#yana acting like a professor part 3

[whovianwatchingstartrek]

A Whovian Watches Star Trek for the First Time: Part 026 - Ravages of a War Across Time

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season 2 Episode 1 - Shockwave Part 2

It felt like an accomplishment changing that Season number. Anyways, I wanna know how that cliff-hanger gets resolved. Onwards!

This episode really had two moving plots. The Situation on the enterprise and Archer and Daniels in the future. There was also the Vulcan Human tensions reaching a boiling point on Earth due to the Enterprise not returning, but that was more background than a plot thread.

The episode opens with T'Pol convincing the Suliban to board enterprise to confirm Archer's absence, instead of just blowing enterprise out of the Sky. With Silik's takeover of the enterprise, the acting is great. You really feel that if any of the Enterprise's crew mess up here, they all could die. Then, we cut back to Silik trying to contact shadow future guy, who is just gone, obviously because the future is dead. The scene where the Suliban are torturing T'Pol was also excellent, the camera not staying still or focussing on anything is a simple cinematic trick, but an effective one. I liked seeing Trip flex his engineering skills by establishing a secret comms system across Enterprise.

Meanwhile in the future, Archer poses an important question: How is Daniels still here if his future and everything in it is gone. Daniels doesn't have an answer. Thankfully, a library with books survived, which means we can get a good read (pun not intended) on how the timeline has shifted. The Two of them trying to fashion together a cross-time communication device out of scraps was very Doctor Who, I loved that. It reminded me of the Junkyard TARDIS from The Doctor's Wife. It was also nice to see Daniel's prevent Archer reading about Earth's future. Not only because I don't want to be spoiled for the future, but also because it's good to see him still abide by whatever time laws there are, even at a time like this.

T'Pol being too broken post-torture to effectively answer Archer's time communications was painful. Like with Part 1, the whole cast's skills are being pushed to their limits with building their small resistance against the Suliban occupying the ship. I remember one of the really early episodes mentioned Hoshi gets claustrophobic, so I'm proud of her for managing to complete that vent crawl. The crew faking the engines exploding to get away was genuis, and then Archer exploiting Silik's inability to act without his orders from the future to get his way back to the present was also really good. I had the biggest smile when Archer came through instead of Shadowy-future guy.

Archer's speech to Starfleet command about how Humans need to make mistakes to learn from them, to convince them allow Enterprise's mission to continue was great.

Comparing my Enjoyment of this Episode with a Doctor Who Universe Story of the Same Title

The War Master: Anti-Genesis Part 3: Shockwave

From one Time War to another, The War Master is a Doctor Who radio play Spin-Off. It functions as a pseudo prequel to the 2007 episode "Utopia", and showcases the Derek Jacobi incarnation of the Master, during the Last Great Time and the events leading up the him running away to hide at the end of the Universe as Professor Yana.

Shockwave is the third part of Anti-Genesis the fourth release of the War Master series. I want to focus on shockwave, so I'll keep the key information from the first 2 parts brief. Basically the plot of Anti-Genesis is The Master stepping into the events of the 1975 serial Genesis of the Daleks in an attempt to alter both Dalek and Time Lord history in his own favour. Instead of the Fourth Doctor's failed attempt to prevent the Dalek's creation, we have The Master infiltrating the Kaled science elite and subverting their creation for his own purposes, while being chased down by Coordinator Narvin (My personal favourite Time Lord btw), and that's the set up going into Shockwave.

As it turns out, The Time War era Daleks don't particularly like having their creation subverted towards a Time Lord's interests. So, they decide to fight fire with fire, and bring a version of The Master from a parallel universe into play. Specifically the Mark Gatiss/Sam Kisgart version of the Master from the Unbound Universe. And happy to be escaping his own collapsing universe, he obliges. Despite it being his series, the Derek Jacobi master isn't the focus in Shockwave, this part was supposed to build up the Unbound Master for the two versions of the Character's conflict in the finale of Anti-Genesis.

The Shockwave the title is about is a result of the actions of the Derek Jacobi Master in the previous part's of Anti-Genesis. Specifically the shockwave of effect on the timeline caused by his interference.

It's interesting hearing things from the perspective of the Unbound Master, as the timelines shift around him. When he arrives on Gallifrey, shifts to the timeline have resulted in the Time Lord's civilisation reduced to medieval technology, then a time shockwave hits, and we're back to regular Gallifreyan technology, but with differences. And this is repeated a few times. A few might be a stretch, according to the Daleks, their time ship visited 713 different Gallifreys.

Picking which of the two Shockwaves I liked more is a difficult choice. I'm going to give the Edge to the War Master's version. It definitely had more fun with it's apocalyptic time shenanigans, and The Unbound Master makes a fun villain-protagonist. His attempts to convince the Time Lords that his interests align with them, and not his main universe's counterparts was fun. The War Master's brief appearances, scheming in preparation for the finale of Anti-Genesis were also fun.

Enterprise's Shockwave Part 2 was still really good though, and I'm looking forward to whatever else Season 2 brings

[yanak324]

Meera

Oh my god, whoever you are, bless your soul for asking about Meera Reed. One of the most badass characters I’ve ever seen on screen or in lit.

Here we go:

How I feel about this character:

Meera Reed is fiercely loyal and protective of her close people...almost a fault. She’s very head strong, opinionated, and skilled af with any pointy weapon. She has a special bond with her brother Jojen, and feels like she has to protect the both of them. She has a strong moral compass and has specific views that aren’t always easily shaken. She’s used to being perceived as aggressive or bitchy, so she doesn’t try too hard with people when they rub her the wrong way. She’s drawn to quiet, intellectual minds and has a lot of views on spirituality that she’ll happily debate with someone who can discuss dissenting opinions without making personal. In short, Meera Reed doesn’t suffer fools and she’s better off for it.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Bran Stark or it didn’t happen.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Arya Stark. I feel like these two would be thick as thieves if given the opportunity.

My unpopular opinion about this character

Ooof, this is a tough one because I don’t think I have flushed Meera out enough to have created an unpopular opinion about her. If I absolutely had to come up with one, I would say that I don’t necessarily think she harbored romantic feelings for Bran in the show. I think she felt a familial duty to protect him and also well...given what we know of what he became, she felt like she had to do everything to make him the Three-eyed Raven for the good of Westeros, but since he was such a bitch about it, I feel like her romantic feelings for him dissipated quickly.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I hope Meera is somewhere in Westeros living her best life. She’s hopefully in a loving, commitment relationship with someone she loves and is raising loads of beautiful, dark haired children, one of whom is named after her brother

[chibimyumi]

I hope you don't mind me asking, but in the last post you mentioned that Yana used to write inconsistently in the past, do you have any examples? I always thought she's very consistent lol (well except the okama thing with Grelle but that was a good change/rectifying a mistake)

【Referred post】

Dear Anon,

No, I do not mind (*´ω｀*)ノ

Indeed, Yana has written quite some inconsistencies. I am fairly sure I did not manage to notice all of them (for better or for worse), but I shall highlight a few I find noteworthy.

So please find a list here ranked from least to most unforgivable in my opinion.

Number 6

Obviously this is a case of Yana having decided against one of her earliest dubious decisions, but the technological chronology in ‘Kuroshitsuji’ is bonkers.

In the earliest chapters we see very advanced technology, from wireless telephones to a f*cking Funtom DS. The Funtom DS is a commodity produced by O!Ciel’s own company, and as we have seen in some later chapters, he is used to supervising the product quality himself. As such we can safely assume that he is aware of such technologically advanced items.

Regardless, in the Emerald Witch arc we see this same Funtom CEO shocked upon seeing a war tank.

As discussed in this post in more detail, it is simply Yana’s decision to be more historically accurate, and ever since getting an English history advisor on her team, ‘Kuroshitsuji’s period accuracy has increased immensely. Therefore I find this inconsistency simply funny, and is in no way a blemish to the series in my opinion.

Number 5

Unlike the inconsistency in period accuracy, number 5 is one I do consider a blemish.

The patheticness of O!Ciel’s physical powers is notorious. During the Circus arc when he was auditioning for example, we see how the knife he threw wouldn’t even have neared the plank were it not for Sebas’ help. In the Boarding School arc too, the boy is very aware of his lack in physical prowess, and goes through the trouble of doing complex calculations to beat their opponents at cricket.

… in the very same arc however, we see this same little noodlearm throw the lantern over a tall fence, therewith successfully smashing in a glass window from dozens of metres away.

It likewise makes no sense that the little flame did not go out during its flight, and that O!Ciel didn’t consider that despite his superb understanding of physics…

This ⇊ is what should have happened, and would frankly have been better.

╭( ÒДÓ)و 　　ミ🏮🕯️                    🏘️

(;; ・_・)つ     ⌒ ⌒ ⌒ 🏮💨…      🏘️

The entire scene where O!Ciel causes a fire to force all the Violet dorm students out was an insult. The fire should never have spread that fast to begin with, but okay, let us stretch our suspense of disbelief, and accept that the fire just happened to have hit a chain of combustibles and explosives. But why bother getting everyone out in the first place?

Like Sebas said, he can sense the souls from that range. This is CLEARLY not played as one of the instances where Sebas is messing with his master by keeping information from him.

Number 4

O!Ciel is not just smart, but also tactical. Admittedly he was quite a bit of a starfish up and until the Jack the Ripper arc, but Sebas certainly taught a lesson, albeit in the hard way (extensively discussed in this post).

Afterwards, O!Ciel always made sure to actively involve himself in all types of investigations, but he would never unnecessarily expose himself to danger, or waste time for that matter. He would usually send Sebastian to do some pre-investigations first, and use that information to plan his strategies further.

In the Emerald Witch arc however, O!Ciel tagged along to investigate the cursed forest. The boy did not believe in the werewolf’s curse, that is something I can accept. But he did also know for a fact that all humans who entered the forest either died, or came out barely alive. Regardless, he still entered the forest without any precaution, and guess what, it turned out badly!

Writer’s convenience much?　

Anyway, anything in life is an experience, and after exposure to mustard gas, O!Ciel sure is a more seasoned Watch Dog now ( ^_ - )-☆

Number 3

Sebastian’s demon powers are superb, but also most definitely the least consistent in Yana’s writing. The demon powers are usually an extension to Sebas’ character, but more often than not does Yana use them for sheer convenience.

In the Campania arc it had been established that the bodies of Bizarre Dolls are weaker than a living human’s. This makes absolute sense as the corpse will decompose, breaking the proteins that keep us strong (I think it’s called proteolysis? I’ll stop talking before I betray further just how much I suck at biology.)

In the Boarding School arc however, Sebastian dashes forward to meet Professor Agares in head-on wrestle combat, and we see his hands shaking, struggling to keep the zombie in place. How? This same demon who can effortlessly punch holes in stone floors and through walls?

The same strength inconsistency happens in the earliest chapters too, where Sebastian struggles very hard to withstand Grell’s attacks. The Death Scythe is of course a terrifying weapon, but without the brute force pressing the chainsaw down, it is hardly a threat.

‘Brute force’ I say… but according to Yana’s Q&A in the ‘Character Guide Book’, a reaper’s physical strength is not much greater than a human’s. And yet Sebas is clearly struggling judging by how his eyes even glowed up.

I am going to assume that Yana scratched that initial setting for reapers as it was literally more than a decade ago, which is why ‘Noodlebastian Part 2′ doesn’t get its own category. If Yana did NOT scratch it however, what good are Sebas’ arms then?

Perhaps this was Yana’s sixth sense telling her that in future her Sebas will be played by Prince Noodlearms. ( ´艸｀)

Number 2

Similar to number 3, Yana made good use of Sebastian’s superiour senses, and established that he can smell whether something is a Bizarre Doll or not. Maggie’s body was quite far removed from him, and yet he said the stench is enough to make his nose twitch.

Excellent!

But then in the Boarding School arc, despite having spent quite a lot of time with Professor Agares, he only started to suspect something was up after he made physical contact with him.

Yes, perhaps Undertaker found a way to preserve Professor Agares’ body better than Maggie’s, but then surely Sebas would still be able to smell that the man does not sweat anymore. Is it perhaps that Sebas could only tell after touching Agares’ hand that is presumably softer than a living human’s hand?

Well… as demonstrated during their clash explained for ‘number 3′, apparently it’s fine? Which is it, YANA!?

Number 1

So far we have seen inconsistencies in O!Ciel’s behaviour and intellect, as well as Sebas’ demon powers being switched on or off for the sake of plot convenience (or dramatic effect).

The most unforgivable inconsistency in my opinion however, is Sebastian’s attitude in the Blue Sect arc when his master passed out at the hands of the enemy.

Sure, he was occupied by a cat, and we know he goes bonkers for them. But despite Sebastian’s craziness, we also know he still always prioritises his contract. He did notice in time that something was up with his master, and he did seem to worry for a split second. But then he basically went ‘meh’, even though he really should have gone to check what was up.

It was not until much later that he suddenly noticed the blood on O!Ciel’s body, acting like his entire contract was on the line. He apologised profoundly for his neglect, finally giving the correct amount of f*cks as is in character for him. But really though, Sebas would really never have waved off his master fainting in enemy territory in the first place if you ask me.

This is the reason why I placed this one in first place, because this is the only inconsistency that not only defies the law of the universe, but also almost threatens Sebastian’s very contract.

Mehbastian, you won the golden trophy🏆, congratulations!

[kurtty-drabbles]

Scooby au (part 4?)

@djinmer4 @dannybagpipesarecalling @discordsworld @sailorstar9 @look-ma-no-hands336 N/A: This will be divided into 3 parts.

1)  The New Mutants The group is united in a space Magik crafted, Yana Rasputin is a talented student and no one can deny such claim as the girl is cable of almost anything.

Space is free for them to share ideas, originally, she created the space so she could watch her movies without receiving spoilers, but, now it has a more important role.

The New Mutants are assembling and throwing what they found out so far, Sunspot and Dani make some discoveries that can be useful.

"As I was saying, I track down what happened among those 3 months and nothing out of normal happens, except, Emma Frost" Roberto explained with a serious expression on his face "Emma Frost aka the White Queen is involved in all this"

Dani take the time to speak "The cult I was kidnapped, White Queen worked as a ''freelancer'' of the sort, and the same can be said with Mesmero who is an affiliate to the Hellfire" Dani speaks calmly as she goes on with her information "The White Queen is powerful enough to be able to control Professor X and she´s affiliated with group that has no problem in killing us"

Rhane ponders this for a moment "Ok, but, why to mess with their minds and not ours?"

"I have a theory, she is underestimating us" Sam pipes in and Magik agrees as she adds "which is a good thing, not everyone knows my magical level, not everyone knows Sam´s ability, nor Berto ´s, nor Rhane or nor Dani" Magik concluded.

"Ok, now I feel relief and insulted at the same time" Dani speaks crossing her arms and frowning "either way, what we can do?"

"Investigate, everyone, literally everyone, has a weakness and the White Queen must have one" Magik speaks and Rhane adds in the conversation "what? Magneto!" noticing the confusion she explains better "his helmet prevent people from entering in his mind, Scott told me one of those days. Remember his brother Alex is a member of the Brotherhood and...Scott is taking this right well"

"Cool, let´s all ask Magneto for his helmet," Sam said a bit sarcastically.

"No, what I mean is...if we have a helmet like his...The White Queen can´t read our minds," Rhane concludes her idea proudly.

"But...how? We can ask Nightcrawler" Dani trails off but Magik already shoots down that idea.

"NO, I don´t think Nightcrawler is a normal student, remember, he´s Mystique´s son and the last thing we want is to cause grief to Kurt" Magik lies as she does not believe Nightcrawler is a real student, however, she needs more evidence before pointing fingers.

"Alex!" Roberto pipes in "he and Scott have a great relationship and more than once Alex was the ambassador of Brotherhood for the X-men and vice versa, sure he can tell what is made the helmet as Magneto did recruit him personally"

The New Mutants nod in favour of the plan.

2) Jean Grey

The Pheonix, the combination of fire and life, is bored having eaten a sun on her way to this galaxy, nothing else seems to bring her joy. The Shiars are good to entertain her, but, she can´t stay in one place for long(and they start to bore Pheonix)

So, when Life itself and Death itself are located on this planet, with this group of mutants, Pheonix wanted to tag along. Of course, it pains her to do so, but, she must be courteous in asking to stay(even to that hideous creature Nyarlathotep)

Fire, life and death are all in their original form.

"May I enter in the X-men?" Pheonix asked.

"Oh, stupid bird, if the X-men were mine the answer would be a huge no, but, Zaorva found them first, so, ask her and I´ll support her decision," the Crawling God of chaos speaks showing his fangs in a mocking smile.

"I haven´t forgotten what you did in the universe 347, it causes me to work extra hard in that dimension" her crystal blues tentacles wrapped around Pheonix for a moment "swear for your existence you won´t do anything like that or I´ll eat you again"

"I swear! I want to see what the X-men are doing and won´t cause any destruction" Pheonix promised.

"In that case, welcome, and remember your promise as I have stomach for you, FireBird" she threatens and Pheonix understands the consequences.

On the next day, Jean Grey walks among the halls of the school receiving praises from the girls("she´s so cool, take good grades, is good in sports and is so beautiful") and love from the boys.

Scott gazes at the scene for a moment. That´s Jean Grey. She´s always was here. And he does not make many questions as the answer is clear.

Magik watches Jean walks and pretends, with great acting skills, that Jean is that older sister figure she admires, in reality, she knows as much Scott knows that Jean Grey is not real.

3) The new girl

Scott Summer has his fair share of oddities(his mind lingers to Kurt, Kitty and Jean) but, this is something the man never thought was possible to exist. Eating lunch with Bobby as Iceman is encouraging him to talk with the new girl.

"Scott, I´m serious, she´s totally checking you out," Bobby look behind to see the most attractive girl in the school and she is winking at Scott. "Come on, Scott, this is your chance, you said you want to move on from Betsy...that´s a golden opportunity"

Scott looks to the ''girl'' one last time. Bobby describes her as being a gorgeous blonde, with blue eyes, a nice buxom("Bobby!" "What she has, you can see it, she´s not hiding") and is very stylish.

Many boys and girls are around the new girl flirting, even Duncan is there flexing his muscle to the new Girl and Scott is making a great effort to not burst to laugh.

"You know what? Bobby, you seem to want a girlfriend, why you don´t introduce yourself, go on" Scott incentives and Bobby is already up asking one last time if Scott won´t be jealousy "No, trust me, I won´t"

And Bobby is on the herd praising comments on the new girl´s beauty.

Kurt is laughing hard, Kitty is amused ( she thought to herself "but our illusions are not even connected, I mean, some of them is seeing a white girl, some are seeing a black girl and others are seeing a pretty Asian girl...how come they aren´t noticing?") and Jean is rolling her eyes at such prank.

The New Mutants are looking at the scene with fear as Duncan proclaims he´s got the hottest girl with him and did an intense make out. Only the New Mutants are seeing the new girl as she is...a piece of bread.

"This is really not normal, even to our standers"

[gordonwilliamsweb]

Democrats Are Running Hard on Health Care in Georgia’s Senate Runoffs. Republicans? Not So Much.

This story is from a reporting partnership that includes WABE, NPR and KHN. It can be republished for free.

Vice President Mike Pence was the clear celebrity draw at a Nov. 20 campaign event for Georgia’s two incumbent U.S. senators, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. Both Republicans are fighting to keep their seats against two Democratic challengers in the runoff election set for Jan. 5.

People were so eager to see Pence at the rally in Canton, Georgia, that parking spots were scarce and a long line of cars snaked through the parking lot of a community college. Some drivers jumped the curb and parked in the grass.

Hundreds of people, many unmasked, were given temperature checks before boarding large coach buses for a short ride to the rally site. The venue was a large, open space outside the conference center, but few attendees maintained physical distance

The runoff in Georgia was triggered when no candidate in either Senate race won more than 50% of the vote in the general election on Nov. 3.

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and with the fate of the Affordable Care Act in question, Republicans hope the two incumbents will win reelection, thus preserving their party’s 50-48 control of the Senate.

But if the two challengers, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, win their runoffs, Democrats will gain narrow control of the Senate, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris serving as the designated tie-breaker.

Yana De Moraes came to the rally from another Atlanta suburb, Buford. She is uninsured and, after a recent hospital stay, said the high cost of medical care was weighing on her mind.

“We would like our health care costs lowered, so it could be more affordable,” she said, with a rueful laugh. “So you don’t get another heart attack while you’re getting a bill!”

De Moraes added she’d also like to see better price controls on prescription drugs to stop pharmaceutical companies from “robbing American people.”

Others on their way to the rally said they were looking for any kind of change, ideally one that minimizes government involvement in health care.

Barry Brown made the 40-mile drive from his home in Atlanta for the rally. He’s retired but too young to qualify for Medicare, so he has ACA insurance, which he affords with the help of a federal subsidy.

“It sort of works. It’s better than nothing,” Brown said. “I would like to see an improved health care situation. I don’t know what that will be, so maybe they’ll mention that today. I’m hoping so.”

But at the rally, Loeffler only briefly mentioned her health care plan, which focuses on reducing drug prices and giving people access to insurance options that cost less but offer fewer benefits.

When it was his turn to speak, Perdue didn’t talk much about health care either, though he did take a shot at Obamacare, which he’s voted multiple times to overturn.

“Remember a little thing called the Affordable Care Act? You think that was done bipartisan?” Perdue asked the crowd. “No! It was done with a supermajority! Can you imagine what they’re gonna do if they get control of the Senate?”

As the two Republicans have campaigned throughout the state, they have consistently stoked fears about what Democrats will do, and health care policy has not led their messaging.

Their Democratic challengers, however, have been all over health care in their own speeches.

Warnock opened his runoff campaign to unseat Loeffler with a modestly attended Nov. 12 event devoted to health care. That’s also been a focus for Ossoff in his bid to win Perdue’s seat.

“This is why these Senate runoffs are so vital,” Ossoff explained at a small, physically distanced event in the shadow of the Georgia Capitol building in Atlanta on Nov. 10.

Ossoff and Warnock support adding a public insurance option to the Affordable Care Act. They also have emphasized the role Democrats will play in resurrecting key parts of the law if the U.S. Supreme Court decides to overturn it. The justices are set to make a ruling next year.

“If the Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act, it will be up to Congress to decide how to legislate such that preexisting conditions remain covered,” Ossoff said.

Voters like Janel Green, a Democrat, connect with that message. She’s from the nearby suburb of Decatur and is fighting breast cancer — for the second time. Green wondered whether her private health insurance might try to deny her coverage if the protections in the ACA disappear.

“I have to worry about whether or not next year in open enrollment that I won’t be discriminated against, that I won’t have limits that would then potentially end my life,” she said.

More than one-quarter of Georgians have preexisting conditions that could make it hard to get coverage if the ACA is struck down, according to an analysis by KFF. (KHN is an editorially independent program of KFF.)

That possibility also drove Atlanta resident Herschel Jones to support the runoff. On a recent weekday morning, he dropped by an Ossoff campaign office to pick up a yard sign.

Jones, who has diabetes, is insured through the Veterans Health Administration. He said everyone deserves access to health care.

“It’s a main issue, because the Affordable Care Act benefits all those individuals who might have preexisting conditions,” Jones said.

One likely reason Ossoff and Warnock are running so much harder on health care than Perdue and Loeffler is because that strategy paid off for Democrats in the general election, said Ken Thorpe, a health policy professor at Emory University.

President-elect Joe Biden can thank independent voters for his win in Georgia, Thorpe said, and they were drawn to him because of his promise to uphold Obamacare.

“The threat of potentially losing health insurance in the midst of this pandemic turned out to be probably the major defining issue in the election,” Thorpe said.

Polling in the days leading up to the Nov. 3 election showed Democrats were motivated on the issues of health care and the coronavirus pandemic.

For Democrats to win Georgia’s Senate seats, Thorpe said, they’ll need to stay focused on those issues. That emphasis could help them attract additional moderate voters, as well as entice those in the party base to cast ballots a second time.

“The health care issue is the probably main motivating factor that’s gonna get Democrats and independents to the polls,” he said.

Still, no Democrat has ever won a statewide runoff race in Georgia. That means that even with a strong health care message, it’ll be tough for Ossoff and Warnock to break that trend and unseat the Republicans, Thorpe said.

This story is from a reporting partnership that includes WABE, NPR and KHN.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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This story can be republished for free (details).

Democrats Are Running Hard on Health Care in Georgia’s Senate Runoffs. Republicans? Not So Much. published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[stephenmccull]

Democrats Are Running Hard on Health Care in Georgia’s Senate Runoffs. Republicans? Not So Much.

This story is from a reporting partnership that includes WABE, NPR and KHN. It can be republished for free.

Vice President Mike Pence was the clear celebrity draw at a Nov. 20 campaign event for Georgia’s two incumbent U.S. senators, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. Both Republicans are fighting to keep their seats against two Democratic challengers in the runoff election set for Jan. 5.

People were so eager to see Pence at the rally in Canton, Georgia, that parking spots were scarce and a long line of cars snaked through the parking lot of a community college. Some drivers jumped the curb and parked in the grass.

Hundreds of people, many unmasked, were given temperature checks before boarding large coach buses for a short ride to the rally site. The venue was a large, open space outside the conference center, but few attendees maintained physical distance

The runoff in Georgia was triggered when no candidate in either Senate race won more than 50% of the vote in the general election on Nov. 3.

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and with the fate of the Affordable Care Act in question, Republicans hope the two incumbents will win reelection, thus preserving their party’s 50-48 control of the Senate.

But if the two challengers, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, win their runoffs, Democrats will gain narrow control of the Senate, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris serving as the designated tie-breaker.

Yana De Moraes came to the rally from another Atlanta suburb, Buford. She is uninsured and, after a recent hospital stay, said the high cost of medical care was weighing on her mind.

“We would like our health care costs lowered, so it could be more affordable,” she said, with a rueful laugh. “So you don’t get another heart attack while you’re getting a bill!”

De Moraes added she’d also like to see better price controls on prescription drugs to stop pharmaceutical companies from “robbing American people.”

Others on their way to the rally said they were looking for any kind of change, ideally one that minimizes government involvement in health care.

Barry Brown made the 40-mile drive from his home in Atlanta for the rally. He’s retired but too young to qualify for Medicare, so he has ACA insurance, which he affords with the help of a federal subsidy.

“It sort of works. It’s better than nothing,” Brown said. “I would like to see an improved health care situation. I don’t know what that will be, so maybe they’ll mention that today. I’m hoping so.”

But at the rally, Loeffler only briefly mentioned her health care plan, which focuses on reducing drug prices and giving people access to insurance options that cost less but offer fewer benefits.

When it was his turn to speak, Perdue didn’t talk much about health care either, though he did take a shot at Obamacare, which he’s voted multiple times to overturn.

“Remember a little thing called the Affordable Care Act? You think that was done bipartisan?” Perdue asked the crowd. “No! It was done with a supermajority! Can you imagine what they’re gonna do if they get control of the Senate?”

As the two Republicans have campaigned throughout the state, they have consistently stoked fears about what Democrats will do, and health care policy has not led their messaging.

Their Democratic challengers, however, have been all over health care in their own speeches.

Warnock opened his runoff campaign to unseat Loeffler with a modestly attended Nov. 12 event devoted to health care. That’s also been a focus for Ossoff in his bid to win Perdue’s seat.

“This is why these Senate runoffs are so vital,” Ossoff explained at a small, physically distanced event in the shadow of the Georgia Capitol building in Atlanta on Nov. 10.

Ossoff and Warnock support adding a public insurance option to the Affordable Care Act. They also have emphasized the role Democrats will play in resurrecting key parts of the law if the U.S. Supreme Court decides to overturn it. The justices are set to make a ruling next year.

“If the Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act, it will be up to Congress to decide how to legislate such that preexisting conditions remain covered,” Ossoff said.

Voters like Janel Green, a Democrat, connect with that message. She’s from the nearby suburb of Decatur and is fighting breast cancer — for the second time. Green wondered whether her private health insurance might try to deny her coverage if the protections in the ACA disappear.

“I have to worry about whether or not next year in open enrollment that I won’t be discriminated against, that I won’t have limits that would then potentially end my life,” she said.

More than one-quarter of Georgians have preexisting conditions that could make it hard to get coverage if the ACA is struck down, according to an analysis by KFF. (KHN is an editorially independent program of KFF.)

That possibility also drove Atlanta resident Herschel Jones to support the runoff. On a recent weekday morning, he dropped by an Ossoff campaign office to pick up a yard sign.

Jones, who has diabetes, is insured through the Veterans Health Administration. He said everyone deserves access to health care.

“It’s a main issue, because the Affordable Care Act benefits all those individuals who might have preexisting conditions,” Jones said.

One likely reason Ossoff and Warnock are running so much harder on health care than Perdue and Loeffler is because that strategy paid off for Democrats in the general election, said Ken Thorpe, a health policy professor at Emory University.

President-elect Joe Biden can thank independent voters for his win in Georgia, Thorpe said, and they were drawn to him because of his promise to uphold Obamacare.

“The threat of potentially losing health insurance in the midst of this pandemic turned out to be probably the major defining issue in the election,” Thorpe said.

Polling in the days leading up to the Nov. 3 election showed Democrats were motivated on the issues of health care and the coronavirus pandemic.

For Democrats to win Georgia’s Senate seats, Thorpe said, they’ll need to stay focused on those issues. That emphasis could help them attract additional moderate voters, as well as entice those in the party base to cast ballots a second time.

“The health care issue is the probably main motivating factor that’s gonna get Democrats and independents to the polls,” he said.

Still, no Democrat has ever won a statewide runoff race in Georgia. That means that even with a strong health care message, it’ll be tough for Ossoff and Warnock to break that trend and unseat the Republicans, Thorpe said.

This story is from a reporting partnership that includes WABE, NPR and KHN.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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[xanderwhovian]

Embracing the first male doctor (Part 3 - the mistresses)

So now that I’ve been over all the Doctor’s, it’s time to turn my attention to her oldest frenemy, The Mistress. The Mistress was first introduced in Joan Pertwee’s era, played by actress Regina Delgado.

Delgado’s Mistress was portrayed as the doctor’s equal, and had tons of charisma. In her first series, she appeared in every episode to fight against, and sometimes, when it called for it, alongside the doctor. The Mistress would have appeared in Joan Pertwee’s last story, revealing herself as the doctor’s sister, but unfortunately, Regina Delgado was tragically killed in a car accident in Turkey a year earlier. In Tami Baker’s era, this incarnation appeared once again but heavily charred and disfigured, so as to disguise the fact that the role was now being played by Petra Pratt, and later, Jenny Beevers. Fortunately for the mistress, she found a new body in Nyssan’s Mother, Trema, and so from then on, the mistress was played by…

Antonia Ainley was the fourth woman to take up the mantle of the mistress, but was only the second on-screen incarnation. Ainley played the mistress more as a megalomaniac, and a survivalist, rarely focusing on concocting the best possible plan to torture the doctor like Delgado did. This mistress is considered to be the definitive classic mistress, as she stayed on until the end of the classic series, making one last appearance in the very last story, survival.

When the TV Movie came along, the master was recast, in part due to the death of Antonia Ainley two years prior. Famous actress Erin Roberts was the unlucky pick, as her extremely hammy performance was considered one of the worst aspects of the movie.

This incarnation of the mistress was a lot more dramatic and stereotypically evil, like a pantomime villain. She is easily considered the worst incarnation of the mistress ever put on screen, not just because of the cringeworthy dialogue or the hammy acting or the terrible dress sense (yes, that massive collar isn’t even the worst part of her costume), it’s more because of the fact that Erin clearly did not understand who the mistress was, what she’s like. We can only thank all that is holy that her incarnation was robbed of any kind of future when the show didn’t get rebooted under Fox.

And that brings us into the 21st century, when Rachel T. Davies became showrunner, the mistress was once again recast in series 3, but in a different way. This mistress was only seen in one episode, and the majority of the episode she spent believing she was a human by the name of professor Yana, played by Debbie Jacobi

When the mistress was unveiled, she was immediately shot and killed by yana’s betrayed assistant, Chantho. This mistress is the shortest-running incarnation yet, but the various story arcs that led up to her reveal, plus the immediate character change when she transitions from yana to the mistress has led her to become a fan-favourite incarnation, even leading her to get her own set of Big Finish audios set during the time war before she became yana.

So after being killed by Chantho, Debbie’s mistress promptly regenerated into arguably the most iconic new series mistress ever, Jean Simm.

Jean Simm portrayed the mistress as an insane lunatic, but still with a lot of charm, and a rather dark yet somewhat flamboyant sense of humor. She was cheeky, sadistic, and was sometimes prone to moments of serious hatred, going from happy, smiley and quirky to roaring with anger in seconds. She accompanied Davina Tennant’s era, and fought her during her last episode, the end of time. After Tennant regenerated into May Smith, it was widely speculated that the mistress would be recast as well should she ever return. And sure enough (except for the fact that she never faced off against May’s doctor) the mistress made a triumphant return in Petra Capaldi’s era, but with somewhat of a twist. She was now played by a man.

Michael Gomez was the lucky actor to get the role of the mistress, now opting to call himself mas, short for master. After the Doctor regenerated with a Scottish accent, mas was quite drawn to it and decided to follow suit. Mas was portrayed as a quirky and sassy Scottish man, with less insanity and more scheming. After he was revealed as the mistress, he was a mixed bag amongst fans, some adored his portrayal, while others criticized that, while he is a fun and intriguing villain, his portrayal didn’t feel like he was the mistress. But after a few more episodes with him in series 9 and 10, those doubts died a slow and painful death. Especially when, in the series 10 finale, he came face-to-face with Jean Simm’s mistress, making him the first (or technically second) on-screen mistress to meet his past incarnation. Fans praised Jean Simm’s return to the role, despite her reprisal being spoiled in press releases and trailers, everyone still got hyped for her return. Michael Gomez worked wonders opposite Jean Simm, and despite a few cringey flirting moments and one erect nipples joke from Jean, it was truly a brilliant ending to both mistresses, with both of them killing each other at the end of the episode.

So that’s every on-screen incarnation of the mistress, there have been other incarnations exclusive to the big finish audios, but maybe I’ll cover that in part 4. Cheers for reading.