#AXIS Insurance

[asketchydomesticatedgremlin]

These two would [flipping] hate each other, someone's gonna loose a hand at the very very least each time they see each other.

explosions happen often.

[zukosdualdao]

i’ve sometimes seen the idea that azula cheating in the agni kai by aiming at katara is supposed to show how far she’s fallen and how lost she is because she wouldn’t have cheated before, but that just… does not ring true to me.

i think this idea comes from her characterization of trying to live up to perfection, but i think it’s important to remember she’s functioning under ozai’s definition of perfection, a guy who infamously colluded with his wife to kill his father so that he could be firelord. i don’t get the particular sense he cares how, exactly, azula carries out the goals he’s set for her, as long as she accomplishes them.

and a lot of really prominent azula scenes turn on the axis of her being exactly this underhanded. in the avatar state, she tries to manipulate iroh and zuko into coming home under false pretenses, when she really means to arrest them. in bitter work, seeing she’s outnumbered, she makes a false surrender so that her opponents will hesitate/back down and then attacks iroh when they do. in the crossroads of destiny, she strikes aang with lightning from behind while he’s in the avatar state. in the awakening, she lies that zuko killed aang because she wants an insurance policy she won’t be blamed on a hunch he might be alive.

whether or not these break official rules of combat or acceptable legal/social behavior in-universe, i think it’s hard to deny that these actions form a pattern that showcases azula as someone not concerned with integrity or ideological fairness in such situations.

azula is a fascinating character, and her breakdown in sozin’s comet is tragic. but it’s not because she’s acting out of character; if anything, it’s because she’s falling back on old patterns despite her hallucination of her mother (and therefore her own subconscious) trying to warn her that using fear to control people isn’t truly viable. but that means her entire concept of the world is wrong, so she doubles down and shoots for katara, a noncombatant in this fight, having seen zuko agree to an agni kai in the hopes she wouldn’t get hurt and thus understanding he fears that and will make sure the lightning never reaches her. azula doesn’t care how she wins because it’s never mattered how she wins, as long as she does. but with katara defeating her and ozai’s impending downfall, it’s about to matter a lot more.

[richincolor]

We have a whopping FOURTEEN books on our radar for today! Check them out--you've got great odds you'll find something to add to your TBR list!

All This Twisted Glory (This Woven Kingdom #3) by Tahereh Mafi HarperCollins

As the long-lost heir to the Jinn throne, Alizeh has finally found her people—and she might’ve found her crown. Cyrus, the mercurial ruler of Tulan, has offered her his kingdom in a twisted exchange: one that would begin with their marriage and end with his murder. Cyrus’s dark reputation precedes him; all the world knows of his blood-soaked past. Killing him should be easy—and accepting his offer might be the only way to fulfill her destiny and save her people. But the more Alizeh learns of him, the more she questions whether the terrible stories about him are true. Ensnared by secrets, Cyrus has ached for Alizeh since she first appeared in his dreams many months ago. Now that he knows those visions were planted by the devil, he can hardly bear to look at her—much less endure her company. But despite their best efforts to despise each other, Alizeh and Cyrus are drawn together over and over with an all-consuming thirst that threatens to destroy them both. Meanwhile, Prince Kamran has arrived in Tulan, ready to exact revenge… Layered with exquisite tension and heart-stopping romance, All This Twisted Glory is the explosive third book in the captivating, bestselling This Woven Kingdom series.

ASAP by Axie Oh HarperTeen

Sori has worked her whole life to become a K-pop idol, until she realizes she doesn’t want a life forever in the spotlight. But that’s not actually up to Sori—she’s caught between her exacting mother’s entertainment company and her father’s presidential aspirations. And as the pressure to keep her flawless public image grows, the last person she should be thinking about is her ex-boyfriend. Nathaniel is off limits—she knows this. A member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world and forbidden from dating, he isn’t any more of an option now than he was two years ago. Still, she can’t forget that their whirlwind romance was the last time she remembers being really happy. Or that his family welcomed her into their home when she needed it most. . . . So when Nathaniel finds himself rocked by scandal, Sori offers him a hideaway with her. And back in close quarters, it’s hard to deny their old feelings. But when Sori gets an opportunity to break free from her parent’s expectations, she will have to decide: Is her future worth sacrificing for a second chance at love?

Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir by Walela Nehanda Kokila

A searing debut YA poetry and essay collection about a Black cancer patient who faces medical racism after being diagnosed with leukemia in their early twenties, for fans of Audre Lorde's The Cancer Journals and Laurie Halse Anderson's Shout . When Walela is diagnosed at twenty-three with advanced stage blood cancer, they're suddenly thrust into the unsympathetic world of tubes and pills, doctors who don’t use their correct pronouns, and hordes of "well-meaning" but patronizing people offering unsolicited advice as they navigate rocky personal relationships and share their story online. But this experience also deepens their relationship to their ancestors, providing added support from another realm. Walela's diagnosis becomes a catalyst for their self-realization. As they fill out forms in the insurance office in downtown Los Angeles or travel to therapy in wealthier neighborhoods, they begin to understand that cancer is where all forms of their oppression Disabled. Fat. Black. Queer. Nonbinary. In Bless the A Cancer Memoir, the author details a galvanizing account of their survival despite the U.S. medical system, and of the struggle to face death unafraid.

Bright Red Fruit by Safia Elhillo Make Me a World

An unflinching, honest novel in verse about a teenager's journey into the slam poetry scene and the dangerous new relationship that could threaten all her dreams. From the award-winning poet and author of HOME IS NOT A COUNTRY. Bad girl. No matter how hard Samira tries, she can’t shake her reputation. She’s never gotten the benefit of the doubt—not from her mother or the aunties who watch her like a hawk. Samira is determined to have a perfect summer filled with fun parties, exploring DC, and growing as a poet—until a scandalous rumor has her grounded and unable to leave her house. When Samira turns to a poetry forum for solace, she catches the eye of an older, charismatic poet named Horus. For the first time, Samira feels wanted. But soon she’s keeping a bigger secret than ever before—one that that could prove her reputation and jeopardize her place in her community. In this gripping coming-of-age novel from the critically acclaimed author Safia Elhillo, a young woman searches to find the balance between honoring her family, her artistry, and her authentic self.

Daniel, Deconstructed by James Ramos Inkyard Press

A nerdy high schooler learns to embrace his main-character energy in this witty and heart-healing ode to movie tropes, meet-cutes, and LGBTQ+ love. Photographer and film buff Daniel Sanchez learned a long time ago that the only way to get by in an allistic world is to mask his autism and follow the script. Which means he knows that boisterous, buff, and beautiful soccer superstars like his best friend, Mona Sinclair, shouldn’t be wasting time hanging out with introverts who prefer being behind the camera. So when Daniel meets a new classmate, Gabe Mendes, who is tall, mysterious, nonbinary, and—somehow—as cool as Mona, Daniel knows exactly how this is going to play out. Mona and Gabe will meet cute, win their nominations for Homecoming Court, and ride off into the sunset together. Daniel just needs to do a little behind-the-scenes directing. But matchmaking means stepping into the mystifying and illogical world of love, dating, and relationships, where nothing is as it seems and no one knows their lines. And when Daniel finds himself playing a starring role in this romance, he’ll question everything he thought he knew about himself and his place in the world.

The Girl, the Ring, & the Baseball Bat by Camille Gomera-Tavarez Levine Querido

Rosie: Capricorn. Does great in class. Wants nothing more than to get into the prestigious Innovation Technical Institute and kiss this awful school goodbye. Her talisman: a magical jacket from her mother’s past that gets people to do whatever she says. Caro: Leo. Rosie’s older sister. Always been closer to their estranged father – and always butted heads more with their strict mother. A trip to Dominican Republic for her father’s wedding leads her deep into family history that clears up any illusions about her parents she’s ever had. Her talisman: a baseball bat that fixes whatever it breaks. Zeke: Certified Triple Pisces. Up in cold-ass Jersey City living with his aunt after his grandmother dies and his father moves to London to take care of his mother. He crushes on EVERYone – he knows he’ll find happiness in love, and maybe a way out of this depression. His talisman: a manifestation stone that will make anyone fall in love with him. Rosie, Caro, and Zeke – and their talismans – find themselves intertwined in a magical, hilarious, and whip-smart Outsiders for the modern day, written by Camille Gomera-Tavarez, a 2022 Publishers Weekly Flying Start.

How the Boogeyman Became a Poet by Tony Keith Katherine Tegen Books

Poet, writer, and hip-hop educator Tony Keith Jr. makes his debut with a powerful YA memoir in verse, tracing his journey from being a closeted gay Black teen battling poverty, racism, and homophobia to becoming an openly gay first-generation college student who finds freedom in poetry. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, George M. Johnson, and Jacqueline Woodson. Tony dreams about life after high school, where his poetic voice can find freedom on the stage and page. But the Boogeyman has been following Tony since he was six years old. First, the Boogeyman was after his Blackness, but Tony has learned It knows more than Tony wants to be the first in his family to attend college, but there’s no path to follow. He also has feelings for boys, desires that don’t align with the script he thinks is set for him and his girlfriend, Blu. Despite a supportive network of family and friends, Tony doesn’t breathe a word to anyone about his feelings. As he grapples with his sexuality and moves from high school to college, he struggles with loneliness while finding solace in gay chat rooms and writing poetry. But how do you find your poetic voice when you are hiding the most important parts of yourself? And how do you escape the Boogeyman when it's lurking inside you?

I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang Scholastic Press

Sadie Wen is perfect on paper: school captain, valedictorian, and a "pleasure to have in class." It’s not easy, but she has a trick to keep her model-student smile plastered on her face at all times: she channels all her frustrations into her email drafts. She'd never send them of course -- she'd rather die than hurt anyone's feelings -- but it's a relief to let loose on her power-hungry English teacher or a freeloading classmate taking credit for Sadie's work. All her most vehemently worded emails are directed at her infuriating cocaptain, Julius Gong, whose arrogance and competitive streak have irked Sadie since they were kids. "You're attention starved and self-obsessed and unbearably vain . . . I really hope your comb breaks and you run out of whatever expensive hair products you've been using to make your hair appear deceptively soft..." Sadie doesn't have to hold back in her emails, because nobody will ever read them... that is, until they're accidentally sent out. Overnight, Sadie’s carefully crafted, conflict-free life is turned upside down. It's her worst nightmare -- now everyone at school knows what she really thinks of them, and they're not afraid to tell her what they really think of her either. But amidst the chaos, there's one person growing to appreciate the "real" Sadie -- Julius, the only boy she's sworn to hate...

Infinity Alchemist (Infinity Alchemist #1) by Kacen Callendar Tor Teen

For Ash Woods, practicing alchemy is a crime. Only an elite few are legally permitted to study the science of magic―so when Ash is rejected by the Lancaster Mage’s College, he takes a job as the school’s groundskeeper instead, forced to learn alchemy in secret. When he’s discovered by the condescending and brilliant apprentice Ramsay Thorne, Ash is sure he's about to be arrested―but instead of calling the reds, Ramsay surprises Ash by making him an offer: Ramsay will keep Ash's secret if he helps her find the legendary Book of Source, a sacred text that gives its reader extraordinary power. As Ash and Ramsay work together and their feelings for each other grow, Ash discovers their mission is more dangerous than he imagined, pitting them against influential and powerful alchemists―Ash’s estranged father included. Ash’s journey takes him through the cities and wilds across New Anglia, forcing him to discover his own definition of true power and how far he and other alchemists will go to seize it.

No Time Like Now by Naz Kutub Bloomsbury

It's been one year since Hazeem's father passed away unexpectedly, and one year since Hazeem got his special ability: He can grant any living thing extra time. Since then, he's been randomly granting people more years to live: his old friend Holly, his study buddy Yamany, his crush Jack. . . . The only problem is, none of them wanted to spend any of that time with Hazeem. Now, Hazeem spends most of his days with his grandmother. When she experiences a heart attack, Hazeem is quick to use his power to save her--until Time themself appears and tells Hazeem he has accrued a time debt, having given away more life than he has left to live and putting the entire timeline in serious danger of collapse. In order to save the timeline and himself, Hazeem must take back some of the life he has granted other people. Suddenly, Hazeem is on a journey through and against time, but as he confronts the events of the past, he must confront the mistakes he made along the way. Hazeem will come to realize that when it comes to time, quality is more important to quantity--but is it too late to reclaim the life he's given away so he can really start living? No Time Like Now is a timely twist on A Christmas Carol that takes readers on a thought-provoking adventure, asking what matters most in life.

Out of Body by Nia Davenport Balzer + Bray

A high-stakes, propulsive YA thriller with a body-swap twist thoughtfully exploring themes of friendship and identity, perfect for fans of Tiffany D. Jackson. Seventeen-year-old Megan Allen has been jumping from friend group to friend group in her high school, trying on identities like outfits. Nothing ever seems to fit—until she meets LC, the adventurous, charismatic girl who appears at her favorite coffee shop one day like magic. Finally, Megan feels like she’s becoming the person she’s meant to be: someone like LC. On the night of their friendiversary, what was supposed to be a bonding experience ends in a waking nightmare. Suddenly, Megan is no longer herself. Too late, she realizes that LC has secrets—dangerous ones. Betrayed by her best friend, thrust into another girl’s life, and targeted by LC’s enemies, she must claim what makes Megan Megan to get her life back . . . or die trying.

Pangu's Shadow by Karen Bao Carolrhoda Lab

There are no second chances in the Pangu Star System. Ver and Aryl, apprentices at the most prestigious biology lab among the system’s moons, know this better than anyone. They’ve left behind difficult pasts and pinned their hopes for the future on Cal, their brilliant but difficult boss. But one night while working late in the lab, they find Cal sprawled on the floor, dead. Murdered. And they immediately become the prime suspects. Their motives seem obvious. Ver, who left her home moon to study the life-threatening disease wracking her body, had a hopeless attachment to Cal that could’ve become twisted by jealousy. Aryl, on the other hand, clashed with workaholic Cal because she valued more in her life besides research. To clear their names, Ver and Aryl put aside their mutual suspicion and team up to investigate Cal’s death. As they search for the real murderer, they uncover secrets that have shaped all of Pangu’s moons… and must decide what kind of future they really want.

Relit: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories edited by Sandra Proudman Inkyard Press

These sixteen stories by award-winning and bestselling YA authors center a Latinx point of view in an empowering anthology that reimagines classics through fantasy, science fiction, and with a dash of magic, for fans of A PHOENIX FIRST MUST BURN and RECLAIM THE STARS In classic stories remixed, Latinx characters take center stage Pride and Prejudice is launched into outer space, Frankenstein is plunged into the depths of the ocean, and The Great Gatsby floats to an island off the coast of Costa Rica. A shape-shifter gives up her life to save the boy she loves from an evil bruja. La Ciguapa covets a little mermaid’s heart of gold. Two star-crossed teens fall in love while the planet burns around them. Whether characters fall in love, battle foes, or grow through grief, each story will empower readers to see themselves as the heroes of the stories that make our world.

You're Breaking my Heart by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich Levine Querido

Harriet Adu knows that her brother's death is her fault. I mean, it's not actually her fault, but it still kinda is, isn't it? She would do anything to live in a world where she could take back what she said that morning. Then a strange girl shows up at Harriet's high school – a girl who loves the same weird books Harriet does, who doesn't vibe with anyone at school the same way Harriet does – and that different world suddenly seems possible. The girl speaks of a place underneath the subways of New York, where people like them can go and find a home. A place away from the world of high school, grief, cool people, and depression. A place where one may be able to bend the lines of reality and get a second chance at being a better person. Will Harriet open the door? With You're Breaking My Heart , award-winning author Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich offers a remarkable speculative novel that will hit home for anyone who yearns for that one chance to do things over.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

In defense of Deliverism

There are many ways to slice up the coalition that is the Democratic Party, but one important axis are the self-styled adults-in-the-room, who declare themselves to be realists, and the party's left wing, who are dismissed as idealists who don't understand politics: neither how to win elections nor how to wield power.

The "realists" are the ones telling us that we can't have nice things. They say that if the Dems promise bold action - protecting abortion, controlling assault weapons, funding infrastructure, raising the minimum wage, providing health care - they will lose elections. When Dems do win elections, they insist that none of these things are possible: the Supreme Court will strike them down, or the GOP will filibuster them, or the business lobby will subvert them.

For these realists, every negotiation is a grand bargain in which all the grownups meet in smoke-filled rooms where they niggle and cajole and flatter their way into tiny, incremental policy changes, "signature achievements" that are so modest that the enemy can't possibly weaponize them as the deeds of radical socialists who will bring the country to ruin.

To do otherwise, the realists say, is to court catastrophe. Wielding power will destroy the "comity" that makes the legislature effective. It will "delegitimize" the institutions whose trustworthiness is key to enacting sound policy. When they go low, we must go high - not out of a sense of decorum, but to preserve the republic itself.

This kind of politics - the "triangulation" politics beloved of the consultant class - took over the Democratic Party in the Bill Clinton years (see also: UK Labour under Tony Blair). But its foremost practitioner - the Triangulation GOAT - was Barack Obama.

Obama's inside/outside game was indeed remarkable. He assembled and steered a massive, grassroots get-out-the-vote campaign that leveraged his skills as a once-in-a-generation orator to inspire huge numbers of historical nonvoters to show up and cast their ballot (recall that nearly every US election is won by "none of the above," so GOTV is a winning strategy, if you can pull it off).

Then, after the election, he switched off that grassroots.

Literally.

At the time, Obama's grassroots was the most successful netroots in history. Talented coders and digital strategists figured out how to leverage the internet to identify, mobilize and coordinate volunteers across the country. And while netroots activists did their work across the whole internet, their home base was a server the Obama campaign controlled. Once Obama won, they switched that server off.

You see, the rabble is useful when you're out there, trying to turn voters out to the polls. But if you plan to spend your term in office playing eleven dimensional chess, you don't want the mob jostling your elbow and shouting in your ear.

If FDR's (possibly apocryphal) motto was "I want to do it, now make me do it"; Obama's was "I want to do it, now go away." Rather than surrounding himself with the great unwashed, Obama created a cabinet of technocrats, grownups from the upper ranks of industry and the consultant class.

Think of Tim Geithner, Obama's Treasury Secretary, who counseled that the banks should be bailed out with no strings attached, not even a requirement that they halt the seizure and liquidation of swathes of Americans' family homes. When Geithner told Obama he had to "foam the runway" for the crashing banks with the roofs over everyday Americans' heads, there were no grassroots organizers foaming at the mouth in outrage. Thus did Obama end the Great Financial Crisis - by creating the Great Foreclosure Crisis:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/06/personnel-are-policy/#janice-eberly

But Obama's signature achievement wasn't his economic policy - it was his healthcare policy. The Affordable Care Act was a carefully triangulated compromise, one that guaranteed a massive flow of public cash to America's wildly profitable health insurance monopoly and steered clear of any socialist whiff that Americans would get their care from the government.

The ACA was an technocrat's iron-clad dream policy. It would work! After all, it "aligned the incentives" of healthcare investors and "harnessed markets" to drive efficiency. No one could accuse this policy - which was copypasted from former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's RomneyCare - of being "socialist." It was invented by a Bain Capital consultant!

Sure, the left would carp about Medicare For All and whine about the unjust enrichment of insurance barons. And sure, the right would try to convince "low information voter" lumpenproles that the individual mandate was an imposition on their Freedumb (TM), but in the end, more of us would get covered, prices would come down, and America would flourish.

That's not how it worked out. Prior to ACA's passage, 85% of Americans had health insurance. Today, it's 90%. That's not nothing! 5% of the US is more than 16m people. But what about the 85% - 282m people - who were insured before the ACA? Their insurance costs have doubled - from an average of $15,609 for a family of four in 2009 to $30,260 today. Obama promised that ACA would lower the average family's insurance bill by $2,500/year - but instead, insurance costs increased by some $15,000.

ACA wasn't just about cost, though: it was supposed to end discrimination, by forcing insurers to take on customers without regard to their "pre-existing conditions." On this score, too, Obamacare has failed: thanks to the ACA's tolerance for high-deductible plans, the number of Americans enrolled in plans that force them to pay for their chronic care out of pocket has skyrocketed from 7% to 32%. Yes, your insurer can't discriminate against you for having diabetes, but they can make you pay an extra $2,000 in deductibles every year before covering any of your diabetes care.

Now, maybe business-as-usual would have been even worse. Perhaps not passing the ACA would have left Americans poorer and sicker. But we're not comparing ACA with doing nothing - we're comparing ACA with more muscular, direct programs, like M4A. What if Obama had enlisted his grassroots, summoning up a left-wing answer to the Tea Party that turned the GOP into the party of no (including no compromises)? What if he'd jettisoned comity, appointed new judges, sent every executive order the Supreme Court rejected back to the court to be struck down again?

What if he'd governed like Lincoln, or FDR:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/20/judicial-equilibria/#pack-the-court

There's a name for this kind of politics: it's called deliverism:

https://prospect.org/politics/case-for-deliverism/

Deliverism is the idea that if you promise things to the voters, they will vote for you. It's the idea that if you deliver things to the electorate, that they will re-elect you.

Deliverism is a subject of hot debate in the Democratic Party, because Biden is an empty vessel that gets filled by different party factions, which means that his policy is incoherent, but includes some of the muscular, get-stuff-done politics of the Dems' Warren-Sanders wing, but that agenda is often undermined by the "responsible grownup" do-nothing Schumer wing.

The responsible grownups say that deliverism is dead, because voters mostly respond to hot-button cultural issues, while material improvements in their lives barely move the needle:

https://democracyjournal.org/arguments/the-death-of-deliverism/

In support of this proposition, deliverism's critics point to Obamacare, lauding it as a policy that made Americans better off, but still failed to win enough support for the Dems to defeat Trump at the end of Obama's second term.

In their rebuttal in The American Prospect, David Dayen and Matt Stoller point out that for most Americans, Obamacare didn't produce any improvement to their health care. The ACA made their care far more expensive, and the ensuing concentration across the sector (mergers between insurers, and between insurers and pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacies) made their care worse, too:

https://prospect.org/politics/2023-06-27-moving-past-neoliberalism-policy-project/

The rise in health care costs is no mystery: monopolies have taken over healthcare. In particular, healthcare is now the domain of private equity rollups, where a fund buys and merges dozens or hundreds of small businesses:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/18/wages-for-housework/#low-wage-workers-vs-poor-consumers

Every layer of the healthcare stack is has grown steadily more concentrated since the Obama years: "Hospitals, doctor’s practices, health insurance, pharmaceuticals, ambulances, nursing homes, rehab facilities." As Stoller and Dayen put it:

> Every part of our health care world is increasingly controlled by greedy bankers who kill people for money.

The same corporate concentration has eroded wages, meaning that workers are paying for higher healthcare cost out of smaller paychecks.

Stoller and Dayen argue that the polls show that politicians who make material improvement to voters' lives do win popularity. Take the Child Tax Credit, which lifted more American children out of poverty than any initiative in history. The majority of voters who received the credit favored the Democrats. After Joe Manchin killed the credit, that support flipped, and that cohort now supports the GOP by a 15% margin.

Sure, Biden couldn't order Manchin to support the Child Tax Credit. But he could have gone to WV and campaigned for it with Manchin's base. He could have loaded the bill with pork for WV that was linked to the credit, and dared Manchin to vote against it. He could have "fought dirty" (which is what the grownups call "fighting to win").

The grownups say that if Biden had done that, he might have alienated Manchin and lost future votes, or caused Manchin to run as a Republican in his next election - but that presumes that Manchin won't switch sides anyway, and it presumes that failing to deliver the Child Tax Credit wouldn't also jeopardize the Dems' legislative majority.

The grownups in the Democratic party say we can't win by campaigning on economic issues like monopoly, nor on pocketbook issues like M4A. But when Biden slashed the cost of insulin, his approval numbers shot up.

The grownups' claim that they should steer Democratic electoral strategy is grounded in the idea that they can win elections, and without electoral victories, the Dems can't do anything. The grownups' claim that they should steer Democratic governing strategy is that they can win policy victories, and that these will get the Dems re-elected.

But neither of these claims hold water. Far from being pie-in-the-sky idealists with no theory of change, the party's left is incredibly good at getting stuff done. Take the antitrust enforcers Lina Khan and Jonathan Kanter, as well as the recently departed Tim Wu. They aren't mere idealists - they're brilliant tacticians and proceduralists who have figured out how to use their existing authority to do more than decades of their predecessors combined:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/18/administrative-competence/#i-know-stuff

By contrast, the grownups in the party - people like Pete Buttigieg - have notably, repeatedly failed to master the procedural technicalities needed to exercise comparable authority. You can't be a technocrat unless you understand the techniques:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/10/the-courage-to-govern/#whos-in-charge

As for electoral strategy, the consultant class puts all its focus into eking out these incredibly marginal wins - the name of the game is to guarantee a 50.1% win and then move on to the next fight, which ensures that governing will be impossible. Meanwhile, union organizers like Jane McAlevey seek out 97% majorities for strike votes, in the teeth of voter suppression, gerrymandering, dark money and disinformation campaigns that are far worse than anything we see in a general election. And yet it's the party's labor wing that is smeared as unserious about electoral victories:

https://doctorow.medium.com/a-collective-bargain-a48925f944fe

It's true that the right has been scoring electoral wins with appeals to ideology and identity rather than by promising concrete, material improvements for their supporters' lives. You can win elections that way - but only by demonizing half the country as the enemy and then promising to make their lives miserable.

That doesn't invalidate deliverism as a strategy for winning elections. People may not have the time or interest to follow politics in detail. They may not understand how the ACA's internal technical workings are structured. The ACA has a lot of deficits - for example, it doesn't allow people to discover which insurance companies deny the most claims:

https://www.propublica.org/article/how-often-do-health-insurers-deny-patients-claims

But even if that data were out there, there's only so much attention people can or want to pay to their insurance policies. People want health care that works: that takes care of their illnesses and injuries, without bankrupting them. Something like the VA (at its best). Or Medicare (at its best).

Improving peoples' lives isn't merely good governance - it's also good politics. Playing hardball is hard and can be unpleasant, sure, but most of the risk from taking big swings while in office is that the voters won't stand with you and give you the political capital to score big wins.

"I want to do it, now go away" guarantees that there will be no polity at your side, giving you political capital. The politics of grand bargains only produces unimpressive, incremental change.

For all the failings of the GOP's radical wing (and there are many such failings), there is this one virtue: they get stuff done. The GOP has taken massive swings - seizing the courts, dismantling the administrative states, stacking elections, and siphoning off trillions for its donors:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/16/that-boy-aint-right/#dinos-rinos-and-dunnos

The Democrats don't need to copy the GOP's abandonment of material policy for ideological hardlines. Indeed, it shouldn't: when they go low (culture war bullshit), we go high (delivering real benefit to voters). But the Democrats' left wing could sure stand to learn a trick or two from the GOP's right - namely, how to turn "I want to do it, now go away" into "I want to do it, now make me do it."

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/10/thanks-obama/#triangulation

The Clarion Science Fiction Writers’ Workshop (I’m a grad, instructor and board member) is having its fundraiser auction to help defray tuition. I’ve donated a “Tuckerization” — the right to name a character in a future novel:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/clarion-sf-fantasy-writers-workshop-23-campaign/#/

[Image ID: An old fashioned tickertape parade. In an open-top convertible, surrounded by security, is a kicking Democratic Party donkey colored red, white and blue.]

[postmodernmulticoloredcloak]

"A different world" article by Walter Veltroni (Italian leftist politician and intellectual)

Originally published in Italian on Corriere.it, 12 November 2024

What will the world look like in the Trusk era? I am afraid that those who think, even among European supporters, that the pledges of radical transformation of America's state structure and international relations, promoted by Trump with Musk's support, are just sly campaign boutades, good for grabbing popular votes and good for being put in the overflowing basket of betrayed promises by U.S. presidential candidates, are wrong. After all, I have heard many say, in the first four years, an age ago in the frenetic digital time, what changed? Yes, things like the revocation of climate agreements and the sabotage of Obama's Medicare with maneuvers that produced more than two million people without health insurance. But in other areas, financial policy or international relations, we did not see significant and radical changes between administrations then.

I believe, however, that this time will be different. I believe that along the axis of Musk's millenarian thinking and Bannon's apocalyptic suggestions, we will know a time of substantial change, not continuity. This will be the case, we are seeing it, in Ukraine, and it will be interesting to follow the contortions of European politics as Zelensky is left alone and we rely on Putin's expansionist self-control in the hope that he does not intend to go beyond the military conquests already acquired or rapidly being acquired.

The world is no longer in the balance of the past and anything is possible. Putin has lucidly understood this, speaking of the unprecedented geopolitical condition and cultivating the idea of a new Russian greatness with the establishment of a Eurasian power capable of competing with the Chinese giant.

The world is changing its balances, and in this context the process of depowering the European Union, corroded by the sovereignisms and populist nationalisms animated in the member states, is functional to a strategy of redrawing the balance of power, economic and financial. If NATO is weaker, if genuine European integration strategies (defense and budget policies) are put on the back burner, the prospect will prevail of a world of three fortresses-Russia, China, and the U.S.-fueled by the weaknesses of other markets, and of nation-states wearied by tariffs and each forced to individually negotiate their own security and terms of trade with the big arbiters. Steve Bannon said it with great clarity in Viviana Mazza's enlightening interview, “Yes, tariffs are coming, you will have to pay to get access to the U.S. market. It's not free anymore, the free market is over.” There is, even on the right, little to laugh about and little to celebrate, not least because of the aggressive and intimidating tone used against those who preside over our country's government. Therefore, I believe that the Trusk bloc's strategy is broader and should be considered for what it is, without presumptuous reductions to folklore of a line that is nourished by analysis, means, clear intentions.

The idea has spread, Musk only repeats, that democracy, as a mechanism based on popular vote and the intermediation represented by delegation, beginning with Parliaments, is a heavy and incongruent frill for a society of the instant as the digital one has become. From this point of view, it is paradoxical that the critique of globalization, however, rests on the postulate that the only universal dimension allowed is that of the technological markets, at least in the sphere of consumption and relational communicative dynamics, with social media elevated to a global chamber. Musk recently argued that newspapers and television do not serve to guarantee communication, that the only possible truth is the one produced by tens of millions of people who at the same time enter viewpoints and news into the web, little matter whether grounded in reality or not. A hundred thousand who become no one, and one, just one, who decides.

The pattern is the same as in politics: allow confused background noise, no matter how critical, while a man of providence makes decisions on behalf of the people. Similarly on social media, algorithms regulate the power relations between isolated individuals and the sophisticated machines that flood the network in which the need for knowledge and the illusion of relationship is consumed with news, real or invented. Once communication is depowered, the judiciary put on leash, intolerance spread and legitimized through yesterday's unpronounceable words, we find ourselves where the Trusk bloc honestly told voters it wanted to go: toward a different world. One cannot accuse of slyness or masking intentions. The Trusk people have clearly stated their strategy, and on that project they have achieved unequivocal electoral success.

Fast and furious. On the first Tuesday in November the Republicans did not win, something else is being born: a power project for this revolutionary time.

Feebly stammering a repudiation of all this in the name of political correctness or arguing passionately about whether one should, on the left, be more moderate or more extremist, is a dabbler's delight.

Roosevelt, with Mussolini in power and the Great Depression at home, did not organize a flashmob, he invented the New Deal.

[astrojulia]

Mermaid’s Guide to the Stars: Astrological Predictions for May 2023

May Calendar

May 1st - Pluto Rx in Aquarius

May 5th - Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio

May 7th to June 5th - Venus in Cancer

May 12th - Waning moon in Aquarius

May 15th - Mercury in Taurus

May 16th - Jupiter in Taurus

May 19th - New Moon in Taurus

May 20th to July 10th - Mars in Leo

May 21st - Sun in Gemini

May 27th - Waxing moon in Virgo

Navigation:   ੈ♡˳Masterlist    ੈ♡˳Pluto Transits   ੈ♡˳How to read Transits

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Reminder: The dates are dd/mm/yyyy!

Aries Rising and Sun

Hey there! In May, it looks like you might still be adjusting to the new events brought by the powerful solar eclipse in Aries. This was the first of a series of eclipses that will occur on the Aries-Libra axis between 2023 and 2024. Pluto will begin to retrograde on May 1st and will remain that way until October 11th. Although Pluto's fame can be scary, it affects the world more than the individual. On May 5th, the second eclipse of the year is coming. This lunar eclipse in Scorpio comes in a tense aspect with Uranus, so be attentive to your financial matters and regularly check your bank account and credit card to avoid strange charges. It's possible that you may need to insure your beloved belongings before the eclipse arrives. Alternatively, you may have a large pending payment related to a loan, taxes, or repair bills. Additionally, it's possible that you may discover an employee or partner is embezzling funds if they work for themselves. Another possibility is that this eclipse activates the subject of surgery in your life.On May 7th, Venus will begin its transit through Cancer, where it will remain until June 5th, allowing you to feel comfortable and pleasurable in your home. If the expense brought by the eclipse referred to the purchase of a property, now you may be thinking about how to decorate that new space.On May 15th, Mercury will resume direct motion in Taurus, helping you have more clarity on financial matters and ways to make money. The following day, on May 16th, Jupiter will ingress into Taurus to stay until May 24th, 2024, bringing great blessings to your financial and material life.On May 19th, there will be a New Moon in Taurus that comes together with Uranus, well-supported by Pluto, but tense with Saturn. This moon also activates material matters, indicating that to grow financially, sometimes you will encounter instability. However, this moon opens a door for money to flow, indicating the birth of an idea or project of a new source of income in your life.Mars begins to transit through Leo on May 20th and will remain in this sign until July 10th, helping you accelerate a project or idea that involves increasing your earnings. However, be aware of excessive authoritarianism and individualism, which can turn into selfishness and generate fights in relationships.On May 21st, the Sun will ingress into Gemini, and you will turn to matters involving lectures, courses, and studies. In summary, May 2023 will be intense and full of events, from financial events to opportunities for growth and learning.

Taurus Rising and Sun

Hey, in May, you might be adjusting your life to the new patterns painted by a powerful solar eclipse in Aries. It was the first of a series of eclipses that will occur between 2023 and 2024.Pluto starts retrograding on the first day of May and will continue until 11/10. Before settling in Aquarius, Pluto will briefly go back to Capricorn from 11/06 to 20/01/2024. In 2023, we will still experience a kind of transition, with Pluto allowing us a free sample from 23/03 to 11/06 of what it will do in Aquarius and then returning to Capricorn to give us time to think about it.This Lunar Eclipse occurs in Scorpio on 05/05 in a tense aspect with Uranus. This eclipse could reveal someone close to you who is not honest. Make sure everything is going well in your relationship, as someone close to you may not be honest, and you would find out at the time of the eclipse.Two days later, on 07/05, Venus will begin its transit through Cancer, where it will remain until 05/06, and this movement will help you with any unresolved conversations or issues in your life.On 15/05, Mercury will resume its direct motion in the sign of Taurus, helping you express yourself and communicate better. The next day, on 16/05, Jupiter will enter Taurus to stay until 24/05/2024. Jupiter makes everything it touches grow, and it will be pouring blessings directly on your head, inaugurating a 12-month period ahead where luck will be on your side in countless ways, making you live one of the periods of greatest personal and material growth of your life.May holds a New Moon in Taurus on 19/05 that comes together with Uranus, well-supported by Pluto, but tense with Saturn. This Moon marks a new chapter in your life, a new version of you being born, a new way of presenting yourself to the world. Pluto will be supporting this Moon and from where it is, adds a touch of power and glamour to your image.In a month where everything fits, there is also room for a change in Mars, which begins to transit through Leo on 20/05 and remains in this sign until 10/07. Mars will help you get involved with a property or make repairs and improve your home. Alternatively, if you are not involved with your physical home, you may be focusing on a family matter.On 21/05, the Sun will enter Gemini to stay until 21/06, and you will focus on matters that involve your earnings and material resources, trying to understand how to achieve more success in this area. In a month where everything happens, there is room to move money too, and thus ends the intense and eventful May of 2023.

Gemini Rising and Sun

Hey, in May you might be adjusting your life after a powerful solar eclipse in Aries. This was the first of a series of eclipses that will occur in the Aries-Libra axis between 2023 and 2024.On May 1st, Pluto will begin to retrograde and stay that way until 10th November. Pluto is already in Aquarius until 2043, but before settling definitively in this sign, it will briefly return to Capricorn from 11th June to 20th January 2024. In 2023, we are still in a kind of transition, as if Pluto allows us a free sample of what it will do in Aquarius from 23rd March to 11th June, and then returns to Capricorn to give us time to think about it.On May 5th, the second eclipse of the year is waiting for us. This lunar eclipse occurs in Scorpio and is tense in aspect with Uranus. Full moons are more emotional than new moons, and eclipses carry the strength of three full moons combined in one. Something will end and something will begin related to your work and health.Changes are happening in your work. If you own your own business, make sure no one is diverting money that belongs to you. Be careful with co-workers, perhaps they will reveal a secret of yours or you will discover something about them that shakes the relationship and it won't be possible to see them the same way as before.Your home life will also suddenly become volatile. It is possible that suddenly your house needs some repair due to a leak, breakage, or structural repair needs. If you have pets, keep a close eye on them around this eclipse.Uranus works to find a weak link in your health. Watch out for anxiety and try to relax in the days surrounding the eclipse, keep your schedule free and flexible.On May 7th, Venus will begin its transit through Cancer, where it will remain until June 5th, bringing material prosperity into your life. It can bring salary increases, increases in the value of your products and services in the market, and even a rewarding and quite profitable promotion.On May 15th, Mercury will resume direct motion in the sign of Taurus, helping you organize your life and routine to preserve your well-being. The next day, on May 16th, Jupiter will enter Taurus to stay until May 24th, 2024, and this is a great gift for your physical, mental, and spiritual health.On May 19th, a New Moon in Taurus, conjunct Uranus, well supported by Pluto, but tense with Saturn. This moon also activates spiritual matters and the focus on self-care and well-being. It marks a beginning, a first step.On May 20th, Mars begins to transit through Leo until July 10th, bringing a series of trips and moving writing and speaking tasks. If you work writing or speaking in public, you will be highly sought after now.On May 21st, the Sun enters Gemini, bringing a recharge of strength and vitality to you.

Cancer Rising and Sun

Hey there! In May, you might be adjusting your life to the new designs painted by a powerful solar eclipse in Aries. It was the first of a series of eclipses happening on the Aries-Libra axis between 2023 and 2024. On May 1st, Pluto will begin to retrograde until October 11th. Pluto is already in Aquarius for a long stay until 2043, but before settling in this sign for good, it will briefly return to Capricorn from June 11th, 2023 to January 20th, 2024. In 2023, we will still experience a kind of transition, as if Pluto allows us a free sample of what it will do in Aquarius from March 23rd to June 11th, and then goes back to Capricorn to give us time to think about it.On May 5th, the second eclipse of the year awaits us. You might be thinking, "Another one?" And the answer is yes, we usually have four eclipses per year, and in some rarer years, even six eclipses are possible. This eclipse will affect two important areas of your life: romance and children. There is a possibility that you may hear something worrying about the person you are romantically involved with, or that a casual incident may reveal something that prevents the relationship from continuing as it was before. If you are in the midst of a separation or divorce, you may be in conflict with your ex about children if you have them. Of course, this eclipse is not inherently negative. If your dating or marriage is strong and happy, the surprise that the eclipse brings may even be highly positive, making you cry with happiness and emotion.On May 7th, Venus will begin its transit through Cancer, bringing peace and well-being. Venus will help you feel good in your own skin, making you calmer and more diplomatic, more graceful and courteous. Venus will also make you a more vain person, and this is a good time for aesthetic treatments or changes in appearance.On May 16th, Jupiter will enter Taurus to stay until May 24th, 2024, and this is a great gift for the realization of your dreams. Jupiter makes everything it touches grow, and it will be pouring blessings on long-held dreams, such as having children, visiting a place, living a great love, or simply acquiring a property or a certain lifestyle, inaugurating a 12-month period ahead in which you will realize a great dream, be it material or personal, making you live one of the most fulfilling periods of the decade.On May 19th, a New Moon in Taurus that comes together with Uranus brings a novelty, which can be an invitation or a proposal. It is also supported by Pluto, indicating that you will be relating to important people in your circle.Mars begins to transit through Leo on May 20th and remains in this sign until July 10th. Mars will help you earn more money from now on, adding strength, courage, and speed to your earnings.The Sun will enter Gemini on May 21st, and you will turn inward, to your intimacy and privacy, wishing to be more behind the scenes.

Leo Rising and Sun

Hey there! In May, you'll still be adjusting to the changes that a powerful solar eclipse in Aries brought to your life. It was the first of a series of eclipses that will occur on the Aries-Libra axis between 2023 and 2024.On May 5th, the second eclipse of the year will occur, a lunar eclipse in Scorpio. This eclipse will activate matters involving your family and home, and you might be surprised by unexpected repairs and maintenance needs. Also, if you live in a rented space, keep an eye on your rental contract. You might also receive unexpected news from someone you live with.However, Mars and Saturn will be oriented towards the eclipse, creating a comforting and stabilizing vibe amidst the unpredictability.Two days later, on May 7th, Venus will begin its transit through the sign of Cancer, adding emotional well-being and comfort. On May 15th, Mercury will resume its direct motion in the sign of Taurus, helping you resolve any work or career-related issues that were at a standstill or some kind of misunderstanding.On May 16th, Jupiter enters Taurus and stays until May 24th, 2024, ushering in a 12-month period ahead where you'll see your career shine brightly. You'll be making a name for yourself! May also holds a New Moon in Taurus on May 19th that is conjunct Uranus, well-supported by Pluto, but tense with Saturn. This moon also activates career and professional life matters.In a month full of movement, there will also be a change in Mars, which begins to transit through Leo on May 20th and remains in this sign until July 10th.On May 21st, the Sun enters Gemini, and your focus will turn to events, social gatherings, and friendships.

Virgo Rising and Sun

Hey, in May you might be adjusting to some new changes in your life due to a powerful solar eclipse in Aries. This is the first of a series of eclipses that will occur on the Aries-Libra axis between 2023 and 2024. On May 5th, Pluto will start its retrograde phase and will remain retrograde until October 11th. Pluto is already in Aquarius for a long stay until 2043, but before settling definitively in this sign, it will briefly return to Capricorn from June 11th to January 20th, 2024. In 2023, we'll still be in a kind of transition, as if Pluto allowed us a free sample of what he'll do in Aquarius from March 23rd to June 11th and then return to Capricorn to give us time to think about it.On May 5th, the second eclipse of the year is waiting for us. This lunar eclipse will occur in Scorpio. The family of eclipses on the Taurus-Scorpio axis began in 2021 on November 19th with a lunar eclipse in Taurus. Two new eclipses have recently arrived in this axis on October 25th, 2022, and November 8th, 2022, as a solar eclipse in Scorpio and a lunar eclipse in Taurus. This lunar eclipse that occurs in Scorpio on May 5th comes in a tense aspect with Uranus, which means its own nature is to be completely unpredictable and the ruler of chaos. This eclipse will shed light on matters involving contracts and written documents such as subpoenas, correspondence, or notifications.On May 7th, Venus will begin its transit through Cancer, where it will remain until June 5th, adding a touch of fun to your life. On May 15th, Mercury will resume direct motion in the sign of Taurus, helping you resolve any pending issues or delays involving travel, foreign affairs, and academic pursuits. The next day, on May 16th, Jupiter will enter Taurus to stay until May 24th, 2024, and this is a big move for you and the place you live in. Jupiter brings expansion, advancement, and going beyond boundaries and will be pouring blessings on foreign affairs and travel, inaugurating a 12-month period ahead in which you will be traveling a lot.May holds a New Moon in Taurus on May 19th, which comes together with Uranus, well supported by Pluto, but tense with Saturn. This Moon also activates matters involving travel and foreignization, and it touches on issues involving academia and university education. It may mark the moment when you receive news of a visa or foreign residence approval or at least, a trip to a state or country different from your own.On May 20th, Mars begins to transit through Leo and remains in this sign until July 10th, which may be an uncomfortable period for you. Mars will be activating matters involving silence and retreat, which can be stressful and unsettling. On May 21st, the Sun enters Gemini to stay until June 21st, and you'll focus on your career and professional life because this will be a phase of success and recognition in this field.

Libra Rising and Sun

Hey, in May, you might be adjusting to life after a powerful solar eclipse in Aries. This was the first in a series that will happen between 2023 and 2024. Pluto starts going retrograde on May 1st and will be retrograde until October 11th. Pluto is already in Aquarius, but before it got to this sign, it briefly went back to Capricorn from June 11th to January 20th, 2024. In 2023, we'll be going through a transition, as if Pluto is giving us a free sample of what it's going to do in Aquarius before going back to Capricorn. On May 5th, the second eclipse of the year awaits us. We usually have 4 eclipses per year, and in some years, up to 6 are possible. Eclipses always come in pairs. This eclipse will bring news about salary, economy, or an unexpected expense. Mars and Saturn will be beautifully aligned for the eclipse, highlighting career and financial help. Venus starts its transit through Cancer on May 7th, indicating that prestige increases in career. Mercury resumes direct motion in Taurus on May 15th, helping you to have more clarity on how to deal with money. Jupiter enters Taurus on May 16th and will strongly move material issues such as profit, investments, and acquisition of material goods. May holds a New Moon in Taurus on May 19th, conjunct Uranus, well supported by Pluto, but tense with Saturn. This Moon speaks about a new investment, an acquisition, money that you decide to invest in something so it can grow. Mars starts transiting Leo on May 20th and remains in this sign until July 10th, helping to increase outings and move social relationships. The Sun enters Gemini on May 21st, and you will turn to matters involving travel, vacations, and new experiences.

Scorpio Rising and Sun

Hey, in May you might be adjusting to the effects of a powerful solar eclipse in Aries, the first of a series of eclipses that will occur on the Aries-Libra axis between 2023 and 2024.On May 1st, Pluto will begin its retrograde and stay retrograde until October 11th. Before settling in Aquarius until 2043, Pluto will briefly return to Capricorn from June 11th to January 20th, 2024. In 2023, this means a kind of transition, allowing Pluto to show us what it will do in Aquarius from March 23rd to June 11th, before returning to Capricorn to give us time to think about it.Pluto has a scary reputation, but its forces are felt more collectively than individually. On May 5th, we'll have the second eclipse of the year, a lunar eclipse in Scorpio. We usually have four eclipses per year, and in some rare years, up to six eclipses are possible. Eclipses come in pairs, and the Taurus lunar eclipse of November 19th, 2021 marked the beginning of the eclipse family on the Taurus-Scorpio axis. The subsequent solar and lunar eclipses in Scorpio and Taurus that occurred on October 25th, 2022, November 8th, 2022, and October 28th, 2023 take the themes to a more advanced level of discussion.The lunar eclipse in Scorpio on May 5th brings a tense aspect with Uranus, making it hard to predict what might happen. However, you can expect this eclipse to bring your attention to a romantic or commercial relationship that could become closer and more exclusive.On May 7th, Venus will begin its transit through Cancer, and you'll feel a strong desire to try new things and break the routine. Additionally, if you're open to love, look beyond borders as you may find a passion in your life.On May 15th, Mercury will resume direct motion in Taurus, helping you to talk and establish the terms of a relationship. The next day, Jupiter will enter Taurus, bringing blessings to your partnerships and inaugurating a 12-month period where you'll take further steps in committed relationships.On May 19th, a New Moon in Taurus marks a new chapter in your life, whether in a commercial or romantic relationship. Pluto will support this Moon, indicating a major transformation for the better.On May 20th, Mars will begin transiting through Leo until July 10th, promoting your career and helping you achieve professional awards and accomplishments.On May 21st, the Sun will enter Gemini, leading you to focus on material investments and profits, which will be reflected in your career thanks to Mars' hard work.

Sagittarius Rising and Sun

Hey there! May is bringing some pretty big astrological changes that could have an impact on your life. The second eclipse of the year is set to occur on May 5th, a lunar eclipse in Scorpio that might reveal hidden enemies and secrets. It's important to stay calm and flexible when dealing with the situations brought on by the eclipse. However, the good news is that Mars and Saturn will be nicely oriented for the eclipse, which could bring a comforting and stabilizing vibration amidst the unpredictability.In addition, Venus will begin its transit through Cancer on May 7th, which could increase your material power and bring in some extra cash. On May 15th, Mercury will resume direct motion in the sign of Taurus, helping you clarify situations at work and improving your health.On May 16th, Jupiter will enter Taurus and kick off a 12-month period where it supports good professional opportunities and healing and improvement for your health.May also brings a New Moon in Taurus on May 19th, which could mark an important new beginning in your professional life or bring in a new client for your business. Mars will also begin transiting through Leo on May 20th, which could help you seek professional development.Finally, the Sun will enter Gemini on May 21st, which might lead you to look at your partnerships and value those who are loyal and stand by your side.

Capricorn Rising and Sun

Hey, in May, you might still be getting used to the changes brought on by that powerful solar eclipse in Aries that happened earlier this year. Pluto, which has been in Aquarius since 2023, will briefly move back to Capricorn in June 2024. It's a kind of transition year where we get a free sample of what Pluto will do in Aquarius, and then it moves back to Capricorn to give us time to think about it.The eclipses always come in pairs, and on May 5th, we'll have the second eclipse of the year, a Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio that comes in tense aspect with Uranus. This eclipse will affect your friendships and the groups you're a part of. You might accidentally stumble upon a secret involving one of your friends. Or you could experience a difficult situation or even a separation from a friend or group you belong to. But don't worry, there's also a chance that something good could come out of this eclipse, like a pleasant surprise related to your friendships.On May 7th, Venus begins its transit through Cancer and will stay there until June 5th, bringing happiness and lightness to your close relationships. On May 15th, Mercury will go direct in Taurus, helping you to see romance and fun grow even more in your life. On May 16th, Jupiter will ingress into Taurus and stay until May 24th, 2024, bringing considerable happiness and personal fulfillment to your life. This will be one of the most enjoyable periods of the decade for you!In May, we'll also have a New Moon in Taurus, conjunct Uranus and well-supported by Pluto, but tense with Saturn. This Moon will also activate the areas that Jupiter will help grow, and bring some exciting news. On May 20th, Mars begins to transit through Leo and stays there until July 10th, activating money, inheritance, wills, and investments. On May 21st, the Sun enters Gemini until June 21st, and you'll be taking a closer look at your daily routine and professional life.

Aquarius Rising and Sun

Hey, in May, you might still be adjusting to the new changes brought about by a powerful solar eclipse in Aries. This was the first in a series of eclipses that will occur on the Aries-Libra axis between 2023 and 2024.Pluto has already moved into Aquarius for a long stay until 2043, but before settling into this sign permanently, it will briefly return to Capricorn from 11/06 to 20/01/2024. So in 2023, we'll still be going through a kind of transition, as if Pluto is giving us a free sample from 23/03 to 11/06 of what it will do in Aquarius, and then returning to Capricorn to give us time to think about it.The second eclipse of the year will happen on 05/05. This lunar eclipse in Scorpio will be in a tense aspect with Uranus, activating issues involving your career, reputation, and professional progress. Unexpected changes at home and in your family life may be affecting your work and professional development. Try not to overload your schedule because when this eclipse arrives, you may find yourself in a situation where your career needs you as much as your family does.Uranus can be unpredictable, but Mars and Saturn will be beautifully aligned with the eclipse, touching on your ability to reinvent yourself, survive crises, and even profit from them. With Uranus involved, it's impossible to say exactly what an eclipse will bring, but I can tell you that Mars and Saturn will create a comforting and stabilizing vibration amidst the unpredictability of the eclipse.On 07/05, Venus will begin its transit through Cancer, where it will remain until 05/06. This movement will come to resolve setbacks and even conflicts that the professional environment may be experiencing.On 15/05, Mercury will resume direct motion in the sign of Taurus, helping you resolve any family issues that have come to light and have been worrying you or even harming your career and work. The next day, on 16/05, Jupiter enters Taurus to stay until 24/05/2024, and this is a great gift for your family life as well.May holds a New Moon in Taurus on 19/05, which comes together with Uranus, well-supported by Pluto but tense with Saturn. This Moon also activates issues of home, family, and household, and you may be inaugurating your new home on this date or very close to it.Mars begins to transit through Leo on 20/05 and remains in this sign until 10/07. Mars places a lot of emphasis on close relationships, whether they be work or romantic, so you may be very focused on forming a bond or committed relationship with another person, whether it be in love (marriage) or in a business partnership or collaboration.The Sun enters Gemini on 21/05, and this is a period when you may start thinking about the subject of children, and a growing desire to make your mark in the world may also emerge.

Pisces Rising and Sun

Hey there! In May, you might still be adjusting to the changes brought about by a powerful solar eclipse in Aries. This was just the first in a series of eclipses that will take place along the Aries-Libra axis between 2023 and 2024. On May 1st, Pluto will begin its retrograde motion, which will last until October 11th. Pluto is already in Aquarius for a long stay that will last until 2043, but before settling definitively into this sign, it will briefly return to Capricorn from June 11th to January 20th, 2024. So, in 2023, we will still be in a kind of transition, as if Pluto is giving us a free sample of what it will do in Aquarius from March 23rd to June 11th, and then returning to Capricorn to give us time to think about it.On May 5th, the second eclipse of the year awaits us. This lunar eclipse in Scorpio comes in a tense aspect with Uranus and will affect one of these areas for you: long-distance travel, immigration, citizenship and foreign residence, publishing and broadcasting projects, college and graduate school opportunities, and legal issues or lawsuits. You may need to make an unexpected trip or rush to solve a problem involving travel or immigration documents.On May 16th, Jupiter will enter Taurus and stay there until May 24th, 2024. This is a great move for you to further increase your ability to express yourself and reach an incredible number of people willing to listen.On May 19th, there will be a New Moon in Taurus, which comes together with Uranus, well supported by Pluto, but tense with Saturn. This Moon also activates matters involving communication and business. Any attention you receive in May can attract some rivalry and competition at work, which can ignite sparks of conflict and friction in the professional environment. It's best to ignore it.On May 21st, the Sun will enter Gemini and stay there until June 21st, and your focus will be on your family and home.

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Sources:

[24] Astronalia | Mariane Chagas. Disponível em:https://www.youtube.com/@astronalia . Acesso em: 29 mar. 2023.

Dividers Arts//Dividers Wings

[gumjrop]

The Weather

While not in the US, an article from CBC News in Canada offers a look into the upcoming respiratory illness season. Data from Internal Alberta Health Services shows that patients hospitalized with COVID passed 900 and “roughly doubled” in a month. Accurate data are hard to find, however, as the provincial government changed how COVID statistics are reported. Cameron Westhead, second vice-president with United Nurses of Alberta, commented, “This government likes to talk about personal responsibility and making decisions that are best for yourself and your family. But we don’t have the data to make those kinds of decisions.” In addition, an outbreak in the community has the potential to overwhelm hospital systems again. Isolation requirements, PPE needs, and healthcare worker burnout are all major concerns with COVID patients. Rather than stripping healthcare of the precautions we need to control the ongoing pandemic, we must advocate for more support for healthcare workers, masks in healthcare, and acknowledgment of the severity of COVID infections.

Wastewater

We continue to wait for Verily, the organization taking over the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) contract from Biobot, to provide a readable Nationwide representation of the current wastewater levels. According to WastewaterSCAN, COVID wastewater concentration is medium nationally, apart from high levels in the Northeast. As of October 16, 2023, the national average of wastewater levels is 216.9 PMMoV Normalized. Regionally, the Midwest is 317.0 PMMoV Normalized, the Northeast is 589.82 PMMoV Normalized, the South is 152.3 PMMoV Normalized, and the West is 164.7 PMMoV Normalized. We emphasize that Wastewater SCAN has fewer wastewater sites represented as compared to Biobot. Combined with some other caveats, including the difficulty of interpreting their plots, we remain skeptical of Wastewater SCAN’s data.

The above graphic shows the overall trend for the United States. The y-axis is a scale for the quantity of nucleic acids, PMMoV Normalized (x1 million). While concentrations have been trending downward–with a possible recent uptick–we urge the importance of layers of protection. As the Northern Hemisphere enters winter and many folks celebrate holidays, please protect yourself and others with masking, distancing, clean air, vaccines, and other layers of protection. For more on layers of protection, refer to this writeup on PeoplesCDC.org.

Vaccines

NPR reports that parents are finding it difficult to find pediatric doses of the new COVID vaccines for their children. The CDC reports that pediatric doses are available, but several factors are limiting their spread. Faulty websites or outdated information from public and private organizations, shipping delays or errors in the number of doses shipped, and issues with public and private insurance all contribute to a lackadaisical approach to public health. Parents are frustrated at the situation and scared for their kids, especially as we enter flu season. We hope that if you haven’t been able to receive an updated 2023-2024 COVID vaccine, you are able to access a dose soon. If you have questions about insurance coverage, visit the KFF information page here. For children covered under state insurance, see information about the Vaccines for Children program. Uninsured adults may receive assistance through the Bridge Access Program. Please note not every pharmacy or clinic participates in this important program.

Long COVID

An article from the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) argues that Long COVID studies in children are lacking. Estimates of prevalence of Long COVID in children range from 1% to 70%. Children may have different experiences with Long COVID from adults, as well as having limited vocabulary to describe their symptoms. Poor study design also contributes to artificially low numbers. Hannah Davis, co-founder of the Patient-Led Research Collaborative, suggests that further studies could use a prepandemic cohort or electronic health record data to serve as controls rather than a cohort defined by negative PCR tests, which could contain false negatives. Additionally, more longitudinal studies are needed. The article highlights a huge range of uncertainty reflecting a lack of research. Children with Long COVID deserve recognition, care, and support.

Take Action

Reminder to either submit a written comment or register to give an oral comment to the CDC’s HICPAC meeting on November 2-3, 2023. National Nurses United provided some guidance on talking points one can use during the oral comments. You can submit written comments to HICPAC@CDC.GOV starting November 1, 2023, with the deadline at 11:59 pm on November 6, 2023. To request time for an oral comment during the webcast, submit your request to the oral comment submission form no later than 11:59 p.m., EST, October 23, 2023.  As the CDC is poised to weaken protections for patients and healthcare workers, please sign on with National Nurses United and demand the CDC be transparent. At the link, you can fill out a form to send an email to CDC/HICPAC leaders that emphasizes the need to post the updated guidelines in full for public review, make meetings and comments open to the public, and use a science-based approach to aerosol transmission.

Notes: 1) The numbers in this report were current as of 10/20/2023. 2) Changes in testing access as well as data reporting have led many federal data sources to become less reliable. 3) Wastewater data are being sourced from WastewaterSCAN and no longer from BioBot due to the end of the contract with the CDC. 3) Check out the links throughout & see our website for more!

[salmontheking]

Ok sure giant robots that stop falling stars are cool, but now let me ask the real question. In your post about synthetic food you said it was healthier, which made me question a question, what's the life expectancy in nations, and non nations, these days? We have seen they have a very advanced understanding of medicine and biology so what's the healthcare system like? What kind of surgeries are state covered, which kind are not? Do jobs now also have new type of health benefits apart from dental coverege? Do they *have* teeth or are they synthetic?? Just general info about the conditions of living in the nations and enclaves of the world

Global life expectancy in 2212 is 130.2, Axis and UNÉTA go to high 140s.

Medicine is about maximizing, not protecting health. Everyone gets treatment, sick or not. Everyone is on medical coke, which is good for you. Everyone smokes health cigarettes, which are still addictive to ensure diligence. Children are taught to smoke in grade 1.

There are many kinds, but these are for your throat

Impulsion

Or impulsive recovery strain, the biggest thing since vaccines, is a stem cell sample taken from fetuses, altered and reinserted. It makes you ageless until 60, wanes off by 80, after 120 implants keep you alive. It's biological infrastructure that makes other treatments possible.

People under 80 can take surgery like it's fixing a tooth, so the cure for many ailments is transplant. For vital organs, you get corporal insurance - spares are grown from your own cells and kept preserved. All else, you must wait until it grows. Yes, you can do SRS this way, but your genes decide the details.

Growing organs gets tough over 80 so the older you get, the less human amd more prosthesis you are.

This counts as granny fashion.

Impulsion does vectoring for gene therapy and fixes common disorders like hemophilia or color blindness. It lets you take much more brutal meds with bearable side effects. It also regulates metabolism, so bye bye diabetes-2 and obesity.

Many countries make it mandatory since it saves a looot of money. There are, of course, conspiracy theories against it. If you're not strained, you're screwed - medicine is now poison, safety standards got lower and food has slight amounts of petroleum products. 21.7% of humankind is unstrained by 2212.

There's also stem sickness, which is when the strain is faulty. It's lifelong, incurable, potentially horrific and often fatal. It's one of the worst ways to go, so you usually have right to euthanasia while you can still make sound decisions.

By country

In Axis, everything that we today would call more medicine than indulgence is state funded for all citizens. Quality varies - the General Secretary of Security gets a fancier fake liver than your great-great-grandma; lathe technicians get limbs as corporal insurance; firefighters get lung filters, and so on. Axis has less economic muscle than UNÉTA, so it enforces prevention rigorously. Keeping your kid from straining is a felony.

Transatlantic healthcare is, like everything UNÉTA, decentralized. Your local govt sets the rules, and those often shunt responsibility to companies (read: co-ops). Prevention is less consistent, and so you end up spending more on treatment. Federal healthcare still covers the basics, including all emergency services, life-threatening conditions and straining.

[shamandrummer]

Winter Solstice: The Return of the Light

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year and the first day of winter. This occurs December 20, 21, or 22, varying from year to year, dependent upon the elliptical path of the Earth around our Sun. Technically the solstice marks the instant at which the Earth's axis stops tilting away from the sun and starts going back the other way. Solstice means "Standing-Still-Sun." At Winter Solstice, the Sun journeys farthest south in its orbital path and for the next three days it rises and sets at virtually the same place on the horizon, appearing to stand still, and then it slowly returns north.

This three day pause in the Sun's movement is a time of inward reflection. We are each given the opportunity to take a peek at what is happening on a heart and soul level. We can reflect on the year ending to see where we have erred and reform those beliefs, attitudes, and strategies no longer applicable to the New Year unfolding. Such a fresh open-minded approach will broaden our perspective and start us out on the right track.

Ancient peoples in our northern climes regarded Winter Solstice as the pivotal time of year. It is a time of transition in the annual cycle when the old year ends and our journey into the New Year begins. It is a sacred time to conduct ceremonies focused on the return of light and warmth. Rituals designed to divert nature from the path toward eternal winter and oblivion to one directed toward light and prosperity. Most cultures planned festivals and celebrations at or around the Winter Solstice to ensure that the Sun would return.

The Pueblos of the American Southwest have honored the Winter Solstice for thousands of years. Zuni Indians celebrate Shalako and Hopis begin the observance of the month long Soyal with rituals to insure victory of light over darkness. Hopi priests wear feathers in their headdresses symbolizing the Sun's rays. Sacred underground structures called kivas let in the rays of the rising and setting Sun and Moon throughout the year. Among the Pueblos, Winter Solstice is an affirmation of the continuation of life; that the cyclical order of time and the cosmos will continue intact.

Fire and light have always played a central role in the Winter Solstice ceremonies. In much of northern Europe people ignited huge bonfires. Lighted candles were often placed on the branches of evergreen trees, which symbolized survival and eternal life. These symbols of warmth and lasting life were lit to hasten the "old" Sun's waning and the "new" Sun's rebirth. People often tied apples to the branches of firs and oaks to remind themselves that summer would eventually return. In the British Isles, mistletoe was placed upon altars. Mistletoe's golden color was believed to store the power of the Sun, especially when plucked at the solstice.

In Peru, the people fasted for three days prior to the solstice. At dawn on the morning of the fourth day, everyone gathered in the public plaza to watch the sunrise. When its light appeared, the celebration began with shouts of joy. At the Sun Temple the rays of the Sun were focused with a mirror to make a fire. This sacred fire was carried to all the outlying temples, where it was kept burning on the altars throughout the year.

In my own solstice celebration, I like to incorporate a sacred fire. Before the Sun sets on the solstice, I will light a large candle or oil lamp, call the spirit of the Sun into that fire, and allow it to burn until morning, when his spirit has returned to the sky.

On the Winter Solstice we are all praying, on some level, for the darkness to end. "Just return the light!" the ceremonies seem to say. As we celebrate the return of the light, we affirm the continuation of life at the very moment of dissolution. To be sure, dark days lie ahead. But contained within each is the promise of brighter tomorrows.

[mitigatedchaos]

GPT-7: Thank you for your question!

I have analyzed the file you have uploaded.

The policy vector you have provided is generally referred to as "Genetic Mutual Insurance" by political scientists. It was first implemented as a general policy directive via executive order by Governor Manuel Alvarez of the Texas Free State in 2052.

There were significant questions about ethnic tensions following the breakup of Mexico in the previous decade, the secession of Texas from the weakening United States, and the merger of significant portions of Texas, New Mexico, and the northern Mexican League. GMI was an attempt to address these questions by the leadership at the time.

Alvarez considered the application of low-resolution equity-seeking racial classification schemes to have contributed to the 21st-century Mexican Civil War, which, along with the death of his son in the conflict, encouraged him to support Texas secession. GMI can be viewed as an inversion of these schemes.

Implementation

First, government programs in the Texas Free State were rephrased in terms of insurance or similar styles of program. A number of programs, such as schooling, medical care, and social housing, were shifted to a voucher system.

Second, the genomes of citizens of the Texas Free State were collected. 64 reference genomes were produced in order to divide the population into roughly 64 groups of approximately equal size.

This was used to form 64 risk and revenue pools, which would determine the amount of insurance payment and the size of the insurance payout. There was also a 65th pool for "citizen refused classification."

Though the original intent of the policy was that the evaluation of genetic distance should be continuous, the 64 bucket model was deemed easier to administrate. It was intended that the 64 reference genomes would be updated every ten years, although this did not occur while the policy was in effect.

Third, for each of the 64 reference genomes, each citizen was issued an 8-bit similarity score, including a version normalized across the distribution. This would determine how much of their funding would come from, or go into, each bucket, the size of the vouchers they would receive, and their required amount of payments.

Further plans, in which case workers would be assigned based on similarity, were quietly abandoned.

The Blake Committee, established by Alvarez in 2053 to work out how to enact "continuous autogenetic self-regulation" as an alternative to previous constructions such as national states, reached the conclusion that the fundamental tensions within the system could not be resolved, and wound down in 2057.

Effects

During the time that the policy was in place, gene therapy was becoming cheaper. Citizens with higher genetic proximity to the reference genomes associated with less wealthy, or higher-risk, pools engaged in gene therapy to shift their membership more towards pools with higher revenues and higher payouts. This kind of pool-shifting became a local industry.

However, due to the diverse origins of wealthy citizens in Texas, genetic homogenization did not proceed along one axis. Instead, shifters sought low-cost or perceived high-benefit gene therapies targeting multiple reference genomes, both for themselves, and for their children.

Termination

GMI was terminated in 2067 with the re-admission of Texas into the United States. It was supplanted by the more gene-agnostic "Inheritance Equilibrium Flow, Land & Material Rents" ('ILMR') model for a variety of reasons, including that the incentives for homogenization were considered problematic.

Todd James

During the rule of GMI, 1,086 children were born based on synthesizing the virtual reference genomes into actual DNA, including the popular streamer Todd James. These 'Texan reference genome children' have been subsequently studied by scientists. No special health effects have been found.

[iinrainbows]

nothing gets under my skin more than when a man on the road makes me feel stupid when I’m driving like holy fuck I hope you hit a pothole so hard your whole axis gets so fucked you have to get a new car but then as you drive out the lot with it you drive into wet concrete and I hope your insurance pays for none of this I actually hope your insurance goes up every time

[erhangwang]

DP2 - Wandering Earth

Week 12:

For this week, I communicated with a member of staff at University of Reading's Meteorological research department and learnt what the spaces are in their research building and how their research is carried out on a daily basis. I also did a study on the Insurance Institute in the US which is a research centre testing the damage to buildings and houses brought by extreme weather conditions. I studied their arrangement of spaces and functions which is centered around a central axis of air movement. I also looked into some specific technical details such as the fan component and the fins which inspired me for the design of the testing chamber.

The key for next week is to do more research on the spaces I am having and arrange them logically. For now, I am thinking of having a intoxicating garden (market stalls) as entry ways to the buildings followed by a temporary buffer zone of plant nursery referring to the past; testing/research centre and laboratories referring the present and finally workshops manufacturing new parts for existing building as the research consequences referring to the future. Therefore I need to research into how spaces are arranged in labs, workshops and plants nurseries and produce a set of plans and sections communicating my design. I should do a survey on the buildings that are going to get tested in Newnham. I also need to consider how the facade can be reacting to different grades of tornadoes to make them more performative

[communistkenobi]

“If you know your IQ score you’re a mark” IQ test comes with the psych eval for autism and adhd. And just because IQ doesn’t measure human worth doesn’t mean it has no worth. Refusal to understand human functioning honestly hurts the credibility of your whole blog

poor phrasing on my part (i should say “if you voluntarily take an IQ test you’re a mark”), but are you honestly suggesting IQ scores being a part of diagnostic criteria for things like autism and ADHD is a good thing? Do you think people interacting with psychological institutions benefit from being measured by something called an intelligence quotient? Every diagnostic instrument should be evaluated in its ability to inflict harm, especially when used in a public health capacity. Linking the concept of intelligence to mental illness, especially when evaluating a person’s access to medication and their ability to exercise agency in their lives, can and does cause significant amounts of harm.

IQ tests are good at measuring a person’s ability to take an IQ test, or to be more generous, certain standardised tests in an academic setting. Which I agree is not entirely useless if you want to measure peoples’ abilities to perform in academic contexts. However, attaching IQ to a person’s mental health diagnosis is not a neutral process. If IQ is attached to diagnosis, it is also attached to insurance coverage of medications, specialist appointments, and medical testing. If mental health diagnoses affect disability status (which they do), it means that IQ is also attached to state benefits, social housing, employment opportunities, grants, tax breaks, you name it. You cannot silo IQ into a neat little box that is divorced from the rest of a person’s life. And given the colonial history of IQ as an instrument for producing scientific forms of white supremacy, you need to be extra suspicious of its ability to determine the “mental fitness” of a human being. The concept of accurately measuring the intelligence of a human being on a single axis is itself worthy of deep skepticism, if not outright rejection.

In conclusion: you’re a mark, congratulations!

[leolaroot]

at the insurance/registry place in town btw my insurance agent is this girl in high school who used to call me an ugly dyke and behind the registry desk today was another girl from my class who experimented with bisexuality bc she was "inspired by me" HER WORDS NOT MINE. why does my hometown registry orbit on the axis of my highschool bisexuality.

[loansmantri]

Finding the Right Loan: A Guide to Loan Options and Choosing the Best Fit for You

Introduction 

Finding the right loan product to fit your needs can be a challenging process. With so many options like personal loans, home loans, and business loans, how do you know which is best suited for you? In this post, we'll provide an overview of the major loan products available and factors to consider when choosing one, as well as how Loans Mantri can help simplify the loan application process.

Loans Mantri is an online loan marketplace that partners with over 30 top financial institutions in India including names like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank. No matter what type of loan you need, Loans Mantri aims to provide customized options and a seamless application experience through their digital platform. 

Whether you need funds for personal expenses, purchasing real estate, business financing or any other purpose, Loans Mantri can match you with the ideal lending product for your requirements from their network. Their online eligibility calculators and tools remove the guesswork from determining what loans you can qualify for based on your income, credit score and other details.

This post will walk through the key loan products offered through Loans Mantri and outline the most important points to factor in when deciding which option works for your financial situation. We'll also provide tips on how to apply and what to expect when going through Loans Mantri for your financing needs. Let's get started!

Types of Loans Available

Here are some of the major loan products offered through Loans Mantri's platform:

Personal Loans - These unsecured loans can be used for almost any personal purpose like debt consolidation, wedding expenses, home renovation, medical needs, or any other requirements. Interest rates are competitive and loan amounts can range from ₹50,000 to ₹25 lakhs based on eligibility.

Home Loans - Also called mortgage loans, these are for purchasing, constructing or renovating a residential property. Home loans offer extended repayment tenures of up to 30 years and relatively lower interest rates. The property becomes collateral against the loan amount.  

Business Loans - Loans Mantri offers financing for a wide range of business needs like working capital, equipment purchases, commercial vehicle loans, construction requirements and more. Loan amounts can be from ₹10 lakhs to multiple crores.

Loan Against Property - By using your existing property as collateral, you can get a secured, high-value loan in return through this product. Interest rates are lower and you can get up to 50% of your property's current market value.

Other Loan Products - Loans Mantri also facilitates other lending options like credit cards, line of credit, gold loans, insurance financing, merchant cash advance for businesses etc. as per eligibility.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Loan

When looking at the various loan options, here are some key factors to take into account:

- Loan amount required and ideal repayment tenure 

- Interest rates and processing/administration fees

- Your repayment capacity based on income and expenses

- Purpose of the loan - personal needs, business growth, property purchase etc.

- Collateral availability for secured loans like home and property loans

- Flexibility in repayment - moratorium periods, EMIs, tenure etc.  

- Prepayment and foreclosure charges, if any

Evaluating these parameters will help identify the loan that Aligns to your financial situation. Loansmantri's online tools also help estimate factors like eligibility amounts, EMIs, interest rates etc. to simplify decision making.

Applying for a Loan on Loans Mantri

The application process with Loans Mantri is quick, transparent and fully digital: 

- Use the eligibility calculator to get an estimated loan amount you can qualify for.

- Fill out the online application by providing basic personal and financial details. 

- Loans Mantri will run a soft credit check to view your credit score and report. This helps match products to your profile.

- Compare personalized loan quotes from multiple partner banks and NBFCs.

- Submit any required KYC documents and income proofs online.

- The application gets forwarded to the lender for further processing and approval.

- Track status directly through your Loansmantri dashboard. Get assistance from customer support if needed. 

Conclusion  

Loans Mantri aims to be a one-stop platform for all your lending needs. Their intuitive tools and partnerships with leading financial institutions help identify and apply for the ideal loan product for any purpose. Consider your requirements carefully and evaluate all options before choosing the right loan for your financial situation. With Loans Mantri, the entire process from application to disbursal can be completed digitally for an easier financing experience.

[treesah]

I know I should just get eye surgery because I’m a special baby princess who gets the most expensive contact lenses in the world (name brand, high prescription, weird astigmatism axis that’s different in each eye, daily disposables, year’s supply) and surely paying an ophthalmologist $5000 (or maybe even less??) to peel my eye like a grape for ten to twenty years of perfect vision is going to be cheaper than paying $551 (this is AFTER a $180 discount from vision insurance and a $125 discount from the manufacturer’s rebate) for contact lenses every single year for the rest of my life, plus like an extra $300-$500 every five years or so for a nice pair of backup glasses with the 1.74 high index lenses that have every sort of anti-whatever protection on them, but the idea of eye surgery gives me the major heebie-jeebies