what will it take for Americans to treat #HealthCare as a Human Right and not a commodity?
someone cancelled my #chemo and didn't think to tell me. what's worse? the hospital doesn't have a protocol for dealing with these kinds of screw ups beyond a 'sorry.'
it's not the in-take clerk's fault that i had to demand they pay for my ride back home because i cannot take mass transit as a #cancer patient. it's the job of the administration to foresee these errors and have a contingency plan. /1
Americans have so normalized #cruelty in everything related to #HumanRights they call it efficiency.
i shouldn't have to demand the hospital pay for my cab ride back home. errors happen. am not mad about the mistake.
am exhausted because i had to ask for the minimum of courtesy AS A CANCER PATIENT. it costs me $40 to get to chemo. money i do not have for food or anything else because the chemo is making me too ill. have no savings either.
THEY KNOW THIS; but efficiency says, make them beg. /3
Jill Lawrence reflects on Hannah Knowles' report from Trump's rally at Fort Dodge, Iowa, last Saturday, and the challenge that the culture Trump has unleashed present parents trying to raise decent children who respect others. How do you raise children in this culture?:
"Trump has, for his followers, made it okay to say anything, whether it’s praising Nazis and dictators or attacking U.S. troops and military heroes."
"He’s also made it okay to do anything, including to beat up police defending the U.S. Capitol, smash windows to get in, smear feces on the Capitol walls, and go after elected officials in the Senate chamber. …
My own take in 2016 was hypothetical but frightening: A nation of Trumps would be a nation of bullies. It’s actually turned out much worse."
Here's Hannah Knowles on what she saw at the rally:
"Children wandered around in shirts and hats with the letters 'FJB,' an abbreviation for an obscene jab at President Biden that other merchandise spelled out: 'Fuck Biden.' . . .
One of Trump’s introductory speakers from the Iowa state legislature declared anyone who kneels for the national anthem is a 'disrespectful little shit,' quickly drawing a roaring response."
"And outside the packed venue, vulgar slogans about Biden and Vice President Harris were splashed across T-shirts: 'Biden Loves Minors.' 'Joe and the Ho Gotta Go!' One referred to Biden and Harris performing sexual acts. …
One supporter Knowles quoted by name, Lori Carpenter, said Biden has to go 'and the ho shouldn’t have been there in the first place.' … Carpenter, who called Kamala Harris a 'ho,' called herself a Christian who could 'look past' Trump’s flaws."
Nothing says colonial cruelty like turning a family park into a giant sandbox for genocidal colonizers to play in whilst supposedly looking for hostages.
Israeli tanks have carved a giant star of David into what used to be Katiba Park in Gaza.
I get asked this question from time to time. People forget Trump completely turned ICE loose during his presidency on communities all over the US. They would roll in to towns, set up roadblocks, then go from business to business arresting people. ICE also patrolled the streets doing the same. So, yeah, he's really that dangerous.
There are many reasons some #homeless people prefer to camp rather than move into a shelter, according to advocates, including bug infestations, filth and on-site violence. Some #shelters also do not allow couples or pets, or provide a secure place for belongings.
York pointed out that even jails have basic on-site #necessities such as toilets, something that would not be required for #evicted#encampment residents.
How do #parents, who aren't also sadists, justify staying in these #redStates where their #children will be given an objectively sub-standard #education, and be subject to arbitrary #cruelty by people who should be looking out for their welfare? If I was a #Texas parent, I would sell every possession to fund moving to a blue state.
Why is there evil, and what can scientific research tell us about the origins and persistence of evil behavior?
Baumeister casts new light on these issues as he examines the gap between the victim's viewpoint and that of the perpetrator, and also the roots of evil behavior, from egotism and revenge to idealism and sadism.
"I’m Jewish. I believe in Israel, and I’m aghast at what Hamas did to so many innocent people on October 7. I strongly support the use of force against the killers. But as thousands of innocent people die in Gaza—not as targets, but as victims of relentless bombardment in a war they didn’t choose—I can’t accept the bigotry, zealotry, and callousness these [Republican] candidates are espousing."
TELL PALMA, SPAIN THAT BULLFIGHTING IS CRUELTY — NOT CULTURE
In a merciless move, the city of #Palma, #Spain, has declared itself a bullfighting-friendly city with a claimed “obligation” to promote the intentional torture of sentient bulls.
The city had made a compassionate change in 2015 to not champion the gruesome #bullfighting events, in which #bulls are harassed, speared repeatedly, and left to wallow in their own gushing blood before cheering crowds.
It’s time for #Palma to continue its former progressive legacy for #bulls by focusing on a path forward that’s rooted in #compassion — not a retreat backward into undeniable #cruelty. We must let the council know now that the world is watching and opposes this tragic reversal.
“Secrecy is given top priority, not merely because of the proprietary research being conducted at the center, but also out of fear that the public will respond poorly—perhaps violently—to images of the macaques being experimented on.”
@parismarx I don't understand why anyone would want to connect #chips to their #brain. The prospect of creating a new #market and the associated #greed seems like one motivation. #research (in any field) should never cause #harm. I really hope that #animaltesting and #cruelty towards #animals in general will end soon. ❤️
Jonathan Weller reminds us of why Gaetz and his fellow jackals do what they do. They want to depict themselves as noble freedom fighters, but they're fighting to put more money into the hands of their super-rich donors and to take vital support away from the needy at the bottom of society.
As Roger Sollenberger reports, though Gaetz pretends to be sustained by small donors, recent video shows what he's really doing behind the scenes, as he meets select groups of big right-wing donors to court their financial support.
Hard to make out both sides of chainlink but this is an area half a mile away where a hundred people were displaced by #Minneapolis#police earlier this year, and this fence put up to completely cut off the boulevard from everyone (not only #unhoused people are affected by government-sanctioned #cruelty who would have thunk it?)
I"n speeches, interviews and campaign videos, Trump has promised to:
● Use the military to participate in the largest deportation of undocumented immigrants in American history;
● Order the National Guard into cities with high crime rates, whether local officials want it or not;"
"● Prosecute Californians who protect minors coming to the state for gender-affirming care;
Impose a 10% tariff on almost all foreign goods, increasing prices for consumers;
● Appoint a special prosecutor to 'go after' his political opponents, beginning with Biden;
● Purge the federal civil service of anyone who questions his views."
"One of the most stunning moments [of Trump's off-the-wall speech to the California GOP] came as Trump ranted about crime, and promised his federal law enforcement officers would be empowered to shoot shoplifters — which prompted wild cheers and chanting from the crowd that took a long time to subside:”
"Everyone’s focused on Trump’s insane blathering, but we should be equally disturbed by the crowd’s raucous laughter [when Trump makes an ugly 'joke' about Nancy Pelosi's husband].
"We must help bring America back to a place where it is viewed as reprehensible to mock a victim of a brutal assault, call for the execution of a military general, demand the jailing of opponents, or threaten to close media outlets. The most disturbing thing that happened this week is that Republican convention attendees laughed when Trump mocked the attack on Paul Pelosi."
Florida Republican proposes bill to ban sale, distribution of lab-grown meat in the state (www.actionnewsjax.com)
Wisconsin Republican leader blocks university employee pay raises unless college cuts diversity programs (www.pbs.org)