#like its insane that we pay for public healthcare

[clorofolle]

Trying to figure out what's been causing my migraines and finally have some leads!

Suspect n.1: my iPad. Another artist friend apparently started getting AWFUL migraines once she started using it, and swears she solved it with blue light filter glasses.

Apparently the iPad *can* cause migraines, because of the way it regulates luminosity which is different from most like laptops or screens. AND I did get the most intense migraine after like the first busy month after I bought it, when I drew on the iPad most days.

So this sucks, but I'm gonna try the blue light filter - and while redoing an eye checkup for the new glasses (last time was 6 yrs ago oops), the ppl at the eye center took the fact that I was having migraines pretty seriously and basically double-checked to see if my eye muscles were like. Always a bit too tense to make up for my eyesight EVEN with glasses and it turns out they were right!

It was pretty cool, they basically paralyze the muscle that makes the pupil focus so that it HAS to stay relaxed, and then check your eyesight again. And yeah I needed a bit of a correction on both eyes! This was also the most pleasant medical thingy I've had to do thus far - the technicians that checked up my eyes were young women who took me seriously and patiently explained what they were doing when I had curiosities.

It's a bit sad to say but I always light up when I see younger women at these jobs bc in my experience they're the only ones who take me seriously and treat me kindly. Like they basically did my eyesight check twice because they were worried about my constant headaches and knew eyes can play a part. Bless their hearts and I hope they go on to be full on doctors bc we need more healthcare professionals like them <3

[autumnmobile12]

My Hero Academia: Healthcare?

I don't know if any fanfic writers will find this useful or not, but I think the information is interesting and worth speculation in the My Hero setting. This also applies to any fanfic writers in the anime fandoms who want to have more immersive and in-depth writing. Obviously, writing fics that are 'accurate' is not a requirement since the point is to have fun, but here's some knowledge to use (or not use) if anyone is interested.

Obviously, Deku's been in the hospital a lot. A lot of the characters are injured and in the hospital a lot. But for all the hospital visits, nobody in the series is going to be bankrupted by astronomical healthcare costs. (Yes, that's a jab at America's system.) And it's not because the Pros, especially the popular ones, have money.

Here's why:

Quick rundown of how healthcare in Japan works: Everybody receives healthcare, everybody has health insurance. In Japan, your employer is legally required to provide you with health insurance. If you are unemployed, you will be on a community healthcare plan. There is also a plan for citizens over the age of 75. This also applies to foreigners who have established permanent residence of three months or longer.

Article 25 of Japan's Constitution is paraphrased as follows:

“all people shall have the right to maintain a certain standard of healthy and cultured life” and that “the state shall try to promote and improve the conditions of social welfare, social security, and public health” for this purpose.

I'm not going to reiterate the system in its entirety, but if you would like to learn more, this site here (the Article 25 quote I used is also found on that page) has a brief and comprehensive explanation of how healthcare is handled. However, one thing I am going to mention that is relevant for Deku and other Pros is the threshold out-of-pocket expense.

In Japan, citizens enrolled in healthcare do not spend more than ¥90,000 per month out of pocket, protecting them from financial disaster.

(To Americans, this may sound like a sweet deal, but hold your horses because Japan also funds this system through heavy taxation. Medical procedures are expensive and people will be paying for them one way or another.)

The question that needs asking now is how does this system apply to the hero society? Well, first off, since My Hero does take place in a slightly futuristic setting, we could take into consideration the system has been revised.

Assuming not much as changed, are heroes that operate their own agency technically considered business owners and are required to insure their employees and sidekicks?

Or...

Because they are all government employees, is the Safety Commission responsible for insuring all heroes and sidekicks no matter what they rank in their popularity?

Personally, I think it would be the latter since, in the coldest sense of the word, the heroes are essential to the Commission in upholding their system. So that makes them an asset. The Commission would want to protect its assets because as shady as they are, their own system could work against them. They certainly don't want heroes going on strike for lack of benefits or complaining the government doesn't take care of their people. So I assume it's the Commission who is covering insane healthcare costs on behalf of heroes.

(And since the system is probably funded by taxpayers' money, that also feeds into the prevalent societal discontent that's ongoing throughout the series.)

Now what about Deku and his classmates since they have not graduated and are not officially licensed yet? Honestly, I think it's probably UA itself that insures the students. That probably has to do with accreditation and so on, which is another matter entirely, but again, the backing is likely coming out of the Commission (and taxpayers') pockets.

And there you have it. Happy writing, happy research.

[4dtk]

stuck with you

pairing: enemy!journalist!haechan x journalist!reader

genre: angst, fluff, humour, enemies to lovers (hope i did the trope justice tbh TT)

warnings: cursing, f words lmao, i mention stranger things a lot in this??? mainly bc i just finished watching it w a friend. i also only use ‘haechan’ when narrating the story so i don’t get confused! the timeline for this is Very Weird as well bc like i didn’t consider how long a pandemic would last…… so Uhm. pls just excuse the weird ass time sequence. also referenced yangyang’s bastard child behaviour from dream plan where he packs his things messily and kun had to mf intervene and yangyang had the audacity to go like “see, this is how u get ppl to pack for you, now i don’t have to do anything” 💀

word count: 8k (a headache to proofread...)

A/N: first time trying an e2l trope and im not sure if it was done ok??? i didn't want it to feel too rushed so i tried to spread out the days as much as i could!! i also included small snippets of their life w the other so it won’t seem like the fic is just focusing on the e2l concept! was inspired tons by the lyrics of stuck with u by ariana grande and jb, so that song is definitely something you can listen to if you read this! hope you enjoy ^^

[day 1]

"you're insufferable," you groan, reluctantly handing over the remote control for the hotel's television after some unsuccessful scrolling.

hotels never exactly had much range anyway. 

you were very much already dreading the time ahead with the male, sadly having been stuck in quarantine not even half a day with haechan. 

offering to go to a neighbouring country to report on the rising covid-19 situation, you didn't expect your rival to tag along, no doubt seeking to craft up a better story than you would.

and so, you were now nudging the remote control into his waiting palm with a roll of your eyes. you hoped it emphasised your annoyance with him even a little, standing up to prepare a cup of tea before bed. 

"are you going to keep watching television while i sleep?" you ask a genuine question, peeking at him through the mirror of the vanity that sat outside the bathroom.

he just shrugs with a tired sigh, turning his attention back to the cartoon playing in front of him. 

"okay, well, keep to your side of the bed and i'll stay in mine. we need to be social distancing, anyway."

there's a hint of "okay, loser" mumbled under his breath, but you pay it no thought as you finish your tea and brush your teeth before you skillfully set up a fortress made out of pillows.

"ow! what the hell?" 

"your leg was in the way, jeez! move it, and i'll stop annoying you," you said, putting up the last of your requested pillows beside where haechan currently sat. 

taking one last glance at haechan, you wondered when the lockdown in your country would last before they start letting people fly in. for now, you were trapped with the nightmare himself in a sad hotel room, with only a bed to share.

"goodnight," he tells you, but the sardonic way he says it irks you to the point where you settle for silence instead. the only thing that drones on are the voices of the cartoon, soon fading as you feel into a dreamless sleep.

[day 4]

"this virus thing is probably driving me insane by day, and you, lee haechan, are adding on to it!"

"no headlines, no idea what style to write in, minimal pictures-" the doorbell to the hotel room interrupts your current rant, prompting you to storm off to answer the call with an annoyed look. 

"what now?" taken aback by your quick response, the housekeeping girl retracts with downturned eyebrows and a voice hesitant to speak. your roommate comes to the rescue almost immediately when he's heard the commotion.

you watch as he sends her a smile and a wink, deflating when he's let her in to clean up the room. you're not sure why you can't keep your eyes off the both of them as they converse, blaming it mostly on your hatred for the male.

with the last of her duties fulfilled, you offer to help her with the cleaning supplies as an apology, but she cuts you off almost immediately. there's a linger in her step, however, as she walks the short hallway to the door, evident in wanting haechan to send her off as he received her.

turning back to call him, he holds up a hand as he types down his opening lines to an article, prompting you to shoot the housekeeper girl another apologetic look.

"sorry again," you mumble, letting out a sigh at how this was all playing out. day four and you were already making enemies with the hotel crew.

"maybe day forty-one is where i fall in love with lee haechan," you scoffed, perhaps listing down all the unfortunate things that could happen while you were in quarantine.

one of them was catching feelings for your rival.

rolling your eyes, you settled on the bed to catch a few Zs as he continued to work on his article, though you weren't exactly sure about the weight your words held.

[day 9]

"haechan, what is this?" you ask with an eyebrow raised, his dirty boxers barely hanging off your finger. 

haechan only groans at that, knowing you were relentless in the laundry. even in a pandemic, he was sure you'd prioritise your clothes first.

"jesus! don't go picking up my underwear just like that!" he snatches it from you, folding it neatly and placing it next to where his luggage sat. unfortunately, yours was right beside his. 

"you think just because you're doing the laundry you're able to look through a man's prized possessions-!"

your jaw drops, "it was near the sink, haechan! i don't want to look at the checkered pattern on your boxers when i brush my teeth. i don't want it near my face either." 

haechan groans yet again, running a hand through his hair in frustration before turning back to the computer, a blank document opened up in front of him.

despite gathering findings, interviewing healthcare workers and serving the public alongside frontline staff, he had deleted every attempt at writing.

there's a rumble from the bathroom, perhaps from your upset stomach or the choked pipe, but sometimes they sounded too similar he couldn't tell it apart. haechan stifles a laugh when there's a "fuck!" echoing behind the door, though unsure if he should help you or not.

when haechan hears another crash, he comes running without hesitation with a face morphed into furrowed eyebrows and a tilt of the head.

"don't just stand there, you moron!" 

haechan snaps out of his daze to assist you off the floor, swiftly helping you even more off the floor as he carries you to the bed with a stiff one arm. you notice his other hand hanging awkwardly, probably not knowing what to do with it before you feel the soft sheets under your butt.

he gets to work within a minute, fishing for an ointment and some bandages his mother forced him to bring. he remembers it as he always has: a caring mother looking out for her son, maybe a little too much sometimes. 

haechan is thankful for his mother, now, for the stray bandages laying around in his pouch.

you watch in silence as he cleans the cut with alcohol, wincing when his hand hadn't even touched your skin.

"my hand isn't even on your skin yet! jeez, calm down." 

you shake your head, holding onto his bicep to halt his arm, "just use water, please."

exhaling in exasperation, you wonder if you've pissed him off tenfold when he leaves for the bathroom with a side-eyed glance, though not hostile.

"problematic," haechan whispers, dabbing a wet cloth over the wound carefully before applying the ointment and securing the bandages. 

"your words contradict your actions so much, haechan. i never know what you're thinking." sighing, you pull your leg away from his hold after he's done with the bandages, making your way to the bathroom and leaving him in his thoughts.

"why do you want to know?"

haechan gets silence; the lock of the bathroom audibly turns to signal another wall put up between the two of you. with another frustrated groan, the boy plops down on the chair to work on his article with the right words forming in his mind.

even if he was the one who asked, he wasn't sure if he was ready to tell you.

[day 13]

"stranger things is freaking me the fuck out, man!" haechan whispered, ignoring your pleads and groans to continue writing. 

"haechan! give me the damn laptop! i don't even know why you brought an HDMI cable when it doesn't work with the television system here!"

"well, we got one that matches it, didn't we?" he said, eyes peeled to the screen that showed the young boy, will, in the upside-down.

"you mean you did!" you shoved him, ready to disconnect the devices before haechan held you back, clearly entranced by the next sequence of eleven being able to see will in a pool of salt. 

"ugh, god, i don't even know why people watch the show!" you spill with sourness, knowing the show was praised for its excellent acting and writing.

haechan raises an eyebrow, turning to you with a strangely slow speed. 

"stranger things have received multiple awards, and you didn't give any other reason. are you scared?"

when you struggle to find words, haechan laughs at his revelation, hiding his pearly whites behind his hand as he continues to make fun of you.

"yeah yeah, i'm scared! so what?" 

"'oh haechan! oh no~ i'm terrified, would you care to provide some comfort?' jeez, don't worry, man, i'll protect you." there's a cheeky glimmer in his eyes and a cocky smirk on his face which you very much want to wipe off with the disinfectant in the toilet.

"it's not all that bad, c'mon! give it a-" turning back to the tv, the sudden attack of the demogorgon lashing out at the camera has the male screaming, hiding behind your body in fear.

"you were saying, mr superman?" you deadpan, unlatching his arms around your waist as you sink deeper into the sheets with your phone in hand.

[day 17]

haechan thrashes in his sleep, almost knocking the wine glass you had in your hands when he crosses over the pillow barrier you made. 

"what in the hell-" you winced, keeping an eye on the male should he have any more outbursts that would ruin both wine night and the stuff you were working on for the article. 

with tipsy hands, your keyboard keys unconsciously write out a letter of disdain and confusion regarding haechan, the boy sleeping next to you with a cute drooling face and curly hair.

with beautiful tan skin like that, you wondered why he didn't model instead. with a voice as impressive as his, you wondered why he didn't sign a contract. with natural hosting capabilities, you wondered why didn't fucking get the place of a talk show host. 

because man, he can get pretty bothersome sometimes.

[day 20]

the next few days pass by with a breeze.

despite not knowing how the current pandemic will turn out, you find haechan more bearable, his habits being dumped in the past with a wave of a hand.

petty arguments occur, of course, until one of you brushes off the matter like nothing.

today was one of the days you won't back down.

there's worry evident on your face, eyes scanning through every last document on the stupid laptop. fingers travel fast over the keyboard as the realisation slowly dawns on you. 

with slumped shoulders, you take a deep breath before turning to the male.

"what do you mean you accidentally deleted my article? i know we're sharing the damn laptop, but we established that you stay on your files and i stay on mine."

the other waved his hand, "i did not touch any of your files, (y/n), i'm not sure what happened."

"how could you not know? what the hell? i had good content on it, but now i have to spend more hours reorganising the news and interview answers and everything else in my notes. thanks, lee haechan."

"maybe if you weren't so caught up in me trying to sabotage your place in the publication team, then you would've believed me." he shrugged, taking a seat on the one bed like nothing.

you scoffed, arms crossing across your body. "funny how you mention sabotage because a villain never reveals their motive. that's why you came with me, didn't you?"

haechan stuck his tongue out to the side of his mouth, eyes blinking and rolling like an 8-ball that it sickened you to the core.

"villain? i'm the villain?"

"was i not clear?" you hiss, stepping closer to the male.

"no, make it more precise, please. i wanna hear it word for word. spit it out, coward."

with every word, you plunged your finger into his chest, looking deep into his eyes. "you're set out to take my place for department editor, where you know i'm best at."

"and that department would be...?" he crossed his arms, looking down at you with scorn you wished you could slap off his face.

"the..." you gulp with his face all up in yours, eyes boring as he awaits your answer, no doubt losing confidence at your realisation.

"the world depart...ment? you love to travel, right?" you trail off, biting your lip in anxiety when you remember how he was on the plane. you don't exactly remember whether he was more excited or scared.

"wrong! try again."

"politics?" you propose.

haechan's face contorts into disbelief, with his mouth twisted with perplex and eyebrows furrowed. "me? politics?"

your mouth runs dry at the roadblock you've faced, and as that annoying, stupid smirk grows, your hatred for him increases by the charts.

"naming departments i'd rather die than join, running your mouth, accusing me of deleting your files..." haechan shakes his head dramatically, rolling his eyes and letting out a fat sigh.

"you think i wanna be stuck here with your infuriating ass? god, you're so entitled, aren't you? aren't you?!"

"talking like you own the place, talking like you're the only one in this world, talking like- mhfh-"

within three angry steps, you were across the room.

within three booming steps, your hands were on his face.

within three significant steps, you were kissing lee haechan.

"you never learn to shu..." with horror, you're brought back from the trance with widened eyes.

"oh, god, sorry. what. what the hell. what the fuck?" you whisper, pushing the boy away with both hands in a panic, trying to highlight your scorn for him by wiping your lips on your sleeve.

had you liked it?

the other scurried to the balcony in a frenzy while you collected yourself in the bathroom, although no amount of water could calm your nerves. 

with shaky words in bed, you both agreed to never talk about it again.

[day 25]

"hey, i can see your damn annotations on my article, (y/n). will you stop it?" haechan whines, making you second guess if he was joking or not.

for the nth time that day, you roll your eyes and proceed to sip from your cup of gin tonic that haechan desperately wanted you to try. it was... a refreshing taste, but hell, you wouldn't drink this even if it was the last beverage on earth.

"i'm just giving my feedback, be thankful i didn't bring up that stupid kiss five days ago. bleugh." 

haechan falls quiet at that, fingers lingering over the keyboard as he typed out some note with the speed of a sloth's. 

"hey, call me donghyuck. that's my actual name," he mumbles, glancing at you through his bangs while he awaits your reply.

"donghyuck? is haechan an alias?"

the boy shrugs, "i don't know, maybe. my friends gave it to me when i was younger, and i just stuck with it."

"full sun? your friend gave it to you, sure." you grin with a gesture of your hand, almost spilling the gin in the clear glass before breaking into small laughter with the other.

[day 28]

"hey! hey, what the hell?" you whisper, feeling the boy huddle up to you in lightning speed. 

"what is wrong with you?" you whisper-shout, nudging him off your body as his phone screen remains as the only thing illuminating his face.

"sorry, i- i was watching stranger things while i was shitting and after i cleaned up... i heard something and bolted out of there."

"so now you're butt naked? hyuck, ew!" you groan, thankful for the sheets that were covering your body and his junk. his reluctance to get off you didn't seem to bother you as much as earlier, but you still wished he wasn't literally naked against you.

"go put on your underwear, you big baby. i'll be here when you come out. no demogorgon is going to come out, for real."

"no no, i was watching season two and it was that big shadow thingy that freaked me out. can't you feel this poor boy shivering?" haechan sighed, eyes never leaving the corridor that led to the bathroom.

"i can, and i also can feel your dick. please get dressed, or you're sleeping on the floor," you mumble, pulling the sheets to cover your freezing body.

[day 31] 

your face hits something soft, cuddling into it even further because of its warmth before you realise there was only one other thing that would be warm in the room.

haechan.

your breath shakes, and your eyes widen as you pull yourself away from his embrace. your subtle movement leaves him thrashing around, though, and his arms tighten around your figure slowly and endearingly.

gulping, you will your hands to stay in their place, opting to freeze to death although there are hints of heat crawling onto your face.

when you wake up, you find that his hand's in yours and maybe you were searching for one wrong thing. an anomaly, an exception. it fit in yours perfectly, however, his tanned skin glowing lightly under the rays of sun filtering through the curtains.

you hoped he didn't realise the small shift of your fingers as they enclosed around his hand.

[day 32]

"what are you doing out here?" haechan asked quietly, peeking around the sliding door before joining you on the chilly balcony. it wasn't much, but it was still different and refreshing from the old, stagnant aircon air that was blowing in the hotel room.

"can't sleep," you whisper. you had your arms around your figure cautiously, as if it could protect you from all the bad, evil and terror in the world. at this point, you weren't sure what was it that you were feeling, but it sure didn't involve entertaining haechan's teasing. 

luckily, he bit his tongue from making the usual snarky remarks.

"it's two in the morning, what's up?" 

you shake your head in reply, watching the empty streets as the last light in the apartment across you switches off. sure, at two in the morning, pavements were dusty clean, and the birds were sleeping, but there would always be younger boys smoking along the road, or a drunken group of friends laughing about a past memory. 

now that the pandemic forced everyone into their homes, everything was pretty much dead. there wasn't that excitement you felt when you saw a late-night kiss shared between two lovers or the snug hug of a child to his father who was working overtime that day.

"nothing's up, hyuck, it's fine. you can get back to sleep if you want."

maybe today you two were the one causing the ruckus this time, though. haechan may have let his words slipped, and at that moment, you knew you regretted that bloom in your chest when his lips met yours.

"you're so hard to read, (y/n). i want you to be able to trust me, tell me what's going on."

"why do you wanna know anyway? so you can expose me of my bad habits and weak points?" you whisper, eyes trained on the flickering lamppost a few yards away.

"there you go again! again with the sabotage?" haechan scoffed, exiting the small space and stepping back into the room of mixed emotions.

"is this just about your feelings for me?" 

haechan laughed, "my feelings? might i remind you that you were the one who kissed me full on the lips twelve days ago? what was that all about? i wanna talk about it, even though we said we wouldn't! i wanna talk about why you hate me so much. i wanna talk about why your emotions are so contradictive!" 

your mouth hangs open as you sputter out a heated reply, but instead gets interrupted with a knock on the door. 

"keep quiet, you damn teenagers! i don't need your petty fights at two in the morning!" with padded feet, the guest returns to his room and slams the door to emphasise his complaint. swallowing, your mind goes blank as it focuses only on one question.

"why do you want to know so much lee haechan? what are you gaining out of this? if it's not sabotaging, then what is it?!" you whisper, standing your ground as with the first argument. 

your throat is clenched up, and your fists are balled up tightly with nails digging into your palm. your heartbeat races like a fast car and your breathing's laboured in the cold room. there's no movement for a second, though they feel like minutes on end as haechan struggles to answer your question.

"what is it, lee donghyuck?" you cry out again, the sparkle in your eyes shining brightly from the tears of your never-ending dispute. he wished it was from the moonlight, instead. he wished the two of you were laughing over the rim of wine glasses and sharing the mischievous glimmer of the moon in your eyes.

"it's nothing. don't mind it." the other turns to catch up on sleep, leaving you to bite your lip.

"now you're doing it, now you're the one doing it. just tell me, you dumbass!" you mumble, pulling on his pyjama sleeve and tugging you to him.

"i like you, okay! it's out there now, i like you a lot, but you make it feel like a crime to do it," haechan whispers, "whatever. fuck this."

"no- what- no, we'll talk this out." you propose, adjusting your grip on his wrist with the curl of your fingers.

the male shakes his head and snatches his arm back, "no, forget it, and i'd prefer if you left me alone, (y/n)."

even with the warmth of his body next to yours, your body felt frozen and stiff. even with the thick duvet cover over you, you felt out of place in the stale hotel room, with colour becoming black and white, they merge into grey as the moonlight shone without a care for your problems.

there's action on the balcony when your eyes flutter open in the morning, noticing the quiet way haechan observes those rushing to work as well as social distancing officers making their rounds.

his eyes look hopeful and youthful, different from the tired ones the night before, or rather, this morning. you hadn't forgotten the angry neighbour banging on the door, and you definitely hadn't forgotten about how much you've wounded haechan this morning.

with a soft knock, you let him know of your presence and you just miss the way his eyes soften at your bed hair and messy appearance. his gaze turns hard in a second as he turns back to the apartment across yours, the balcony door showing your reflection of how hesitant you were.

haechan wished he could take your hands in his and accept your apology in a heartbeat, but he stayed seated and waited for whatever you wanted to say.

"don't run off, please." there's a shameful hand on his shoulders, and he's dying to get up when he sees your downcast eyes in the reflection across the street.

"i was too caught up in getting department head that i... didn't consider other possibilities. even the possibility of you uhm... liking me. it's still a weird concept to me, especially with how much we bicker."

"i'm sorry i didn't stay to hear out your feelings and rather, i just talked over you instead. i'm not sure if you want to accept this or not, but i want to open up—about this, about your feelings and... i don't know how much i've masked my emotions, i just know that we need to communicate."

the doorbell interrupts your apology, but you internally thank the housekeeping for bringing breakfast for the two of you.

with silence over breakfast, you weren't sure how the other felt as he scoffed down the croissant and almost burned his tongue with the coffee he ordered.

[day 33] 

the boy barely watches the television and instead, reads over the article you were working on. seeing as it was already there when he logged on, he skimmed through it out of curiosity, finding that you were rephrasing the messy typos and sentences frantically on your notes.

haechan never forgot the way you were typing away on the laptop, eyes reading and rereading the sentences to make sure they made sense, to make sure they were clear to the reader. 

the argument had taken a toll on you, too. he sees it in the way your eyes sink when your words turn out choppy and lacking, he sees it in the way you lug your body to the bathroom after a late night, he sees it in the way you struggle to hold your smile while attending an interview. 

'haechan. you confuse me. i'm not...' the note below it trails off, piquing his curiosity at what it had in store.

'haechan.' big and bold letters it wrote, with a few dozen question marks below it. your writing skills shine through even in an informal note about your self-proclaimed rival, each line prompting the other to read more.

'you confuse me. i'm not sure what you're at but, it doesn't seem natural for you to tag along with someone you hate, right? that's what i was thinking too.'

'jeez, i remember hating when suyeon told me you were coming along. i didn't believe her one bit until she showed me your plane ticket and the hotel rooms next to each other. god, and when i came here, it was a day of interviewing before the damn government decided to close flights and force us into a room together.'

'i heard that other people had to be separated. i didn't know why we were the unlucky two that had to be put in a room together. i wished we didn't, almost. of course, you annoyed me when we first moved in. hogging the tv to no end, leaving your dirty underwear everywhere, running your mouth just like at our workplace.'

'i couldn't take it, maybe. sure, my brother has similar antics, but there was just something about you that just set me off, you know? i wouldn't have thought it was the opposite, or at least, i think so.'

'i'm counting the days. day 17 and i'm not sure why i feel this bubbling feeling inside me. of course, there's anger—i'm sure it's there, but there's also this other thing i get whenever i look at you.'

'my heart clenches up, and my hands become clammy, but it couldn't be a crush, right? i would've wasted my breath shouting, and my strength whacking your shoulder.' that makes haechan chuckle and look over at you where the soft light dances over your face.

'and then i started imagining. how would your arms wrap around me? how would your infuriating laughter, which somehow turned out to be so contagious, feel in the crook of my neck? yikes, that was cheesy.'

'what would it feel like if we fell in love for one night? where would you bring me and what would we eat? would we make out in your car like unruly teenagers?' 

'what would it be like to love you? it's dumb, isn't it? i don't know. i've liked this bickering thing we had going on, and it's amusing to see you one-up me. i'm not sure if i want that to change and i'm not sure if you want us to, either.'

'maybe i'm wrong, and i'm the only one in this thing. this is so stupid, writing while he's sitting next to me. i'll regret this, maybe. goodnight.'

haechan sighs, closing the device in thought, confused at the words he wasn't exactly supposed to read. had you done this on purpose? he was sharing the laptop with you...

the boy brushed it off, placing the laptop on the vanity before adjusting your side of the duvet, hoping he could find the right words. with hesitant steps, he keeps to his side of the bed, thinking, thinking, thinking. 

when he couldn't no more, haechan fell into the spell of slumber in the comfortable hotel room.

[day 34]

"tea?" he asks from the bathroom as the door clicks behind you, returning from the short hotel walk with a new keychain hanging from your sling bag.

"yeah sure, thanks." 

the water runs as he fills up the kettle as the constant whir of the aircon and the conversation on the television keeps you company in the vast quietness of the room. 

you weren't sure if you should say anything, but when you saw the dishevelled appearance of your roommate, you knew you had to bring up the argument and apology.

"haechan, about our... feelings. do you want to talk about them?" you whispered, a reply reaching your ears in the form of his spoon against the porcelain mug.

haechan hands you the drink wordlessly, sitting on the chair at the vanity before sipping cautiously at the tea. there are unexchanged glances between the two of you before he sighs at your expectant hand tapping the sheets.

"i think it's about time we did," he mumbled, dragging the laptop off the wooden table with anxiety. the other opened it without saying anything, catching you by surprise when the mouse hovers over your note.

"hae- donghyuck! no! what the hell?"

he holds up a hand and clicks on it anyway, making your heart drop to your stomach as he turned the device towards you.

"read the bottom." haechan whispers as you pull the laptop closer to you, settling it on your lap as he observed your expressions carefully.

'i read it, i'm sorry.' you look at him and lift up a hand to prepare to whack him, a defeated sigh escaping you before you carried on.

'was it wrong to read it? of course, and i cannot apologise more for doing shit like that when we still have unsolved tension between us in this small ass room. it was incorrect, but.'

'do you feel the same as me? is bickering all we have to do? why can't we work anything out? they're the questions i keep asking myself after i read your letter.'

'i guess i was too caught up in the fight and not wanting to be the loser that i... can't deny that i've never thought about wanting to get to know you, even if you were that sought out to be my destined enemy.'

'when we fought earlier, you kissed me. i know we said not to mention it, but, uhm, it was good. i liked it. i'm not sure if the reason why you did it was because of the reason you mentioned in the note, but at the time, i assumed it was to shut me up. i thought something would happen after, though you pushed me away and apologised right away.'

'it was a far off dream that i had, but i think it was after i bandaged your foot. you said that you didn't know what was going on in my mind, and i told you.'

'it was like, i was granted an insight into an alternate world, another universe where you didn't feel the strain, where you legitimately assumed i was going for your position.'

'you scoffed when i confessed, right then and there, on day 9. i was counting, too, and it was a scary, confusing dream. i think that's why i held it off as long as i could until your words puzzled and angered me further because you just didn't get it.'

'you scoffed and told me to get lost, pushing on my shoulders where we fought on the balcony for everyone to see. you never spoke to me, you never mentioned my article nor the interviews. we never joked over wine, and we always kept to our side of the bed.'

'i was convinced that heaven wanted me to stay away from you and your heart. maybe it was broken too many times, and you had someone up there looking out for you.'

'i feel like i'm copying off the textbook of some greek mythology starter pack, but i'm for real! no kidding.' you smiled, looking at him with nervous eyes at the small joke he put in.

'i guess whoever put that dream in my sleep really wanted us not to be together because i think i would've told you i liked you on the spot itself. i let my conscious get the best of me.'

'i know this is a lazy way of conveying my feelings, and i wished i could do it with words, but i feel like you wouldn't believe me otherwise. i rushed it this morning when you went on your morning walk around the hotel and when you let me know of your stroll in a soft voice, i wanted nothing more than to get you in my arms as we wake up to the housekeeping service.'

'i didn't want any more tension between us, and i didn't want to be interrupted by your alarm while we avoid each other more. it hurts seeing you escape the room in haste. you said it was weird for me to tag along with someone i hate, too, and that someone was you. i guess you found out why.'

looking up, you found him right in front of you, mouth dry from his reply to your letter. with a gulp, you leaned forward to meet his lips halfway.

"i'm sorry to whoever's up there," he whispers, prompting a grin and a laugh out of you.

the laptop is forgotten on the bed as haechan situates himself over you, clutching your shoulder gently while his lips move quickly, fast to make up for lost time. 

"wait wait, wait, you're not playing me, are you?" you mumble in return, reluctantly pulling away while witnessing the way his eyes soften at your guard still up. haechan shakes his head forlornly, tongue pressing up against the side of his mouth nervously.

"no, i'm not, (y/n)," he says quietly with as much sincerity he can muster, removing his hand from your shoulder with a forced smile. 

"okay." there's a shakiness to your voice, but when you bring his lips back to yours, it gives you a rush of confidence. your skin is burning up, and your hands can't stop wandering as his lips capture yours, repeatedly moving against yours like a trance.

you grant haechan access to your mouth with a whimper, melting into his embrace as his arms wrap tighter around your figure. his eagerness lingers when he pushes forward, straddling your lap as his leg nudges the laptop.

"wait, hyuck, wait, the laptop!" you joke, placing the device on the floor before getting back into the kiss with just as much fervour. within a minute or so, the other breaks away to say the words you so hated to hear:

"we... we need to talk. we can't just kiss the fight off, although i very much like to," haechan murmurs the last part, making you stifle a smile. 

you nod quickly, repeating the word "okay" like a robot. your hands naturally travel from his arms down to his fingers, and you clutch them like your life depended on it.

"we have... established, that i like you, correct?" haechan whispers, scooting closer as his tea-ridden breath surrounds you. from here, you could even smell the buttered croissant he ate this morning.

it made you smile, something simple as that.

"why- why are you laughing (y/n)?" he asks anxiously, eyes darting to find the reason why you found this so funny.

"no. no no no, i'm thinking of... the croissant you ate just now, and," you sigh, resting your head on his broad shoulder. 

"i'm thinking of the way your eyes light up when you show me the articles you idolise so much, and i'm thinking of the way you cuddle up to me whenever we watch stranger things." 

"i'm thinking of the way you thought i wouldn't give you a chance, even though i've been pondering on the same thing as you. i'm thinking of the things that make up lee haechan, lee donghyuck. yes, you like me, and yes i like you, but i guess i haven't told you the reason."

"i hated you, i really did. i found every reason to convince my mind to hate you. gaining trust, signing up for events you didn't know shit about, sucking up to the seniors, stealing my friends when they didn't know your personality. the personality i didn't even want to know because i was too busy in my little bubble."

"assuming you'd want to get department head was the cherry on top, because why else would you want to tag along? that was the factor that convinced me and confirmed my suspicions from day one."

you grunt in opposition, clearly not liking the truth that was spilling from your lips. haechan deserved to know, however. you kept your eyes trained on his lap where his hands were holding yours in support, crumbling from the blindness that caused your hatred. 

"so from then, the plane ride, immigration, the cab to the interview place, the cab back, the hotel room, my hatred for you boiled over." you listed, voice breaking as you looked haechan in the eye. 

"it was stupid of me to assume, to assume the worst of you when i didn't even know you. i wasn't even sure why i felt so bitter looking at you, but the way you acted, the way you whined, worked me up so much that i figured that was how you were."

"now when i'm sitting here with the curtains drawn, i can see why you're so attractable and easy to talk to and easy-going and bright that my friends keep talking to you."

"i can see why the seniors turn to you because you're reliable and hardworking without uttering a single word."

"i can see why you wanted to hop on this flight with me because you're always curious about the world and how you can expand your skill set."

and as you said word after word, haechan observes you with a soothing hand against your forearms. his eyes shine for a different reason, for the lost time he could've had if the two of you didn't have this massive barrier. a massive barrier that's been up for the longest time. 

brick by brick, the wall is being torn down. as you hold haechan's face in the stillness of the room, you feel closer to him than you've ever felt and his tears match your frustrated ones. 

choking on sobs, delayed apologies were all you could whisper.

"i'm sorry, i'm sorry, really. we fought so bad that day, and i was so goddamn insensitive..." you sigh, swallowing a lump when his hand reached up to wipe the tears. with a blocked nose, you breathe shakily as housekeeping interrupts the moment. 

you nod towards the door as he stood up slowly to reveal the same housekeeping girl. she cleaned up the bathroom and wardrobe quietly as the two of you stood awkwardly in the small space. she had left the sheets since everyone was practically stuck in, anyway.

haechan nudges you toward the door with a shove, shooting the same housekeeping girl a small smile and a bow as an apology to the previous run-in.

"he confessed his feelings?" she inquired softly, noticing the tear marks on your face.

you bit your lip, "yeah."

"that's good, he's finally not a coward." she laughs, folding the used towels and placing them with her.

you leaned against the door, asking for an explanation with your puzzled look.

"he was someone i liked, before. we had classes back in high school. it was just a dumb crush, honestly." the housekeeping girl shrugs, resting her head on her fist in thought.

"i think he liked me, and i did too, but we didn't do much except for exchange looks and flirt because both of us were just too scared." she shakes her head and adjusts the disinfectant spray bottle, fidgeting with the nozzle.

"i'm glad he had enough courage to admit his feelings." 

nodding along to her statement, she bids you farewell as her figure fades with each step, leaving you with a sense of calmness to the end of this situation.

[day 38]

"is... is this okay?" haechan asks, arm hovering over your body while waiting for your confirmation. you smile and nod, sinking into his side as you venture in the third season of stranger things together. 

"don't you think we should be working on our articles?" you whisper, looking up at him from where you were with raised eyebrows.

the boy opens and closes his mouth in thought, gesturing to the television with an exaggerated expression. 

"stranger things, ma'am."

you click your tongue and sigh with a smile, turning back to the show as you try to relax for an online interview in a few hours.

[day 39]

"what do you say about my set-up?" haechan nudges you, proud of the hangout area he prepared on the balcony. although small, he had no trouble making it look comfortable. 

with a smile, you pop open the wine to celebrate the last scheduled interview for the trip, clinking glasses with haechan in the setting sun.

the country you were supposed to return to was slowly opening up flights for those stranded overseas and as refreshing as a different environment was, you missed home and the warmness of it.

you missed the office and your desk. hell, you even missed the mediocre coffee from the pantry.

with the last of the wine finishing, haechan pours half into your glass and the other into his, clinking one last time before you one-shot the beverage.

the high of the alcohol is gradually brought down by the mellow atmosphere and colours of twilight. as pink and orange cross over on the horizon, haechan mumbles a low "c'mere" to you in the darkness.

you hum in response and get up from your seat, bringing a pillow with you as haechan shifts to make space. sinking naturally into his arms, you sigh while you try to contain a smile full of content.

"this is nice," you admit, the corners of your lips disobeying your command, prompting you to shoot him a smile. haechan nods against your hair, a comfortable arm around your waist while you trace the tan skin of his arm.

the other taps your waist repeatedly, turning in response as he whispers out a question that makes your heart melt.

"can i kiss you?" you grin, slipping a hand around his neck and pulling him in right away. haechan's caught by surprise, laughing into your lips and striving to savour the moment as much as he could. 

a shout from across the hotel distracts you from the kiss. looking up, you realise it was the apartment resident opposite you shooting you a 'rock on' gesture.

"you guys are not fighting anymore! congrats!" you both stifle a snort as you wave back to the resident, sighing in relief when their balcony door slides shut.

"should we go inside, m'lady?" haechan giggles, replying in the form of a nod, cleaning up the area while you head in.

[day 41]

"i didn't think they'd be letting flights in so early," you mumble, folding your clothes neatly as your vision shifts to haechan... shoving his fair share of apparel into his luggage.

"donghyuck... what the hell?" you roll your eyes, shoving the boy softly as you took over the task at hand. switching personalities almost immediately, haechan fakes an interview segment with exaggerated tones.

"see, everyone, this is how you convince someone to do the work for you," the boy lays on the bed with a satisfied expression, "now i don't have to do anyth- ow!"

"if we ever live together, maybe i should punish you by doing the laundry and then folding it," you grunt, working at the speed faster than you expected while you fold shirt after shirt.

"are you proposing we move in together?" haechan peeks through an open eye, curiosity dripping from his tone. he tried to feign nonchalance but awaiting your answer felt like a weight on his heart.

your next words lifted that weight, a seemingly invisible force bringing his upper body off the bed as he stares at you in shock.

"maybe, not now but... in the future, maybe," you mumble the last part, focusing on the clothes to prevent the male from seeing the fluster on your face.

"for real?" haechan sits up, biting his lip to contain his excitement as your confirmation. 

"we'll be all stupidly domestic and shit, and i'll say i love you five years from now before you go off for work if you want that and stuff," your voice goes lower and quieter, especially towards the end, biting off way more than you could chew.

"aw! i love you too!" haechan gushes, bringing you into an embrace as your hands go limp, scrambling to explain your emphasis on the 'future'.

"d-donghyuck, i meant the future, not now..." you manage to spit out, hoping you need not answer his queries any more. your mind blanks out at the current situation, wishing you hadn't said those dumb things.

he grins into your neck, "i know, i'm just answering for future me."

you groan and escape the hug with a roll of your eyes, "yuck, too cheesy!" the boy just lets out a laugh, watching the way you fold his clothes despite your initial annoyance.

[day 42]

suyeon switches between the two of you in disbelief, finger crooked at the ambiguity of "we like each other".

"wha-" suyeon doesn't get the chance to finish the sentence before you shoot her a thumbs up, grabbing haechan by the arm and your stuff with the other.

you were happy to leave the office after a quick debrief since you two had reported to the office right after arriving at the airport, relieved when you heard he'd spare a few more days for your articles to be cleaned up.

"so, (y/n), what would you like to do now?" haechan looks at you through the reflective material of the elevator, observing the nervous wringing of your fingers.

you're glad for the material protecting your face because there's a smile that you struggle to keep as his soft, gentle voice carries through the quiet space.

the anxiety ends when the lift sounds, prompting your eyes to trail down his arm. your hand moves on its own accord, grabbing his last finger with yours as you proceed into the lift sheepishly, not missing the way haechan's eyes show his bright smile behind the mask.

"maybe i'll get to know you more, lee donghyuck."

haechan lets out a gasp, "have you not learned about me enough? scandalous." 

you feign a punch in his direction, the luggage beside you tripping over its wheels due to your swift movement. the only response you get is a giggle from the other as he tightens his pinky around yours, pressing a soft kiss to your cheek right above your face mask just as the elevator doors open.

"man, i really do want to punch you now," you mutter as you let haechan lead you, wanting nothing more than to rest in the arms of your enemy-turned-friend? enemy-turned-someoneyoulike?

you weren’t exactly sure.

he doesn't answer during the walk to the main road, nor the ride back to your home, the only constant thing being the way he admires your profile in the taxi, shrugging when you counter with a playful "what?". 

"nothing," haechan grins.

[there are more days to come]

sure, day forty-one may not have been the day you fell in love with haechan, nor the day where he outwardly claims you as his lover.

but, taking it slow never hurt anyone, either.

you know it in the way he tells you he can't go in unless he's invited and you see it in the way he asks if he can switch the television on while you prepare some drinks.

like the hotel, you know it in the way he asks if he can kiss you and the way he deepens his kisses with caution.

you appreciate it in the way he quickly apologises for a personal question, while visibly relaxing as you brush it off with a smile.

with hours pass, day forty-two becomes day forty-three, and haechan remains as chivalrous as always.

days pass, and you submit your articles. weeks pass, and you get to know the boy more and more. months pass, and you feel his love in the way he plays with your fingers in the dark and pulls you close under the sheets.

even if you hadn't acknowledged the love between the two of you, that note you wrote half-drunk matched the way you felt now—with how your heart clenches up and with how your grin never leaves your face with haechan around.

there are more days to come with lee haechan, lee donghyuck, even if it meant getting stuck together in a hotel room with unsaid words.

[whentherewerebicycles]

i am not reblogging this post from OP (posted 2 days ago, with 4,400 notes and counting) because i know that often people are just making their own vent posts on their blogs and maybe don’t expect them to circulate widely outside of their small tumblr circle! and i don’t mean to like, jump on someone who is just commenting on something and then going on with their life. but i feel like i keep seeing versions of this sentiment on leftist twitter too and i really think it is a gross misrepresentation of the bill that passed earlier this month - which is due in part to social media’s intense focus on the “stimulus check” part of the bill. but the bill was not called “the stimulus check” act! it was called “The American Rescue Plan” and it was specifically geared towards providing desperately-needed relief to the American middle & working classes. the $1400 direct payments to individuals was just one small portion of the bill. here are the far more important parts:

in addition to receiving a $1400 direct payment themselves, individuals with children receive an additional $1400 check for each dependent

college students who are still listed as dependents on their parents’ tax forms (typically so they can retain health insurance benefits under the ACA) can more easily claim stimulus money - which is huge for college kids who may be helping to financially support immediate or extended family members

unemployment benefits have been extended from March 31, 2021 (their original expiration date) to September 6, 2021

unemployment benefits will be supplemented with a $300 weekly payment (ie $300 on top of what people are receiving from their state government)

unemployment benefits received in 2020-21 are tax-exempt (a retroactive change that means people who are unemployed won’t receive a surprise tax bill counting their unemployment money as “income”)

a substantial tax credit for employers who offer paid sick leave and paid family leave benefits (ie creating a direct incentive for employers to authorize emergency paid leave)

15% increase in food stamp benefits and extension of eligibility

child and family tax credit benefits!!!! this is the part that people are describing as one of the most significant anti-poverty initiatives in American history. families are eligible for a tax credit of $3600 for each child under the age of 6 and $3000 for each child between 6-18. people can also claim a child and dependent care credit with a maximum benefit of $4000 for one eligible dependent and up to $8000 for two or more. it also expands the earned income tax credit and lowers the age limit to 19. dems also pushed to get at least 50% of the tax credit money to people this year instead of making them wait for their 2021 tax return. this calculator allows you to calculate how much families will receive. if you make $50,000 a year and have four children, you will receive $13,200 through the child tax credit alone, paid out in monthly payments of $1,100 from July to December 2021 + an additional $6,600 lump-sum payment when you file your 2021 tax return early next year. there are also some additional dependent-related tax credits things that I don’t fully understand but that seem to indicate people are eligible for even more money.

forgiven student loan debt is made tax-free (a necessary prerequisite for future efforts to cancel/forgive student loan debt)

huge expansion of grant benefits to small businesses, including $28.6 billion specifically for bars and restaurants; $15 billion for low-interest, long-term replayment emergency disaster loans; and $7 billion more for the paycheck protection program (which can only be used on payroll expenses and makes it possible for small businesses to keep workers on payroll even if they are operating at lower capacity). you can describe this as “for the economy only” if you want, but I sure feel like it will alleviate a whole lot of human suffering by allowing people to keep their jobs & paychecks even if their workplaces remain partially shut down. my dad is a small business owner and has been able to keep his entire staff on payroll through the entire pandemic. the bill also includes billions for airlines and concert venues, which will again! means people won’t lose their jobs!! plus it allocates $175 million to fund a Community Navigator Program that reaches out to eligible businesses and helps guide them through the application process—ie making it possible for small businesses to actually take receive these benefits.

$350 billion to state, local, and tribal governments

$130 billion for K-12 schools to improve ventilation, reduce class sizes, purchase PPE for employees and students, and hire support staff; of this money, 20% must be dedicated to programs designed to counteract “learning loss” from students who missed school during the pandemic

$40 billion for colleges and universities, at least $20 billion of which must go to emergency grants to students (our university has been giving regular emergency grants throughout the pandemic to students to help cover rent, unexpected medical expenses, costs related to family emergencies or lost family income, tuition bills that they suddenly can’t pay, fees associated with wifi or purchasing tech equipment so they can learn virtually)

a HUGE amount of money four housing benefits!!!! i keep seeing people yelling about how $1400 won’t cover their rent but THAT’S WHAT THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS ARE FOR. $21.6 billion in rent and utility assistance, paid directly to states and local governments so they can disburse it to eligible households!!! plus $5 billion to Section 8 housing (which “must go to those who are or were recently homeless, as well as individuals who are escaping from domestic violence, sexual assualt, or human trafficking”).

$5 billion to support state and local programs for homeless and at-risk individuals (can be used for rental assistance, homelessness prevention services, and counseling; can also be used to purchase properties that will be turned into permanent shelters or affordable housing for people who are homeless). plus an additional $120 for housing counseling.

$4.5 billion earmarked for a special assistance program that helps low-income households cover costs of heating and cooling and $500 million to cover water costs

$750 million in housing assistance for tribes and native Hawaiians (who are also eligible for other benefits through the rental assistance and direct tribal government grants described above)

and then BILLIONS of dollars to support FEMA, the Veterans Affairs’ healthcare system, the CDC, and state, local, and territorial public health departments for all things related to: COVID testing, contact tracing, vaccine production and distribution, vaccine outreach, PPE, and public health education. this includes (among many, MANY other things), $5.4 billion to the Indian Health Services (division of the Department of Health and Human Services that specifically provides health services to Native people and tribal territories), $200 million for nursing loan repayment programs, $80 million for mental health training, $3.5 billion in block grants specifically geared towards community mental health programs and substance abuse/prevention/treatment programs

$86 billion for a rescue package for pension funds (esp union-sponsored pension funds) that are on the verge of collapse - collectively covering 10.7 million workers.

billions of dollars for public transit programs (and sure, public transit is important to the economy, but access to regular, reliable, affordable, and safe public transit is HUGELY important to human health and well-being! it is how many people esp in urban areas access grocery stores, health care, their jobs, childcare facilities, etc.

$10.4 billion for agriculture, of which $5 billion is specifically earmarked for socially disadvantaged farmworkers. to quote wikipedia: “Experts identified the relief bill as the single most important piece of legislation for African-American framers since the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

tons of money to fund 100% of premiums for COBRA (health insurance for people who have unexpectedly lost or had to leave their jobs) through October 2021. COBRA is hella expensive and experts estimate that 2.2 million people will need to enroll for COBRA benefits in 2021. there are also various provisions that expand Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (a program targeted at uninsured children in families who don’t qualify for Medicaid but may not be able to afford adequate healthcare coverage. it also fixes some things with the ACA that could’ve led to people getting surprise bills due to fluctuating income or unexpected changes in employment status.

i am SO OVER the so-called ‘progressive’ rhetoric that no good can ever come from the government, or that all politicians (dems or republicans) are basically the same level of evil and incompetent, or that ~mutual aid~ (ie small payments made between individuals in a community) is the only thing we can count on or should count on in times of crisis. no!!!! fuck no!!!! like mutual aid is great but America is an INSANELY WEALTHY country and it is such bullshit to act like we can’t or shouldn’t expect our government to take care of the people who live here. and i am also just GRAHARRGHGHH at people who are completely disengaged from politics offering their jaded and hyper-cynical hot takes on things they don’t! actually! know! anything! about!!!!!!! and in the process making other people increasingly jaded and cynical about the possibility of electing a government that actually prioritizes the needs & well-being of its citizenry!!!

ugh i’m just TIRED of leftist political cynicism y’all especially when it comes from people who have absolutely no understanding of how much WORK it takes to make huge things like the American Rescue Act happen (work that includes not just the immediate negotiation of the bill but also the years of organizing & voter recruitment work it took to get a narrow democratic majority in the senate so that we could pass things like this!!!!). I’M DONE WITH BEING CYNICAL!!!! i feel, in a totally earnest and unjaded way, that it’s absolutely incredible that dems were able to write, negotiate, and pass this bill, and i feel so so so relieved to be currently living under an administration that is flawed in many ways but is at least actually and earnestly TRYING to reckon with unprecedented “suffering in an actual human scale” (to quote OP) and is even using this crisis as an opportunity to advance major anti-poverty initiatives that will have a LASTING IMPACT on actual human lives. as opposed to our previous administration, which was made up of thousands of people who woke up every single day and asked themselves “what can I do today to further dehumanize & inflict needless suffering upon millions of people?”

PHEW!!!! SORRY!!!! JUST HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS I GUESS!!!!!!!!

[nytfythfhtyf]

every company is bad no one is trustworthy no one cares about anything but money anymore the quality of all products is dramatically decreasing on purpose and if you want better things you have to pay insane amounts of money so the poor people buy the cheap shitty things and they break sooner and then they have to buy more now theyre trapped in the capitalism hell cycle and they dont have the option to fight back or boycott because they need those items to stay alive without going broke and all the companies care about is bleeding everyone dry and money and money and pay workers less spend less money on safe working conditions spend less money on quality materials brainwash the public into thinking company cares about them and the planet dying is their fault because theyre using straws and eating too much meat and youre fat and youre ugly so you have to buy our products to fix that but they dont work so you have to buy more and more to try to fix yourself and we made a new smartphone so were going to program your old phone to kill itself so you have to buy the new one also we took the headphone port out so you have to buy these shitty wireless earbuds and oops your phone got shattered because its made of 70% glass now you have to get another one and if you dont have enough money do do that and pay rent its your fault for spending on things that let you enjoy your life and you just need to work harder like us rich and powerful people and get as many jobs as you can and give up all your free time until you spend your whole life working yourself to exhaustion and then you die because you cant afford healthcare like a sick animal on a farm and the companies build a new store on top of your grave

[romewritingshop]

We could call it love

Fandom: Choices, Open Heart

Relationship: Doctor Ethan Ramsey X F!MC (Name: Doctor Kayla Jackson)

Warnings: Smut, fingering, alcohol drinking, semi-public sex, slightly drunk MC but she sobers up, biting

Word Count Total: 3561

A/N: It took me a while but I’ve managed to complete this fic. I guess you could call this a song fic as it includes lyrics. The song is Sacrifice by Black Atlass. An absolute sensual song that somehow works for Ethan and MC. Would love constructive feedback but that’s totally up to you. Thanks and I hope you enjoy. 😘 I’d definitely recommend listening to the song while reading the fic because it sets the mood. I tagged the ones who I thought would be interested but if not let me know, I just want to make some friends. 😊

SACRIFICE - BLACK ATLASS

CHOICES MASTERLIST

Tagged: @ohramsey​ ​ @juliafranquet​​  @me-and-my-choices​ @eleanorbloom​ @choicesficwriterscreations​ @kaavyaethanramsey​ @miss-smrxtiee​ @nooruleman​ @rookie-ramsey​ @imonlybibecauseofethanramsey​ @drethanramslay​ @chaotichuman0090​ @drakewalker04​

The apartment was quiet, save for the low hum of the TV. Some Japanese game show was on but Kayla was paying no mind to it as her eyes zeroed in on the grainy wooden coffee table. Her spirit was in a world of its own as her hands blindingly scratched Pixie’s neck. Mack was happily munching on his lettuce beside her while Sunny was playing with a little ball between her paws. The pets were great company but they weren’t the best at communicating as Kayla exhaled shamefully, her head dropping to the back of the sofa. Her eyes closed as she recounted what happened in Ethan’s office.

“You’re an immature irresponsible resident that has turned the diagnostics team into a free flowing ATM. I hope you’re happy Dr. Jackson, you’ve gone against the principles of this team. I expected better from one of the best doctors.”

She flinched at the crystal clear sharp tone in his voice as she sunk further into her spiral of despair. She only reached out to Gwyneth to help with her condition and it was an extra bonus that she was willing to spend more money for her healthcare. A small fraction of her felt guilty at the fact that she went behind Ethan’s back but if she was presented with the choice she’d happily do it again.

The familiar rattle of the door handle rang as Kayla lifted her head to see Elijah and Sienna enter, having just finished their shifts at the hospital. She buried her pain and smiled widely at her friends.

“Hey guys! How was today?”

“It was pretty good but you seem to have had a harder day. What happened?”

Sienna’s soft eyes and nurturing smile made it harder for Kayla to hide the terrible things that happened today. Kayla’s face dropped as Sienna and Elijah made their way over to be beside Kayla as she opened up.

“Dr. Ramsey found out that I messaged Gwyneth to come to our hospital for treatment.”

Sienna and Elijah shared an anxious glance at Kayla’s despair. Both of them knew that Dr. Ramsey and Kayla had some semblance of a relationship so her depressed state was something much deeper as Sienna wrapped an arm around Kayla’s shoulder. Edenbrook was struggling from the budget cuts but Elijah knew that Kayla had a very good reason to go behind Dr. Ramsey’s back.

“Well, you did the right thing Kayla. You probably saved the diagnostics team.”

“I know it will but Dr. Ramsey doesn’t see it that way. He thinks that getting Gwyneth will pave the way for billionaires to get better care and soon the people that need help will be denied because they can’t afford it.”

“He’s wrong and we all know that this the only way to save the diagnostics team.”

“I know.”

The front door opens as Jackie strides through, sending a quick greeting to her friends before rushing into her room. Changing into her jeans and blue button shirt, coming back to the living room.

“Why aren’t you guys getting ready? Today Donnahue’s are doing a thirty percent discount for Edenbrook residents and doctors. The others are waiting for us there.”

Kayla wasn’t in the mood for a drink but deep down she had a feeling Ethan would be there. It was his usual haunt and she couldn’t face him after what he said to her. Sienna beamed as she stood up and nudged Kayla.

“Come on. A drink would you some good.”

“Sienna.”

“Nope! You’re coming with us or Jackie’ll drag you out.”

“And I will, Kayla.”

Kayla exhaled as she mumbled, groggily getting up and dragging her feet to her room. She stared into her closet, looking for something to wear. A knock rang on her door as she hummed, hearing steps come up beside her and she sees Sienna in a nice blue striped dress.

“What are you gonna wear Kayla?”

Kayla spotted something and pulled the hanger out to show Sienna. It was a plain blue sweater dress but Sienna shook her head vehemently. Kayla was not going to continue to wallow in her sadness as she yanked the dress and tossed it away to Kayla’s bed.

“Hey!”

“No! I’m not letting you dress up like that. Don’t let Dr. Ramsey get to you like that! Deep down, you know you’re right.” A small smile made a way to Kayla’s face as she couldn’t help but agree. It was the best decision she made and she doesn’t regret it one bit.

“I know.”

“Good! Now let’s wear something pretty and wreck the house tonight.” A bigger smile broke out on Kayla’s face as Sienna spotted the perfect outfit for Kayla. Stepping forward and pulling the hanger to show Kayla: a forest green satin wrap dress. It was perfect and sexy as Sienna brought out a black leather jacket and suede black ankle boots.

~~~~~~

There was a pep to her step as she entered the bar. Shaking off the cold outside air and she could see the bar bustling with residents and interns from Edenbrook. It was almost a full house as Kayla, Sienna, Elijah and Jackie brushed past people to get to their booth where Kyra, Rafael, Aurora and Bryce were sat, already having started with beer bottles in their hands. All eyes drew to Kayla as Bryce wolf whistled.

“Damn Kayla! You look like you’re ready to get laid.”

She rolled her eyes and sat next to Bryce, nudging his shoulder playfully.

“Next time, Bryce.”

Bryce smirked as he offered Kayla his drink, she took it and downed the rest as Jackie and Kyra bought a variety of drinks: shots of tequila and bottles of beer. Tonight, Kayla was going to forget and just lose control. After three shots of tequila, she could feel the light buzz coursing through her chest and all the knots of anxiety were slowly melting. Just as she was about to take her fourth shot, her eyes caught sight of a familiar green jacket and smooth back curly hair. The cloudy blue grey eyes and soft beard.

Ethan had entered the bar and it seemed his eyes were taken aback at seeing her. She looked exceptionally radiant and part of Ethan wanted to go over but he knew that he needed to keep away. She was a colleague and he still hasn’t forgiven her for what she did. He tore his eyes away and went to the bar to order his usual scotch. Kayla’s heart sagged as Ethan went away to the bar without even greeting her.

A chill vibrates through her as Kayla clutched her jacket closer as Bryce noticed the chill.

“Feeling cold?”

“A little.”

“I’m sure a little tequila will warm you up.”

She smiled and took another shot of tequila. The liquid courage lit a small fire as her eyes danced to the centre stage where two doctors drunkenly sang some cheesy eighties song. The tequila was meddling with her brain as she stood up and walked over to the karaoke stand.

The two doctors just finished up with their song as Kayla took centre stage, placing the mic in it’s holder stand and she scrolled through the songs list for karaoke. Her friends were too busy in their drinks when they heard a sultry tone rumble through the air. They frowned and turned towards the stage. Some of their eyes widened while others grew a big grin at the sight of Kayla standing tall and proud. Mic in her hand and a stool beside her.

Ethan felt a change in the music as his eyes were also drawn to the stage, his breath hitched in his throat as he spotted Kayla. No longer his intelligent colleague but a mystifying angel of lust. Her eyes connected with Ethan’s as her voice sang the first line.

I will never sacrifice my love, not even for you.

The tequila brought a husky tone that made her sound like a low hum of a jazz radio. Mellow and pleasing to the ears. Ethan furrowed his eyebrows with intrigue as Kayla set her gaze firmly on him. The bar patrons becoming a blur as she grasped the mic stand close to her.

You know I don’t play it safe

Sometimes you have to break the rules

Kayla was talking about what she did as Ethan straightened his posture. He never knew she could sing so well as Kayla raised an eyebrow at him. She knew he was watching her and the tequila in her soul was burning bright. Control was in her grasp as she let her fingers drag over her body, getting to the edge of her jacket and letting it slip off her shoulders.

Letting her satin emerald dress take the focus off her. All her friends were stunned from Kayla’s seductive display: Sienna and Aurora’s jaws dropped; Elijah had started recording this insane moment, and to show sober Kayla what happened; Kyra and Jackie cheering her on while Rafael and Bryce were entranced from her subtle movements.

Ethan felt the slight burn of anger murmur in him as he noticed every male gaze stick to Kayla but her eyes were on him. Part of him was jealous as he wanted to stride to the stage and take Kayla home, but another part of him was a little proud at her little display and that she was focused on him. He knew she had something to drink otherwise she wouldn’t have gone on stage and pulled that stunt off. She was baring everything to him and with that he sat rooted on his seat. Eyes taking in her hands over the sides of her hips.

He was still sat watching her, the glass of scotch in his deft hands and Kayla frowned slightly. Her act was getting nothing out of him.

We could call it love, or we could call it nothing

But you got what I want, you know I do, too

She was getting into the second chorus and her hips began swaying slowly like a metronome keeping in time with the steady beat of the song. He tensed slightly as Kayla let a smile reach her face as she finished the song off with a soft hum. The buzz of the tequila got absorbed into her mind as she straightened herself and bowed at the raucous applause.

The men jeered loudly and some women whooped. Kayla glanced at Ethan, his fingers were wrapped tightly around his glass and his gaze was a whispering chill over her body and soul. She sent a daring flirtatious wink at him before gliding towards her group of friends. Their voices clamoured over one another. Singing their praises and surprise at Kayla’s performance. She draped her jacket over the chair she sat in as she excused herself to head towards the restroom.

She was about to enter the ladies’ when a firm hand clasped her upper arm and yanked her in to a small dark room. Just as she was about to scream, the light came on and the grey eyed doctor was in front of her. Her heart pumped viciously as she leaned against the door of what seemed to be a supply closet. His presence surrounded her and she was surprised by the welcome chill that radiated from him. Ethan raised an eyebrow and suppressed a growl.

The dress looked even more silky and glowing as it sparkled against her dark skin. Her red ombre hair was done up in a braided bun which made her neck shine. Kayla looked like the radiant queen of an empire as she realised the gravity of where they were. Ethan had pulled her into a supply closet, just the two of him and the warmth of their bodies swirled in the air. He had risked someone seeing them as she stood tall against him.

“Ethan.”

“Jackson.”

“Still not calling me Rookie?”

“I’m still upset about what you did.”

“I’ve apologised many times and I don’t know what else you want me to say.”

“Your performance said plenty.”

She shrugged a little at the slight gritted tone in his voice.

“Well I’ll say it one last time: I’m sorry I went behind your back and got Gwyneth to come to the hospital. If I were given the option, I’d do it again. It really was the only way to save Edenbrook.”

Unlike the previous apologies, this one had more vulnerability as Ethan peered deep into her brown eyes. He saw her fire and passion to help Edenbrook. This and her performance all accumulated to the fact that she was right. Despite the fact that it went against the principles of Naveen and the diagnostics team, it would be something Ethan would do. Something he already did as he signed a deal with Declan Nash to save Naveen.

Kayla did the exact same thing for a multitude of patients. He liked her determination to save people and his face softened. She was taken aback by the calmness in his eyes as his lips curled up to a neutral smile.

“I’m sorry, Kayla. You did the right thing. When all the other outcomes fail, sometimes the worst solutions can be the best. I’m glad you made the decision.”

Her cheeks warmed at his apology as she dropped her eyes down to his collar. Unable to look him in the eye as she mumbled.

“Thanks.” Ethan glanced down and scratched the back of his neck, the tense air now loose which left a slight serene calm in the air. Kayla furrowed her eyebrow and glanced back at the door. “Was that it or is there anything else?”

The performance. He wanted to tell her what he thought about her performance but it wasn’t right. She was a grown woman, who could do what she wanted. A woman that literally serenaded her desires to him in front of a bunch of resident doctors and her friends. He took a deep breath and opened up.

“Nothing else.”

“Wait! So you pulled me into a closet just to say you’re sorry.” He kept his mouth shut yet his silence was enough of an answer for her. “You know we could have had this conversation outside.”

“People might look a little deeper into our conversation.”

“Since when do you care about what people think?”

“I don’t but I know they’ll be surprised once I do this.”

He stepped closer to Kayla and leaned down to press his lips against hers. Letting his walls crumble down temporarily as his lips rubbed over hers, he could taste the tequila she had drank, it melted deliciously against the scotch he had. A low smell of cinnamon and grapefruit filled his nose as he breathed it in deeply. A perfume she often wore to work as it lifted from her, as the heat of the supply closet and their bodies caused her to slightly perspire.

It made her scent stand out more and he sunk deeper, pushing his tongue into hers to dance sensually. His eyes closed to let his senses elevate the tastes and scents of their bodies. Kayla felt her consciousness drift away as her hands came to rest on the sides of his waist. Her fingers pressed between the hem of the shirt feeling the soft cotton and his skin.

His fingers gently grasped her bare shoulders, his index looping under the thin strap of her wrap dress. Ethan pulled away as Kayla opened her eyes to finally look up at him. Desire and passion glowing in his eyes as her husky voice spoke.

“What does this mean?”

“You know, Rookie.”

His eyes spoke it all. The performance she put on and the decision she took, he was proud of her choices and a bigger grin took a hold of her face as she surged forward. One nimble hand curling the hair at the nape of his neck, the other sinking under his shirt to feel at his tender skin. Pulling him closer to trap her against the closet door and Ethan welcomed her initiative.

His left hand following the fold of her wrap dress, his fingers danced dangerously along the satin green and smooth skin. She let go as he hummed slowly.

“Can I carry on, Kayla?”

“Please, Ethan.”

Their lips reconnected as Ethan’s fingers dipped inside her dress, a deep groan tumbled out of his mouth as he felt her bare breasts pliable against his fingers. She arched further into his hand as her hand sunk under her shirt to feel the firm muscles and the thin trail of hair disappearing into his jeans.

“Kayla!”

“Ethan! I need you now!”

They didn’t have much time as the fear of someone discovering them loomed over the atmosphere. Ethan pressed his fingers down and dragged over her sternum, his fingers grazing against the soft fabric of her dress before disappearing under the hem of the dress. She let go and gasped at his strong fingers rubbing against her clit. A moan threatening to break out as she hissed.

“Stop teasing Ethan!”

A mischievous smirk curled on his lips as he yanked her underwear down, his fingers feeling the sticky wetness between the lips of her vagina.

“And what you were doing wasn’t teasing?”

He took his fingers away and pushed it in between his teeth, his tongue lapping at the sweet tanginess of her arousal. Kayla felt like she could die happy, Ethan moved her to press her cheek against the door. The metal of his belt opened and the flyer zipped down. Her breath hitched as she felt penis stroke over her thighs.

A slightly louder moan escaped her lips as Ethan brought the fingers he sucked on into her mouth. In the times they had slept together, he noticed she was a loud lover and despite him wanting to melt against her moans and grunts, he had to keep it quiet in order to avoid suspicion. Ethan sunk into her as he growled into her neck, she hummed into his fingers.

A delightful stretch through her core as his long cock pushed into her walls, her feet curled and her hands pressed on the door to ground herself. It had been a while since they were together as Ethan regretted pushing her away, trying to make up for it with his actions. He set a slow pace to state his stance with her. His right hand trailed up her body to lace with her fingers.

A familiar dance as Ethan rolled his hips to a gradual speed, rising and rising, harder and slightly faster. Their symphony of pleasure muffled into their bodies. Her saliva soaked his fingers as he brushed them down the dress and to her clitoris. Pulling, pinching and circling her erogenous zone. He unlaced his fingers to grasp her chin and bring it over her right shoulder.

Reconnecting his mouth to hers to absorb the sounds she was making, Ethan slowed his movements, opting to thrust deeper and faster which had her whine pathetically. A new sound that she’s made as Ethan couldn’t help but smirk at his prowess. One powerful thrust made Kayla fist the door and it tossed her over the edge as she stilled. Two slow thrusts later Ethan came as well as he pulled his lips away and sunk his teeth into her shoulder. The both of them twitched with pleasure as the tepid atmosphere came down to a cool breeze.

He unlatched his teeth from her shoulder to see a perfect circle of the indents his teeth made as he pressed and open mouthed kiss on it before pressing a short sweet kiss on Kayla’s lips as a soothing gesture. Slowly pulling his cock out of her, a bit of his semen ran down her legs as he carefully tucked himself back into his underwear, zipping up and putting the belt back on. There was a roll of tissue on a shelf as he quickly grabbed a few sheets and carefully cleaned Kayla up.

A dazed look glimmered in her face as she slowly turned around to rest her back on the wall, adoringly gazing at Ethan who had bent down to help her into her underwear, he glanced up with a soft smile. She balanced herself on his shoulders and stepped into the underwear, Ethan’s fingers grazing her legs as he stood up to secure her underwear in place. Pulling the hem of her dress down and fixing the collar of the dress. The both of them were semi presentable as Kayla wrapped her arms around his torso, pulling him close to breathe in his scent.

“I guess that means you liked my solo.”

“What gave it away, Rookie?” She said nothing but pressed a small kiss to his lips, whispering a small thanks to him. “Again, I’m sorry I was hard on you about Gwyneth.”

“And I’m sorry I went behind your back. From now on, we discuss my ill ideas.”

“Agreed.”

As much as the both of them wanted to stay in one another’s’ arms, they knew that the real world was waiting for them. Where they couldn’t be together like they were now. Ethan reluctantly stepped away and cleared his throat.

“You better go first. I’ll come out in a bit.”

“See you tomorrow, Ethan.”

“Rookie.”

[oakandcirrus]

my government class is going to be my villain origin story. we're learning how the US went from having affordable housing, college, and decent-paying jobs in the 60s (cuz they taxed rich people) to insane rent and house prices, people being in thousands of dollars of college and medical debt, and not being paid a living wage. all thanks to greedy men writing the crisis of democracy and the powell memo. god if i had a time machine...

we're also watching this documentary called sicko. it's a little dated but it's about health insurance companies and how the healthcare industry switched from running to serve the public to running to make a profit under the Nixon administration. and there's literal tapes of someone telling nixon (more or less, i have a bad memory) that if doctors did less procedures (helped less people) hospitals could make more money, and the next day he made an announcement talking about smth new he was gonna do to get the "best healthcare" for americans.

im fuming. i hate power i hate corruption i hate the government having power over the people when we should be in their offices starting a fire under their asses bc they're public servants. we are the public they should be serving us not their own interests its hnmgnghghhhh im going to bite someone.

then looking at healthcare in other countries compared to here (canada, UK, france) and how medicine is a public service and how (idk how accurate this is anymore, like i said the article is dated) but in france you are forced to take a five week long holiday at least??????? i hate it hereeeeeeee

[hshouse]

Completely random but how does insurance work in the US? I really don't understand, like, if you're dying they will not help you if you don't give a credit card? Do you pay for it every month? Every year? You're smart, explain for the dumb please

hi bby,

I can promise you 98% of Americans don’t understand. But here is the gist of it:

Hospitals have a duty to attend you if you walk in and your arm is falling off. That’s first things first, if you walk in to any hospital for anything you will be seen. The whole money thing comes much later (which is often why its so traumatic because you may not have known the price). There is sooooo much economics to explain (which are fascinating, healthcare is, along w education, the most complicated market). I’m gonna hit some bulletpoints

- The US has a private healthcare system. In Brazil, where there is a public health care system, you walk in and get treatment for free like without even showing your wallet ever. In the US you need a health insurance to cover part of the costs (explanation below). Even the “public” health care of Medicaid (adults) and Medicare (seniors) are basically the gov running insurance, it is not truly public even though they are affordable/free.

- So this is how it goes. I pay like 3,000/year to the health insurance my University is partnered with. I could buy it on my own on the website (I have that for dental) but it is usually cheaper to get through an employer/school. Then I go to the doctor and lets say she does a consult, an x ray and gives me tylenol. The doctor will then bill insurance saying “hey this is what we did, pay me”. The insurance then looks at what was done and says “okay we will cover the consult and tylenol but not the x ray because her plan is small” so then they pay the doctor and then the doctor sends me a letter saying “hey the insurance paid this and you still need to pay this much xoxo”. This is the gist of it.

- Your plan will have insanely detailed coverage that explains what they cover or don’t. There is something called a co-pay which is a % usually that is like “hey we will pay 90% of this treatment and you are responsible for the other 10%”. There is something called a deductible which is like “hey you need to pay $50 out of your own pocket first, then we come in and help”. There is also a limit that after that insurance will not cover (usually important for like if you get into a car crash or get a rare cancer).

-In Brazil I used to be able to pay out of pocket if the doctor didn’t take my insurance. Expensive? Yes but not financially insane. I went to the dentist last month and if I didn’t have dental insurance it would have cost $830. ??????? So the prices here are so insane that you HAVE to pay the insurance even tho I most likely wont use $3000 of coverage which is what I pay annually.

[nikkoliferous]

Hey I got a question I’m not American so I don’t understand everything but why do you not vote Biden ?I heard that America has a two party system and the way it is built means that it’s almost impossible for a third party to win big elections like presidential .Are you not taking the risk of bein the few percents that end up letting trump win a second time?From where I am we are all pretty terrified for these elections,would Biden really be worse that all that happened in those past 4 years?

Forgive my long-windedness, but there's really no brief way to answer this question without being flippant.

So, there are a few things to understand here. The first is that, because of the way U.S. elections are set up, the results are really decided by only a handful of states. That "every vote counts" nonsense is bullshit when it comes to presidential elections. If you live in what we call "swing states", your vote may have an impact. I'm from a state that has gone to a Democrat literally only four times in its entire history. It is reliably Republican. My not voting for Biden will have absolutely zero impact on this election.

Secondly, more than 40% of the electorate (myself included) are registered as independents, meaning we don't identify with either major party. Many of those who are registered with one of the major parties don't even want to be and are only registered that way so they can vote in a particular party's primary elections. (I am fortunate in that my state holds semi-open primaries, meaning I don't have to be registered as a Democrat in order to vote in their primary. This is not true of every state, however). What I'm saying is that, if every person voted their conscience instead of voting out of fear of one major party or the other, it wouldn't be impossible for a third party to win. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Third parties can't win because the electorate believes they can't win and votes accordingly. Sadly, this logic even extends to the primary. Exit polling showed overwhelming support for Bernie Sanders' policies among Democratic primary voters, including among those who voted for Joe Biden. So why didn't they vote for Bernie? Because they were constantly being told by a disingenuous media that he "couldn't win", and the top priority for Democratic voters is ousting Trump. (This is, of course, to say nothing of the widespread election fraud that was reported throughout the primary, as was the case in 2016. Apparently, cheating is only bad when Republicans do it).

Thirdly, would Biden really be worse than all that's happened the last four years? The short answer, IMO, is yes. This is a controversial position to take because Trump is so awful, but I'm going to say it anyway: Joe Biden is not the lesser evil. Fortunately, I do not believe in lesser evil voting. I will not be held hostage by my own government. But even if I did believe in voting for so-called "harm reduction", I still would not vote for Joe Biden. Joe Biden has done more damage to this country in his career than Donald Trump ever has. That's not an endorsement of Trump; it's an indictment of Biden and the Democrats. Joe Biden is the reason America is the world's largest penal colony. Joe Biden has repeatedly taken credit for effectively writing the PATRIOT Act, which decimated Americans' basic rights to privacy. Joe Biden not only voted for the Iraq War but was one of its most enthusiastic proponents. Joe Biden helped strip bankruptcy protections from millions of Americans, including making it impossible for people to discharge their student loan debt. Joe Biden, as part of the Obama administration, built those cages at the border that everyone is so upset about. Joe Biden, as part of the Obama administration, kicked millions of Americans out of their homes. Joe Biden, as part of the Obama administration, waged an unprecedented war on whistleblowers. Joe Biden, as part of the Obama administration, allowed police to crack the skulls of peaceful protesters during Occupy Wall Street, Ferguson and DAPL. Joe Biden, as part of the Obama administration, brought open slave markets to Libya. Joe Biden, as part of the Obama administration, carried out extrajudicial killings overseas. Joe Biden, as part of the Obama administration, failed to prosecute war criminals. Now Gina Haspel, who was directly involved in Bush's torture program, is Director of the CIA. (Relatedly, Kamala Harris, Biden's VP, was encouraged to prosecute Steve Mnunchin after his bank illegally foreclosed on California homeowners. She declined to do so, and now he's Secretary of Treasury). Here is an article about how the Obama administration handed Donald Trump what is effectively a dictator's toolkit. Democrats in Congress have continued this legacy, even while screaming at the top of their lungs that Trump is an existential threat and a puppet of Vladimir Putin. People need to disabuse themselves of the idea that America is a two-party system. It's not. It's a one-party system. The Democrats and Republicans are nothing more than controlled opposition. It's a sideshow. Our true rulers are Wall Street and the military industrial complex, and they don't hold elections.

Finally, comedian and political commentator Jimmy Dore has frequently noted that, historically, Democrats are able to quietly pass horrible legislation that Republicans could only dream of getting away with. This is because when a Democrat is in the White House, the majority of the country breathes a sigh of relief and heads out to lunch. Joe Biden's legislative history of corruption, racism and imperialism makes this fact particularly concerning, because

Unlike Trump for the most part, Biden has a political core. I would rather pressure Trump, who at least occasionally stumbles on the right position by accident (as in the case of North Korea), than Joe Biden, who has a very set ideology which he largely refuses to be moved from. (Even in the midst of a pandemic that has resulted in mass unemployment, he's STILL arguing that employer-based healthcare is good, actually). Trump is more malleable, IMO, than Biden is.

Because Trump is so hated by the political establishment, the media, and quite frankly, a good chunk of the public, there's at least been a heavy degree of scrutiny surrounding him. True, a good portion of it is superficial (focusing on made-up nonsense like Russiagate instead of the actual horrible things he's doing). But people are paying far more attention to what their government does (or doesn't do) than they would have under a Hillary Clinton presidency. Most people still view Barack Obama as a good president because the mainstream media's failure to hold him accountable has convinced them that the most scandalous thing he ever did was wear a tan suit. If Biden becomes President, the vast majority of Americans will tune right back out while their government continues to screw them. And then, four to eight years from now, we'll be having this same conversation, only instead of Donald Trump, it will be Tom Cotton or Tucker Carlson who's the greatest threat our country has ever faced. Every single election in my lifetime, we've been told "now isn't the time" to fix what's wrong with our political system. The stakes are too high. The Republicans are an existential threat. You have to vote for the lesser evil. And guess what? The stakes have only gotten higher; the Republicans have only gotten more threatening; the country's politics have only shifted further and further to the right. What's that saying about the definition of insanity, again?

Lawrence O'Donnell, a media personality who used to work as a Democratic strategist, once said, "If you want to pull the major party that's closest to the way you're thinking to what you're thinking, you must show them you're capable of not voting for them. If you don't show them you're capable of not voting for them, they don't have to listen to you, I promise you that. I worked within the Democratic Party. I didn't listen or have to listen to anything on the left while I was working in the Democratic Party, because the left had nowhere to go."

I understand that you all fear what Trump is capable of. I sympathise with that; I fear it too. But what I fear more is what the next Trump is capable of. I fear what happens in four to eight years when we still haven't solved any of the problems that led to his election in the first place and the next Trump isn't an incompetent buffoon who announces every bad decision he makes via tweet. Kamala Harris is out here tweeting about how awesome things were under Obama and how Trump bungled it all. Joe Biden has already told his wealthy donors that nothing will fundamentally change for them if he becomes President. So my fear of a Biden/Harris administration is two-fold: one, I fear what they'll actually do while they're in office and two, I fear the inevitable backlash that will follow after they've done jackshit to improve people's lives. In other words, I believe dismantling the two-party system that put us in this position in the first place is more important than defeating Trump.

[kingdomofthelogos]

Reason Belongs to God

Read Mark 4

Download a printable version here.

The world desires us to commit the suicide of thought, to take our God-given will and make it passive to serve both sin and hell. Our faith calls us to be patient in waiting for God but also hastening the work of Christ’s Kingdom. The world often wants to bait us into going to war over narratives, emotional opinions, and all things petty, but Christ wants us to preach His message: the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15) This is the message that we must preach, realizing that reason and truth belong to God. When Christ calmed the storm at the end of Mark 4, He was giving us evidence that we must either accept or ignore. Either Christ calmed the storm or He did not, and if He indeed did such a miracle, then that means something substantial about everything He said. We do well to illuminate the truth of Jesus’ miracles, for they show us how the spiritual affairs break into our material world.

We tend to think of our faith in the abstract, that the spiritual warfare of powers and principalities is confined to the heavenly realms. We tend to think of the supernatural as that which breaks the laws of physics and reality, and therefore it can be dismissed as both impossible and irrational in an orderly world. However, to you I posit this: that perhaps the supernatural is not the breaking of the laws of physics, but the perfection of them. Perhaps the great miracles of God are not behind the curtain manipulations of the elements in life, or the quick swapping of cards done by a magician's sleight of hand, where God quickly rips a broken piece from our world and replaces it with a new one before anyone sees His dangerous appearance, but rather the miracles are the skillful and holy actions of the resolute hand of the Master of all. The miracles are not breakdowns of logic in the fallen world, but restorations back to the providential order of creation. 

Inasmuch as Jesus teaches us wisdom through parables, He is extremely gracious in showing us signs. The calming of the sea is a material fact, and through such an act of domestication Jesus shows us how the immaterial virtues break into the material world. Do not be deceived, the spiritual world  is breaking into our physical one and it has a substantial impact on everything in life.

The arena of objective truth belongs to God, and it is the devil who lives in opinions and subjectivity. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and at the end of each day said “it is good,” but the devil came along and tried to deceive Eve in saying “did God really say?” Jesus firmly declared that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, but His murderous accusers wanted to contrive a narrative where Jesus said He was the King of the Jews. Not even the ancient world would deny the fact of the resurrection or the material miracles of healing and exorcisms; therefore, it would create narratives and perspectives to distract from the hard facts.

Reason belongs to God, and the more people pay attention to the logical order of God’s creation the more they are drawn to God. It has been a very clever trick of hell to make us believe the foolery that reason and faith are contradictory to one another. Reason is not opposed to God, but the whitewashed idolatry that charades as reason is. Hell wants us to view truth as a sensation, something to only summon as it pleases.

CS Lewis writes very cleverly on this matter in the Screwtape Letters. Uncle Screwtape, a demon in hell, writes to his nephew Wormwood saying: “It sounds as if you supposed that argument was the way to keep him out of God’s clutches. That might have been so if he had lived a few centuries earlier. At that time the humans still knew pretty well when a thing was proved and when it was not; and if it was proved they really believed it. They still connected thinking with doing and were prepared to alter their way of life as the result of a chain of reasoning. But what with the weekly news and other such weapons we have largely altered that. Your man has been accustomed, ever since he was a boy, to have a dozen incompatible philosophies dancing about together inside his head. He doesn’t think of doctrines as primarily “true” or “false”, but as “academic” or “practical”, “outworn” or “contemporary”, “conventional” or “ruthless”. Jargon, not argument, is your best ally in keeping him from the Church. By the very act of arguing, you awake the patient’s reason; and once it is awake, who can foresee the result? Even if a particular train of thought can be twisted so as to end in our favour, you will find that you have been strengthening in your patient the fatal habit of attending to universal issues and withdrawing his attention from the stream of immediate sense experiences.”

What CS Lewis is trying to teach through these demonic conversations is that reason and objective reality belong to God, but hell wants to distract you with subjectivity, with the unreasonable world where you have “your truth” and I have “my truth,” and nothing is actually held as true. The fact is this: if people will use their minds to contemplate the healings and miracles of Christ, things which were not even denounced by those who hated Jesus as He walked the earth, then they will be inclined to realize that He is Lord of all creation and the true Messiah. Those who disbelieved in Jesus could not denounce Him on the basis of rejecting His miracles or resurrection, so they had to ignore those facts and make statements like “would God really care about your sexual life,” or “how could a loving God permit suffering.” All rejections involve some form of ignoring the material truth of His miracles, because if you honestly square your mind around calming a storm, or around a bodily resurrection, then your mind is awakened to the truth of Christ.

In Acts 4:16-17 the ruling counsel said 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” The counsel in Acts 4 included Annas and Caiaphas, two High Priests who had interviewed Jesus and then sent Him bound to the cross. By the time of the events in Acts 4, they realize they cannot argue with the factual truth of Jesus. If people know anything about the resurrection or healings done in His Name, they will discover the truth that He is the Messiah. Therefore, the only choice they have is to censor the discussion. If any light is shed on the subject, even in a biased way, they run the risk of the truth getting out. Their only choice is to outlaw any mention of it. 

If someone does not want a subject talked about in the public sphere, history tells us this is almost always because giving any light on the matter will disprove the official story. One does not have to silence things which disprove themselves. Our world has a big problem with shoes being made by slaves in sweatshops, and recently I have been trying to buy some shoes not made in a sweatshop. There is a particular company that asserts itself as being a virtuous shoe company, giving a pair of shoes to an impoverished nation for every pair someone buys in a developed country. However, they will not give a straight answer to the simple question “are your shoes made in a sweatshop?” Here is a truth: if someone cannot answer a simple question like this in broad daylight, then the answer is not good. If something is indeed false, then the best tactic for defeating it is to shed more light on the subject, not to cut out to the tongues of dissenters and hope that others forget their dissent. 

In our modern world we are afflicted by an inability to receive truth. Sometimes it is a rejection of the truth, and other times a lack of interest. Regardless of intention, our world only tends to believe something is true based on whether or not we like the consequences of something to be true. Rather than letting the truth be its own reward, we tend to be more focused on whether or not we want to live with something being true.

For instance, if we consider the fact that a child has a unique human DNA at the moment of conception, then we will indeed realize that aborting an unborn son or daughter is indeed murdering a child of God at his or her most defenseless state. There are many in the world, even the secular world, who will happily quote 1 John 3:15 saying, “anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer,” so that it can feel morally superior in giving a tut-tut to those who speak roughly, but at the same time they will bear false witness about abortion with the euphemism of calling it healthcare. They ignore the very fact of murder because they do not want to live with the consequential fact that those who advance it are openly advancing murder. The assertion that abortion is healthcare is not rooted in logic, reason, or truth, but in the desire to appear morally superior; however, any recognition that a child is indeed a child will immediately destroy any notion of justice or mercy. It is through this attitude that some become so obsessed with wanting to slander the church as ignorant and immoral that they  completely ignore the fact that they had to stop kissing a statue of baal in order to speak.

Despite this sad degeneration into paganism, we must count it as joy when people kiss a statue to baal before slandering us in our faith. For the more open the world is about its paganistic insanity the easier it is for us to draw the distinction between the Way of Life and the way of death. James 1:2 instructs us to consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials. 

Hell is filled with storytellers and yarn-eaters, but the seat of Heaven has a watchful eye through which all things unknown will be made known. God is one of truth, and in the business of making things known. At the heart of revival, is recognition of an almighty and absolute God. Christ wants us to step into the light and walk in the truth. The more we speak the truth of Christ’s authority over the wind and storm, the more the Gospel is spread. It is God who wants us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, and hell who wants us to be passive and have others think for us. For so long we have been shy about asserting the hard truths of Christ’s power to heal and cast out demons, but the more we awaken the organ of critical thinking on these issues, the more glory is given to God.

When Christ displayed His authority over the sea, He demonstrated with evidence that His power is genuine. He is not here to dismantle creation, but out of love to restore it. The sea is a great mystery, for its depths wait in eternal darkness far beyond the reach of ordinary man. Yet, Christ is even lord over the sea. The miracles of Christ are not a creed, philosophy, or even a narrative. They are a fact, a piece of evidence that one must then either reconcile or reject. Christ gave us the means of verifying the great truths He revealed, both those which were moral and those which were material. 

Our modern world is extraordinarily concerned with whether an idea is “what the scholars say” or if it is merely an opinion held by the “non-college educated,” whether something is the “prevailing narrative” or “conspiracy theory.” But this is the suicide of thought, and Jesus comes in strict rebuke of it. Jesus calms the storms, and He gives us something which is a material fact. People can bicker all day long about whether or not they think Him a sorcerer, but if they recognize the hard fact that He calmed the storm then something serious is awakened. Moreover, the chances are that if people come to terms with the fact that He calmed the storm, they will then realize He is Lord over the sea, and if He is Lord over the Sea then He is indeed the Messiah. From this fact, it will then become certain that His teachings are indeed correct.

The suicide of thought is very serious problem in our modern world. We must understand that reason belongs to God. The more we tell the Gospel and trust its truth to convict fallen hearts, the more it will spread. God wants to transform us and restore our minds that we might be free from the inescapable burdens.

Ephesians 6:10-12 instructs us: 10 finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. It can be discouraging to realize the sinister dimensions of the evil against which we truly stand. However, we must raise up courage. We are called to both be still and know that I am God, as Psalm 46:10 details, but to also contend for the Gospel as instructed in Jude 1:3-4, where the apostle appeals to us saying: I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 4 For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designated for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Peter gives us clarity on how we walk this straight and narrow pathway. 2 Peter 3:11-12 read: since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire?

We must be patient in waiting for God but also hastening the work of Christ’s Kingdom. The world often wants to bait us into going to war with one another over petty things, but Christ wants us to preach His message, which we find in Mark 1:15, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” That is the message that we must preach, and when we let the Gospel out of the cage it will awaken minds more than any popular topic of our day. Sure, the world was obsessed with the politics of Rome vs Jerusalem, but Jesus’ message was altogether different. Jesus did not debate the world on the topics it wanted, but affirmed an entirely different way of thinking. It was the Gospel and its unwavering truth, and it alone is the way to good, the true, and the beautiful.

[d2kvirus]

Dickheads of the Month: September 2020

As it seems that there are people who say or do things that are remarkably dickheaded yet somehow people try to make excuses for them or pretend it never happened, here is a collection of some of the dickheaded actions we saw in the month of September 2020 to make sure that they are never forgotten.

Remember how proven liar Boris Johnson said he had a world-beating oven-ready Britait deal, which was also the basis of his election slogan campaign of “Get Britait done” and the lack of support for the deal is the reason he sacked 21 of his own MPs?  Just asking, because he tore the whole thing up and said it was unworkable - which also led to Brandon Lewis saying in Parliament, so it is now forever enshrined in the Hansard, that De Pfeffel merely broke international law “in a very specific and limited way” - you know, sort of like how the Manson Family broke the law in a very specific and limited way

The bold vision of a new BBC shared by Tim Davie was revealed when he threatened comedy shows with the axe if they kept making jokes about Britait, the Tory Party or Donald Trump on his first day on the job, because as we all know the best form of comedy comes from punching down rather than up, which is why Little Britain definitely hasn’t aged appallingly

Master of decorum Donald Trump couldn’t even wait a few short hours after Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death before he started rallying the foot soldiers about cramming somebody more fitting with what he wanted into the Supreme Court

Mayor of Amity Island governor of Florida Ron DeSantis continued his bid to be recognised for having the worst response to the Covid pandemic in the congress of having the worst possible response to the Covid pandemic by deciding that, actually, the state of Florida needs to lessen its Covid restrictions at a time when cases of Covid have begun to rise alarmingly in the state

It’s no surprise that proven liar Boris Johnson lied in Parliament by referring to Serco’s failing test & trace app as “NHS Test & Trace” - however the biggest issue is that the BBC had been using the exact same phrase for at least two weeks before that

Nobody was surprised to hear smirking cretin Priti Patel personally using the term “activist lawyers” that the Home Office (headed by P. Patel) had previously used to dehumanise and demean people upholding those pesky immigration laws that the Tory Party really don’t like getting in the way

Tax dodging orange goblin Donald Trump was asked a simple question: Do you think that white supremacists are a problem?  We are still waiting for an answer to that question...

Okay, so now the Conservative Party are cracking down on people breaking lockdown, with threats of a £10,000 fine - rather than circling the wagons around them and throwing out one cock and bull excuse after another like they did when Dominic Cummings broke lockdown to nip off to Durham after testing positive for Covid on what just so happened to be his wife’s birthday

You know that Matt Hancock is good at his job when, having been sent out in front of the cameras to defend The Tory Party appointing ex-Australian PM and all-around arsehole Tony Abbott as a trade advisor in spite his history of misogynistic, homophobic and “Let’s kill the elderly so we can survive Covid” comments the best he could do was say he was a good negotiator...which promptly led to all manner of comments about Harold Shipman being a good GP and Fred West laying one hell of a patio 

According to Jacob Rees Mogg the public having a legitimate complaint about it being damn near impossible to have a Covid test is nothing more than “endless carping” and not, say, legitimate criticism of a woefully underprepared government trying to coast by on the bare minimum who have the gall to try and blame the public for their long list of catestrophic fuckups

It was no surprise to hear proven liar Boris Johnson hand-wringing about “the freedom of the press” after Extinction Rebellion finally realised that being annoying idiots is far more likely to gain support if you’re being annoying idiots with a purpose - just as it was no surprise to hear that proven liar Boris Johnson had no opinion whatsoever of Tim Davie telling BBC newsreaders to fall in line with the corporation (read: Tory) line or they’d be sacked

Once again there was a chance for Keir Starmer to show that his talk of being “true Opposition” is more than a soundbite and, once again, he wimped out on it when ordering Labour MPs to abstain from voting on the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill for fear of being accused of being “anti-British” by voting for a bill created to stop prosecution of British troops for using torture instead of voting against it - and then sacking Nadia Whittome, Beth Winter, and Olivia Blake from their junior ministerial positions when they were three of the 18 Labour MPs who voted against it

It clearly never occurred to Marsha Blackburn when she was browbeating people about the Constitution of the US never being rewritten that the Constitution of the US has been rewritten several times already.  There’s a reason they’re called “Amendments” and not “Footnotes” you know...

Smirking cretin Priti Patel proudly stated that, if she saw her neighbours, she’d gladly call the police due to them breaking the law.  This was around 14 hours after she’d voted to break international law in the Commons, or a few short years after she broke ministerial code by nipping over to Israel to have undisclosed meetings with israeli officials, which begs the question about whether her neighbours are just as willing, doesn’t it?

Judging by Alan Sugar tweeting out conspiracy theories about Covid being created in a Wuhan lab, I think it's safe to say that no Apprentice game show host is capable of not acting like a complete arse on Twitter.  Luckily for the UK, Sugar isn’t Prime Minister - he’s merely a member of the House of Lords...

It’s been a while since WWE acted like totalitarian dicks to the wrestlers employed independently contracted to them but they managed to find one by telling every single one of their employees independent contractors that they could no longer use Twitch or Cameo as it was decided this was being “detrimental” to the company...you know, the bunch of carnies who sign billion dollar deals with our journalist-murdering, woman-oppressing, Yemeni-slaughtering, 9/11-planning “allies” Saudi Arabia, don’t have any for of healthcare for their employees independent contractors, continued a pay per view even though one of their employees independent contractors died due to a stunt going wrong that was linked to the company cheaping out on a safety harness, and apparently not knowing that the term “independent contractor” doesn’t mean the company can sign them to five year deals but sack them at any point - and then prevent them from working anywhere else for 90 days

We had confirmation of Alison Pearson possessing a terrifying combination of pig ignorance and outright sociopathy when she began a Telegraph article with the following: “My son has Covid-19.  Good.”

Sour grapes from Lisa Nandy over people forgetting she was in the Labour leadership race judging by how she apparently didn’t listen to a party pledge to tax corporations and instead spout off a bunch of nonsensical gibberish that sounded uncannily like Britain First rhetoric under the belief that sounding like Britain First is guaranteed to win back working class Northern voters

Litigious TERF JK Rowling revealed her latest book is about a man who murders people while dressed as a woman, which definitely hasn’t drawn any form of comment whatsoever...

You would like to believe that reports of Limestone Games not only effectively stealing the game Aeon Must Die! from the actual dev team who were forced out of the company by a culture of abuse and harassment by a shady cabal who took over the studio would have eld to the game’s release being postponed, especially after it emerged that assets used in the game’s trailer were infringing on various copyrights - but instead Focus Home Entertainment responded by twiddling their thumbs and doing nothing

I’m sure there’s no connection between Alan Sugar demanding people go back to work as if the number of Covid cases has been rising to an alarming degree and how Alan Sugar is bemoaning that his commercial property portfolio is not making him “enough” money due to people staying at home.  None whatsoever...

The fact that those moron parents in California started a wildfire after setting off fireworks for their baby’s gender reveal party that led to over 20,000 people having to evacuate their homes is dickheaded enough - but the fact that it’s not the first case of this happening, as a similar incident happened in Arizona back in 2018, makes them look even more dickheaded

If you want to say you put Britain before anything else, like Andrea Jenkyns did in her latest Twitter tsunami of childishness and spite, it doesn't look good when you say you're pro-Trump before pre-De Pfeffel as it defeats your own argument almost as fast as being Andrea Jenkyns - or, you know, failing to spell the word “British” correctly when accusing people of being anti-British

It would have been wise if West Ham announced that manager David Moyes and two players had tested positive for Covid before their match with Hull - not after the match had kicked off, leading to Moyes legging it out of the stadium

Whatever it is in the mind of DeAnna Lorraine that snapped and had her babbling insane nonsense that The Masked Singer is part of a covert plot to have people wearing masks probably can’t be repaired, and appears to have also caused her to accuse anyone who thinks she does sound insane of being acolytes of George Soros

Professional victim Laurence Fox somehow believed that posting a chat log of a conversation between himself and Rebecca Front and then howling about being “cancelled” - and then a few hours later had to very publicly backtrack, no doubt because his agent had several dozen words with him

I have no idea why David Cameron convinced himself that showing himself helping out in the Chipping Norton food bank was a good idea, considering he’s the reason why food banks exist in the first place

How nice of Manchester Metropolitan University to tell the students who were confined to accomodation so unable to go out and buy food, who were paying £9000 tuition fees for face-to-face tutoring that was done via Zoom that makes such good value of the hundreds of pounds of rent they have to pay per month when they could have had those same lectures from home, that they’re not allowed to protest about this situation and had to take any signs posted on their windows critical of the government down immediately

In normal circumstances Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden sneaking girls into the England team hotel would look pretty stupid, especially in Foden’s case considering the odds of his live-in girlfriend not finding out about this are practically nil, but during a global pandemic it looked so incredibly boneheaded it’s lucky they play for the Manchester clubs otherwise the front pages would be calling them ignorant traitors or some such bullshit

Nothing sums up Premier League referees quite like them clearly not understanding the current definition of the handball rule, but rather than actually look it up they make it up as they go alone leading to more penalties being awarded for handball in the first four rounds of Premier League fixtures than in entire seasons - not helped by Premier League referees also operating VAR, where they seem to have a policy of “If you ignore my cock up, I’ll ignore yours”

And finally, inventing yet another terror atrocity, is Donald Trump and his batshit insane proclamations about cans of soup being a much bigger threat to American lives than, say, and AR-15.  But then again, it’s not like his support base has a habit of throwing cans of soup at crowds of people

[immigrationquebeccanada]

21 Amazing Things You Should Know Before You Migrate to Canada

It's hard not to get eager about Canada migration. The place is delightful and the people are renowned for their good characters. You have a bowl of maple syrup for breakfast, ski to work and say 'sorry' to everybody en route. Simply be mindful so as not to chance upon any bears. We'd prefer to disclose to you all the most significant things about existence in the Great White North, from ice-hockey and twofold duplicates to packed away milk. So, read on!

1. Canada is huge

Canada's extraordinary for people who like it, in light of the fact that there's totally heaps of it. The nation is the second biggest on the world after Russia estimating almost ten million square kilometers. In the event that that doesn't mean anything to you, think about this: you could fit the United Kingdom into Canada more than 40 times. It would take you more than four years to walk its coastline, in the event that you ever wanted. The city of St John's in Newfoundland (east coast) is in reality nearer to London than it is to Vancouver (west coast). Wood Buffalo National Park is greater than the Netherlands. To make everything a touch more reasonable, Canada is divided into ten provinces and three territories. Simply take the nation each piece in turn.

  2. The cities are world class

Metropolitan life in Canada is the honey bee's knees. In the Economist's 2017 ranking of the world's most liveable urban areas, no under three Canadian urban communities put in the best ten. They were Vancouver (third), Toronto (fourth) and Calgary (fifth). The five variables were medical services, education, infrastructure, environment, and stability. It's hard to believe, but it's true, these urban communities are basically asking to be lived in. With regards to the significant stuff, the Canucks just ca-thump the ball directly out of the park. One thing to be cleared , the capital of Canada is Ottawa, not Toronto.

3. It’s very multicultural

People simply love moving to Canada, and Canada simply adores having them over. Over 20% of Canadians were conceived in another nation, and this is required to reach almost half by 2031. That is an insane pace of migration, however there's all that anyone could need space to go around. There are almost 200 nationalities the nation over (and more than 250 ethnic origins), including heaps of Aboriginal people. We surmise Canada is only a major, lovely rainbow.

  4. Two official languages

One authority language was insufficient for the Canadians, so English and French have equivalent status over yonder. In the event that you believe that sounds troublesome, envision being in Singapore (four official languages) or India (sixteen official languages). You don't generally see the Frenchness of the nation except if you're in the eastern territory of Quebec, where people are making a decent attempt to keep things as French as could reasonably be expected. There are laws upheld by the OQLF (essentially the language police) to ensure everybody utilizes enough French. In the event that a shop doesn't put French on its signs and welcome its clients in French, it's in difficulté.

  5. You’ve got good healthcare options

Canada's medical services are the jealousy of their American neighbors toward the south. It's an expense financed Medicare system where the government pays for people's fundamental health insurance, which is then conveyed by the private area. It resembles the NHS; in the event that you require any fundamental clinical services, you get them for free. It just includes a touch of waiting.

Indeed, Canada's hold up times aren't incredible; a 2017 Commonwealth Fund survey found that solitary 43% of Canadians see a medical professional around the same time as looking for help. Luckily there are heaps of ways around this, for example, being companions with a doctor, marrying a doctor,, or surely becoming a doctor. All joking aside, considering your private healthcare options is really reasonable, especially in the event that you need to evade those long holding up times.

  6. The landscapes are beautiful

Indeed, the urban areas are good, however the spaces between the cities are far and away superior. 90% of Canadians live inside 100 miles of the American borders, which implies there's a genuine measure of space for investigating in the north. In the event that you need to move away from different people for some time (or surely forever) at that point the open door's there. Beside bubbling deserts and tropical rainforests, Canada basically has each scene going. There's the tough coastline of Pacific Rim, the supernatural Meadows in the Sky, and the rock piles of Gros Morne, to give some examples. The Alberta Badlands are especially very nice in the event that you need to feel like a cowpoke in an old western film. Yee-haw!

  7. Lakes, lakes and more lakes

You know the familiar axiom: everybody's either a freshwater individual or a saltwater individual? Indeed, with the longest coastline on the planet and 20% of the Earth's lakes, Canada has the best of the two universes. New people and pungent people can live respectively in concordance. There are around 2,000,000 lakes in Canada, including the totally walloping Lake Superior, which is about the size of Maine. You can do all the fun watersports that the Australians do, however without stressing over the sharks. It's one major straightforward sprinkle party over yonder.

  8. It’s freezing cold

There's a bad situation for words like 'chilly and 'nippy' in Canada. At the point when we state it gets cold, we mean truly ridiculous cold. Aside from the nation's west coast in British Columbia, no place else in Canada does the normal temperature surpass zero in winter time. Tremendous pieces of the nation can plunge as low as - 30°C or - 40°C, which makes going outside genuinely unenjoyable. Toss in the serious breeze chill and nature are an off limits. The coldest temperature ever recorded in North America was in Yukon, Canada in 1947 at - 63°C, which is truly equivalent to the surface temperature of Mars. Out of nowhere those lakes don't appear to be engaging.

  9. They’re obsessed with ice-hockey

Hitting a weighty item around with sticks wasn't hazardous enough for the Canadians, so they chose to do it on ice. What else would you say you are intended to do with each one of those solidified lakes in the winter? Referred to just as "hockey" over yonder, the sports is fundamentally a religion. Just to give you a thought, the Canada versus USA men's hockey last at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010 was the most watched in front of the TV broadcast in Canadian history. There's even an image of children playing hockey on a solidified lake (known as shinny) on the Canadian $5 bill. It turns out the game was really developed in England, but don't tell any Canadians that.

10. Milk comes in bags

On the off chance that you think purchasing a major plastic sack of milk sounds odd, you are completely right. It's a peculiar practice that goes on all through Ontario and Quebec. Three individual bags of milk are set in one bigger sack, which the sharp Canadian milk-consumer at that point hauls home. The customary container of milk appears to work for every other person, yet in certain pieces of Canada it's the bag or nothing. When the nation changed to the metric system in 1970, milk makers needed to change every one of their machines so they could create diverse estimated bottles. Bagging it up just appeared to be much simpler. So here we are.

  11. Everyone loves poutine

Poutine is Canada's public dish. "Poutine" is slang in Quebec province for "a mess", which is essentially what you get. Chips shrouded in sauce and half-dissolved cheddar curds. It doesn't seem like an especially humble supper, yet the Canadians love it in no way different. It was invented in 1957 when a driver requested that somebody put cheddar on his chips and sauce. One person needed a touch of cheddar and out of nowhere a public dish was conceived. Gourmet specialists around the nation have attempted to make it a touch more extravagant, tossing in things like lobster and foie gras, however it's a losing fight. Simply keep an eye out for those calories; a side request of poutine in Burger King contains 740 of them. Heavy meal.

  12. And maple syrup

Truly, the generalization is valid; Canadians are distraught for maple syrup. That sweet, sweet goo can be found in virtually every kitchen the nation over. The stuff basically courses through their veins. Maple trees are all over Canada and they're wonderful, turning a brilliant red shading in the fall. Some time ago, locals in Quebec told the French the best way to gather the sap from maple trees, and afterward the French bubbled it to make the syrup. It was an upbeat coordinated effort that Canada is extremely glad for. The bubbling cycle expands the sugar content in the sap from around 2-8% to a monstrous 70%, which is completely unfortunate for your teeth. Today, Canada produces 71% of the world's maple syrup, and the US is their greatest client. In 2012, thieves attacked Canada's maple syrup holds and took US$30 million worth of maple syrup. That is one sweet heist.

  13. They had a flag design competition

How would you make a public banner that the entire nation is happy with? You request that they plan it. In 1965, Canada understood that they actually didn't have an official banner, so the people at the top concluded they ought to get one. Different nations had just taken all the straightforward plans, so the Canadians needed to get imaginative. Furthermore, kid did they convey! An aggregate of 3541 banner plans were put together by residents the nation over, with the vast majority of them including either a maple leaf, a beaver, a fleurs-de-lys or a Union Jack (and now and then each of the four on the double). The triumphant passage originated from Colonel George F. G. Stanley, with his basic red and white maple leaf plan. The one we as a whole know and love. Also, the one that all Canadian voyagers demand having on their knapsacks.

  14. The education is top notch

In Canada, school is cool. With regards to showing their children, the Canadians don't play. In the OECD's 2017 positioning of nations' grown-up training levels (in light of the level of long term olds with a degree), Canada started things out with 56.27%. It may be awful for your teeth, however maple syrup unmistakably accomplishes something for the mind. In the event that you end up in a bar test against a lot of Canadians, it's likely best to return home before it gets excessively humiliating.

  15. Learn the slang

'Canadian English' is an extraordinary sort of English. The Canucks talk their own language and it can confound the hellfire out of any ill-equipped outsider. There are just so often you can request that somebody rehash themselves before you simply gesture and grin. The most popular expression is 'eh', which Canadians like to slap on the finish of practically any sentence. Explanations, questions, affronts, orders; everything is reasonable game with regards to 'eh'. In the event that somebody goes to the "biffy" at that point they're set for the latrine. In the event that it's cool, at that point you'll require a "hat" (a beanie) on your head. A $1 coin is a "loonie" and a $2 coin is a "toonie". The lively word for a kilometer is a "klick". On the off chance that anybody converses with you about "the 6ix", they're discussing Toronto. At the point when they state "about", it seems like "aboat". It's all exceptionally overpowering.

  16. Sorry!

"Sorry" is Canada's most significant word. Each Canadian is only edgy to apologize to different Canadians at some random chance. They're a broadly obliging pack, and "sorry" is their meat and potatoes. Toss enough "sorry"s at a circumstance and there is no reason to worry. Stroll down a road or through a grocery store and you'll hear constantly it. Actually, Canadians utilize the word such a great amount of that in 2009 they needed to pass an 'Expression of remorse Act' in Ontario. It implies that if any Canadian says 'sorry' at the hour of a wrongdoing or episode, it won't consider an affirmation of blame – only a declaration of compassion. Without this, there'd presumably be a ton of regretful Canadians in jail.

  17. Timmies is everywhere

In a rundown of exceptionally Canadian things, Tim Hortons is likely third – soon after maple syrup and expressions of remorse. Referred to warmly as 'Timmies', it's a chain of espresso and doughnut shops and there are branches all over the place. They're in shopping centers, train stations, films, public stops, the rundown goes on. Practically every town across Canada has a Timmies. On the off chance that a space opens up on the high road, it will get loaded up with a Timmies. Leave your nursery sufficiently long and it will in the end grow a Timmies. Evidently eight out of each ten cups of espresso bought in Canada are from Timmies (source: Timmies). A public most loved is the Timmies "twofold", which is an espresso with two sugars and two creams. An additional huge one of those has 340 calories. Have too some twofold pairs and you'll be in a tough situation inconvenience.

  18. Canada’s furry friends

The moose and the beaver are Canada's public mascots. They're both on the cash, and the pair of them were lining up directly behind the maple leaf to go on the banner. Nonetheless, likewise with most public creatures, they've gotten somewhat of a bug. A moose regularly weighs between 350-450kg (contingent upon sexual orientation), which is fine. Be that as it may, they simply love to go across streets, and they're not awesome at it. Moose-vehicle impacts can be intense, so you'll see heaps of caution signs on Canadian streets. The beavers are planning something sinister either. They're assaulting canines, gnawing hands, flooding streets and just for the most part causing devastation. Certain people have attempted to separate them however it's exceptionally disputable. Simply take a gander at how adorable a child beaver is (called a unit). Envision separating that.

  19. Beware of the bears

Canadian bears. They're somewhat less "fun and fleecy" than the beavers and a smidgen more "large and perilous". In the event that a bear needs to murder you, it can and it will. There are three sorts of bears to stress over, from least to generally terrifying: wild bears, mountain bears and polar bears. Wild bears don't will in general go close to people except if they're really starving. They're incredible tree-climbers and there are around 500,000 of them the nation over. Wild bears are a lot greater (around seven feet tall when standing), so they can't climb trees however they can run more than 30 mph. Numbering around 20,000, grizzlies are considerably more liable to assault people than their little dark siblings. At last, there are the polar bears. There are around 17,000 polar bears in Canada, which is about 70% of the whole worldwide populace. Super cold, these ones need no encouragement to assault you. Inhabitants of Churchill, Manitoba really leave their vehicle entryways opened on the off chance that somebody needs cover. Fortunately polar bears actually haven't turned out to be the means by which to open a vehicle entryway.

20. There are bridges for animals

One answer for all the creature vehicle crashes in Canada is to assemble spans for them. Also, it really works. The extensions are lush, verdant and only a stunning method to go across the street. They're a raving success with the creatures in Banff National Park; somewhere in the range of 1996 and 2012, eleven types of enormous vertebrate were recorded utilizing these scaffolds more than 150,000 times. This incorporates moose and bears – creatures that would positively have caused a genuine mishap in the event that they took the standard street course. Certain moose were so quick to utilize the extensions that they were traverse them before they'd even completed the process of being assembled. Banff has started the precedent and now puts across Canada have connect fever, for example, British Columbia and Alberta. It's a success win for all.

  21. Pekwachnamaykoskwaskwaypinwanik

It may seem as though a feline has quite recently strolled over the console, yet this is really a spot in Canada. It's a lake and its name (in the local Cree language) signifies "where the wild trout are gotten by fishing with snares". Magnificently, there is no deficiency of crazy spot names in Canada. A few people simply haven't accepted the position genuinely enough. Look at these towns and towns: Goobies, Dildo (Newfoundland), Balls Creek, Lower Economy, Mushaboom (Nova Scotia), Punkeydoodles Corners, Crotch Lake, Ball's Falls (Ontario), Finger, Flin Flon (Manitoba), Mosquito Grizzly Bear's Head Lean Man, Eyebrow and Big Beaver (Saskatchewan). The best part is that there's Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! In Quebec. Indeed, there are really two 'Ha!'s.

Final Thoughts

Ideally you're feeling beautiful Canada-insane in the wake of understanding that. It's a tremendous, lovely and multicultural nation with all that anyone could need enjoyable to go around. Get yourself a hockey stick and a bag of milk and you'll be an out and out Canadian before you know it. What's more, you shouldn't let the bears put you off – they simply make going external a smidgen all the more energizing. Now are you excited to move in Canada?

[emcases]

Covid-19

There are no simple answers when it comes to Covid-19, aka SARS-CoV-2.  The following is an opinion.

Clinical course

Covid-19 is similar to other coronaviruses.  The lungs are its target.  Patients crash from hypoxia and respiratory failure.  Hypotension and shock are less common.  Cardiogenic shock is a major late complication.  There are reports of co-infection - e.g. patients with the flu and Covid-19.  Elderly patients may have mild symptoms and then crash quickly.  (Source - Wash St ED doc).

Epidemics

I have two major recommendations when it comes to epidemics.  (1) Pay attention to the news.  (2) Assume the logical.  You canNOT rely on the Department of Health or any governmental agency to provide you with up-to-date information.  Official warnings are often delayed, sometimes incorrect, and occasionally falsified (a problem not unique to the Trump administration).

Another critical point during the epidemic is to learn from others.  Worldwide and nationwide, the pandemic is hitting different locations at different times.  Washington State is ahead of New York State, which is ahead of Maine.  Learn from Taiwan.  Learn from Washington St. 

Testing

Testing for Covid-19 is like testing for the flu or any other viral epidemic.  There are two reasons for testing - public health and patient care.  Testing matters more for public health reasons than patient care,.  Testing rarely affects patient management since the treatment of viral illnesses, even when severe, is largely supportive.  Testing impacts public health in terms of epidemiology (i.e. hey everyone this flu season will be terrible), containing the spread, and mobilizing (or not mobilizing) resources.

I don’t test patients for the flu unless I’m admitting them (I also test patients out-of-season to detect the beginning of epidemics).  My approach to Covid-19 isn’t much different, except that patients have much more fear.  My ED is flooded by the worried-well and the worried-not-so-sick.  If testing were not a limited resource, virtually everyone should be tested because it would help to contain the epidemic.  It should be mentioned that the sensitivity of Covid-19 testing is unknown.  Coronaviruses are difficult to culture.

A big problem that we encounter is that the public is given conflicting information.  On Friday, the public is told that everyone should come to the ED for testing.  On Saturday, the public is told that no one should come for testing.  What is a person to do?

Have you watched “Contagion”?  You should. 

I would clean the ED as often as possible.

**

Case 1.  

Pro test: A man has to work to feed his family.

Con test: The patient is asymptomatic.  Testing positive would make no difference clinically.  Now that states are banning most people from going to work, testing would not allow most patients to return to work.

**

Case 2.  

Pro test: We already know DOH screwed this up.  The problem in the beginning of the epidemic is finding a lab that will do the test.  If a new treatment is discovered, it may help the patient.

Con test: There’s no counterpoint here.  The patient should be tested for Covid-19.

**

Case 3.  Like every other viral epidemic, patients will sit in the common areas of the ED, exposing everyone else to the disease.  The obvious solution is to send the patient home and have a doctor / nurse treat the patient at home, but the U.S. health-care system is not prepared to do this.

Pro test: The patient has all the risk factors for severe illness.

Con test: The patient may be well enough to send home.

**

Case 4.  You cannot rely on the hospital to protect their health-care workers (HCWs).  As everyone knows, adequate personal protective equipment is not available in many EDs, and yet the hospital expects HCWs to go and take care of patients.  That’s like telling a police officer to go to work without a vest or a side-arm.  It is not safe.  HCWs are complacent with this insanity because we care more for the patients than ourselves.  We’re willing to risk our lives to help others.  The unspoken fear is the likelihood that a HCW will die of an occupational Covid-19 infection.

A big danger of Covid-19 is that it is more contagious than your average virus.  Patients are at greater risk of contracting the disease from HCWs.  What’s a safe time-line?  No one knows.  If you read the CDC’s guideline on HCWs and Covid-19, there’s an obvious paradox (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/healthcare-facilities/hcp-return-work.html).  The stay-away period may be shorter than the 14-day self-quarantine period.

Pro test: You don’t want the HCWs to be infected, be asymptomatic, come to work, and spread the infection.

Con test: HCWs can self-quarantine and follow the watchful waiting approach.

Infected HCWs may need to continue working if many HCWs get hit with the virus.  In some respects, this is already happening.

[25000yearcycle]

All The Craziest Things About America Are Being Highlighted By This Virus

By Caitlin Johnstone

“Corona is a black light and America is a cum-stained hotel room,” comedian Megan Amram colorfully tweeted a couple of weeks ago. Her observation has only grown more accurate since.

March 28, 2020 "Information Clearing House" -   The corporate cronyism of America’s political system has been highlighted with a massive kleptocratic multitrillion-dollar corporate bailout of which actual Americans are only receiving a tiny fraction. Instead of putting that money toward paying people a living wage to stay home during a global pandemic, the overwhelming majority of the money is going to corporations while actual human beings receive a paltry $1,200 (which they won’t even be getting until May at the earliest) at a time of record-smashing unemployment.

America’s capitalism worship has been highlighted with Wall Street Journal headline “Dow Soars More Than 11% In Biggest One-Day Jump Since 1933” running at the exact same time as “Record Rise in Unemployment Claims Halts Historic Run of Job Growth — More than 3 million workers file for jobless benefits as coronavirus hits the economy”. Stocks are booming, Amazon is surging, and mountains of wealth are being transferred to sprawling megacorporations, while actual human beings are terrified of what the future holds.

America’s joke of a healthcare system is being highlighted as uninsured COVID-19 patients are racking up $35,000 medical bills and even insured COVID-19 patients are looking at out-of-pocket expenses in excess of $1,300. Combine this with the millions of Americans getting thrown off of employer-provided health insurance and you’re looking at a huge number of people who will avoid getting tested and avoid treatment as much as possible. Both heads of America’s two-headed one-party system have spent decades forcefully creating this dynamic.

America’s income and wealth inequality is being highlighted in a nation suffering from all of the above problems while most Americans were already unable to afford a mere $1,000 emergency expense. A one-time $1,200 payment to a population already stretched that thin guarantees that millions will be plunged into crushing debt and destitution in a nation with a historically unprecedented billionaire class raking in even more unearned wealth.

The insanity of America’s war machine has been highlighted as awareness grows during a global health emergency that government military spending negatively impacts government healthcare spending and the US has the most bloated military budget on the planet. Now as journalist Max Blumenthal explains this war machine’s escalating hostility toward China is causing Americans to needlessly die of the virus.

America’s fake political system has been highlighted as the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee completely vanished for a week and then returned to deliver an embarrassing string of befuddled interviews upon his return, reminding the nation once again that the Democrats are running an actual, literal dementia patient for the most powerful elected office in the world. Biden will of course be running against an incoherent reality TV star who only last week decided that the virus is indeed a real problem which needs to be seriously addressed, and who now already wants to begin rolling back the inadequate measures his administration implemented far too late. The debates between two men who don’t understand what they’re doing and can’t string a sentence together between them will soon be broadcast around the world for all of civilization to behold.

America’s lying mass media are being highlighted with propagandistic lines that would make Kim Jong Un blush, like The New York Times claiming today that “the American medical system is unsurpassed and its public health system has a reputation as one of the finest in the world”. We can safely expect US media to get even more demented as they expands their hysteria-inducing new cold war propaganda campaign against Russia to China as well.

America’s murderous sanctions machine has been highlighted as the US continues ramping up its economic warfare against Iranian civilians, with thousands already dead and potentially millions to follow due to Tehran’s inability to access necessary equipment, medicine and resources during the pandemic. The Trump administration has not eased the sanctions during the outbreak, and has in fact added to them, because killing Iranian civilians has always been the goal. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has gone on record to say that the objective is to make Iranian civilians so miserable and desperate that they overthrow their own government.

So basically everything crazy about America is being amplified to absurd caricatures of its own insanity and highlighted for everyone to see. There’s a lot of ugliness coming out into the light as a result of this virus, which may end up being one of its few perks for everyone. As they say of both viruses and governments, sunlight is the best disinfectant.

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[challengerbmxmag]

Go Fund Us? an Interview with Professor Lauren Berliner

Paul Smith by Joshua Lucero This interview originally appeared in Challenger BMX Magazine Volume 2, Issue 4. Winter 2018/2019. Interview by Nick Ferreira When I first donated to someone’s GoFundMe medical campaign, I thought it was an innocent idea: Someone is in need and they don’t have enough money to pay for it. Seems like a no-brainer. But as I began to think about this concept of a private web site acting as a safety net for healthcare (not to mention the countless other types of campaigns, but we’re talking medical here), it all started to feel incredibly troubling and confusing.* Luckily there’s people out there researching this stuff. People like Professor Lauren Berliner, a faculty member at the University of Washington Bothell. Berliner works in the area of critical media practice and with the anthropologist Nora Kenworthy, co-authored the paper, “Producing a worthy illness: Personal crowdfunding amidst financial crisis.” This paper, published August 2017 in Social Science & Medicine, discusses things like media literacy, the idea of “deservingness,” and how GoFundMe perpetuates the inequality of the US healthcare system. Professor Berliner talked with me about her research and how it intersects with our small world of BMX

One of the things you discussed in the article is this idea of “deservingness.” What is deservingness and what do you think some of the more troubling aspects of deservingness are that came up in your research? In general the idea that we are bombarded with so many campaigns at this point. Our attention is just not split amongst medical campaigns. On social media we have campaigns competing for lots of different issues. You might have one on your feed looking for funding for medical or another one that is really compelling for car repair funds. It’s not like you are only comparing medical campaigns when you are thinking about deservingness. In talking to crowdfunders and looking at the ways in which people write about their needs in crowdfunding campaigns it became very apparent that people are trying to frame themselves and their stories as deserving of funds. We live in a country in which asking for money is often associated with shame and self-sufficiency and the “bootstrap mythology” really prevails. When you have to ask for money it’s very hard even if you can point to a million systemic failures to say well, “yeah we actually still really need this.” So people who have very discrete, concrete asks: “we have everything we need but we need money for this treatment that is possibly going to save this child.” The campaigner might be imagining that the reader is looking for reasons why this person should not get the money. Because we hear a lot about fraud in campaigns. And people tend to approach them with a bit of suspicion if they don’t know the people involved very well. And so deservingness is, at least from talking to people who want to prove it in the healthcare arena, that they’ve done all they can to take care of themselves, and therefore they are deserving. There’s two modes of deserving: “I am deserving” and then there’s the flip side: “There’s nothing I did to deserve this.” Where, when you think about certain kinds of cancer linked to smoking or sexual transmitted illnesses or other kinds of health conditions that have been linked to stigmatized practices, it’s much harder and we see much fewer of those kinds of cases.

Yeah and that’s part of what I’ve been thinking about in regards to BMX, skateboarding, snowboarding, etc. It’s a risk adverse activity. I think a lot of people think why would I give this person money if they knew what they were getting into. I don’t know if there’s a right answer to this—it seems like a moral question, but also seems like a slippery slope. What’s the difference between someone who went for a run and got hit by a car vs. someone who is riding BMX because it’s healthy and fun? When you first contacted us, I had the same thought. You are dealing with a sport that a lot of people would stay away from because by virtue it seems risky. I’d imagine in the realm of BMX related cases, where the person has an injury due to the sport, not if they are in the community and get cancer, but if it’s something injury related. Or, even someone who does have cancer and their goal is to get better so they can do BMX again, there’s a way in which that might potentially be a hinderance for them. But the flip side is that their network and community are people who are part of the community. And probably, I would imagine, from what we’ve seen the more the campaigner ties themselves to an already in place community the more likely they are to get funds because they have that sympathy across networks.

You are completely right. And I think that us something that BMX prides itself on that. Which is really kind of beautiful. I think that’s an aspect of crowdfunding that is quite nice. But to speak to your article and your research, I think it does take away the conversation from the fact that a better health care system would mean we wouldn’t need to be doing this. Right or when we talk to people in countries where they do have universal healthcare and the things people are campaigning for are not the actual healthcare. It’s the stuff around it: travel to a care facility, the kinds of nice things to have when you are bed-ridden, travel for family. Not the actual  procedures and medicines, etc.

I think that leads to this next question, people talk about shows like Black Mirror and how we are one step away from dystopia. But this idea of self marketing, to me seems like it is already a super dystopian scenario. You have to prove yourself to get your healthcare paid for on a web site that takes 5% of your costs. Yes. Well at this point they aren’t taking 5% anymore but they do have this tip model which is super confusing to people, even to myself, and I work on this topic. I was giving to a campaign and it said “Would you like to give a tip?” and when I see “tip” I think of the service model and people who are working class who are trying to get tips on top of low wages and my do-gooder instinct is “Oh yeah, provide a tip” (laughs). And then I thought about it and I thought “this tip is not for the person, the tip is for GoFundMe.” And the word tip—I find the word tip very manipulative personally.

For sure. I donated to a friend’s campaign not too long ago and I thought ,"Hell no. Why would I donate to GoFundMe. That seems insane." It’s interesting because we are at a point, you mentioned self-marketing, but self-marketing and branding has been increasingly part of our popular culture and our social theatre for, I would say, 10 years with the emergence of web 2.0 and people engaging in different forms of self produced media like YouTube channels and Facebook pages. And so the idea of cultivating a unified brand or expressing one’s values and needs through social media, is something that we’ve been slowly naturalizing ourselves to. So it’s not like crowdfunding comes along and suddenly bam—we’re self-marketing. We’ve been self-marketing but it’s being applied to different concepts. So the dystopia is part of a larger, I mean there’s so many things connected to the dystopian vision of our world right now, everything from climate change to all the different events happening around the world. This is just one piece. And you can see the ways in which the “goodness of the crowd” or sharing economy is continually pointed to as a way out of social and economic ills. So like “Oh, help the migrants that came through San Diego.” Everyone get behind this with money or send blankets. That kind of approach is super well intentioned and very impactful, most of the time, but that’s where the energy is going.

Totally and that brings me to my last question and I think the problem with a lot of these campaigns is that it continues to undermine these public and social institutions that, I think, should be the things that are taking care of people in a first world country and if they aren’t “profitable” they are the devil. I feel like, to that point, in the past 5 years since Nora (Kenworthy) and I have started working on this project, the idea of crowdfunding has become so popularized to the point of becoming part of most people’s everyday experience. Whereas when we started, we had to explain what crowdfunding meant. It was a very new area.

That’s so interesting. Yeah. There’s ways we’ve become naturalized to its existence as a means of survival. It helps to further obscure super abstract areas of our healthcare system in general. So knowing how much your hospital or doctor is going to charge you is generally a mystery until you get the bill. And even when you get the bill it’s still pretty much a mystery unless you track down how much this Tylenol is and the adjustments your insurance company will make, if you’re lucky enough to have insurance, is also really confusing. And most people, if you’re like me, just kind of  lean back and go “okay, I’m going to sit and let the bills collect and then figure it out” and so then on the flip side asking for funding is equally abstract. People who set up Go Fund Me’s we talk to are like “I don’t know how much to ask for. We don’t know how much this is going to cost.” Just even doing the math and then deciding what are people willing to give. There’s a lot of economic reckoning people are doing that is not guided by whatever resources are available for people in need or should be available for people in need. But really just trying to dance around or with this really abstract, weird medical care system that does not put people’s health first.

*Big Editor's Note: In no way would I ever blame someone for using GoFundMe nor do I think it is bad if you make a GoFundMe campaign. I want to emphasize that this is a critique of the US healthcare system and the techno utopia we are often told will save us. I don't know the answers but I'm trying to learn more. Thanks to Lauren Berliner for taking the time to discuss this stuff with me.

[love-and-socialism]

There’s a new Iron Curtain falling. Here’s a tiny observation. America and Britain are on the verge of forming something very much like the old Soviet Union. A new bloc, a global axis, an entity that follows its own paradigm, trades among itself, treats its citizens like dirt, enriches its elites…and shuts out the rest of the world.

Let me explain, beginning with America.

What got America to this point? It wasn’t al-Qaeda or ISIS or the commies. As it turns out, the thing that wrecked America was good ole’ home grown capitalism. Now, I catch flak for saying that, Americans get instantly defensive, because capitalism is to them what socialism was to Soviets: neither really understand their ruling ideologies well, which is the point of an ideology, really.

So let’s quickly cover with what capitalism isn’t. Contrary to popular belief, capitalism isn’t your local drycleaner or bar or bartender or the guy that polishes shoes at the train station. It’s not really small or even medium-sized business at all. Those guys aren’t capitalists — they’re barely eking out a living, weary, humble, average. Capitalism is Goldman Sachs throwing bailout money at hedge funds to build bots to trade Facebook shares with by the nanosecond…so there’s every more profit. More, more, more. Is your local bartender obsessively, ritually, fetishistically, single-mindedly concerned with maximizing profit at the expense of the planet, democracy, and the future? Does he only care about increasing his quarterly earnings, to meet profit targets set by Wall Street analysts? Is his stock publicly traded? Does he have a fiduciary duty to those shareholders? I didn’t think so. He’s not a capitalist. The capitalists, my friends, are the robber barons of American collapse…the average person trying to start something new and cool and interesting, or just making a meagre living from their passion, isn’t a capitalist, a soulless impersonal profit-maximizing entity, and they never will be. Do you see the difference? Please tell me you do, because it drives me a little crazy that Americans don’t know what capitalism actually is.

(Now, this is more like the European definition of capitalism, it’s true. The American one is more like “corporatism.” Call it what you want — let’s not get hung up on semantics. I’ll stick to capitalism not “corporatism”, because Europe has corporations too, but they’re not as insane and abusive as American ones.)

Phew. OK, let’s get to work now. What collapsed American life? Capitalism did, obviously. It can’t have been anything else, because there isn’t anything else. There’s no public healthcare, retirement, childcare, etcetera. Not surprisingly, deficits of all these very things, which are the basics of life, caused life to crater. Meanwhile, capitalists, who by now had lobbied to privatize all these industries and many more began to charge Americans an arm and a leg (literally, maybe) for things that were…free…in every other rich country. Insulin, visits to the doctor, retirement, parental leave.

Fast forward to today. The average American is effectively the weird paradox of a poor person in a rich country. The majority of Americans can’t afford food, housing, healthcare, and bills — hence, they just go deeper and deeper into debt…debt which they never pay off, hence the majority of Americans literally die in debt, too. Yes, really. Think about that for a second. What happens to nations that plunge into fresh poverty — where the middle class implodes? Fascism does. Hence, American fascism ignited at precisely the moment when Americans plunged into poverty: not a coincidence — cause and effect. And what caused the weird situation of American poverty — a new kind of poverty, poor people in a rich country — was capitalism: it ate through everything Americans had, in its quest for eternally rising profits, which meant that they were left broke, perpetually on the edge, unable to afford the very things they were often involved in producing. Again — that’s capitalism: it doesn’t care about paying you decently, it just cares about maximizing its own profits, getting as rich as possible, everything else be damned. But the inevitable result was a fascist meltdown.

Now look across the pond. There’s Britain. It’s the world’s second most capitalist country. If you understand all the above about America, what might you expect to happen to Britain? More or less the same thing — only less so, no? And that’s what did. Did you know that the only two countries in the world with the combination of falling life expectancy, flat incomes, and spiking poverty are…America and Britain? Apart from maybe North Korea and the Congo…but those are places that never were democracies at all.

So here we have these two countries — the Romeo and Juliet of modern collapse. Europeans live pretty good lives. Sure, times are tough, they are everywhere. But only in America and Britain did times get so tough that the extremists literally rose to the heights of power and controlled the destiny of nations. Europe fought them off in its most recent election, in fact.

So the Romeo and Juliet of collapsing countries — what are they doing? Well, they’ve made their choice. Their choice is capitalism. They’ve both rejected social democracy. Britain’s rejected the “democracy” part — it doesn’t want to be part of the EU, and America’s rejected the “social” part — it’s still so backwards it thinks socialism is some kind of horrible curse, not how people get working healthcare and college and retirement in the rest of the world.

So Romeo and Juliet have made a kind of suicide pact. They’ve decided to go all in on capitalism.

And that brings us to now. Trumps’s in Britain, trumpeting (sorry) a “trade deal.” What does all that really mean? Well, it means the following. Britain is effectively a strategic beggar on the global stage now, and it has to take what it can get. What America will demand is that American capitalism has access to all Britain’s remaining public goods. Britain never built a full social democracy, but it got further than America did: it has public healthcare, education to a degree, retirement of a kind, housing, and so forth. All of those will be “opened up” to American companies, which is to say, they’ll be sold to them, privatized. That means American capitalism will now be running what’s left of Britain’s public goods.

Imagine the NHS for a second. Who “owns” it? Nobody and everybody does, in fact. Local towns and cities, if you want to nitpick. But really — everybody and nobody. Now consider the fact that when it’s privatized, there will be a dude — an American “hedge fund manager”, which means some clueless Ivy League nitwit — or two who literally “owns” the NHS. And the BBC. And the retirement system. And the education system. Are you getting my drift? How rich will that dude, the guy that “owns” the healthcare system of a country, be? Obscenely, I think is a fair term to use. It’s the kind of thing we once associated with failed states.

Now think of how perfect that is for American capitalism. Why? Because it’s sucked Americans dry, that’s why. They literally have nothing left to give. Less than nothing. The majority die in debt — that’s how poor Americans are now. They never break even their whole lives long. Capitalism can’t take more from them, because they don’t have it. Nor does America have any real publics goods to cannibalize. Ah, but Britain does. Britain’s expansive public goods — though they’ve been underfunded for decades — are just what American capitalism needs to prey on.

Why? Because the crux of American capitalism is ever increasing profits. It’s bled America dry in its quest for those. But that game is done now, as Americans have plunged into lives of dire and ruinous poverty. So where to look? Britain is the perfect target. If you can’t increase profits forever…you’re not going to stay a capitalist for very long.

Do you see how perfect this setup is? American capitalism needs fresh meat to tear apart and feast on. There’s Britain, who’s rejected European social democracy, and chosen…capitalism. It’s not just a marriage made in hell — it’s a suicide pact.

Here’s what will happen — what’s already happening, in fact. America’s declaring trade war after trade war — China, India, Europe. Britain is too — thats what Brexit is. But they’re seeking succor in each others’ arms. They are building a new entity, a new bloc, a new kind of Soviet Union in a sense. A part of the world where these two countries basically trade only with each other, do business with each other, care for each other. Where these two countries will have intertwined their fates, and linked hands in a shared destiny.

That much is already happening because it’s more or less inevitable. Americans can’t ever question capitalism — and Brits rejected social democracy. So where does that leave them, except together, in a new Soviet Union of capitalism, whose Iron Curtains are already falling, to shut their people off from the rest of the world, whether Europe, China, or Mexico? What else is Brexit? Trump’s wall? The coming trade deal between them?

Now, if you’re a Brit, that means that your life is going to get worse. A lot worse. Fast. You’re going to live like an American. You’re going to eat American food, watch American TV, and get American healthcare and retirement and childcare. Oh wait, there isn’t any decent version of most of those things. You see my point, then. British livings standards will plummet to American levels — which are the lowest in the rich world by a very, very long way.

If you’re American, on the other hand…this also means that life will get worse, too. That’s because instead of learning from the better parts of Britain — the NHS, the BBC, the Royal Societies, the education system, and so forth — America’s basically intending to take a wrecking ball to them. That means capitalists will go on getting rich — imagine how rich the dude that ends up “owning” the NHS is going to be — and Americans will go on getting poorer and poorer. But worse, because this new union, only really trading with itself, thinking about itself, listening to itself…it’ll just stay stuck in a loop of collapse.

I know. A lot of you will probably whine reading this article — “that sounds outlandish!” Does it? You’re missing the point, completely. Britain’s rejected the EU. America’s rejected the EU, China, and Mexico. Both have rejected everyone else, in a kind of mass delusion, a hysterical tantrum of macho man tears. Who do they have left? Birds of a feather flock together, my friends, when it comes to political economy. Europe is a union of social democracies. So what else can the last two capitalist countries do but flock together, too?

The last two capitalist countries on earth have no one to turn to but each other. Reinforcing that, of course, is a healthy dose of entitled white supremacy, to be sure. But it’s political economy that drives it. How can a capitalist country have a union with a social democracy? A socialist one with a capitalist one? They can’t — impossible. These political economies are too different — which is why, for example, America and Canada never really joined hands in any real way. Hence, Britain and America, in choosing capitalism, have also chosen each other.

So there they are, the last two capitalist countries on earth. I don’t mean: “the last two countries where any capitalism exists” — I mean: “the last two countries on earth where capitalism is the dominant, monopolistic organizing principle of all life, thought, action.” They’re star-crossed lovers, America and Britain, the Romeo and Juliet of capitalism.

Capitalism is what led them to collapse. Collapse is what made them to turn to each other. And turning to each other kept them firmly capitalist. Choosing to stay capitalist in each others’ arms took away the chance to join the more prosperous, modern, social democratic world around them — Canada, Europe. But capitalism was the very compound whose overdose poisoned their systems to begin with. How could anything but more ruin come from overdosing together, all over again?

And yet no one asked, no one saw, and no one cared very much. Their eyes were full of dollar signs, and their blood ran hot with the thrill of conquest.

Umair 

May 2019