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This post is dedicated to the cuteness of baby otters

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I just read that Donald Trump and his circus took down a website called reproductiverights.gov

This was a website to help women learn about their reproductive rights in the US and to find health care.

This is absolutely disgusting so I’ll share in this post some resources in case you need them:

https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn

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"A medical technology company in Australia is aiming for a world-first: it wants to launch a blood test for endometriosis (sometimes called 'endo' for short) within the first half of this year [2025].

In a recent peer-reviewed trial, its novel test proved 99.7 percent accurate at distinguishing severe cases of endometriosis from patients without the disease but with similar symptoms.

Even in the early stages of the disease, when blood markers may be harder to pick out, the test's accuracy remained over 85 percent.

The company behind the patent, Proteomics International, says it is currently adapting the method "for use in a clinical environment," with a target launch date in Australia for the second quarter of this year [2025].

The test is called PromarkerEndo.

"This advancement marks a significant step toward non-invasive, personalized care for a condition that has long been underserved by current medical approaches," managing director of Proteomics International Richard Lipscombe said in a press release from December 30.

Endometriosis is a common inflammatory disease that occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows in other parts of the body, forming lesions. The disease can be very painful, and yet the average patient often suffers debilitating symptoms for up to seven years before they are properly diagnosed.

While there are numerous reasons for such a long delay, symptoms of endometriosis are often highly variable, unpredictable, difficult to measure or describe, and dismissed or overlooked by doctors.

Today, the only definitive way to diagnose endometriosis is via keyhole surgery called a laparoscopy, which is expensive, invasive, and carries risks.

Proteomics International is hoping to change that.

In collaboration with researchers at the University of Melbourne and the Royal Women's Hospital, the company compared the bloodwork data from 749 participants of mostly European descent.

Some had endometriosis and others had symptoms that were similar to endo but without the lesions. All participants had a laparoscopy to confirm the presence or absence of the disease.

Sifting through the bloodwork, researchers ran several different algorithms to figure out which proteins in the blood were best at predicting endometriosis of varying stages.

Building on previous research, a panel of 10 proteins showed a "clear association" with endometriosis.

For years now, scientists have investigated possible blood biomarkers of endometriosis to see if they could differentiate between those who have endo and those who do not. Similar to cancerous tumors, endo lesions can establish their own blood supply, and if cervical cancer can be diagnosed via a blood test, it seemed possible that endometriosis could be, too...

Proteomics International claims patents for PromarkerEndo are "pending in all major jurisdictions," starting first in Australia.

It remains to be seen if the company's blood test lives up to the hype and is approved by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). But that's not outside the realm of possibility.

In November of 2023, some researchers predicted that a "reliable non-invasive biomarker for endometriosis is highly likely in the coming years."

Perhaps this is the year."

-via ScienceAlert, January 9, 2025

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Note: As someone with endometriosis, let me say that this is a HUGE deal. The condition is incredibly common, incredibly understudied, and incredibly often dismissed. Massive sexism at work here.

I got very lucky and got diagnosed after about 6 months of chronic pain (and extra extra lucky, because my pain went away with medication). But as the article says, the average time to diagnosis is seven years.

Being able to confirm endometriosis diagnoses/rates without invasive surgery will also lead to huge progress in studying/creating treatments for endo.

And fyi: If you have a period that is so painful that you can't stand up, or have to go home from school/work, or vomit, or anything else debilitating (or if any of those things apply if you forget to take pain meds), that is NOT NORMAL, and you should talk to a competent gynecologist asap.

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Ok a few things because trust me I am aware about how awful everything feels

One.

If you know someone who is not legally here no you don’t. Do not mention them online even if it’s expressing concern. Again.

DO NOT SAY ANYTHING ONLINE ABT FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO MAY NOT BE HERE LEGALLY.

Two.

Know your rights if ICE comes to talk you. You have every right to not talk to them.

This is for my state so your rights may be different state to state so please do your research. If you know someone here non legally make sure to pass this information to them.

Three.

If you are an employer or employee here are your rights if ice comes to your school or workplace.

This man is a lawyer

Four.

Do not talk about someone or yourself getting an abortion if you are in states currently in danger of reproductive rights. Both irl and online.

Five.

Trust only close friends and family WHO HAVE EXPLICITLY GIVEN THEIR VIEWS with your reproductive health if you are in states currently under threat of reproductive rights being taken.

Six.

If you are in states with no protections for transgender people or youth. Do not mention being trans or knowing trans people.

Seven.

If you are going to a protest here are few things to note and bring.

Cover your face, tattoos, scars, and hair if it’s dyed abnormal colors.

Do not engage with police. They are not there to protect you they are they for arrests.

If someone is trying to rile up the crowd into looting or burning ignore them.

Bring a first aid kit.

Bring bottles of milk to help with pepper spray.

If you are white or cis advocate for your poc and visibly queer people. They will be targeted first during arrests.

Lastly say nothing if you are arrested. Request a lawyer immediately.

Always film if someone is being arrested you have a right to film. This goes for if someone is also being detained by ice.

Anyway please stay safe. We will make it.

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Where’s that post that says something like “If you don’t encourage the kind of behaviour you want to see—or worse, punish it—you’ll never see it” about someone leaving their room only to hear their family go “finally” or lecture her on her health? I know it’s not the exact same but yeah.

“stop congratulating cis allies for doing the bare minimum” NO!!! i want to encourage speaking out and being on trans people’s side!!! stop being assholes to people just trying to support you and give them room to grow!!!

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ICE raids are happening.

Any immigrants, no matter how long you have been a citizen of the USA, is at risk of being deported either out of the country as a whole or into what are basically concentration camps. Raids starting in Chicago, Illinois. and spreading to other major cities with high POC and Hispanic populations. The US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) have started raiding homes and families in California.

There are no "protected locations" as of January 21, 2025. Hospitals, schools, and churches are all at risk of being raided, where before these places were deemed safe and off limits to raids.

When it comes to spotting an ICE agent, look for these:

Weirdly neat/well kept hair (shaved heads, side parts, military burs for men; low buns, high ponytails, close cropped bobs for women)

Oversized jacket (long and bulky outerwear makes it easier to hide tools/equipment without being suspicious)

Both hands in pockets

Many undercover agents/cops buy cheap plain clothes off the racks so they aren’t seen in their own clothes. This can make their outfit seem awkward

Sweatshirts with the hood up

Sports apparel (warm up jacket, sweats, etc) with non-sports clothes (jeans, cargo shorts)

Cargo pants/shorts (usually full of items like their badge, flashlight, taser, pepper spray, backup handcuffs, zip ties)

Military or hiking style boots, sometimes chunky sneakers (extra points if none of it matches anything in their outfit)

Outline of a gun in their pants/shirt (easy to see when bending, leaning, or raising arms) (NO NOT SAY ANYTHING)

Overly friendly

Overly inquisitive

“How old are you” and “what do you know about this happening” are both red flags, along with generally odd and personal questions

Don’t fit in

Mismatched pairs in public spaces (usually cops do these things in pairs. They don’t talk to each other or acknowledge each other much, if at all)

DO NOT SAY ANYTHING UNTIL YOU ARE 100% SURE

YOUR BEST BET IS NOT TO SAY ANYTHING UNTIL THE SUSPECT STARTS ACTING OFF AND GETTING PUSHY

COPS ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO TELL YOU THAT THEY ARE UNDERCOVER

COPS CAN AND WILL LIE TO YOU

SCREAM “LA MIGRA” AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS

For protesting:

N95 masks

Respirator/gas mask if you have access to one

Water water water water water (I hate to say it, but disposable one use bottles are best here. If it comes to it, you need to be able to drop and run.) Use for flushing wounds, flushing eyes of tear gas, and of course drinking.

Snacks! You'll be doing a lot of walking and/or running and need to keep that energy up. Trail mix, dried fruit, nuts, granola bars, crackers, jerky/meat sticks, fruit snacks, candy, etc. Think of it like packing your lunchbox for a field trip.

Eyedrops (teargas is a bitch)

Goggles (I bring my old snowboarding goggles)

If you are wearing a t-shirt or have exposed skin, put on fake/temporary tattoos. If you are brought into something and they say you were there, showing a picture of you with the tattoos, show them where that tattoo would be and how there’s nothing there. How would you get rid of a giant flower on your forearm in 2 days anyways?

Hide your hair. I tuck my hair into my beanie since it’s short. If you have longer hair, try to do the same or tuck it into your shirt. Balaclavas are also a good choice, as they cover both your face and hair.

Power bank

Chargers

Helmet. Any is fine, my personal choice is a skating helmet since they’re rounder and can take more damage, but tactical is also good

Hand sanitizer

Gloves with hard knuckles (tactical gloves). These pack a good punch even if you don't have the correct form. Don't have those? Wrist guards for roller skating/skateboarding work kinda like that too. More of a slapping motion, but still hurt like a bitch. Extra points if they're all scuffed up from use and falls.

Bandanas. Somebody might need one for their face or hair, maybe you need to get dirt off somebody’s face, maybe somebody got injured. They’re great for anything and everything.

Cash (try to stick to cash, your card can be tracked)

Medications if you take them. If you get arrested or happen to somehow be away for longer than expected after the protest, it’s always good to have emergency meds

FIRST AID ALL THE FIRST AID (Tourniquet, Quikclot, chest seal, trauma shears, gauze, bandages, duct tape, and all the usual stuff you’d have in there)

Good shoes. Boots and sneakers are your best choices. Not heels, not platforms, not sandals. Good boots or shoes that won't come off your feet too easily when you run.

Spare socks. Trust me. You can use them to stop bleeding if it comes to it, but also you can put rocks in there and boom weapon. Also if the socks you're wearing get wet.

As much covering clothing as you can handle. Plain jeans, plain hoodie, plain t-shirt, keep yourself as anonymous as possible. Black is best.

Photocopy of your ID, not your real one.

Sunscreen!

Make sure your clothes have pockets, even if you have a bag. You want everything to be easily accessible.

Do not wear contact lenses. If tear gas is used, that will make everything so much worse. Wear your glasses or go blind. If you have overly unique or identifiable frames, goggles are your friend here. Get some goggles that will fit over your frames, preferably ones that are tinted.

If you use mobility aids, cover defining features. Logos, brand names, colors, stickers, all of it. Take some old plain t-shirt and tie it around your wheelchair’s backrest. Wrap your wheelchair frame in cling wrap, then duct tape, or plain black self adhering medical tape. Cover stickers on your cane or crutches the same way. Electric chair? You have a little more work, but you can do it. Wrap it up. Same idea. Walker? Same thing. Cover. It. All.

If you are bringing a bag, make sure that bag is as plain as possible. No pins. No patches. No keychains. Except maybe a pride flag so people know which team you're playing on.

Scarf or keffiyeh if you have one. They have many uses!

Write a reliable phone number (of someone who is not at the protest with you) on your body. On the off chance you get arrested, that is your emergency contact.

Pocket knife.

Pepper spray/mace

Anything you can throw. Soup for my family.

IF YOU CAN, LEAVE YOUR PHONE AT HOME

IF YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT WITH YOU, TURN OFF LOCATION SERVICES ON ALL APPS AND TURN OFF BIOMETRICS (FACE ID AND FINGERPRINT) SO YOU CAN ONLY UNLOCK YOUR PHONE WITH YOUR PASSWORD

COPS CAN FORCE YOU TO OPEN YOUR PHONE WITH YOUR FINGERPRINT OR FACE ID

MAKE SURE SOMEBODY KNOWS GENERALLY WHERE YOU ARE

If you see a potential or active raid, take pictures and note the time and location. Post online if you can, as well.

You have the right to remain silent. State that you wish to remain silent. Avoid giving information about anybody's immigration status. You have the right to refuse to sign anything before speaking to an attorney. You have the right to refuse searches of your car, your home, and yourself. Schools do not collect a child's immigration status.

I do not want to scare anybody, but this is what life is right now. That man does not care how long you have been a citizen of this country. If you are not a white, cisgender, heterosexual, Christian male, you are seen as less than by men in power. You are not less than. You are a threat to them, and they are scared. Keep it that way.

Here's the link to my post on what to bring in terms of first aid.

If you cannot attend protests, that’s fine. Do what’s best for you. Even just reposting information helps.

This is an updated version of this post,

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PSA for fellow USAmericans who might be considering their health insurance options (since it’s the time of year for it at time of writing):

If you have ANY other option, I recommend staying as far as possible from any private (non-government administered) plan talking about “reference-based pricing” or “disrupting the health insurance establishment to save you money”.

I hadn’t heard of this type of plan until a couple of months ago, and neither had my colleagues who’ve worked in my field (billing for a private healthcare specialist’s office) much longer than I have, when we all of a sudden had several clients switch to similar plans within a few weeks of each other, so I suspect it’s likely that they’ve been making a push to get a foot in the door this year. I’m sure it’s legally inadvisable to outright call them “scams”, but IMO they are at the VERY least operating on a business model that’s extraordinarily ill-thought out, and at worst (likeliest) it seems to me that they’re misleading and predatory in a way that’s somehow still shocking and infuriating to me after years of working in healthcare billing in the US.

More detailed explanation / further Advice from your Friendly Neighborhood Angry Socialist Healthcare Billing Administrator below the cut, for those who want more information.

So the issue here essentially is that these companies are trying to sell clients (looks like particularly small business owners and HR people looking for plans to offer their employees) on the idea that they’re ~shaking up the corrupt industry~ to improve transparency and costs, and like, if that’s what they were actually doing? I’d be so incredibly for it, you don’t even know. Fuck everything about the established health insurance industry, I want to see them burn as much as the next person.

But what they’re actually doing is deciding it would save THEM a lot of money to just pay doctors / other healthcare providers as little as they want to, and that the problem getting in the way of that is that there are usually contracts establishing how much they’re supposed to pay, and it would be cool to just… not have those! From there, the plan is:

1) telling bosses “hey, we’ll cut your costs by offering you a plan that’s cheaper than conventional ones!”

2) telling workers / clients “hey, you know how your health insurance plan determines what doctors you can see and have insurance pay for it? Fuck that, see whoever you want!”

3) conveniently neglecting to mention that if your brilliant plan to lower costs is “just don’t have contracts with providers, so there’s no agreed-on cost and we can pay them whatever we unilaterally decide is fair!”, that also means there’s no contract obligating the healthcare providers to accept your insurance at all (which is extra bullshit when you consider that they can’t tell you which providers have agreed to take their insurance, on account of how they don’t actually have a list of providers who have agreed to take their insurance, since they decided agreements were unnecessary)

Basically, it ends up saving the bosses and the insurance company a shitload of yachts-and-blackjack money, but then puts You The Patient in a situation where you’ve been told “yeah, see whoever you want, we don’t give a fuck”

So you go to the local clinic or your usual therapist or whatever and say “oh, here’s my new health insurance card, they said I could be seen here,” and hand them a card for a company that

A) they’ve never heard of

B) they have NO contractual obligation to work with, and

C) a brief google search can easily tell them openly intends to pay them significantly less than any of the insurance plans they do work with (besides the few that are allowed to get away with setting their own prices because they’re literally run by federal government-affiliated agencies and using that considerable leverage for the benefit of senior citizens, people on disability benefits, veterans, etc — they essentially plan to use the base pricing THOSE plans use, except… as a private, for-profit company, and without discussing it with the other parties involved.)

All of which is likely to just put the staff at your local clinic or whatever in the awkward position of having to tell you “I’m so sorry, it doesn’t look like that’s actually a plan we work with, we’re going to have to do self-pay for the recent visits / if you’d like to continue,” and put YOU in the awkward situation of having to pay for that shit out of your own pocket.

What do I do if my employer is offering a reference-based pricing plan?

So glad you asked, me.

My recommendation would be to look at what other options they have available if you work for a company that offers multiple options, or to opt out of their plan and look into the options available to you via your state’s health insurance marketplace — open enrollment for most states is November 1 - January 15th, so at the time of this post (November 23rd) it’s ongoing and now’s the time to do something about it!

But that means my work won’t help with payment of my insurance premiums?

Yeah, but in the context of this discussion, we’re weighing the cost of paying your own premium in full against the potential cost of being told you can see whatever providers you want, doing so, and then ending up having to pay them out of pocket at the uninsured rate because your insurance actually does jack shit and fuckall, which can EASILY get a lot worse.

Also, some employers will reimburse a portion of the premium cost if you have outside health insurance, so check with your HR department or your boss (and maybe let them know why you decided not to go with the insurance they’re offering).

Also-also, if you’re in a lower income bracket, the ACA / healthcare marketplace options on your state’s healthcare marketplace website will include Medicaid plans, which are subsidized by the government to help low-income folks afford them.

Ok, I’m looking, but how do I pick the plan that’s right for me?

Oh god I have a whole other post about this but it’s from ages ago and I don’t have the spoons to look for it right now, but the basics boil down to:

A) Look if possible for plans where, if there is a deductible, either it’s as low as possible or it doesn’t apply to services you anticipate needing at least semi-regularly

B) If the difference in monthly premiums for two plans is MORE than the difference in what you can reasonably expect to pay out of pocket in copays during a month, the “cheaper” plan isn’t saving you money.

So like for example, if I’m choosing between two plans and the up-front cost between them is like, $250 / month or $400 / month, and the $250 plan has specialist services I need 4 times a month covered under a deductible while the $400 plan has a flat copay of $20 for those same services, then my numbers will end up looking like “$250 + (4 x $125) = $750, vs “$400 + (4 x $20) = $480), which would make the $400 plan cheaper for me overall, even though the premium is more expensive.

You want the plan where the monthly costs for your premium PLUS expected average monthly out of pocket costs for services you’re likely to need routinely is as low as possible, is what I’m getting at here. No real way around doing the math, unfortunately, though if you DM me during open enrollment I’ll probably be willing to do the math for you out of sheer spite toward our country’s bullshit insurance “system”.

C) If you can’t afford a plan with a higher premium, it’s still worth getting something, but be aware that low-premium plans are typically going to be “catastrophic” health insurance plans, designed primarily to put a (high) cap on how much medical cost you can incur at once if you like, survive a freak accident or something — as a rule, they’re not going to do much to help you with much besides either the super basic preventive care they’re required by law to cover or keeping your total annual costs from an accident or major illness from getting too wildly astronomical. If you need non-emergency specialist care even semi-routinely, I’d encourage trying to avoid this type of plan if possible, and ALWAYS checking in with your plan and your providers’ billing department to figure out how much you need to budget for out of pocket costs when you do need to see a specialist or something, because you do NOT want to be caught off guard by that shit.

What else can I do?

Uhhhhh, advocate for socialized healthcare like every other fucking rich country in the world has had for decades, I guess? We’re not some special case where it would never work, we’ve just got a bunch of craven politicians invested in telling us that because of that sweet sweet insurance company lobbyist money they get in exchange for keeping things the way they are. Fuck ‘em, if that wasn’t clear.

Also, be gay / do crimes / look out for each other on this bitch of an earth / seriously DM me if you want me to help you figure out your options, ok I love you bye ✌️

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Lots of ominous news nowadays, but there are good things too! Thailand's Marriage Equality Law took effect today!

This tweet takes you to the top of a thread that lists all the changes, like replacing gendered terms like husband and wife with spouses, same-sex marriages have full legal status that, same-sex couples can adopt and use IVF and create pre-nups, just a whole lot of steps to make them equal.

It's all just so amazing and joyous. They hosted a parade for the newlywed couples!

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https://twitter.com/coff33detective/status/1271463582312673281

“make yourselves impossible to ignore. 10,000 signatures on twitter is a lot but 10 unique personal emails is enough to derail an entire council session.”

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GO APOLLO GO

SIC 'EM

EVERYONE LEND HIM YOUR STRENGTH!

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genuinely so scary that you can't access the page on the ssc website that guides you through changing your sex designation. so so fucking scary. they are already making our lives harder. they are already taking what little resources we have.

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I had a vision

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Charles’ face: Charles yes.

Erik’s face: Charles no.

not ready for the day when someone somehow gets access to my camera roll and it’s just 600+ photos of these guys

i swear i’m normal…. i swear 😿

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"... baby bat, with its wide eyes and delicate wings, showcases the softer side of these often misunderstood creatures.

Bats are essential pollinators and pest controllers, and this little one is no exception, starting its journey to becoming a vital part of nature's balance.

✨ Fun Fact: Some bat species can eat up to 1,200 mosquitoes in an hour!"

����: Chien C. Lee

credit: 1 Minute Animals

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For real like both times he gets flustered over Raven being blue it’s because she’s barely or not at all dressed. He gets over it faster in the beginning when she’s in a bathrobe but I’d like to remind you she was in just a bathrobe.

"raven, where are your clothes?"

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I mean...🥵❤️‍🔥

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soulmates in every universe: together forever.

Set during the film Logan, after being injured, Charles slips away and finds himself back at the school where he lost control of his telepathic powers and destroyed everyone and everything he ever loved. All except one.