropriated to protect the company's shareholder interests:

https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M517/K407/517407314.PDF

Additionally, the Public Advocate is demanding $233m in fines for the company's refusal to allow investigators to audit its books and discover the full extent of the fraud.

SoCal Gas is the nation's largest utility, but (incredibly), it's not the dirtiest. That prize goes to Ohio's FirstEnergy, which handed $60m in ratepayer dollars to state politicians in illegal bribes in exchange for coal and nuclear subsidies and cancellation of state climate rules. That scandal led to GOP speaker of the Ohio House Larry Householder being sentenced to 20 years in prison:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_nuclear_bribery_scandal

There is something extraordinarily sleazy about using ratepayers' own money to lobby against their interests. SoCal Gas and its Big Law enablers have funneled millions in Californian's money into campaigns to poison us and boil us alive, and they did it while using workers and racialized people as human shields.

I'm kickstarting the audiobook for "The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation," a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and make a new, good internet to succeed the old, good internet. It's a DRM-free book, which means Audible won't carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook:

http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/19/cooking-the-books-with-gas/#reichman-jorgensen

Image: Maryland GovPics (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/mdgovpics/6635539089/

Jackie (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/79874304@N00/197532792

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

[invisibleicewands]

Bringing revolution to Port Talbot - by Michael Sheen

On a recent February morning, I woke up to find I was wrong. Not a particularly uncommon experience in itself, but unusual to discover that on this occasion I was being publicly accused of it by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade. “Michael Sheen has said that ‘the people of Port Talbot have been let down’,” Kemi Badenoch wrote in the Daily Mail. “But he is wrong.”

It was a big day. I spent all of last year directing a three-part drama series for the BBC called The Way, which was to air that night. It begins in my hometown of Port Talbot, where a strike at the local steelworks becomes the spark that ignites a violent descent into national chaos. Clearly, Ms Badenoch had been given a sneak peek of the series before forming quite a strong opinion on it. But no: reading her article, Ms Badenoch admits that she hadn’t watched it at all. Why let a total lack of information prevent a full-throated denouncement, eh? Presumably, she also assumes that we managed to write, film and edit the entire series after Tata Steel announced the imminent loss of some 2,500 jobs at the steelworks mere weeks ago.

While the winds of change have only been blowing in one direction for many years, the events in our story were dreamed up some years ago and act as a fictional catalyst for all that follows. Surely even Tory ministers understand there is no VIP fast lane for making a TV series. This isn’t a PPE contract, after all…

Nothing to see here

After that episode aired, it occurred to me that such shenanigans in the right-wing press could have been about a couple of things. Since the ITV drama about the Post Office scandal, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, caused public outrage, I imagine the government has a new fear of the impact a TV show can have. A pre-emptive strike against a series it perceives to be criticising its actions around the steel industry must have seemed a useful tactic. And, having seen Breathtaking – based on Rachel Clarke’s memoir of how the Covid crisis unfolded in the NHS, which aired on ITV the same night as The Way – I wonder if her piece was an attempt to distract attention away from more dangerous territory.

It gave Ms Badenoch a chance to trot out her line about how the people of Port Talbot should be grateful for all that the government is doing to save the steel industry, not moaning about the impact job losses will have on their community. But the people of Port Talbot have been let down, no matter what Ms Badenoch wants us to think. Not by any single entity, but by years of neglect. That she immediately assumed my comments referred to her and her government tells its own story. In the words of a much older drama than mine: the lady doth protest too much, methinks.

Then and Nye

“This crisis is a privateering racket with your friends lining their pockets!” No, not an accusation against Boris Johnson, but something I currently say to Winston Churchill every night. We opened a new play called Nye at the National Theatre this week. I play Aneurin (“Nye”) Bevan, who attacks the prime minister for turning a wartime crisis into a money-making scheme for him and his cronies. It’s one of many moments in the play that seem to speak to past and present at the same time.

The entanglement of “now” and “then” is heightened by the fact that I am wearing pyjamas. Nye is lying unconscious in his hospital bed at the end of his life, and we follow him through a dream of his past. He wanders from childhood memories of overcoming his stutter in Tredegar library to his meteoric rise through local politics, to becoming the youngest member of Clement Attlee’s pioneering postwar cabinet. And, of course, as minister for health, his tumultuous birthing of the NHS on 5 July 1948. It’s an extraordinary, surprising and moving experience telling this story on stage each night. That shared space between actors and audience, where all is felt but unseen, crackles with electricity.

Once more, with feeling

It seems that exploring the motives of politicians, the uses and abuses of political power, and the quest for justice that saw the creation of the NHS taps into deep wells of emotion. Like the pockets of gas that miners feared within the coal seam, their release brings risk and reward. At a recent show, we had three instances of people needing to be helped out of the theatre, the final one forcing us to pause the show moments from its end. Thankfully, it was nothing more serious than someone fainting. But emotions are running high.

I’m more than happy to invite Ms Badenoch to a performance. But I realise, of course, there’s no guarantee she would make it to the end.

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Year

1. Belgium approves four-day week and gives employees the right to ignore their bosses after work

Workers in Belgium will soon be able to choose a four-day week under a series of labour market reforms announced on Tuesday.

The reform package agreed by the country's multi-party coalition government will also give workers the right to turn off work devices and ignore work-related messages after hours without fear of reprisal.

"We have experienced two difficult years. With this agreement, we set a beacon for an economy that is more innovative, sustainable and digital. The aim is to be able to make people and businesses stronger," Belgian prime minister Alexander de Croo told a press conference announcing the reform package.

2. Spain makes it a crime for pro-lifers to harass people outside abortion clinics

Spain has criminalized the harassment or intimidation of women going for an abortion under new legislation approved on Wednesday by the Senate. The move, which involved changes to the penal code, means anti-abortion activists who try to convince women not to terminate their pregnancies could face up to a year behind bars.

3. House passes bill to federally decriminalize marijuana

The House has voted with a slim bipartisan majority to federally decriminalize marijuana. The vote was 220 to 204.

The bill, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, will prevent federal agencies from denying federal workers security clearances for cannabis use, and will allow the Veterans’ Administration to recommend medical marijuana to veterans living with posttraumatic stress disorder.

The bill also expunges the record of people convicted of non-violent cannabis offenses, which House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said, “can haunt people of color and impact the trajectory of their lives and career indefinitely.”

4. France makes birth control free for all women under 25

The scheme, which could benefit three million women, covers the pill, IUDs, contraceptive patches and other methods composed of steroid hormones.

Contraception for minors was already free in France. Several European countries, including Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway, make contraception free for teens.

5. The 1st fully hydrogen-powered passenger train service is now running in Germany. The only emissions are steam & condensed water.

Five of the trains started running in August. Another nine will be added in the coming months to replace 15 diesel trains on the regional route. Alstom says the Coradia iLint has a range of 1,000 kilometers, meaning that it can run all day on the line using a single tank of hydrogen. A hydrogen filling station has been set up on the route between Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervörde and Buxtehude.

6. Princeton will cover all tuition costs for most families making under $100,000 a year, after getting rid of student loans

In September, the New Jersey Ivy League school announced it would be expanding its financial aid program to offer free tuition, including room and board, for most families whose annual income is under $100,000 a year. Previously, the same benefit was offered to families making under $65,000 a year. This new income limit will take effect for all undergraduates starting in the fall of 2023.

Princeton was also the first school in the US to eliminate student loans from its financial aid packages.

7. Humpback whales no longer listed as endangered after major recovery

Humpback whales will be removed from Australia's threatened-species list, after the government's independent scientific panel on threatened species deemed the mammals had made a major recovery. Humpback whales will no longer be considered an endangered or vulnerable species.

Climate change and fishing still pose threats to their long-term health.

Some other uplifting news from last year:

A Cancer Trial’s Unexpected Result: Remission in Every Patient

California 100 percent powered by renewables for first time

Israel formally bans LGBTQ conversion therapy

Tokyo Passes Law to Recognize Same-Sex Partnerships

First 100,000 KG Removed From the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

As we ring in the New Year let’s remember to focus on the good news. May this be a year of even more kindness and generosity. Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2023!

Thank you for following and supporting this g this newsletter

Buy me a coffee ❤️

[reality-detective]

How OPERATION SCARIANT 2023 is being used to launch Plandemic 2.0 Plandemic 2.o is an integral piece of the Great Reset implementation plan and New World Order agenda to be executed in earnest this Fall of 2023. OPERATION SCARIANT, which features the extremely ‘scary’ Omincron subvariant known as Eris, is the main show for folks who are still captivated by this ridiculous government-sponsored but extremely serious genocidal enterprise.

Nevertheless, there are numerous reasons why the Khazarian genocidal bioterrorists are hellbent on rolling out Plandemic 2.0 this Fall. The following list presents only some of the most significant NWO goals, WEF objectives and WHO targets. (1) To cover up the massive excess death numbers directly resulting from the ongoing Covid vaccine genocide across America (and global depopulation scheme)

(2) To stealthily kill vaccinated children who are now much more vulnerable to the bacterial infections associated with Eris (aka Omicron [B.1.1.529] a subvariant of SARS-CoV-2

(3) To intensify the slow-motion slaughter of vaccinated 20 to 45 year-olds who are now much more susceptible to myocarditis, pericarditis, blood clots and other fatal heart ailments

(4) To further turbo-charge the numerous medical ailments and health conditions, chronic diseases and autoimmune syndromes, psychological disorders and psychiatric illnesses across the entire population, all of which have seen HUGE upticks post-Covid vaccination

(5) To murder as many retirees as possible in order to reduce the Social Security & Disability, Medicare and Medicaid rolls

(6) To massacre as many individuals, who suffer from multiple comorbidities and/or terminal diseases, who are still living after Plandemic 1.0

(7) To eliminate as many Baby Boomers as possible as well as the Beat Generation elderly, especially the anti-establishment types

(8) To provide maximum distraction from the many Democrat crime sprees being investigated by the House

(9) To divert the attention of the electorate from the multiple crime waves perpetrated by the Biden Crime Family and especially by the POTUS Imposter and Criminal-in-Chief

(10) To create maximum chaos, confusion and conflict throughout the last year of the 2024 election cycle so that the Democrats can steal yet another POTUS election, as well as to set the stage for a long-planned American Bolshevik revolution

(11) To provide a pretext to deploy yet another highly weaponized and lethal Covid ‘vaccine’ by which to rapidly intensify Plandemic 2.0.

(12) To significantly supercharge the previously administered kill-shots, clot-shots and cancer-shots thereby increasing SADS and SIDS as well as excess deaths across the board

(13) To sufficiently scare the American people back into the same space of extreme fear and anxiety about the COVID-19 contagion so they will fully submit to the Covid Super Vaccination Agenda (and demand that everyone they know get vaxxed to the max)

- Benjamin Fulford 🤔

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Six health-care worker placement agencies are no longer eligible for Quebec public contracts for the next five years, Radio-Canada is reporting.

According to information from the Autorité des marchés publics (AMP) obtained by Radio-Canada, the agencies are now registered with the Registre des entreprises non admissibles aux contrats publics (RENA) because they do not meet integrity requirements. 

The AMP oversees public contracts in Quebec. More than 2,400 companies are currently banned from contracting with the government.

Several major agencies that provided hundreds of nurses and orderlies to hospitals and CHSLDs in Quebec are among the list of ineligible companies.

After the AMP conducted audits, it found that three companies — 24/7 Expertise en Soins de Santé Inc., 9272-4095 Québec Inc. and 9159-2634 Québec Inc., doing business under the name Confort Élite — had, through their respective managers, participated in a scheme to submit strategically defined prices with the aim of encouraging an award and award of contracts favourable to them. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[akookminsupporter]

The jikookphobia is real.

Have you ever heard the term 'secondhand smokers' or 'passive smokers'? It's a person who, even though they don't smoke, inhales cigarette smoke, and with just that, they could face future health problems. Despite not having actively smoked, crazy, right? That's what fans are who, even though they haven't said anything negative about the rumours that Jimin and Jungkook will enlist together and allegedly did it under a special scheme, haven't said anything against those who have said countless stupid things, spread unfounded rumours, and that is precisely the problem: they haven't said anything.

It's crazy to see how a rumour from the Korean press has once again proven how jikookphobic this fandom is, whether actively or passively. In recent days, I've seen stupid theories being presented as truth because they are simply more convenient because they simply fit into the different narratives that many people have. In recent days, I've seen how many prefer to believe and invent lies because the most obvious answer and the one that is probably real is too much for them.

So far, everything we know about Jimin and Jungkook's enlistment is rumours because neither they nor their agency have confirmed it, and even if they confirm various aspects, we will never know the reason behind some decisions that Jimin and Jungkook made. We don't have to know it either.

The scheme by which many K-ARMYs are presuming that Jimin and Jungkook will enlist has driven many haters crazier and wilder, and it has helped haters we didn't know about come to light, and honestly, I'm glad. It's better to know your enemies, right? The way many, both on the international and Korean sides of the fandom, have raised an outcry has been impressive but not surprising at all; after all, it's not the first time it has happened. It's sad how, instead of being happy that Jimin and Jungkook decided to embark on this new stage of their lives together, many choose to throw hate at one or the other, invent rumours, or make senseless demands all because their homophobia and hatred are stronger. Regardless of the type of relationship we may believe they have, it's obvious that they are very close, they are great friends, and that as fans should be enough for us, but it's not for many.

What happened a few days ago in Korea was disgusting. Tagging official government accounts was not only stupid but also dangerous, but they didn't care because those people didn't care about the boys and their safety; they only cared about themselves and their toxic fantasies.

Denying at this point that Jimin and Jungkook are close is foolish and naive. Thinking that Jungkook hates Jimin is even more so, but many prefer to ignore it. They prefer to ignore reality and, above all, choose to ignore what Jungkook and Jimin do and say because otherwise, they wouldn't have anything. They prefer to feed hatred with lies because that's all they have.

The ironic thing about all this, and ironically, it's funny, is that many of those narratives or explanations that haters have given as to why Jimin and Jungkook supposedly will enlist under that special scheme end up confirming what they swear is not true: Jimin and Jungkook are a couple. And the most ironic thing of all is that they don't have to accept or acknowledge that Jimin and Jungkook are probably a couple; they just have to acknowledge that Jimin and Jungkook are super close friends who want to enlist together.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few days, and it will be interesting to see what we will see in all the content that will come out in the future, starting with the group's docu-series. Certainly, the most interesting thing will be finally seeing what Jimin and Jungkook were filming together all this time.

[chronicallyuniconic]

The UK government continues to hate the vulnerable & disabled

"The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has refused to say if the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, was wrong to suggest that disability benefits were being misused and exploited, after new official figures showed the level of fraud has fallen to zero."

You read that right.

FRAUD HAS DROPPED TO 0%

The year before it was at 0.2%

A month earlier, the shithouse of a PM was planning to cut the spending on PIP (aswell as other reforms), but stated that PIP was being used "incorrectly" or "misused" and that he wanted to make it an even harder process to 'exploit'

Going through PIP, as it is now, is horrific. I sent years of medical evidence, to be refused 3 times and later won at tribunal. It took years. Everyone I know has had a horrible time with the DWP scheme, it is not easy, or quick to trick, or a misuse of benefits when it has a direct impact on health, cannot be exploited when you can't get it in the first place!

The government are lying bag of shit & I hope they all drown in their own filth. The sewers are gleaming in comparison to the sludging dregs of Westminster. So many words. But the damage the PM has caused, is already done. We're stuck now with "abusing the system" type labels, even with this report.

[beardedmrbean]

California Governor Gavin Newsom was called out by a reporter after he continued to dodge questions about blowing the state's $24 billion spending on the homeless.

The Golden State's budget deficit is at least $45 billion, a shortfall so large it prompted Newsom to propose painful spending cuts impacting immigrants, kindergarteners and low-income parents seeking child care in a state often lauded for having the world's fifth-largest economy. 

California spent $24 billion tackling homelessness over five years but didn't track if the money was helping the state's growing number of unhoused people, a damning report says.

At a press conference announcing his plans, he was asked by Angela Hart of KFF Health News if he felt his administration did enough to ensure the money was well spent and if he was worried the appetite for spending was lessening based on the homelessness program.

The usually confident Democrat hemmed and hawed for two minutes, to which Hart responded: 'I'm sorry governor, I didn't hear responses to either of those questions.' 

The governor said throughout his initial answer that the problem was dealing with local governments but Newsom was clearly chastened by Hart's retort.

Newsom finally leveled, saying the audit 'did not surprise me' and he agreed with most of its findings and said that the state has made unprecedented investments and tried to increase accountability from local governments for that spending.

'As it relates to the public mood... more is not always better, the public want to see results,' he added.

Hart finally thanked him for his answer, calling it 'thorough' before asking Newsom about cuts to healthcare spending and climate change.

The audit slams the state's homelessness tsars for spending billions across 30 programs from 2018-2023, but gathering no data on why the cash wasn't tackling the crisis.

It confirms what's clear to many residents — the homelessness crisis is out of control, and that tent encampments and troublesome vagrancy across major cities is bad and getting worse.

Homelessness jumped 6 percent to more than 180,000 people in California last year, federal data show. Since 2013, the numbers have exploded by 53 percent.

California is home to nearly a third of America's entire homeless population.

State Auditor Grant Parks wrote in a letter to Gov Gavin Newsom and lawmakers that the 'state must do more to assess the cost-effectiveness of its homelessness programs.'

Auditors probed five schemes that received a combined $13.7 billion in funding.

Only two of them were 'likely cost-effective,' including one that converts hotel and motel rooms into housing and another that helps to prevent families from becoming homeless, they found.

The remaining three programs, which have received a total of $9.4 billion since 2020, couldn't be evaluated due to a lack of data.

Thomas Wolf, a San Francisco-based consultant and former homeless drug addict, called the findings a 'scandal.'

'The state has spent billions on homelessness, and it's worse,' Wolf posted on X/Twitter.

'Outcomes literally mean everything when it comes to homeless services, and unsurprisingly, they have no data.'

For some, the audit confirms fears of a 'homeless industrial complex' – a gravy train of funders, officials, shelter owners and charities more keen on swallowing public funds than solving the problem.

Democratic state Sen. Dave Cortese, who requested the audit last year after touring a large homeless encampment in San Jose, complained of a 'data desert' and lack of transparency.

Republican state Sen. Roger Niello called the lack of accountability troubling.

'Despite an exorbitant amount of dollars spent, the state's homeless population is not slowing down,' Niello said in a statement.

'These audit results are a wake-up call for a shift toward solutions that prioritize self-sufficiency and cost-effectiveness.'

Newsom has made tackling homelessness a priority, and the growing crisis is sure to dog him should he ever set his sights on a national elected office.

The Democrat has pushed for laws that make it easier to force people with behavioral health issues into treatment. 

He also campaigned hard for a proposition that voters passed in March to make counties spend on housing and drug treatment programs to help fight homelessness.

The state auditor also reviewed homelessness spending in two major cities, San Jose and San Diego, and found that both failed to track revenue and spending due to a lack of planning.

The report spotlights how officials are battling a surge in homelessness in California and beyond.

A recent DailyMail.com/TIPP Poll showed that more than two thirds of US adults said homelessness was out of control and that officials needed to move those sleeping rough into tented encampments outside towns and cities.

The survey revealed that 67 percent of Americans are fed up with the country's fast-rising number of homeless people and want mayors to take drastic steps to tackle the scourge.

Former President Donald Trump making it part of his re-election campaign.

In a video on homelessness released by his campaign, Trump said that 'hardworking, law-abiding citizens' were being sidelines and made to 'suffer for the whims of a deeply unwell few.'

He vowed to 'ban urban camping' and create 'tent cities' on 'inexpensive land' for homeless people that will be staffed with doctors and social workers to help people address systemic problems.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Peter Montgomery at RWW:

As the aggressive Christian nationalism that infuses the MAGA movement and Republican Party intensifies, journalists and filmmakers are paying closer attention to the threat this political ideology and its adherents pose to freedom in America. A must-watch new documentary, “Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism’s Unholy War on Democracy,” will be available for streaming on AppleTV, Amazon Prime, and Google Play beginning Friday, April 26. Directed by Stephen Ujlaki and Christopher Jacob Jones and narrated by Peter Coyote, “Bad Faith” makes masterful use of archival and current footage of Christian nationalist religious and political figures, infographics, and interviews with scholars, religious leaders, political analysts, and even a former Trump administration official. The film draws a compelling through line from the scheming power-building of Paul Weyrich, the right-wing operative who recruited Jerry Falwell and other evangelical preachers to create the religious-right as a political movement in the late 1970s, to the institution-destroying antidemocratic ambitions of MAGA insiders like Steve Bannon, as well as Donald Trump’s dominionist “prophets” and “apostles” and the Jan. 6 insurrectionists they inspired.

[...]

“Bad Faith” explains how that transformation happened, documenting the role played by the Council for National Policy, a partnership between anti-regulation, economically libertarian oil barons and the religious-right leaders who intended to remake the Republican Party, take over the Supreme Court, and use their political power to enforce “traditional” views of family, sexuality, and gender on the rest of the nation. The Koch brothers poured tens of millions of dollars into “a state-of-the-art political data platform” that Council for National Policy groups use to collect personal information—including personal mental health, behavioral health, and treatment data—and use that information to micro-target individuals. (In “God & Country,” another documentary released earlier this year, Ralph Reed is shown bragging that his organization tracked “147 different data points” on the conservative Christians they targeted for turnout operations.) [...]

As “Bad Faith” makes clear, religious-right leaders viewed Trump as a powerful blunt weapon in a long-term political and spiritual war against the federal government and institutions dominated by progressive forces. “The Council’s gambit had paid off,” the film notes about Trump’s time in office. “Christian nationalists were firmly embedded at the highest levels of government. The Supreme Court had an absolute majority of justices poised to overturn landmark civil and women’s rights decisions. Paul Weyrich’s vision of a Christian nation was becoming a reality.” That explains why Christian nationalist leaders were willing to dismantle democracy to keep Trump in power. Members of the Council for National Policy and its political action arm went into “full combat mode” to promote Trump’s big lie, and, as Right Wing Watch documented, they supported his efforts to keep power after the 2020 election, portraying it as a holy war between the forces of good and evil. As Samuel Perry notes in the film, viewing politics as spiritual warfare between the forces of God and Satan makes it easy for those who see themselves on God’s side to “justify just about anything.”

The Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism’s Unholy War on Democracy documentary comes out today on streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Google Play today. Bad Faith focuses on the history of Christian Nationalism and its very real threat to democracy.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hey Raven!! I wanted to ask what your thoughts are about something. So a lot of fans have been talking about the new setting and how they want to coexist with nature. It looks like a lot of people don’t like that idea and they agree more with Leona who wants to make more developments. Some of the takes are very extreme and people just insult Falena and the govt’s way of doing things and say they should listen to Leona but they don’t because he isn’t respected. Do you have thoughts on this?

Mmm… Personally, I think it’s sort of short-sighted to automatically assume that Leona’s way is “better” and that people are ignorant for not listening to him. I’m not saying the Sunset Savanna’s current way of doing things is “better” or that Leona's ideas are silly/shouldn't be listened to either; the issue of development versus nature conservation is a very real and complicated issue which is being oversimplified 💦 

Firstly, I don't think it's right to insult Farena/Falena or the current Sunset Savanna government's decisions. Criticism is fine, but the insults are unwarranted (criticism is not the same as insults). Sure, we may not agree with the decisions, but some of the arguments being presented as to why they're in the "wrong" can be disrespectful to their culture and beliefs. The easiest analogy I can give is like... say you're a patient (ie the people of the country), and you go to the doctor's office. The doctor (Leona) recommends a treatment (improved infrastructure and technological advancements) that would improve your health (quality of living), but that treatment goes against a religious or personal belief you hold (balance with nature). How would you feel if someone else implied you were being unreasonable or "backwards" for refusing the treatment? You wouldn’t appreciate others judging you for your decision or for imposing their “better” worldview on you. That's how the people of the Sunset Savanna most likely feel in regards to being told to make drastic changes to their way of life. This is their culture and has been for several generations; they want to live in harmony with nature so as to respect their animal ancestors and their history. It's not on other people to judge their wishes or tell them it’s wrong to base their beliefs on those wishes.

At the same time, I can understand Leona's perspective. He cares about his country and its success, as is evident in some of his voice lines where he references ways the Sunset Savanna could be strengthened (for example, in his Birthday Boy interview, he says his older brother should be gifting an expensive rug to a neighboring country instead of him to get in their good graces, then expresses worry for their country’s future). I'd also imagine that his life experiences (such as seeing the extreme poverty in which Ruggie lives) may have influenced Leona's desire to improve his home. It makes sense that he would agree with operations such as large-scale mining, which would no doubt be a great boon to his people. However, it is plans such as these which would pose harm to the environment that his people want to cherish and respect. That's not to say that Leona is in favor of outright destroying the environment, he is NOT totally like Scar (who ravaged the Pridelands by throwing the Circle of Life out of balance). Leona just prioritizes making progress and helping his people over what he has to do and take along the way to get there. It's not out of line with his usual line of thinking, how he schemes and manipulates others to get what he wants in the main story. The end result is more important to him than the means to which he arrives that that result.

As the second prince, Leona does have his country's best interests at heart, but his beliefs don't always align with that of others. He of course wants to see his country and its people prosper, but his ideas may not be the most well-received. I don't believe this is necessarily because of his status as second-born (from his episode 2 flashback, Farena, the current head of state in place of their ill father, seems very encouraging and willing to hear his ideas out), but rather because his own priorities clash with those of his people. Let's think back to the doctor's office analogy. Say that the doctor (Leona) decides to administer the treatment (improved infrastructure and technological advancements) to you (people of the Sunset Savanna) anyway against your wishes. Not only does this violate healthcare ethics (as you need the patient's consent in order to treat them; ie Leona would be seen as a "bad person" for forcing his ideals), but it is likely that the patient (the people) would be distressed about the situation as a result of it. They'd see it as Leona spitting on their culture.

Even if Leona's proposals were to be put into practice (ie Farena listens to him or if Leona were actually firstborn), I'd imagine they would be unpopular and may stir up social unrest. People are naturally averse to change; they will not be accepting of something just because they are told it is “for their own good”. If something will inconvenience their daily lives, there will be some kind of pushback. You cannot just force them to accept urbanization. This is part of what makes real life development very difficult; we live in a time where we are very conscientious of our impact on the environment, because whenever development occurs, it impacts multiple other sectors and can result in social backlash. We must also consider that no matter how fast change starts to be implemented, it may take years before any significant beneficial results are observed from that reform. People are generally more concerned with the short term rather than the long term, so if they don't see automatic results, then this lack of “instant gratification” could definitely fuel resistance and a push to return to the "old ways". For this reason, reform usually has to be implemented very slowly and gradually or first experimented on in a small area or test group, not all at once or even on a large scale right away. You can't expect to enact a new policy or new plans and expect everyone to go along with it or for those ideas to be executed immediately. Reform takes far more planning, time, and social awareness than many people realize it does, so it's NOT a simple matter of "whos' right and who's wrong here". There are clear benefits to making technological advancements and improving on infrastructure, but these benefits say nothing about how the public will receive them.

Interestingly, the Sunset Savanna has undergone some degree of urbanization. Lilia mentions that the skyscrapers of Dawn/Sunrise City weren't here the last time he visited, and yet Leona remarks that the city "looks the same" to him. This implies that the buildings used to look quite different in Lilia's time, but have since evolved into what Leona is so used to in the modern era. From this, we can deduce that the Sunset Savanna is NOT 100% opposed to change. In fact, it sounds to me like they are making advancements, but just quite slowly and with respect to nature rather than speedrunning it. For example, when Lilia remarks that development is easy to do if you spend a lot of money on it. However, to develop while preserving the surrounding nature is a much more challenging task. There is a way to make advancements while still being respectful of nature and protecting it, but it just takes considerably more time, energy, money, and planning than if you just went ahead without a care in the world for nature. The former appears to be the goal of the Sunset Savanna (as Leona's response to Lilia seems to imply that Farena/Falena wholeheartedly agrees with the stance of developing while still paying mind to their surroundings), which has, in turn, greatly inhibited the progress they are able to make. Again, this is a sentiment that is also echoed in the fact that Dawn/Sunrise City now has skyscrapers; Leona's father was still healthy in those days and allowed for these buildings to go up. This implies that the Sunset Savanna's governing family IS okay with implementing change, but not at an accelerated rate. So... it's not so much a question of "is Leona right, or is the Sunset Savannna right?" but rather "should we advance as fast as we can to help ourselves, or should we take the steady road so as to be mindful of our surroundings?"

I actually think that Leona's up for changing his ways, or at least seeing or supporting his brother and father's perspective. In episode 6 when discussing internship plans for his fourth year, Leona reveals that he has applied for an energy and mining research facility in his home country. Presumably, this will be a place where Leona can not only learn about ways to harvest natural resources and how those can be used to help the Sunset Savanna, but he can also learn about ways to do so while minimizing damage to nature. A lot of fans initially complained about this decision, saying that Leona should go into politics instead, but I find this choice very fitting for him, especially with what we know now about him. Leona has never liked stuffy matters or having to put on airs with people, and his wanting to be "king" comes from a desire for respect and acknowledgement more than a genuine desire to govern. I think him going into the area of study energy/geology is Leona seeking ways to aid in the Sunset Savanna's development while also being cognizant of how that growth can impact the environment from which they can draw a lot of wealth and resources from. This is now Leona's way of contributing to his country without technically ruling it; he's trying to find ways to meet that middle ground and compromise between the culture of his people and a wish to better his country through making advancements.

[ardri-na-bpiteog]

I love the Irish healthcare system 🙃 I love that I make "too much" to qualify for a lot of the fully free services or I haven't paid taxes here long enough (after 2 years of working full-time??) to qualify for the government "schemes" 🙃. And I love that I pay for private health insurance that barely covers anything other than reimbursing me €20 up to 3 times a year on the €70 I pay to see the doctor 🙃 so I end up paying hundreds of euro out of pocket each year on medical expenses.

I really need a new prescription for my glasses but I've been putting it off because it's so expensive. So I'm just going to deal with things being blurry I guess.

[mitigatedchaos]

GPT-7: Thank you for your question!

I have analyzed the file you have uploaded.

The policy vector you have provided is generally referred to as "Genetic Mutual Insurance" by political scientists. It was first implemented as a general policy directive via executive order by Governor Manuel Alvarez of the Texas Free State in 2052.

There were significant questions about ethnic tensions following the breakup of Mexico in the previous decade, the secession of Texas from the weakening United States, and the merger of significant portions of Texas, New Mexico, and the northern Mexican League. GMI was an attempt to address these questions by the leadership at the time.

Alvarez considered the application of low-resolution equity-seeking racial classification schemes to have contributed to the 21st-century Mexican Civil War, which, along with the death of his son in the conflict, encouraged him to support Texas secession. GMI can be viewed as an inversion of these schemes.

Implementation

First, government programs in the Texas Free State were rephrased in terms of insurance or similar styles of program. A number of programs, such as schooling, medical care, and social housing, were shifted to a voucher system.

Second, the genomes of citizens of the Texas Free State were collected. 64 reference genomes were produced in order to divide the population into roughly 64 groups of approximately equal size.

This was used to form 64 risk and revenue pools, which would determine the amount of insurance payment and the size of the insurance payout. There was also a 65th pool for "citizen refused classification."

Though the original intent of the policy was that the evaluation of genetic distance should be continuous, the 64 bucket model was deemed easier to administrate. It was intended that the 64 reference genomes would be updated every ten years, although this did not occur while the policy was in effect.

Third, for each of the 64 reference genomes, each citizen was issued an 8-bit similarity score, including a version normalized across the distribution. This would determine how much of their funding would come from, or go into, each bucket, the size of the vouchers they would receive, and their required amount of payments.

Further plans, in which case workers would be assigned based on similarity, were quietly abandoned.

The Blake Committee, established by Alvarez in 2053 to work out how to enact "continuous autogenetic self-regulation" as an alternative to previous constructions such as national states, reached the conclusion that the fundamental tensions within the system could not be resolved, and wound down in 2057.

Effects

During the time that the policy was in place, gene therapy was becoming cheaper. Citizens with higher genetic proximity to the reference genomes associated with less wealthy, or higher-risk, pools engaged in gene therapy to shift their membership more towards pools with higher revenues and higher payouts. This kind of pool-shifting became a local industry.

However, due to the diverse origins of wealthy citizens in Texas, genetic homogenization did not proceed along one axis. Instead, shifters sought low-cost or perceived high-benefit gene therapies targeting multiple reference genomes, both for themselves, and for their children.

Termination

GMI was terminated in 2067 with the re-admission of Texas into the United States. It was supplanted by the more gene-agnostic "Inheritance Equilibrium Flow, Land & Material Rents" ('ILMR') model for a variety of reasons, including that the incentives for homogenization were considered problematic.

Todd James

During the rule of GMI, 1,086 children were born based on synthesizing the virtual reference genomes into actual DNA, including the popular streamer Todd James. These 'Texan reference genome children' have been subsequently studied by scientists. No special health effects have been found.

[dearlittlefandom-stalker]

2024 Predictions By Me—

Whataburger opens in more states

Animators Strike

AI gets Sued

A Sasquatch movie is made

Joe Biden has a Health Scare

Something else is named ‘X’ 

Cornbread becomes a Meme

America gets involved in another war we have no business in

A Major Meteor Event

Bon Jovi hits mainstream again (either he releases a new song or an older song gets used in something or memed and becomes big again)

ACME Vs Coyote gets a theatrical release

Din Djarin comes back from the war (The Mandalorian season 4 comes out)

Ahsoka series gets a season 2

There’s a recall on canned soup

Duolingo does a ridiculously funny PR prank/stunt/marketing scheme AND IT WORKS

Barbie’s Princess and the Pauper becomes a meme

On that note, a new Barbie movie is announced/made

Big ~Presidential Race Debate Scandal~

Another Life Series (season 6!) (Bonus points if season 7 also begins!)

Also Hermitcraft Season 10 begins (Bonus if multiple Hermits base together)

A  world leader gets ousted/exposed and flees or is killed

Owl City releases a new song

Skillet releases a new album (bonus points if they have a crossover hit)

A 1920s-based or inspired movie is made

“Dice” becomes a slang term

Another poorly covered up government-caused catastrophe takes place 

A church service or livestream lasts for more than three days and sparks a revival

Tanera Double Chocolate (Everybody’s So Creative!) will make a video showing people how to actually cook

Something happens to before or during the Summer Olympics schedule that causes a delay or pause

At least two artists will release a movie in theaters of their live concerts (a la Taylor Swift and Beyonce)

New averse side affects of vaping are revealed

Some obscure holiday gets memed

The World Map changes (a country that exists now is dismantled or a new country is formed)

The Spanish-American war becomes relevant somehow

Something Weird is going to happen on February 29th 

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A national physician group this week called for the complete termination of a Medicare privatization scheme that the Biden White House inherited from the Trump administration and later rebranded—while keeping intact its most dangerous components.

Now known as the Accountable Care Organization Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (ACO REACH) Model, the experiment inserts a for-profit entity between traditional Medicare beneficiaries and healthcare providers. The federal government pays the ACO REACH middlemen to cover patients' care while allowing them to pocket a significant chunk of the fee as profit.

The rebranded pilot program, which was launched without congressional approval and is set to run through at least 2026, officially began this month, and progressive healthcare advocates fear the experiment could be allowed to engulf traditional Medicare.

In a Tuesday letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) argued that ACO REACH "presents a threat to the integrity of traditional Medicare, and an opportunity for corporations to take money from taxpayers while denying care to beneficiaries."

The group, which advocates for a single-payer healthcare system, voiced alarm over the Biden administration's decision to let companies with records of fraud and other abuses take part in the ACO REACH pilot, which automatically assigns traditional Medicare patients to private entities without their consent.

CMS said in a press release Tuesday that "the ACO REACH Model has 132 ACOs with 131,772 healthcare providers and organizations providing care to an estimated 2.1 million beneficiaries" for 2023.

"As we have stated, PNHP believes that the REACH program threatens the integrity of traditional Medicare and should be permanently ended," Dr. Philip Verhoef, the physician group's president, wrote in the new letter. "Whether or not one agrees with this statement, we should all be able to agree that companies found to have violated the rules have no place managing the care of our Medicare beneficiaries."

Among the concerning examples PNHP cited was Clover Health, which has operated so-called Direct Contracting Entities (DCEs)—the name of private middlemen under the Trump-era version of the Medicare pilot—in more than a dozen states, including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and New York.

PNHP noted that in 2016, CMS fined Clover—a large Medicare Advantage provider—for "using 'marketing and advertising materials that contained inaccurate statements' about coverage for out-of-network providers, after a high volume of complaints from patients who were denied coverage by its MA plan. Clover had failed to correct the materials after repeated requests by CMS."

Humana, another large insurer with its teeth in the Medicare privatization pilot, "improperly collected almost $200 million from Medicare by overstating the sickness of patients," PNHP observed, citing a recent federal audit.

"It appears that in its selection process [for ACO REACH], CMS did not prevent the inclusion of companies with histories of such behavior," Verhoef wrote. "Given these findings, we are concerned that CMS is inappropriately allowing these DCEs to continue unimpeded into ACO REACH in 2023."

While the Medicare pilot garnered little attention from lawmakers when the Trump administration first launched it during its final months in power, progressive members of Congress have recently ramped up scrutiny of the program.

Last month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) led a group of lawmakers in warning that ACO REACH "provides an opportunity for healthcare insurers with a history of defrauding and abusing Medicare and ripping off taxpayers to further encroach on the Medicare system."

"We have long been concerned about ensuring this model does not give corporate profiteers yet another opportunity to take a chunk out of traditional Medicare," the lawmakers wrote, echoing PNHP's concerns. "The continued participation of corporate actors with a history of fraud and abuse threatens the integrity of the program."

[dailyoriginalcharacter]

Cassandra Pak can see the future, unfortunately it hasn’t gone very well for her. She is now a grifter, using her powers to enhance her cons and get as much money as possible. It is what makes the world go round, after all!

Go to @kumied​ and talk to me about her if you want to :3

Cassandra’s powers were familial, skipping a generation every now and then. While her grandfather had the ability, her mother didn’t, and as a result grew up ashamed of her family’s “odd” history. In an attempt to put this behind her (and get a different job), she moved from Korea to the United States. Cassandra was never taught her past, so when she had her first vision (triggered by touching a snake during her kindergarten’s biology unit) she didn’t have the knowledge to articulate the future she now knew.

Afterwards, she was constantly plagued by strange urges and odd thoughts, which often grew worse when she went near a reptile. As a result, she was labelled as a troublemaker by her teachers, and her mother, through an inability to accept their family’s past, became stricter on her. She also developed a strong dislike for animals, which would continue on into her adulthood. Throughout her childhood and teenage years, she developed a hatred for authority, as well as a large ego, in an attempt to cope with the constant feelings of loneliness and displacement she felt.

She ended up dropping out of high school, opting to share an apartment with her then-girlfriend, who was taking a gap year before going to college. During this time, Cass looked for work, but there weren’t a lot of options for a drop-out. Eventually, she stumbled across a dazzlingly new start-up company, which peddled a newly patented moisturizer that was sure to brighten up one’s complexion, as well as boasting many health benefits. Sharp enough to recognize a pyramid scheme when she saw one, Cass hatched up a half-baked plan to get-rich-quick, which hinged entirely on her non-existent charisma and (in)ability to entice others.

(Credit: @prozac​)

While Cass did let her girlfriend know about this idea, she intentionally fudged it to make it look a lot better than it actually was. Her girlfriend warily acquiesced. Very shockingly, Cassandra was unable to find many people interested in the company’s snake-oil. She not only suffered a bruise to her self-esteem, but she also began to lose a lot of money, very quickly. Soon unable to hide her burgeoning debt, she and her girlfriend got into a fight over Cass’ shortsightedness and lack of trust. Furious, wounded, and feeling self-destructive, Cass stole her (now ex-)girlfriend’s college funds to pay off her debts and then ran off. Despite having now scammed many people in various life-ruining ways, this will always be Cass’ low point.

During her grifter years, she also came across communities of people who had also had powers, even if the actual mechanics of them were very different from her prophesizing. Eventually, she learned of the existence of a magical government who supposedly takes care of all magical denizens. Learning that she had been excluded for whatever reason only increased her feelings of hurt and betrayal that she had cultivated as a child. She now bears a deep grudge against them (despite never having really interacted with them), and she feels a vicious sense of superiority over anybody else in the magical community.

She is currently rooming in a flat with her ex-husband, Darryl, the leader of a werewolf motorcycle pack, as well as the eight members of the aforementioned pack. She essentially catfished Darryl, but he became so enamored with her they married within two weeks of knowing each other, only to divorce a week later when he caught her selling off the marriage rings she had supposedly “lost” on e-bay. A doomed romantic, he believes the “love” she showed him was too pure to be false, and he believes he can fix her heart. Cass enjoys having a stable roof over her head, although she’s counting the days until she finally breaks his rosy vision of her, leaving her alone once more.

Here’s her Spotify playlist