Tips, Ideas, and Stuff

Words of wisdom and a few tips from Columbia-trained
surgeon, Harvard-educated decision scientist, and author Dr. Mark Shrime:

The healthcare system in this country is in free fall. So for this week’s 4:30-on-a-Sunday-morning Medthreads post: Here are five things you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones.

As always, I’m a doctor but I’m not your doctor. None of this should be taken as medical advice specific to your situation. For specific questions, please see your health provider.

1.   The Big Bill that was passed last week will have massive effects on your healthcare, even if you’ve got private insurance.

Because hospitals, esp rural ones, get a lot of govt funding, cuts in Medicare/medicaid will lead to either them shutting down or (more likely) them getting bought up by private equity.

Docs and nurses get crushed by private equity.

Have a backup plan for when your nearest hospital closes. Do you have another one you could direct a family member to?

2.   If not, consider establishing care at a hospital or clinic in a bigger city. It takes time to do that, so start now

3.   It’s not clear what the state of vaccination will be come autumn. If you’re due for any vaccines, consider visiting a travel or sexual health clinic. Sometimes they can offer them (at a cost, unfortunately, unless you live in a blue city).

In many cases, they don’t even ask why you want them

4.   Mask!

I told you this would be unpopular.

Still, preventing getting sick may be the strongest weapon you have at your disposal. Masks are still available. Buy KN95s or better, and wear them.

Even if people judge you. Better judged and healthy than the alternative

5.   Get your information from Canadian, British, Australian, European, Singaporean, South African, and other official sites.

Literally do not trust the CDC’s public face any more.

And for the love of all that’s holy, do not trust ChatGPT with your health questions.

~~~

Resist tip of the day:

A brief three to four second spray of Flex Seal on the windows of a vehicle would make them, pretty much, undrivable.

How come? I understand that it significantly or completely decreases visibility. It’d be a real shame if that happened to the windshield of an ICE kidnap-mobile, huh? 

You probably shouldn’t do that. Nope.
~~~
Did I post this already?

The Crustian Daily describes itself as an independent journalist org “with teeth.” 

We expose what others bury, state violence, corporate abuse, and the systems that protect them. Home of The ICE List. Called ‘thugs’ by DHS. We took it as a compliment. (source) 

What's The Ice List.

The ICE List is an open journalistic project, created by the Crustian Daily, aimed at collecting and sharing information that can hold ICE members legally accountable.

We document and publish the names, faces, and roles of individuals involved in ICE operations, especially those linked to abuse, misconduct, or deportations. 

 Each profile is vetted and categorized by involvement level, providing a clear view of who’s behind the system. (source)  

This is a public database of ICE agents and collaborators (AKA bounty hunters).

...the "project" is about "truth and transparency," and states that the outlet will not tolerate "harassment, threats, or the use of private, nonpublic information."

Speaking to Newsweek over email, a spokesperson for the outlet said: "We won't publish home addresses. We won't encourage harassment. We won't cross the line."

They added: "What we will do is document publicly visible information, roles, affiliations, and identities tied to ICE operations, and make that easier for the public to access.” (source) 

Despite what you MAY have seen on social media, ICE is most def NOT legally exempt from police protocol. 

ICE agents can arrest people without a warrant based on probable cause but need a judicial warrant (a warrant signed by a judge) to enter a home or other private spaces. An administrative warrant, which is no more than an ICE form, is not enough for entry without consent. 

This is why they’re snatching people off the streets or from their workplaces, doctor’s offices or immigration appointments. They don’t have the legal backup to take you from your home. 

As for ID – what about badges and ID?

ICE officers must identify themselves and show their badges if they are at your door. You can ask to see their identification before engaging with them. If they refuse to show their identification, you are under no obligation to open the door. (source) 

Again, what about when you’re peacefully walking down the street to the corner store or to catch a bus to your job? I have not found any clear, definitive statements that ICE agents and their assholian bounty hunters are legally bound to show ID or even one of those craptastic badges available on Amazon.

These bounty hunting “ICE agents” have the balls on temerity to cry that they’re being picked on when they’re kidnapping innocents instead of catching actual dangerous criminals. These bounty hunters say they have to mask to protect their families (hiding behind their children or imaginary children) all while they victimize others. 

Cry me a fuckin’ ocean you fucking pantywaists.

"Federal agents and their children are being threatened, doxed and assaulted," U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley said in a video posted to social media. "That is why they must hide their faces.” (I honestly don’t believe them. They should have to show real, easily verifiable proof of the threats and so-called assaults they've suffered if they want to be taken seriously.)

Section 1064 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 says federal officers responding to a "civil disturbance" must visibly display both identifying information of the officer and the entity the officer works for. (source) 

Know your rights! 

I only mention it but resisting ICE is a live action chess game. Use the ICEBlock app or similar and obstruct the bounty hunters' road access. (sawhorses across intersections, set up fluorescent traffic cones eliminating lanes, post spurious detour signage, fer instance)

At the very least, slow the motherfuckers down. Make their jobs way more trouble than they're worth. Make it a fuckton harder for them to capture that golden price per head. 

Give their prize victims time to escape.

The Fifth

Waddayaknow, I made it through another nasty-ass Fourth of July.

Our herd of cats were most def unhappy about all the stupid firework action. Fireworks are illegal for regular citizens to use, have, and/or sell here in Massachusetts – no sparklers, party poppers, and firecrackers. Only people or organizations holding a pyrotechnic certificate of competency (fireworks license) and a permit can, by law, set these babies off.

This would be great BUT fireworks are totally legal and easy to get in next-door New Hampshire. The folks who don’t give a fuck about their neighbors who suffer from PTSD, like veterans, or don’t give a rat’s ass about their own cats, dogs, and other critters (let alone yours or mine) and can’t live without their little bomb explosions just hop over the border and go on mad shopping sprees.

The penalty for selling fireworks in Massachusetts? A fine or imprisonment. The fine can be anywhere from $100 to $1000. Imprisonment? One year max. Oh and your inventory will be snatched – that’s mandatory.

What about this – you bought fireworks in New Hampster. You’re now sitting out on the seawall here in Valhalla with your brand-y new box of Black Cats and a case of Coors Light. You haven’t set off any firecrackers yet but you’re planning on doing so right after you kill this next beer. A cop rides up just then. What happens? He takes your case of beer, leaves the Black Cats, and moves on to the next person flouting open alcoholic bev container laws. 

Great. Kid getting buzzed on the seawall (at my age, I consider everyone under 40 a kid), watching the Weymouth fireworks display across the bay? NO problem AT ALL. Kid on the seawall getting drunk, setting off Black Cats every five minutes, which cause Skitter to hide under the couch, trembling in fear and Cake to cower by my feet on the bed as he pisses himself in terror? Yeah, I got BIG problems with this.

What’s the state law for possession and/or use of fireworks by an unlicensed jerk?

Penalty: Fine and confiscation only
Fine: $10 to $100
Seizure of fireworks: Mandatory

If my neighborhood’s typical of the state, there’s no actual fireworks ban enforcement. I’m pissed. Think about how much money the state could take in if the law was enforced. Not only would this unholy week be less traumatizing for pets, wildlife, and those who’ve already suffered more than enough, Massachusetts might actually have enough buckos to fix our goddamn pothole riddled roads. 

That’d be nice.

Day

I’ve never celebrated Independence Day. Sure, I’ve gone to see the fireworks a few times but they were never my thing. They're just a lot of big, mega annoying noise with not enough color, awe, and wonder. Also, I’ve read and lived through enough history to  resent, hate even, all the cheap, rah-rah-rah, unthinking patriotism. This year in particular July 4th feels like much more of a wake and not just because today’s the 9th anniversary of The Amazing Bob’s final death either. 

Today doesn’t feel like the joyous sort of celebration of a long, full tilt boogie life, now complete. This is the wake of someone (a nation) who had a troubled existence, fraught with a shit-ton of nasty-ass addictions and mental illnesses (our out of control egoism, greed, extreme shortsightedness, callousness, cold cruelties and indifferences). BUT there was always the possibility, the spark, a slim thread, a flickering glimmer that the US could be so much more, so much better than it actually was. It never reached its potential though.

This is a day of mourning before we get back up and battle those fuckers some more.

Jesse Duquette

Author Geraldine DeRuiter posted this question on Threads yesterday and I can SO relate. 

Can someone tell me what to do? 

I vote. I donate to candidates. I give money to orgs that do good things. I march. I amplify other people's voices who aren't being heard. 

I honestly don't think any of it matters. This feels hopeless. People with a hell of a lot more power and influence than me aren't able to do a damn thing. 

What do we do here when our government isn't beholden to human decency, the constitution, or its own people?

Writer/comic/actor Tara Jepsen replied:

My thoughts: volunteer for those in need in your neighborhood or city. Remember that many Americans have NEVER been included in the American Dream, yet persisted in asking for more and better. The culture was dire, cruel, and unrelenting in their persecution. (I know you know these things, this is just how I re-orient myself when feeling grave despair.) Let go of thinking it’s your job to fix it. It’s not. We can only act from our means and capabilities, and we’re part of a bigger story.

This helps me. I want to do more...something. I feel so helpless but we all play a part. We can all take steps toward creating change.

Some books that may offer a bit of enlightenment, assistance, tips, what-have-you:

• The Art of War by Sun Tzu was written 2,500 years ago and is still relevant today. Also, you don’t need to buy a copy – it’s available free online. Click the linky. 

One does more to damage an opponent’s potential by undermining their scheme than by merely killing their soldiers. (source) 

• Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger. Basically, how ideas spread and influence culture. If you want to get a revolution going, you gotta make it go viral, eh?

• Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky

 The Citizen’s Handbook notes that:

For Alinsky, organizing is the process of highlighting what is wrong and convincing people they can actually do something about it. The two are linked. If people feel they don't have the power to change a bad situation, they stop thinking about it.

Yup! What’s Rule 1? Power is not only what you have, but what an opponent thinks you have.

This book can also be downloaded for FREE. Click on the linky. 

From a novel I just finished (Zoey is Too Drunk for This Dystopia Jason Pargin) and I’m paraphrasing a bit:

Celebrities are an idea. If you want to stop one, you can’t kill the person, you have to kill the idea.

The ideas that need to die are authoritarianism, racism, misogyny, anti-intellectualism, avariciousness, callousness, malignant narcissism. Trump is the celebrity embodiment of all this and more. He may succumb to a combo of Big Mac clogged arteries and hairspray fumes but the ideas will persist through other avatars like Couchfucking Jimmy Bowman, Cosplay Kristi, Nazi fuck Stephen Miller, and on and on. The Heritage Foundation billionaires will never run out of soulless slime balls to shill their shit.

So, amongst other things, the insanity that Stinky and his puppet masters are hyping needs to start giving wicked trash vibes, with all the personality and smell of a gas station toilet at midnight. Make MAGAts as radically uncool and unpopular as they are and deserve to be.

Troubles with Passports

I need to start carrying real identification. My passport expired during my surgery-a-thon years and I no longer have a driver’s license.

I know there’s something called a Real ID but I’ve no fucking clue as to what that is. From what I do understand, passports have more uses (e.g. a passport will get me into Canada, Iceland, and Scotland once I’m able to travel again. A Real ID? Not so much). So, I’m going with that.
Ten took me to CVS to get the photo done yesterday. Lemme just say this…motherfucking, son of a cabbage fart demon, I was def not expecting them to look anywhere near as bad as this. Yes, I see my face in the mirror every day. I am fully aware of all my pre and post surgery nerve damage flaws. I’ve also got it on good authority (Cake) that I’m no spring kitten anymore. 

Still, JAYZUS, Mary, and Joseph, in this pic my visage would scare young children (I’m def not a rugrat fan so, not really a bad thing, all in all), cause MAGAts to cry and wet their already filthy under drawers (oh, looky there – another upside to this monstrous appearance stuff) and cause a herd of shocked warthogs to pause, mid-rampage, to ask WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL WE HOLD DEAR IS THIS! Here in Valhalla we frown on scaring warthogs. Yes, even rampaging ones.

As you can see, even Medusa was a bit taken aback.

Naturally, the second we got home, I had to text Jen.

Me: Just got passport photos.

They’re terrifyingly awful. I mean, I’d show evidence but I value your vision.

I look 1,903 years old, my mouth is at a 45 degree angle to my eyes, I have three piece Samsonite luggage sets under both eyes, my neck is wider than an industrial chimney stack, and we won’t even talk about my hair.

I’m SO ugly.

And I’m gonna cry now.

Jen: You are not ugly!! You are very cute and I’m telling you, passport and drivers license photos are pretty much bad for almost everyone. It sucks man. 

Plus you have a lovely figure 💕

Me: You gotta see these though. I’m Disney monster/villain ugly in them.

If I was single I’d use them on a dating site to repel men. Wait…that’s not what dating sites are about, right?

Jen: AND you are hilarious !

Sorry they didn’t come out good! But they are NOT what you look like missy.

Me: 😏
        n.b. She had NOT yet seen these horror show shots

Jen: Don’t give me that emoji smirk!

Me: In the pic my mouth is at a steeper angle than in the emoji WITHOUT me even trying.

Some people have resting bitch face. I have resting deranged, deformed, Gorgon twat face.

Jen: Sigh, you do not!!! 

I hate seeing pics of myself, always look like a flea bitten ass with the mange. 

Me: Mange is a hard look to pull off. I should know – I keep trying. 
~~~
I’m referring here to my 12,001 brain surgeries where I go around with a half shaved head for a few months or so afterwards because my hair takes FOR-fucking-ever to grow back in. That and those aforementioned 12,001 surgeries have left a bunch ‘o’ big ragged-ass scars. My bunny fur (badly masquerading as human hair) doesn’t seem inclined to put down roots in scar tissue. Fuckers.

Still, on this score, our hero Jen seems to feel she’s got me beat.

😖 She’s wrong, of course.

I’ve let Ten know that it’s a damn good thing we never have people with small children or dogs visiting us. Scarred for life is what they’d be!

And no, you don’t get to see the shots either. I care about your mental health too. Plus, I can’t afford all the therapy sessions you would need afterwards.

Desolation Angel

I dreamed that The Amazing Bob died (which he did – nine years ago Friday) and I could no longer afford to stay here in Valhalla. I was alone. Not only did I have to move but I couldn’t even afford a shitty-ass room in a shared apartment in the most rundown building on the worst street in the last ungentrified, still sketchy neighborhood in Boston. I didn’t even have a cat to console me.

This dream scenario is light-years from reality. During those horrific early grief days I had Jen, Oni, Coco, Rocco, Hillel, Celeste, and other friends caring for me. I didn’t need to leave Valhalla. Still don’t.

 So, what’s the dream about and why am I having it now? As I said on Sunday, this anniversary of TAB's exit is hitting hard. I blame America’s Fascist Party (formerly known as the Republican Party). All of ‘em, including every last motherfucking tiny-brained person who voted for them. Also too, I fault those fuckers who didn’t vote whether it’s because they think their vote makes no difference or they were too damn lazy to get off the damn couch. AND there’s a special place in Hell for the eejits who voted for that grifting Russian puppet Jill Stein. She shows up every four years to get attention not unlike Punxatawney Phil. At least Phil, who has the decency and care to show up every year, isn't helping throw critical elections to Russian assets.

I wish I believed Hell was real. I might take comfort in believing that all these assholes would burn forever in a lake of fire (or suffer much more creative Jan Van Eyck or Hieronymus Bosch brand of eternal punishment)  

The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. 
~ Dante Alighieri 

Maybe this world is another planet’s hell. 
~ Aldous Huxley  

Which world though? If it’s one in this solar system, I’m betting on Uranus! (of course and yes I’ve the sense of humor and maturity of an 11 year old)

I say let the world go to hell, but I should always have my tea. 
~ Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground 

Same, dude, same. Drop a spot of Jamo in mine, please.

And, as Sartre said, Hell is other people. I think me and him would have gotten along just fine – at a distance for both our sakes.

Meanwhile back at Grief City – Ten understands me so well. He brought me onion rings, tatertots, and vegan sausages for brekkie in bed this morning. YOU might think this sounds absolutely beyond weird and icky BUT it was precisely what I was craving.

Grief changes shape, but it never ends.
~ Keanu Reeves

Sometimes solace looks like onion rings for breakfast.

And I believe in the future
We shall suffer no more
Maybe not in my lifetime
But in yours, I feel sure
Song dogs barking at the break of dawn
Lightning pushes the edges of a thunderstorm
And these streets
Quiet as a sleeping army
Send their battered dreams to heaven, to heaven
For the mother’s restless son
Who is a witness to, who is a warrior
Who denies his urge to break and run
Who says, “Hard times?
I’m used to them
The speeding planet burns
I’m used to that
My life’s so common it disappears”
And sometimes even music
Cannot substitute for tears
~ Paul Simon, The Cool, Cool River 

Grief is the price we pay for love.
~ Queen Elizabeth II 

Block Ice

Did you see? There’s a great new app available called ICEBlock.

See something, tap something
ICEBlock is an innovative, completely anonymous crowdsourced platform that allows users to report Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity with just two taps on their phone. (source) 

Download it today! 

ICE Asshole Todd M. Lyons is NOT happy about the app. Poor, sad human trafficker!

“CNN’s promotion of an ‘ICE spotting’ app is reckless and irresponsible,” said ICE acting Director Todd M. Lyons. “Advertising an app that basically paints a target on federal law enforcement officers’ backs is sickening. My officers and agents are already facing a 500% increase in assaults, and going on live television to announce an app that lets anyone zero in on their locations is like inviting violence against them with a national megaphone. CNN is willfully endangering the lives of officers who put their lives on the line every day and enabling dangerous criminal aliens to evade U.S. law. Is this simply reckless ‘journalism’ or overt activism?“CNN’s promotion of an ‘ICE spotting’ app is reckless and irresponsible,” said ICE acting Director Todd M. Lyons. “Advertising an app that basically paints a target on federal law enforcement officers’ backs is sickening. My officers and agents are already facing a 500% increase in assaults, and going on live television to announce an app that lets anyone zero in on their locations is like inviting violence against them with a national megaphone. CNN is willfully endangering the lives of officers who put their lives on the line every day and enabling dangerous criminal aliens to evade U.S. law. Is this simply reckless ‘journalism’ or overt activism?” (source) 

Sure, sure and blah, blah, blah... (insert wanking off motion here)

    1)    These "agents" are independent contracting, bounty hunting thugs, wearing bought-online “uniforms”, NOT showing IDs, NOT carrying warrants. They’re targeting people in schools, hospitals, workplaces, offices, homes, and on the streets. These are kidnappers and human traffickers going after innocents based solely on the color of their skin. These are NOT law enforcement officers chasing dangerous criminals. These bounty hunters ARE the dangerous criminals.
    2)    We the People are legally and morally allowed to defend ourselves against assault and abduction. In fact, it is our duty. Stand your ground. Castle Doctrine. Self-defense and all that. Would you passively allow yourself or someone you love to be kidnapped and sold to one of the Stinky Regime’s forced labor camps ? Would you not fight to protect yourself?
     3)    These “assaults” on ICE “agents?” Yeah, Lyin’ Lyons the dickhead doth protest WAY too fucking much, methinks.

Example: Andrea Velez is a US citizen. She was born here.

“She’s a US citizen,” Rosas said through tears. “They’re taking her. Help her, someone.”

In other video, an agent can be seen lifting Velez off the ground and carrying her away. Witnesses told media, including CBS Los Angeles, that the agents never asked Velez for identification, and that she did nothing wrong.

“The only thing wrong with her … was the color of her skin,” Velez’s mother, Margarita Flores, told CBS Los Angeles. (source) 

Later…before they had a chance to human traffic her (and after they *oopsie* discovered she’s actually a US citizen) they manufactured a weaselshit reason for kidnapping her. 

A criminal complaint alleges that Velez “stepped into an officer’s path and and extended one of her arms in an apparent effort to prevent him from apprehending a male suspect he was chasing and that Velez’s outstretched arm struck that officer in the face.”

But Velez and her family dispute this and are considering launching a civil lawsuit against the federal officers.

“Andrea is a victim of excessive use of force by federal agents, they had no right to stop her and no right to beat her. What you see in the videos is police brutality,” Luis Carillo, Velez’s attorney, told NBC Los Angeles. (source) 

Cosplay Kristi, Hamfaced Homan, and Lyin’ Lyons want us all to be feel too terrorized and intimidated to fight back for our lives and the lives of our loved ones. They want us so, so afraid that we’re frozen in place – easy pickings for their masked goon squads.

Fuck that shit with a rusty spork!

The creator of ICEBlock said that “When I saw what was happening in this country, I wanted to do something to fight back,” Aaron told CNN, adding that the deportation efforts feel, to him, reminiscent of Nazi Germany. “We’re literally watching history repeat itself.”

Download ICEBlock today!