Weeds have punctured through the vacant parking lot of Martin General Hospital’s emergency room. A makeshift blue tarp covering the hospital’s sign is worn down from flapping in the wind. The hospital doors are locked, many in this county of 22,000 fear permanently....
This issue is a bit more complex than just "hospitals shouldn't be for profit". Not to dismiss that's a big driver here, but there's a lot more going on.
Rural communities tend to have lower insurance coverage, that means for the people who do show up, their debt will eventually go into collections or be completely written off as a loss. Rural communities have vastly less access to better insurance and many just completely forgo insurance altogether.
Additionally, rural communities have a tendency to enter a death spiral between visits and costs. The number of people showing up at the hospital is low, but for the ones that do they show up with incredibly expensive conditions.
A lot of the financing and extended lines of revenue for rural hospitals is tied into the expanded Medicaid offerings under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). There's clear demonstration that states that have opted to not expand Medicaid are the ones overwhelmingly facing hospital closures. States that have expanded still face issues, but states that have not are facing worse outcomes for rural hospitals.
Finally, costs for healthcare have steadily increased at rates that outpace pretty much every program out there. Pharmaceutical companies are ever shifting costs of materials and medication making long term planning difficult. These companies cite new regulation requiring a remixing of their costs of products. Basically, if some state mandates $30 insulin, that makes cancer treatment go up some, massive percentage. So a requirement to reduce cost to consumer in one area induces an increase in cost somewhere else.
And no just telling hospitals they can't drive a profit won't fix the issue. The doctors, insurance, coverage, politics over the ACA, the education of those doctors, the supply chain of the hospitals, and the production of medical supplies all have played a role in this. There's just thousands of things that have to change or we're going to see more of this.
The entire thing is predicated on a completely unsustainable economic model. This system we have is completely unsustainable. It was never sustainable, it's just that the losses had to eventually add up enough to run the thing into the ground. And this isn't limited to just Red States, it's just that the Red States are the ones least prepared for this slowly building problem. This issue is coming for everywhere. There's no hospital that's going to survive this if we do not fundamentally change the system upon which our healthcare is built on.
There are just too many flaws to band-aid here. We have to have a massive overhaul of our system or people are literally going to die. The problem is, that we can't tell who is going to be at the steering wheel to direct those changes. There has to be a shared vision between the two major political parties that can endure for decades to ensure that whatever new systems is made, is actually built. If the two parties that run our government can never agree, hang it up folks, we're done here. I know some people are going to take that as an invite to bash the other party, but at the end of the day, we either all work together or we don't.
We have to have some sort of change to our system like yesterday. It needs to be a massive change that take effect at ALL of the layers within the healthcare system. We cannot keep making minor incremental changes, it's just plugging one hole in the dam only for another one to spring forth.
I believe in the rights of the individual, which is why I support free health care, education, and housing for all, so that every individual has a chance to succeed, no matter where they come from.
This article is literally 7 sentences long. 8 if you include the title. You seriously can't be bothered to click the link and read it? For fuck sakes dude come on. The video in the article is literally 1 minute and 10 seconds. You can't take 70 seconds to be more informed. You have to be a jackass?
So our neighbors have been a growing problem for a few months now. They seem to be a flop house for six or seven people, most of them look high all day. They go out and Rev a Harley at 3am, they burn plastic been our houses in a fire pit, they have a new dog every two weeks because they keep getting out and getting hit by...
Its so easy to say, move. The practical reality is often different. Also why the hell should they move if they aren't being obnoxious but the neighbors are. There's a certain level of decency that one should have in any setting. Being obnoxiously stupid to the point of doing all the things in OP's post makes people like that just fucking unacceptable or intolerable to live with. If people want to live like that then they should go live in the fucking wild. The rest of us actually want to live in civilized society.
Wow, two in a row. I don't even have to fully type it out again.
Its so easy to say, move. The practical reality is often different. Also why the hell should they move if they aren't being obnoxious but the neighbors are. There's a certain level of decency that one should have in any setting. Being obnoxiously stupid to the point of doing all the things in OP's post makes people like that just fucking unacceptable or intolerable to live with. If people want to live like that then they should go live in the fucking wild. The rest of us actually want to live in civilized society.
Except Biden isn’t senile, he’s just old. And anybody trying to compare his mental state to Trump’s based solely on what we can plainly see on camera, is doing so in bad faith. That’s not counting what the actual transcript of the Special Counsel investigation said, that he has a seemingly photographic memory.
After Donald J. Trump tallied victories in Texas, California and 12 other states, Nikki Haley was expected to drop out of the presidential race, according to people familiar with her plans. She was set to deliver remarks in Charleston, S.C., at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Not sure if you are referring to Trump & Biden, or Trump & Haley. Haley voters are conservatives who don’t really like Trump and are largely upset with the state of the Republican Party. I know a few, and that’s basically their reasoning.
As for Biden: I want to vote for Biden because he and his coalition actually have a decent legislative track record and:
He will not attempt to install a dictatorship
He will not end NATO
He will not reduce women’s rights
He will not make things more difficult for minorities
He will not reduce reproductive rights (abortion, contraceptives, and in-vitro-fertilization like the Christo-Fascists want)
He will not overhaul the US government to match the Republicans Project 2025
He will not hand Ukraine to Russia
He will appoint liberal judges and justices
He supports expanding voting rights, among other things
EDIT: He will also keep the US in the Paris Climate Agreement and work to curtail the effects of climate change.
I do wish he was younger, but he’s not. He was old yesterday, he is old today, and he will be old tomorrow. That won’t change.
I do wish he was handling Israel and Palestine better, but his calling for a ceasefire is far better than Trump, who would be happy to bomb Gaza so hard that it falls off into the Mediterranean. Biden and his Administration are the only one’s standing between Palestine and Trump, who would have no problem destroying them.
His people have also navigated a near-impossible situation which is gradually lower inflation without crashing the economy, while also working to turn Russia's Ukraine war into a total embarrassment for Putin, pushing to and succeeding in expanding NATO, passing a huge infrastructure package to boost America's rail network, capping insulin prices at $35 and all with the tiniest majority imaginable. Imagine what he could do if he had the majorities to amend the constitution?
He is not a perfect person or even a perfect president, but Biden has got a lot done with the tiniest of majorities. That’s why I am voting for him when the time comes.
Edit 1: Clarity
Edit 2: Added point 10 about climate change.
Even if you are lukewarm on Biden, he will 100% be gone and retired in 4 years. Then we can get a shot at a newer, younger candidate.
On the flip side, Trump and the Republicans, through Project 2025, are going to gut federal government employees and replace them with loyalists. They will make it extremely difficult for anyone who is not a Trump sycophant to be in government.
If Trump wins, he will not leave until he dies and his brand of vitriolic and caustic politics will be here to stay. I would not be surprised if he appointed one of his children as his successor.
Biden is not perfect, but his platform, coalition, and the people he empowers are 100% better than the alternative.
Biden has put together a competent administration that has actually done some positive things. There's absolutely no chance Danald Tramp will do that and he sure as fuck did not last time. I think most people do not really want to vote for Biden and the DNC and Biden himself has failed us, but it's realistic that voting for him is a reasonable thing to do because Trump will be worse on every single issue (yes, including Palestine).
Biden's actually been kind of decent, better than I expected, but I'm voting against trump, first and foremost. That dude is loudly broadcasting that he'll make life absolutely miserable for minorities, people who didn't support him, etc, and it's supported by his first time and his "efforts" with covid that largely came down to, "Let it hit the cities, they voted against me anyhow."
If both parties were sane, then sure - vote third party.
But, voting third party will not help in an election where one side is actually campaigning to eradicate their opponents and literally stormed the capitol building when they didn’t get their way. It would be asinine.
The democrats already are the coalition party filled with people who see how batshit and dangerously crazy the Republicans have gotten - it is precisely why they are so diverse.
The only reason Biden, AOC, Bernie Sanders, Ilhan Omar, et al are in the same damn party is they recognize the dangers Trump and his party represent.
If you want things to get much worse for the US and the world, vote Donald Trump. He wants presidential immunity, fewer freedoms, increased difficulty for women and minorities (income-segregated educational opportunities, incredibly unequal wealth inequality, etc), the end of NATO, and other horrible things. Vote anyone but the Biden coalition if you want these things.
If you want to fight things getting worse, or dare to believe in things can get better, vote for Joe Biden.
Despite Star Trek: Discovery's critical success, it was far from a fan-favorite. Though all four seasons boast an average 85 percent critical score, the audience score is at a dismal 37 percent. Since audience scores are more strongly correlated to overall viewership, Discovery simply wasn't pulling the numbers to make it a...
Seasons One and Two were a ton of fun. I enjoyed them quite a bit. Epic, movie quality stories and good plot twists. Lots of space shenanigans. Then things degraded significantly and I am not sure why. It’s been a while, so I’m not as focused about the disappointment I felt during season Three. We changed direction with the story and the lead seemed to be crying about things all the time. Too many discussions about relationships or personal issues. I only saw one or two episodes of season Four as it seemed even worse in that regard. Done.
Put succinctly: Too much yappin, not enough zappin!
Rando gets an extra zero is one thing. Getting disability is nearly impossible. I wasted years trying, they gave me a lump sum and then denied the ongoing claim. I’ve spent 80% of every day in bed for 10 years. When my folks die, I will buy a bullet with whatever is left in the bank. Disability doesn’t pay close to minimum wage and no one is living off of minimum wage. Anything given to people in this circumstance should be written off. Anyone in my situation should be buying a second bullet for the assholes coming after people like this. I was just riding a bicycle to work when I got hit. I rode to help save money for my daughter. Providing less than it takes to survive in a country with over 750 criminal billionaires is just as bad as the Nazis sending the disabled to gas chambers. The misery is just strewn out longer in one case.
I haven’t checked in on this game since around launch. Anyone want to bring me up to speed on what’s happening? I gather the latest expansion pack is priced differently than prior DLC?...
They even closed the Steam discussion thread and didn't have the decency to properly link to the "New Discussion" wherever the fuck that is taking place. CA have their heads so far up their ass that every bit of shit smells wonderful to them at this point.
I think you’re thinking of Games Workshop, the IP holder for WH and WH40K. This is about Creative Assembly, the developer of the Total War RTS games, mostly historical, but also 3 set in the WH universe. They basically developed a very adversarial relationship with their core audience and failed to innovate in decades. Oh wait it is kinda similar to the Games Workshop situation…
After the only hospital in town closed, a North Carolina city directs its ire at politicians (apnews.com)
Weeds have punctured through the vacant parking lot of Martin General Hospital’s emergency room. A makeshift blue tarp covering the hospital’s sign is worn down from flapping in the wind. The hospital doors are locked, many in this county of 22,000 fear permanently....
‘We don’t have a democracy’: why some Oregonians want to join Idaho (www.theguardian.com)
23-year-old woman killed by rock thrown at her car; no arrests made (abcnews.go.com)
IRS says its number of audits is about to surge. Here's who the agency is targeting. (www.cbsnews.com)
How do you get rid of bad neighbors?
So our neighbors have been a growing problem for a few months now. They seem to be a flop house for six or seven people, most of them look high all day. They go out and Rev a Harley at 3am, they burn plastic been our houses in a fire pit, they have a new dog every two weeks because they keep getting out and getting hit by...
Idiot Trump Confesses He Actually Has the Money to Post Bond (newrepublic.com)
Donald Trump is close to the deadline to post bond in his fraud trial—and he’s screwing himself over even more....
Tennessee Senate passes bill banning chemtrails (www.tennessean.com)
Live Updates: Haley Is Expected to Suspend Her Campaign (www.nytimes.com)
After Donald J. Trump tallied victories in Texas, California and 12 other states, Nikki Haley was expected to drop out of the presidential race, according to people familiar with her plans. She was set to deliver remarks in Charleston, S.C., at 10 a.m. Eastern.
The myth of the migrant crime wave (reason.com)
Scientists understood physics of climate change in the 1800s – thanks to a woman named Eunice Foote (theconversation.com)
Star Trek: Discovery Cancellation Gets Even Worse (www.giantfreakinrobot.com)
Despite Star Trek: Discovery's critical success, it was far from a fan-favorite. Though all four seasons boast an average 85 percent critical score, the audience score is at a dismal 37 percent. Since audience scores are more strongly correlated to overall viewership, Discovery simply wasn't pulling the numbers to make it a...
Elderly man facing homelessness after Social Security orders $60,000 repayment (local12.com)
PECULIAR, Mo. (KCTV/CNN/CNN Newsource/WKRC) - An elderly man is facing homelessness after Social Security ordered him to repay over $60,000.
Total War Warhammer 3 devs will remove Steam users starting boycotts (www.pcgamesn.com)
I haven’t checked in on this game since around launch. Anyone want to bring me up to speed on what’s happening? I gather the latest expansion pack is priced differently than prior DLC?...
Starlink has quietly lost over 500 satellites in the past 5 months. Since reducing launch capacity to 22, pro rated damage costs have exceeded $1.4 Billion dollars. (tiblur.com)