senate dems need to put forward medicare for all.

and stick to it.

who should lead the democratic party?

we should.
shut up chris matthews.
stop looking for one person to be the leader. we are democrats. we dont play that shit.

i want to see a healthcare bill scored w a $15 minimum wage.

w the extra tax income (assuming multiple earners. mim wage earners shouldnt have to pay jack shit in taxes) and the people that would be bumped to a lower subsidy, what would the impact on the insurance markets be?

so many of our woes would be lessened if people weren't out there working for slave wages. pay a fucking living wage and people dont have to get govt assistance for everything.

and bring back the obama overtime rules. anybody making less than twice the minimum (living) wage is not a salaried supervisor. period.

so this is my choice, i guess.

bury my daughter, or sell everything i have and live an impoverished old age.

she has about a dozen pre-existing conditions, and we actually still dont know the extent of it. she is in the hospital right now, w an intestinal blockage and heavy bleeding.

she has epilepsy, chron's disease, endometriosis, a bleeding disorder, fibromyalgia, likely ehlers danlo syndrome, migraines, a bad psyche dx, and more. we are hoping to get to the bottom of it all before gov ruiner guts medicare here.
she has been in and out of the hospital for the last year, having not really recovered from having her gall bladder removed.
she has 3 more years on her dad's insurance before we are at the mercy of the market.

i have enough for a secure retirement now, and hopefully her dad remains employed until he decides to retire. (there is some danger his job will get outsourced to india.) hopefully he can work till a ripe old age. but at some point he will have to retire, and he wont be able to bear the whole burden of her expenses. plus, she is on ssi now, and will get more when he retires.

i expect to live to be 100, 38 more years. hopefully medical science catches up, and she can regain some measure of health. i dont have a lot of reason to hope, tho. so far she remains a zebra.
i just hope there is enough left over for her funeral.

thanks thugs. may you burn in a hell that is hotter than 1000 suns.

i want to thank kurt vonnegut for my continued existence.

i heard him long ago, being interviewed on npr, probably fresh air.
he talked about the impact of his mother's suicide on him and on his family. it was sobering.
at the time i often though that my family would be better off w/o me. he made it clear that if i did what i obsessed about at the time, i would be sending out ripples of unbearable pain that would engulf everyone in my family.

i thought hard about my daughter, who was already struggling w depression, even tho she was only a kid. i knew i would likely be dooming her to the same fate.
as my family grew, my struggle was often almost unbearable. thoughts of razor blades and tubs of hot water, and who would stumble on that scene were anchored by his words.
thoughts of doing "the virginia wolfe", walking into my beloved lake michigan, rocks in my pockets, were anchored by the angst of my disappearance, and the torment that would sink them all, too.

it was a thin thread to hang onto, but hang onto it i did.
i wish my children knew how hard it was, and what i did for them. i stayed there, their crazy, sometimes awful mom, who they often thought could not be worse. but i persisted.
as much as i regret many things i did, i know that the most important thing was the thing i didnt do.

so thank you sir. that ripple of pain was seen on my shores. it was a powerful warning, and a powerful affirmation.
thank you for being you. and for having the bravery to speak your pain.
you saved my life.

just how crazy does he have to act before this nightmare ends?

does he have to start lighting fires in the white house before people get their heads out of their asses?

no, dems do not have the votes to impeach him.
but many dems have the secrets, and they are keeping them secret.

there comes a time to tell the truth, come hell or high water.
and the water is getting pretty deep here.

The Latest: Chicago May Day Event Draws 20,000 Marchers

A march toward downtown Chicago on May Day is taking up several city blocks, with organizers estimating an attendance of 20,000 people.

One of the participants is artist Brian Holmes, who says Monday's demonstration is the latest step in fighting policies issued by President Donald Trump. Holmes says he has participated in several marches, including a rally Saturday to protest Trump's agenda in rolling back environmental protections.

Many signs in the crowd call for an end to deportations. But advocates of several organizations are pushing for numerous causes, including workers' rights, environmental justice and a higher minimum wage.

dear content managers- twitter links

people- just putting a twitter button on your websites doesnt really work.
if you have the full links that work fine for other stuff, you will be way over 140 characters. you need to put a tiny url on that button.

you'd think anyone doing websites these days would know that, but no.