It just goes to show that, sadly (as Great Agent Orange would say), you can't cheat all of the people all of the time. But, just as the NRA does what it can to help people kill people, so that Great Industry dedicated to curing people does what it can to kill the unworthy poor, thus transformed into a worthy human sacrifice to the Profit Fetish.
Guardian articles by Michael Sainato are dated September 23rd 2019 and January 4th 2022.
Warnock's bill capping the price for 1 month's supply of insulin at $35 completes protection for diabetics.
Wicked, wicked, this Soshlist scheming to revive human lives...
I just love Kevin Brady's modified and improved Kominform-Speak:
"Dems reviving their SOCIALIST drug pricing scheme from their FAILED RADICAL tax AND SPENDING SPREE".
Just a reminder to all that the $35 cap is on the insurance copay. Folks without health insurance are tough out of luck. Hopefully many folks with a chronic disease like diabetes will qualify for Medicaid or Medicare
Some form of universal health care is the other side of this equation. And it's being worked on. Just need to get all those people who support it to take some action so we all can see it. Working on that too.
Peter, I couldn't agree more. And yet, there's ample room for conversation on both the NRA/firearms issue and Big Pharma. The one thing that strikes me odd are the millions of people who bare their teeth and spit venom the minute a change to gun laws is proposed and yet when the price of insulin (or any other critical drug) skyrockets there is silence from the Republican base and media. No one can tell me that every Republican/Independent voter and their minor offspring are well insured and/or magically immune from diabetes or, in the case of epipen, anaphylactic shock. But they stay quiet. In fact, they stay extraordinarily quiet. Can they ALL afford to pay out of pocket for, critical, lifesaving meds? Do they ALL have fantastic insurance coverage? Are they ALL on Medicare or Medicaid? After the last 2 years of raging pandemic, many of those same people who advocate mightily for the right to bear arms couldn't care less about the fact that there have been FREE vaccines available to every person in the us who falls within the age guidelines. They choose disease. They choose death.
So now, I wonder this: how and why did a hefty portion of our population decide to choose death as a goal post? Death by gunshot? Death by disease? Death by ignorance?
Daria, your frustration is well-founded and easy to understand. I think a lot of those who make that choice are just plain scared and uncertain. I hear story after story, still, from families who are sharing their own tragic stories, trying to convince their neighbors and communities to get the shots, lock up guns, take care of themselves so they don't get diabetes. And on and on.
When I got my booster last fall, I ran into some older folks I didn't know, probably close to my own age. I was coming as they were leaving and somehow, distanced, masked, and outdoors, we got into a conversation (I'm like that).
They had actually been isolating at home, with help from family, this whole time, and admitted, a little sheepishly, that they decided to finally get vaccinated when it became clear that the people getting sick were the unvaccinated. I congratulated them and told them I was happy they had made that choice.
That opened the door for them to ask me questions. I told them that I was there for the booster. I explained that I had had Covid at the beginning of the pandemic, was pretty sick but able to recover at home, slowly. I spent nearly a year waiting for the vaccine, and got it as soon as it was available. They were curious about how I'd reacted to the vaccination before (it turned out that their big concern was the possibility of adverse reactions). And wondered how the vaccination was compared to having Covid. I told them that Covid scared the **** out of me, because I had a hard time breathing and a lot of weird neuro stuff, and it took a while to get back up to speed. I did have a strong reaction to the vaccine (sore arm, achiness), it was nothing compared to Covid. My reaction was a good thing: it showed that my body was already producing antibodies. Both of them thanked me, and looked relieved. I got to pet their dog, and off they went.
I think this is fairly typical, though sometimes people give other reasons than simply being frightened about what they think of as the unknown. They are not so much making a choice for death as they are waiting and seeing.
Then there are those who honestly think it's not that bad, and it won't hurt them- until they or someone in their family gets it and dies or spends weeks in the hospital. The young man at the pizza shop on my first outing stated with much braggadocio that the whole thing was blown out of proportion; he thought it was bogus, no worse than the flu. I had a rapt audience as I explained to everyone in the whole shop (door open, ppl distancing) point by point why he was wrong. And that I could personally attest that this was definitely NOT the flu. A couple months later when I went in (now shop was call-in, pick up only, so no crowd). His whole family had had Covid. The whole crew called out to me as I picked up my pizza and left.
The ones that seem to not be reachable are the folks who've bought into the conspiracy pit and are so vested that their egos won't let go. I'm not sure any of these people are choosing death. They just can't see past the immediate.
I ache for them at the same time I am angry: because of them, I am again in a kind of isolation because I am in that "high vulnerability" group. And so is my son-in-law. And some people I care about. My anger is this: why is it okay to make us have to isolate and wear masks so they can hang onto their fantasies and pretend that they are not going to get it?
People are getting sick again and most of them will be from one of those three groups. I can be comforted by knowing that I, at least, might get mildly sick, but not likely to need special care. Many of the unvaccinated will not be so fortunate. The ones I worry about, though, are people who cannot be vaccinated, such as people being treated for cancer or auto-immune. disease. Lots of kids too young to be vaccinated- but hopefully soon. In the meantime we should be protecting them, not isolating them.
Annie, I'm glad you were able to recover at home and not go through the added risk of hospitalization. And, I'm glad you were able to reach out and have a conversation with the folks outside the vaccination center and allay some of their fears.
My husband and I have been vaccinated and boosted and, thus far, have remained Covid free. Because I am in an extremely high risk category we go out infrequently and take every precaution when we do. Nonetheless, things are a little different in the state of Yucat├бn. Masking in public is still required, there are still limits on the number of patrons allowed in stores/eating/drinking/establishments and entertainment/sports venues. Most people who live here adhere fairly strictly to the protocols. Many tourists, particularly from the US, don't. Their pat answer when asked to mask is: the CDC says I don't have to wear a mask. Of course, it never occurs to them that the US CDC has no jurisdiction in M├йxico. The couple times I've been to the US since Covid hit I've been struck by how many people take the whole thing so casually...too me, it's otherworldly.
I think you're right though тАУ there are many people who do not see beyond the moment they are in and fail to understand that the here and now shapes the basis for every tomorrow. Please take care of yourself. Spring and summer are ahead for us to enjoy. ЁЯМ╖ЁЯМ╖
Thank you, Daria. It shouldn't surprise me that entitled Americans assume that their rules are the one that apply. Still it stuns me that people would go to another nation and expect to be accommodated. That kind of person also will do that in other people's houses and claim "their rights" being violated. Mine are violated by their coming in my house unmasked, so they are asked not to. I figure they are not my friends if they behave this way, so no loss. In my state, some towns retain the mask mandate while others don't. Even in those towns, some businesses require masks and distancing. I will enter those shops, even if only to talk to someone I am not related to. We get a lot of tourists here, and our small "super"market is often crowded with unmasked people. I drive to another town to grocery shop, which is fine, because it's a coop and I also run into people I know. I think I would feel right at home in the Yucatan, from your description. Another place I'd like to visit, but I'd never get around to them all anyway, even if I could afford it. So I enjoy your posts about what is going on there, and the attitude of the people.
Annie, first of all, if you ever want to visit M├йrida, mi casa es su casa. We live in a fab, fancy, renovated colonial home but in an every day M├йxican neighborhood. It is safe. It is cordial. We welcome you, though not in April through July тАУ it is hotter than hell and we go away if possible (Covid makes it difficult).
We lived in Vermont for a time. In Fayston. In some ways I regret the fact we ever left. In the best of both worlds, Vermont and Yucat├бn are THE places to be if one wants to live a tranquil but enriched life.
Daria, for sure! I will put that on my calendar under "when possible". You can find me on FB, then just use Messenger to send me a direct message with an email address (this is reasonably safe). Then I'll send you via email my personal email address (which is encrypted). I do check FB when I watch Heather's video presentations.
Annie, all this sounds to me like your own caring and kindness, not mine. There are countless causes for heartbreak at this moment, but here it may be that you sensed not my pain but my patience breaking.
The mix of limitless greed and the crassest stupidity is hard to bear and there are moments when TC's vengeful fantasies dance on the outer edge of my conscious mind.
I don't want to say more, but there is plenty of reason to pity wretched bandits like these and infinitely more to pity their victims.
Thank you, Peter. But heartbreak isn't limited only to caring and kindness. I think it is just as applicable to patience giving way. Mine is too. And I agree with all you said. I am in another kind of pain right now due to the near-death of one friend and the loss of another for more complicated reasons. Some days when I read what is going on, it's just too much. And sometimes certain comments on here miss the mark by so much I just have to stop reading. More loss, because this group often helps ground me, and further, helps me clarify what is important. Including not giving away my own capacity for pity and compassion even for people I really can't stand. That simply is not part of the deal for me.
Deborah, Manchin's daughter, former CEO of the now defunct Mylan, was responsible for the outrageous rise in the price of epipen, not insulin
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/10/joe-manchin-daughter-heather-bresch-mylan-epipen/
https://www.opensecrets.org
It just goes to show that, sadly (as Great Agent Orange would say), you can't cheat all of the people all of the time. But, just as the NRA does what it can to help people kill people, so that Great Industry dedicated to curing people does what it can to kill the unworthy poor, thus transformed into a worthy human sacrifice to the Profit Fetish.
Guardian articles by Michael Sainato are dated September 23rd 2019 and January 4th 2022.
Warnock's bill capping the price for 1 month's supply of insulin at $35 completes protection for diabetics.
Wicked, wicked, this Soshlist scheming to revive human lives...
I just love Kevin Brady's modified and improved Kominform-Speak:
"Dems reviving their SOCIALIST drug pricing scheme from their FAILED RADICAL tax AND SPENDING SPREE".
That wealth of adjectives!
Just a reminder to all that the $35 cap is on the insurance copay. Folks without health insurance are tough out of luck. Hopefully many folks with a chronic disease like diabetes will qualify for Medicaid or Medicare
Some form of universal health care is the other side of this equation. And it's being worked on. Just need to get all those people who support it to take some action so we all can see it. Working on that too.
Peter, I couldn't agree more. And yet, there's ample room for conversation on both the NRA/firearms issue and Big Pharma. The one thing that strikes me odd are the millions of people who bare their teeth and spit venom the minute a change to gun laws is proposed and yet when the price of insulin (or any other critical drug) skyrockets there is silence from the Republican base and media. No one can tell me that every Republican/Independent voter and their minor offspring are well insured and/or magically immune from diabetes or, in the case of epipen, anaphylactic shock. But they stay quiet. In fact, they stay extraordinarily quiet. Can they ALL afford to pay out of pocket for, critical, lifesaving meds? Do they ALL have fantastic insurance coverage? Are they ALL on Medicare or Medicaid? After the last 2 years of raging pandemic, many of those same people who advocate mightily for the right to bear arms couldn't care less about the fact that there have been FREE vaccines available to every person in the us who falls within the age guidelines. They choose disease. They choose death.
So now, I wonder this: how and why did a hefty portion of our population decide to choose death as a goal post? Death by gunshot? Death by disease? Death by ignorance?
Daria, your frustration is well-founded and easy to understand. I think a lot of those who make that choice are just plain scared and uncertain. I hear story after story, still, from families who are sharing their own tragic stories, trying to convince their neighbors and communities to get the shots, lock up guns, take care of themselves so they don't get diabetes. And on and on.
When I got my booster last fall, I ran into some older folks I didn't know, probably close to my own age. I was coming as they were leaving and somehow, distanced, masked, and outdoors, we got into a conversation (I'm like that).
They had actually been isolating at home, with help from family, this whole time, and admitted, a little sheepishly, that they decided to finally get vaccinated when it became clear that the people getting sick were the unvaccinated. I congratulated them and told them I was happy they had made that choice.
That opened the door for them to ask me questions. I told them that I was there for the booster. I explained that I had had Covid at the beginning of the pandemic, was pretty sick but able to recover at home, slowly. I spent nearly a year waiting for the vaccine, and got it as soon as it was available. They were curious about how I'd reacted to the vaccination before (it turned out that their big concern was the possibility of adverse reactions). And wondered how the vaccination was compared to having Covid. I told them that Covid scared the **** out of me, because I had a hard time breathing and a lot of weird neuro stuff, and it took a while to get back up to speed. I did have a strong reaction to the vaccine (sore arm, achiness), it was nothing compared to Covid. My reaction was a good thing: it showed that my body was already producing antibodies. Both of them thanked me, and looked relieved. I got to pet their dog, and off they went.
I think this is fairly typical, though sometimes people give other reasons than simply being frightened about what they think of as the unknown. They are not so much making a choice for death as they are waiting and seeing.
Then there are those who honestly think it's not that bad, and it won't hurt them- until they or someone in their family gets it and dies or spends weeks in the hospital. The young man at the pizza shop on my first outing stated with much braggadocio that the whole thing was blown out of proportion; he thought it was bogus, no worse than the flu. I had a rapt audience as I explained to everyone in the whole shop (door open, ppl distancing) point by point why he was wrong. And that I could personally attest that this was definitely NOT the flu. A couple months later when I went in (now shop was call-in, pick up only, so no crowd). His whole family had had Covid. The whole crew called out to me as I picked up my pizza and left.
The ones that seem to not be reachable are the folks who've bought into the conspiracy pit and are so vested that their egos won't let go. I'm not sure any of these people are choosing death. They just can't see past the immediate.
I ache for them at the same time I am angry: because of them, I am again in a kind of isolation because I am in that "high vulnerability" group. And so is my son-in-law. And some people I care about. My anger is this: why is it okay to make us have to isolate and wear masks so they can hang onto their fantasies and pretend that they are not going to get it?
People are getting sick again and most of them will be from one of those three groups. I can be comforted by knowing that I, at least, might get mildly sick, but not likely to need special care. Many of the unvaccinated will not be so fortunate. The ones I worry about, though, are people who cannot be vaccinated, such as people being treated for cancer or auto-immune. disease. Lots of kids too young to be vaccinated- but hopefully soon. In the meantime we should be protecting them, not isolating them.
Annie, I'm glad you were able to recover at home and not go through the added risk of hospitalization. And, I'm glad you were able to reach out and have a conversation with the folks outside the vaccination center and allay some of their fears.
My husband and I have been vaccinated and boosted and, thus far, have remained Covid free. Because I am in an extremely high risk category we go out infrequently and take every precaution when we do. Nonetheless, things are a little different in the state of Yucat├бn. Masking in public is still required, there are still limits on the number of patrons allowed in stores/eating/drinking/establishments and entertainment/sports venues. Most people who live here adhere fairly strictly to the protocols. Many tourists, particularly from the US, don't. Their pat answer when asked to mask is: the CDC says I don't have to wear a mask. Of course, it never occurs to them that the US CDC has no jurisdiction in M├йxico. The couple times I've been to the US since Covid hit I've been struck by how many people take the whole thing so casually...too me, it's otherworldly.
I think you're right though тАУ there are many people who do not see beyond the moment they are in and fail to understand that the here and now shapes the basis for every tomorrow. Please take care of yourself. Spring and summer are ahead for us to enjoy. ЁЯМ╖ЁЯМ╖
Thank you, Daria. It shouldn't surprise me that entitled Americans assume that their rules are the one that apply. Still it stuns me that people would go to another nation and expect to be accommodated. That kind of person also will do that in other people's houses and claim "their rights" being violated. Mine are violated by their coming in my house unmasked, so they are asked not to. I figure they are not my friends if they behave this way, so no loss. In my state, some towns retain the mask mandate while others don't. Even in those towns, some businesses require masks and distancing. I will enter those shops, even if only to talk to someone I am not related to. We get a lot of tourists here, and our small "super"market is often crowded with unmasked people. I drive to another town to grocery shop, which is fine, because it's a coop and I also run into people I know. I think I would feel right at home in the Yucatan, from your description. Another place I'd like to visit, but I'd never get around to them all anyway, even if I could afford it. So I enjoy your posts about what is going on there, and the attitude of the people.
Annie, first of all, if you ever want to visit M├йrida, mi casa es su casa. We live in a fab, fancy, renovated colonial home but in an every day M├йxican neighborhood. It is safe. It is cordial. We welcome you, though not in April through July тАУ it is hotter than hell and we go away if possible (Covid makes it difficult).
We lived in Vermont for a time. In Fayston. In some ways I regret the fact we ever left. In the best of both worlds, Vermont and Yucat├бn are THE places to be if one wants to live a tranquil but enriched life.
Daria, for sure! I will put that on my calendar under "when possible". You can find me on FB, then just use Messenger to send me a direct message with an email address (this is reasonably safe). Then I'll send you via email my personal email address (which is encrypted). I do check FB when I watch Heather's video presentations.
Well Annie, you see I was right. We share some anger but you let your good heart guide you. A sound example to us all.
I'm grateful for your telling of these simple exchanges with fellow human beings not malevolent but confused.
I wish I could be more outgoing but I have noticed that, when seriously ill, fellow-feeling comes naturally and social barriers vanish.
The suffering of children is unbearable and here the indifference of Manchin's daughter becomes criminal.
As for the father's attitude to the service of his country, the kindest word that comes to mind is "perverse". Some others are unprintable.
Good point for thinking about.
I'll ask around, especially among people I know who are in frequent contact with True Believers.
It would be a good idea if others did likewise.
These people do tend to believe in one thing and its opposite. Some are persuaded that they are among God's Chosen...
Peter, right in the middle of this post I thought I heard your heart breaking. And then you showed it to us. You are a fine man person
Annie, all this sounds to me like your own caring and kindness, not mine. There are countless causes for heartbreak at this moment, but here it may be that you sensed not my pain but my patience breaking.
The mix of limitless greed and the crassest stupidity is hard to bear and there are moments when TC's vengeful fantasies dance on the outer edge of my conscious mind.
I don't want to say more, but there is plenty of reason to pity wretched bandits like these and infinitely more to pity their victims.
Thank you, Peter. But heartbreak isn't limited only to caring and kindness. I think it is just as applicable to patience giving way. Mine is too. And I agree with all you said. I am in another kind of pain right now due to the near-death of one friend and the loss of another for more complicated reasons. Some days when I read what is going on, it's just too much. And sometimes certain comments on here miss the mark by so much I just have to stop reading. More loss, because this group often helps ground me, and further, helps me clarify what is important. Including not giving away my own capacity for pity and compassion even for people I really can't stand. That simply is not part of the deal for me.
I shall reply.
But now, only to say that your words go so deep, it is a gift to receive them. A rare gift.
I am grateful.