Hi Teri! Welcome back. I just wrote a long comment that got eaten by Substack before I could send it. Mostly, I wanted to say thank you for leading with kindness, humor, and charm. My bedside reading now - the days of going immediately to the New York Times are long past - is Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny. His Lesson #12, “Make eye contact and small talk,” emphasizes the need for connection. “This is not just polite. It is part of being a citizen and a responsible member of society.” So true. Also, it’s a way of scoping out the world around you. Obviously, you live by this anyway, so I’m preaching to the choir. Just glad you’re here.🙏
I hear you, Teri. You’ve lived this every day of your life. I’m retired too, dependent on Medicare and the whims of the insurance industry. I just learned that many of the big medical companies in my state no longer take my insurance. It happened last week. My daughter’s on Medicaid, diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer four years ago. It’s shocking. You can’t enforce laws that no longer exist. The cruelty is breathtaking. I also thought I was safe, but there are no certainties. Lesson #17, “Be calm when the unthinkable arrives,” reminds me to not succumb to fear, because that is what they want. So hard to practice, though.
Thanks, Mary. I have been working up to today’s post. Over the last few weeks I have others complaining about how much individual action it takes to get enough attention for the ADA to be enforced—all valid complaints. But, hard won enforcement looks good to me compared to no enforcement, no law to be enforced.
I am pissed that this where we're at in this culture, when I have retired and want to not have the society unraveling around me.
Good to have you back, Teri. I’m specifically worried about long COVID being denied outright by the conspiracy theorists that are being installed over health agencies. I’ve already read that some of them think we had a “plandemic.” Those of us disabled by LC are already out of sight for the most part. It won’t take much to completely dehumanize us. I feel like that’s something so many disabled folks can relate to, sadly.
I don't blame you for being worried about T2.0, and his minions will deal with Long Covid and Covid in general. Are they going to defund the booster vaccines? Flu vaccines? Childhood vaccines? What will happen to the ACA?
I switched my husband over to my retiree plan starting in January. I trust my former employer to maintain their retiree benefits (because there are so many retired academics and rich adjacent retirees) than I trust the fed government.
Hi Teri! Welcome back. I just wrote a long comment that got eaten by Substack before I could send it. Mostly, I wanted to say thank you for leading with kindness, humor, and charm. My bedside reading now - the days of going immediately to the New York Times are long past - is Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny. His Lesson #12, “Make eye contact and small talk,” emphasizes the need for connection. “This is not just polite. It is part of being a citizen and a responsible member of society.” So true. Also, it’s a way of scoping out the world around you. Obviously, you live by this anyway, so I’m preaching to the choir. Just glad you’re here.🙏
I hear you, Teri. You’ve lived this every day of your life. I’m retired too, dependent on Medicare and the whims of the insurance industry. I just learned that many of the big medical companies in my state no longer take my insurance. It happened last week. My daughter’s on Medicaid, diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer four years ago. It’s shocking. You can’t enforce laws that no longer exist. The cruelty is breathtaking. I also thought I was safe, but there are no certainties. Lesson #17, “Be calm when the unthinkable arrives,” reminds me to not succumb to fear, because that is what they want. So hard to practice, though.
Thanks, Mary. I have been working up to today’s post. Over the last few weeks I have others complaining about how much individual action it takes to get enough attention for the ADA to be enforced—all valid complaints. But, hard won enforcement looks good to me compared to no enforcement, no law to be enforced.
I am pissed that this where we're at in this culture, when I have retired and want to not have the society unraveling around me.
Good to have you back, Teri. I’m specifically worried about long COVID being denied outright by the conspiracy theorists that are being installed over health agencies. I’ve already read that some of them think we had a “plandemic.” Those of us disabled by LC are already out of sight for the most part. It won’t take much to completely dehumanize us. I feel like that’s something so many disabled folks can relate to, sadly.
I don't blame you for being worried about T2.0, and his minions will deal with Long Covid and Covid in general. Are they going to defund the booster vaccines? Flu vaccines? Childhood vaccines? What will happen to the ACA?
I switched my husband over to my retiree plan starting in January. I trust my former employer to maintain their retiree benefits (because there are so many retired academics and rich adjacent retirees) than I trust the fed government.