A pack horse librarian delivering books in rural Kentucky in 1938. During the Great Depression, the Pack Horse Library Project was a Works Progress Administration (WPA) program in which the librarians, who were often called "book women" or "book ladies," delivered books to remote parts of Appalachia.
@mostaurelius@bookstodon These women were dedicated and very brave. Appalachia's rough terrain and extremes of weather were a huge challenge, but book women persevered.
Junk health insurance plans are a bad deal, often leaving people with thousands in medical debt. Junk health care plans mislead consumers and don’t offer real coverage.
The new rule announced by the Biden administration is an important move to crack down on junk health insurance, protect patients, and ensure access to quality health coverage. #BidenDelivers
@TonyStark This is good news. I once had a patient with a serious eye condition who needed a laser procedure that cost a few thousand dollars.Her insurance covered an unlimited number of procedures per year, but allowed a reimbursement of only $100 for each one. Worthless.
This was insurance she purchased through her employer! She was devastated. Had no idea it was so limited in scope.
Thank you, President Biden!
@cavyherd@TonyStark 😥 Sometimes dentists will give a discount for cash, and you might save a little. You will need to find a different dentist if you want to have full benefit of your current insurance coverage. You could wait until the next open enrollment and explore other options. Some plans don't have a network, but often cost more.
Biden's initiative won't help in your case. It addresses deceptive health insurance that does not meet basic requirements.
@TonyStark When I worked in that hospital I got to see what Medicaid expansion did for our low income community. It changed everything. A miracle that came about because of the Affordable Care Act. It definitely saved lives, and in our clinic it kept people from going blind. #VoteBlue2024
@cavyherd@TonyStark If you could no longer pay via insurance your current dentist might give you a discount on cash payment. It would probably not be more than 10-15%.
A dentist once told me that dental "insurance" is not really insurance, but a discount system. Maximum benefits run about $1500 to $2000, less than the cost of many procedures. One root canal could use up the entire benefit.
I hope you find a solution. I will go to Mexico soon for dental care. Many do. Prices are 50-75% lower.
@StillIRise1963 I am still astonished that 21st century politics took such an ugly, un- democratic turn. I'm older, have observed and participated in politics for a very long time. Politics has never been pretty. There were some very dangerous times in our history, but democracy survived.
It seems that Pandora's box was opened and every quack, fool, and malign character is running for office.
Sometimes they win.
20 yrs ago R. Kennedy Jr. seemed normal, then it all changed quickly for the worse.
"Consumer Reports (CR), a consumer advocacy group, said it tested 12 store-bought versions of Lunchables — which are made by Kraft Heinz — along with similar lunch and snack kits and found “relatively high levels of lead and cadmium” in the Lunchables kits...There is not a safe level of lead for children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes."
@bicmay
Apparently being non-nutritious and laden with preservatives and sodium was not enough to stop people from feeding kids these culinary atrocities.
Maybe the lead content will change minds.
Bad news for blundering right-wing operative Jacob Wohl — he now has to pay $1.25 mil for a racist robocall voter suppression scheme, as part of an agreement with NY AG Letitia James. #legal
@GottaLaff Sweet justice! That's on top of a $5 million dollar fine from the FCC and smaller fines in Ohio. Can't find updates on Michigan's case against him, or if other states have prosecuted him yet. Hoping for more charges to come.
Whompity- whomp!
"At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what Trump says about a national abortion ban, or leaving the issue to the states—if he’s elected, he’ll give anti-choice groups exactly what they want. And there’s no talking point, messaging or ‘announcement’ that will change that fact."
@joeinwynnewood Trump's position on abortion has flip-flopped many times over the decades. In truth his position, as usual, is the one that benefits him personally at any given time.
Why anyone outside the cult would believe anything he says is beyond me
"Biden is struggling. 3/4 of Americans: dissatisfied about the state of the country. Lots of failures over the past 20-yrs. Ppl who run our insts. have done very little to acknowledge or take responsibility for any of it, let alone undertake reforms that aim to fix what’s broken *why angry anti-estab. populism: become so prominent in our pol over the past decade. Biden speaks/acts as if he thinks US insts. are doing perfectly fine."
@KimPerales Community outreach is the best way to do this. It's become clear to me as a life long activist that people to people communications are most powerful. Candidates need boots on the ground. Was recently impressed by Sen. Sherrod Brown, who participated in nearly 40 roundtables in Ohio on behalf of vétérans. There are parts of the state where Dems are seldom if ever seen. He went there. He spoke with Republicans. It's harder to demonize someone you've talked to over coffee and cookies.
Spare a thought for the librarians in the U.S. Everyone is calling at the last minute to see if they have Eclipse Glasses. I brought them all doughnuts, because I knew it was going to be an ordeal for them. 📚❤📚
@kimlockhartga Tip: if no glasses are available, improvise. Saw a guy demonstrate using a doughnut to view the eclipse, projecting the image through the hole onto a flat surface. 🍩
Best wishes to the librarians!😊
@thepoliticalcat I am glad that republicans keep choosing incompetent, weak men as speakers. Imagine what they could accomplish if they had someone talented and tough in that position.
Does gop have even one House member with solid leadership qualities?
"According to economist Steven Rattner of Morning Joe, the United States has now had 26 consecutive months—more than two years—of unemployment under 4%, the longest stretch of unemployment that low since the late 1960s.
Rattner pointed out that immigrants have helped to push U.S. growth since the pandemic by adding millions of new workers to the labor market."
@wdlindsy "...supply side economics has never worked, but it has become an article of faith for Republicans"
This is why GOP administrations drive thé US economy into a ditch every time.
@TonyStark A 71 year old homeless man now owes $43,000 in fines? Does the city expect him to pay? Is the city garnishing his Social Security checks? Exactly how does that benefit any community?
Last month my city cleared another homeless camp. No one was arrested or fined, and the fifty résidents were all placed in motels, shelters, or other residences. Some of these folks will end up on the streets again, but no one was punished for being unhoused.It does not work!
