#doctors without education debt

[ranthaven]

The US is the most productive economy for the success of the middleman in the history of the world. Buy my new book: How to Get Rich Without Offering Anything of Value!! Yours now for the low, low price of whatever I feel like charging for it! Come on, you know you want it.

[avelera]

Ugh, sorry, one last political point because it’s the day for it and this is bugging me.

Democrats and people on the left in the US have got to knock it off with this whole, “All Trump voters are obviously stupid” thing.

I’m sure it’s satisfying to believe, but it is simply not true, and making assumptions about your opponents that aren’t true is how you lose elections.

Half of the voting population of this country is not stupid and it is ludicrous to insist on believing that. Trump voters include doctors, lawyers, business owners, people with PhDs and graduate degrees, and people who attend college courses for fun. They are, unfortunately for many of us including yours truly, our parents and relatives and I at least know for a fact in those cases that they are well educated, well traveled people.

Assuming these people are just stupid and uninformed is, in fact, stupid. It a simplistic view of the world that is going to make your platforms lose if you embrace it and refuse to look deeper.

In practice, people engage in politics because they want the greatest happiness and prosperity for the largest number of people that they care about.

Everything after that is just haggling over price.

For example, the Left/Democrats might believe that the great amount of happiness and prosperity is brought to the largest number of people they care about when an advanced degree is available to everyone without leaving them in crippling debt, when people can age with social services that allow them dignity, when billionaires and companies cannot exploit their workers, and when peace and just causes are allowed to flourish around the world, including the education and enfranchisement of women, and the long term health of our planet. I personally believe that brings long term prosperity to us all.

Left and Right wing voters right now both probably agree that everyone is happier and more prosperous if they can afford a house and have a job that covers their needs and then some. How to get to that is the sticking point that they disagree on.

Right wing voters also want prosperity for themselves and those they care for and what they disagree on with the Left is how to achieve that. I’m not going to go into their platforms here because the whole point of this post is not assuming things about your opponents.

Now in order to persuade people to hold more Left leaning views, you need to make the case for why what you care about is a thing that they should care about and, more importantly, how it enhances the happiness and prosperity of them and those they care about.

Otherwise, you are asking them to vote against their own interests, which no one engages in politics to do, at least not on purpose (even if it is the ultimate outcome in many cases).

If you don’t care about making this argument to opposite side, then fine, you’ve already lost and you deserve to keep losing elections.

You deserve to lose because you’re not making a case for why anyone should support your causes in order to gain happiness and prosperity for themselves and those they care about, including expanding the field of people they care about, and it is ludicrous to expect people to do that without being persuaded either intellectually or emotionally.

This is what finding common ground and building coalitions is about, even if you don’t agree on every point. And if you self isolate and stick to your purity, you deserve to lose because politics is about how we govern large groups of people towards a common goal that, ultimately, is best simplified as the goal of their greatest happiness and prosperity.

Good faith politics is negotiating over what that means. Because resources are finite we can’t all get everything we want all at once. And not everyone agrees on everything so you need to prioritize the best possible allotment of happiness and prosperity for the short and long term, and that’s when we get into the nitty gritty of all the horse trading that happens in politics etc etc.

And you get into things like billionaires having outsized ability to enact their own happiness and prosperity but here’s the thing, many people especially on the right go along with those views because they believe (rightfully or not) that those goals will increase their own happiness and prosperity as well and if you don’t agree you’ve got to explain to them intellectually or emotionally why that is and provide and alternate platform or path for them to gain it that is more effective by at least some measure of that value.

Anyway, at the risk of this becoming a political science thesis from someone who isn’t a political scientist, just an amateur academic, tl;dr please knock it off with assuming everyone who disagrees with you is stupid, it is a losing proposition and it doesn’t get us anywhere near the goals we want to achieve politically, ie, the greatest happiness and long term prosperity of the people we care about.

[copperbadge]

Radio Free Monday

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Radio Free Monday!

Ways to Give:

dancing-thru-clouds was recently hit with a surprise tax bill (she didn't realize her town had local income tax, and didn't receive the previous year's notice); she's adjusted her withholding to account for this, but still owes the balance from the past two years and is fundraising to cover the balance. You can give via paypal here.

stemmonade is a disabled Black trans person who relies on crowdfunding for survival since they can't work and their wife is currently unemployed; they are raising a little over $700 to cover rent and essentials in the meantime. You can read more, reblog, and find giving information here.

themerrymutants is a disabled queer man currently living on social security aid; he has recently had to travel to the emergency room several times for possible complications from a recent surgery, and is now short on rent because of the cost of transit. You can read more, reblog, and find giving information here.

Anon linked to a fundraiser for prototrans, a disabled artist who needs help with rent money; he is also offering commissions. You can read more, reblog, and find giving and commission information here.

Recurring Needs:

Anon linked to a fundraiser for a friend whose family has not had a working furnace since November; they've been using space heaters to keep warm but January in Chicago has been brutal and the space heaters aren't sufficient. With vulnerable family members including elderly relatives and children in the home, they need to raise $6K to get the furnace replaced. You can read more and support the fundraiser here.

thelastpyler is raising funds for food and to purchase medication for their family; you can read more and find giving information here.

Eli is a disabled Michigander who cares for their elderly grandmother; they are applying for SSDI, but their car was damaged recently and is undrivable, with estimated $8K-$12K in repairs to make it drivable. They need transportation for doctor's visits and legal consultations for their SSDI appeal, and have no way to get around without the car. You can read more and reblog here or give at the gofundme here.

loversdoom is a college student from the Philippines, studying away from her family, and her parents are unexpectedly unable to support her education; she is in mounting debt and facing eviction from her dorm in her last semester of college. She's raising funds to repair her laptop so she can do her schoolwork and find a remote job that will help her pay rent, and to fund the remainder of her schooling. You can read more and reblog here and support the fundraiser here.

Anon linked to karla-hoshi or Hoshi on TikTok, who is raising funds for cancer treatment for her cat Naku; they caught the cancer early and hope that he can survive it, but can't continue treatment without funding. You can read more and support the fundraiser here, as well as find links to her updates on tiktok.

chingaderita's partner recently lost their job due to a house fire that also destroyed the house; they're raising funds to keep food on the table, to try and get a supply of water to keep clean and do laundry, and for various bills until they can find new work. You can read more, reblog, and support the fundraiser here.

And this has been Radio Free Monday! Thank you for your time. You can post items for my attention at the Radio Free Monday submissions form. If you're new to fundraising, you may want to check out my guide to fundraising here.

[mana-jjk]

thinking really hard about a college au because i enjoy them a lot more than high school aus.

yuuta - pre-med, in school to become a doctor

toge - divided between computer science and dropping out of college to pursue opening his own café with a garden.

maki - pre-law, in school to become a lawyer

panda - zoology

yuuji - business degree that he’s just doing for his grandfather, will graduate but goes on to be a firefighter.

megumi - animal sciences, going on to enter veterinarian school to become a vet.

nobara - fashion design/marketing degree

gojo - a sadistic physics professor with multiple degrees, both through education and honorary, because he got bored. sometimes he picks students out to give full-ride scholarships, because he self-proclaims having too much money.

getou - philosophy professor that enjoys playing the devils advocate and watching his students squirm.

shoko - oversees the university hospital and occasionally recruits for the pre-med program

nanami - graduated with a business degree, agreed to give yuuji an internship

ijichi - gojo’s overworked TA

i just think maki and yuuta would struggle through graduate school together. their cabinets would be full of instant ramen, cabbage, junk food, and ungodly amounts of coffee. the only real food they get is because toge cooks for them and gives them the stink eye every time he opens their cabinet.

toge doesn’t really have room to talk though, he overworks himself and ends up going far too long without sleep. hours on assignments that make him miserable, burned out from the moment every semester starts. too often does yuuta find him dissociating, something he’s all too familiar with. yuuta himself suffers from insomnia, so it’s not uncommon for him to settle on the couch and run his fingers through toge’s hair until his eyes close.

toge probably had a really difficult time getting the courage to either drop out or just really not use his degree as intended. i can’t picture him genuinely enjoying higher education. even in this happy, no one dies world, his family is with the second years for a reason. computer science was appeasing enough, but the unhappiness is so draining that everyday getting up and going to class feels so impossible. he feels his happiest at the gardening club, cooking for his friends, not sitting in a lecture hall with a preview to what awaits him. but ultimately, i think the independence and knowledge that he wasn’t alone or abandoned was enough to push him into the decision. luckily enough he was a scholarship winner (gojo lol) so he wasn’t in debt, and gojo even offered to fund him through culinary school with the promise of free sweets forever.

with yuuta, i think his history of being hospitalized and the accident with rika (who is not dead here !! but she was paralyzed and had to move with a different family member who was able to support her) definitely pushed him to medical degrees. he was probably stuck between being a physical therapist, nurse, and full-fledged doctor. he still keeps in contact with rika, who is one of his biggest supporters when it comes to his goal, but he has a mental breakdown every week thinking about getting a medical degree. shoko definitely takes notice of his talent, and has extended opportunities to intern with her. gojo also found that they were distantly related, and not only paid for his entire education, but also the apartment he rents with maki and toge. he tried refuting, but gojo kept insisting that he was tapping into the family inheritance that technically belonged to both of them.

toge is more than a little devastated when yuuta decides to study abroad in their undergraduate, i actually think that’s when the fully misery of college hits him. not having an unhealthy classmate and friend to look after forced him to focus on himself, his least favorite pastime. having the first years helped, but it also forces him to reflect how much he cared about yuuta past being a friend too.

anyway, i have so many ideas for this au so um please ask me so i can word vomit everywhere. also normalize more college aus so people like me can still relate lol <3

[boimgfrog]

what grade level do you want to teach? if i decide to go into education it will be college level full stop

High school and eventually college!! Most colleges won't hire you without a doctorate, though, and most public schools will pay for your master's degree if you promise to teach at their school for a certain number of years, so I'm choosing kindness and less debt. Also I don't mind teenagers that much and think teaching high school for a bit will be fulfilling and a good stepping stone. Plus with the teaching shortage a lot of places are ditching the praxis exam and opting for an optional exam that if you take, increases ur starting salary by a lot, and I need money for my eventual PhD soooo

[mistprints]

9 to 5 is an insane amount of the day spent working. We just aren’t being paid enough to work fewer hours because we aren’t paid what our work is worth. Bigger companies hide behind small ones with the “we can’t all afford to pay workers fairly” excuse. Well then the business fails at being profitable because workers’ wages are not margins you can cut to be profitable.

And then the big corporations spend obscene amount of money bribing politicians to make sure things stay this way: that minimum wage stays below cost of living so people are forced to work often multiple jobs just to survive, keeping them desperate and forced to work jobs with poor wages.

Education advancement is a potential major debt that many people cannot afford or risk even to get into the highest paying industries. Not all school systems are created equal due to budget cuts and poor, outdated standards, putting many students at a disadvantage for college already. People who would be amazing teachers are dissuaded by the state of these schools and the lack of support they get. It is one of the most important jobs of society and much like many vital services, is taken for granted.

We pretend the threat of homelessness is only for people who are “undesirable” and just didn’t want to work when in reality, many people are one missed paycheck away from being out on the street due to predatory housing situations and unchecked landlords that can give as little as a week’s notice for eviction if not less in some places.

“Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” is an old saying that’s been twisted. It’s an impossible task. That’s what it means. It’s a tongue in cheek saying that’s been mockingly turned into a political statement and I think the people using it know that people aren’t going to look it up or know this. You cannot pull yourself up by them, you need help.

Society works when we rely on the group. That’s how all civilizations have worked. Others have fallen for not doing this or for doing so poorly with too many people at the bottom of the ladder holding it up (capitalism relies on this to function). Social programs have always been a facet of this and grouping it all into one big negative buzzword drives me insane.

The fire department is a social program. It’s free to call them and it’s paid for by the city because the rich decided that a poorer neighbor’s house fire was a risk to their property and so there should be someone that handles that without costs to an individual that would deter them calling for help. Same with 9-1-1 (unless of course if the person is in the US and needs a personal ambulance ride. Then they’ll charge thousands).

All I’m saying is with the state of the majority of people in the U.S., we could stand to have more support beams to help out before it collapses around us.

People are reaching a breaking point and this stress test of how much they’ll take (costs rising while what you get decreases and wages remaining stagnant; the growing population of homelessness and their solutions being to make homelessness illegal; cuts to people’s rights to their own body by people who are not doctors and should not have anything do to with it but want political points to remain in power by voters who are too uneducated to know better—again, keeping the populous too tired and poorly educated to realize the branching issues with this outside of their narrow-minded ideals they want to force on everyone else) won’t end well.

These problems all branch from a source. That source is always, ultimately, corrupted people in power, driven by money. They are shortsighted and only care about their own benefits. And by letting them, believing their lies and keeping them in power blinded by promises that are at best empty and at worst detrimental, it’s making this world a lot worse to live in for the rest of us. Even if the consequences haven’t reached you directly yet, we are already seeing what happens in this Tragedy of the Commons situation with the greed of a few.

We have to stop people from being able to exploit it. There needs to be laws in place that even the rich are subject to for this to ever work.

[purplebass]

Lila's Backstory Theory

As I talked about Lila with @bluecichlid, they raised a good point about her backstory. Lila was first introduced to us as a thief, but she seemed educated and even well-read.

So this theory deals with the possibility that Lila's mother might've been an aristocrat or had a title and Lila doesn't even know about that or has completely concealed this bit from her past and V wanted to use it in the future and that's why it never came up.

@my-ruthless-zoyalai I'm tagging you too because you asked about this theory!

This isn't something to take from granted in XIX London, because we know that around that time, if you were a peasant, you either worked in a factory as a child or you were a thief. You can take a look at Dicken's Oliver Twist to see how orphaned children lived in London (it is set 30 years after Lila was a child, but things hadn't changed much for kids). If you were a poor kid, you didn't have many options to survive. Surely, school and education was the last thing on Georgian kids' minds. There were exceptions, of course, but I don't think that's the case with Lila.

Lila often says that her mother read William Blake's poems to her before bed. This is so specific, and while Blake had published his poems before Lila was even born and he was pretty known, would a peasant appreciate him? No offence to Georgian London peasants, but I doubt it. A lot of peasants didn't even know how to read, and poetry is harder to understand.

Lila's mother might've been an estimator of literature, but my idea is that she might've come from a rich family and that is why she was familiar with Blake. I'm not saying a filthy rich family, but modest enough for Lila's mother to be educated and pass a little of that culture down to her daughter. She might've even been an aristocrat with a title in decline, for all we know. Because aristocrats didn't work. They only inherited a fortune and if they weren't careful with their money and didn't make any investments, the money would end. So Lila's mother might've had a dowry/small fortune when she married Lila's father, but he squandered all their funds on alcohol and possibly other things and they had probably a lot of debts. Maybe Lila's father was not an aristocrat and by marrying him, her mom lost her dowry. I don't know. Lila's mother might've also died because they didn't have the money to pay for a doctor or medicine.

ETA to add: Lila's parents might've had a reversed "Persuasion" by Jane Austen situation. Her parents might've opposed their marriage because they came from different classes, but they got married anyway. In Persuasion, the fmc wants to marry the mc, who is a naval officer, but her father opposes because they come from different social classes. Seven years later, the situation is reversed because the fmc's family is in debt and they need money and the mc became a rich and respectable captain. In the end they get married and the fmc joins the mc on his voyages on his ship. Maybe something like that happened to Lila's parents as well. Have you ever thought that Lila might've wanted to become a captain because her father was tied to the naval world? Also, this "Persuasion" situation also reminds me of Kell and Lila's seven years after situation. He is also a prince who decided to travel aboard a ship to be with the person he loves, who is a captain. Lila stayed with her father because he was the only one left, but without her mother's protection (because it's clear Lila remembers her mother fondly and still grieves her) she was left at the mercy of her absent father until he literally sold her to pay a tab. After then, she began her thief life/identity.

So what I think is that Lila might be an aristocrat and have a title, but maybe she 1) doesn't even know 2) she knows but she never told this to anyone because it's a part of her Grey London life and from a past she chose to leave behind. When Lila meets Kell, he also hides that he is a prince until they are in Red London.

Parallels that seem to sustain this theory

Lila has parallels with other characters. Not just Kell, but also Alucard. Parallels might be a clue about personal stories.

Lila the hypothetical "poor aristocrat" was sold by her father to pay a tab and this event marks the official beginning of her "thief/commoner" identity.

Kell the hypothetical "poor commoner" was sold by his parents because he was Antari and this event marks the official beginning of his "prince/magician" identity.

When we meet Alucard, Lila also believes he's just a privateer, but then we find out that he is a royal and he was falsely accused of being a pirate because of his father and brother.

You can see how the stories of these three characters seem to mirror each other in different ways.

In Threads, there were two moments that stuck with me that also reinforced this "Lila is an aristocrat" theory.

In this book, Lila "took on" Alucard's previous identity of a privateer. But she's also an Antari like Kell. She is also an aristocrat by association with an acquired title because at the palace everyone knows that she is Kell's partner. They call her "lady" and she hates that and the palace life. On another post I wrote how she might hate this because she doesn't like labels nor wants to just be "Kell's lady", which is true. But what if Lila used to live in a pretty house with servants doing things for her until her father brought their family to ruins? So maybe that's why Lila finds the palace so triggering and runs out of it most of the time. Does it remind her of her lost childhood?

This last bit is totally mere speculation. Lila might not even know about her heritage, and maybe she will meet her father again in future Threads, and that's how we will know.

The second bit that might've hinted (or maybe I saw too much into it) is a line Ned tells Tes when she's about to leave. He asks her to say hi to Kell and Lila, and says something like "Kell is a prince, but Lila is not a princess." I don't believe she is a princess but this is a title, and it may be a hint: 1) she has a title she doesn't know about 2) she will become a princess if she marries Kell? Because the title of princess can be acquired by marriage. The title Alucard has in Threads, "consort," is also a title used to refer to the partner of a royal who isn't a monarch in his own right.

This is mere speculation for now, but I hope we do get answers in future Threads, it would be amazing to know more of Lila's backstory!

[eirinstiva]

The Sussex Vampire: a bit about Perú

In the last two letters from my dear friend Watson we know about The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire so I have an excuse to dust my old book of history, some English-Spanish dictionaries and Todo Sherlock Holmes.

Mrs. Ferguson (we don't know her name. ACD, how hard was to call her María or Violeta?) and her maid Dolores come from Perú (I know I shouldn't use ´ but I have my Latino ID so I'll do what I want). She was daughter of a Peruvian merchant related to importation of nitrates.

After the Pacific War came a National reconstruction period (1884–1895). During this period Peru has huge external debt and lost many industries related to nitrate production, the occupied provinces of Tacna and Arica were under Chilenization. Latex and oil industries become relevant due to Industrial Revolution but the country was in bankruptcy. In 1886 the Grace Contract was signed between Peru and British bondholders to settle this debt, and the Peruvian Corporation was formed. This corporation agreed to cancel Peru's debt in exchange for £80,000 in annual payments, mining rights, and ownership of the Peruvian rail for 66 years. The corporation also agreed to build 160 kilometers of new railroad.

Nicolás de Piérola was elected president of Peru 1895, and the country began its period known as the Aristocratic Republic. During this time the economy was highly dependent of Britain: The Peruvian Corporation (trains), London Pacific (oil), Cerro de Pasco Minning Corporation (copper), Peruvian Amazon Company (latex rubber) Sugar Company (sugar) and Banco Perú Londres (bank) were the motors of the economy.

Mrs. Ferguson was probably from an aristrocratic family and received a proper education for a woman of her social status, including learning a foreign language like English. Her "alien religion" was Catholicism like the biggest part of the country because that religion reached almost every corner in South America (by choice or force) during the Colonial Era.

The maid Dolores had brown skin, so I guess she was indigenous or mestiza (Spaniard+Indigenous). Like her employer she was Catholic too but she hadn't the same education. There were efforts to increase the number of people able to read, but it was a common practice for kids to leave school and work in the same industries as their parents.

Dolores didn't study English like Mrs. Ferguson, that's why she use Spanish grammar when she speaks:

“She verra ill,” cried the girl, looking with indignant eyes at her master. “She no ask for food. She verra ill. She need doctor. I frightened stay alone with her without doctor.”

She no ask for food = Ella no pregunta por comida ✔

The translation into Spanish made by Juan Manuel Ibeas reflects this with the absence of some sounds and words:

—Ta my enferma gimió la muchacha, mirando con ojos indignados a su señor—. No quere comía. Mu enferma. Necesita doctor. Me da miedo estar sola con ella sin doctor.

And "leesten", IIRC in Spanish we don't have long/short vowels, so the /ɪ/ in listen can be /iː/ like in heel, details that make English a hard language for Latinos, and harder for someone with Dolores' background.

ACD wrote a whole chapter of "The Mystery of Cloomber" with some Scottish accent, so I doesn't surprise me. I like the level of accuracy of this accent. There are high chances that Dolores doesn't even read in Spanish, so this details are more accurate that I expected.

I understand (a bit) why Mrs Fergurson didn't dare to tell her husband what his son did. She was in a foreign country alone with her maid, she had to deal with another language, another religion and she doesn't have her family or friends there. I can't imagine going back to Perú by steamship in times when the Panama Canal was in construction.

[moopsy-daisy]

A Lifetime Secret

TW: Birth Defect/Surgery/Houselessness

I always knew about it, but my teachers were never told. Not once. All secrets are meant to protect, and this one protected my teachers from their own possible biases. Biases that could have taken a child's quirks and turned them into 'developmental disabilities' if seen through the right (wrong) lens.

I had an invisible birth defect. Well, it'd be plenty visible to anyone who cuts my hair, because the scar from the corrective surgery is currently about 2.5 inches wide. I don't know how big it was back when I was 3 months old. It must've grown with me. They were careful to keep the line hidden in my hair line.

The exact term was occipital encephalocele and only look it up if you're prepared for the pictures, they are unpleasant. The important things to know are:

• It's a neural tube defect. TL:DR my skull didn't fully grow closed and you really need a fully enclosed skull.

• It was a really small one, only about the size of the tip of an adult's pinky finger.

• The doctors said I'd probably be blind due to the location (occipital lobe of the brain does vision stuff).

• They also said I'd probably need to be institutionalized because my cognitive disability would be so severe.

My parents nodded along, got the surgery done, and my childhood began. Except, neurosurgery on a 3 month old was expensive. My family had no way to pay for it. They went bankrupt pretty much immediately. A significant part of my infancy was unhoused due to this and other hurdles.

Whenever reasonable, my parents kept the secret of my birth defect, even from doctors if they could. They wanted to see what developmental progress I made without the lens of assumed disability. It worked out nicely, I actually hit most milestones early. My unaware teachers gave me high grades and I ended up in the Gifted and Talented Education pile like so many other tumblrinas.

I'm talking about this now, for the first time publicly, because I want people to know why medical debt matters to me. By virtue of being born, I destroyed my family's finances for the next 15 years. Knowing that, by merely existing, you're unwittingly responsible for your parents going without food so that you could eat - well, my OCD's run with that story for a long time.

Except, it didn't have to be that way. If the debt hadn't existed, my needs would have simply been that. Needs. Just the needs of a newborn who got a rough dice roll.

I think it'd be amazing to wipe out debt for families or individuals, no one deserves that hanging over them. It'll be a specter looming over me for my entire life, even with therapy.

[pudgy-planets]

It disappoints me how many brilliant black students never get the opportunity to access higher education and achieve their full potential because of the sheer number of barriers to entry.

While I’ve never been on the receiving end myself, I have heard people complaining that minority groups get more scholarship opportunities than they do.

Well without extensive aid, it’s either they work a job that barely pays enough to survive, or they go to college, take out loans, and end up in mountains of debt that will take a quarter of their life just to pay…

There are so many barriers for ethnic groups to enter schools because of racism. Not to mention diversity quotas are a real thing and those are just as harmful. You work your ass off for four years, and you’ll still be treated like garbage simply for the color of your skin.

You’ll make less than your non-POC peers, you’ll face more scrutiny, and god forbid you try and make a point without everyone looking at you with suspicion.

Especially in my field. Do you know why I chose astrophysics outside of this being the love of my life? Because there are barely any fucking black physicists out there.

It’s not that they don’t exist, but we’re such a small fraction. And if you’re a female black physicist?? It’s so astronomically small.

Guys I’m dead serious, the first black woman to earn a phd in physics from my school was in 2016. That was eight years ago. That’s not ancient history that wasn’t even a decade ago.

We have so many barriers to entry in our lives for virtually everything and it sucks. We’re lead to believe we’re not smart enough to achieve higher standards or levels of education, so we end up not even considering these paths in life.

I WANT there to be more black students in our physics department. I WANT them to be respected and lead successful careers in the world of physics. I want them to achieve greatness. I want to be a black trans-female astrophysics doctorate and show the god damned world what I’m made of. What my people are made of.

Sorry, I had to get this off my chest.

[incorrect-jojolands-quotes]

Prior to Usagi's backstory where he mentioned his father's death and his mother and him living on the life insurance payout, I had a different headcanon for his backstory that explained why Meryl Mei insists he's a good kid despite constantly buying drugs from the gang and being an oddball.

Usagi is the oldest of many siblings ranging from those just a few years younger than him to toddlers. The Alohaoes have lived below the poverty line for generations and the family were no strangers to losing their members to gang life, drug addiction, crippling debt, or a combination of the three. Some of those members, like Usagi's parents, try to make an honest living as working class folks, but both end up working long hours to barely get by and government assistance can only go so far.

As the oldest sibling, Usagi ended up being de-facto man of the house, making sure his siblings get to school on time, attend their games and doctor's appointments, tucking them in at the end of the day, staying up when one or five get sick. Usagi's parents do love him, but there's that underlying obligation and guilt Usagi feels if he doesn't step up to help the family in any way, and his parents can only do so much after being out of the house for so long and splitting time between their kids for quality time.

Usagi knows his parents are working multiple dead-end jobs, unable to be promoted or change to better careers due to lack of education and opportunities, and they end up coming home late at night to be taken care of by him before doing it all over again the next day. While balancing his own studies and trying to go through the day of caring for his family and house, Usagi ends up being addicted to hard drugs out of necessity rather than pleasure. Coffee and nicotine patches can only keep you up and alert for so long, and sometimes there are days where sleep is not an option; the longest he's stayed up is 31.5 hours straight followed by crashing for 5 hours and waking up to resume his schedule as if nothing happened. Sometimes, the drugs suppress his appetite, which allows him to go long without eating in case he doesn't get a chance to sit down.

The worst part and another reason for him being addicted to drugs is the fact that he's a natural genius.

Upon realizing how intelligent and inquisitive their son is, his parents are also banking on him to be the first of the Alohaoes to graduate high school and go to college without a criminal record or other issues. If Usagi gets a well-paying degree and job, the Alohaoes can breathe easier in terms of finance and Usagi can become an example for future generations to eventually get the Alohaoes out of the poverty cycle. So, not only is Usagi taking care of his siblings but he ends up overseeing the household such as taxes and bills, talking to authorities to prevent them from escalating situations near his home, filling out forms for welfare and arguing with health insurance companies at a very young age. His family unconciously expect him to be able to do anything because of his intelligence and they're hoping his grades would allow him to receive free scholarships among other things.

Like many who experienced living below the poverty line, the idea of mental health and attempts to ease this load while the system is intentionally working against you is met with "just deal with it" instead. Finding someone to vent to or provide help is difficult and could cause more harm than good if someome takes things out of context. Someone called CPS on them once because Usagi made an offhand remark on how tired he was; Usagi had to stop the case from escalating in fear that his siblings would be separated "because he made a stupid mistake" and feels guilty for what he did despite being honest at the time.

The drugs Usagi takes doesn't only keep him up but also hide who he really is. While he appears jovial, irresponsible, and amicable on drugs, he's the complete opposite when sober. I imagine him to be like Fugo: cynical, bitter, easy to anger but unable to express it. The bodysuit he wears is intentionally fitted not only to minimize issues caused by skin irritation and bug bites (seeing how he has that in his backpack) but it also doubles as a calming compression suit to ease his bottled emotions. It could be hiding other things but who knows. He's good at hiding things... too good.

Usagi doesn't want to lash out on his loved ones nor show what he's going through. He keeps himself high to maintain his fake persona and remain likeable, but it would only be so long before he breaks and shows who he really is.

Anyways, what do y'all think?

[cbk1000]

Ha! Doctor here. I straight up admit to my shitty documentation skills and bribe our lovely administration assistants with Nespresso capsules and chocolates to keep my ass covered.

Yes, many doctors can be God-aweful fucks sometimes, but if it helps, I reckon it's mostly a trauma response to being called out for being wrong. As a registrar (or *resident in Freedom Eagle-Screech) I can tell you, the PTSD is real. I don't condone any sort of yelling though.

Lol I do genuinely understand that you guys have a lot on your minds and taking care of the patients has to come first and is your primary concern, and billing is our jurisdiction. And we don't expect doctors to know all the ins and outs of that, and I do expect to have to provide education to physicians on exactly what they need to document sometimes, because sometimes the specific wording is important, and doctors don't necessarily know what has to be included in order for the insurance to pay up, which they try to get out of doing in every conceivable way. The frustration is in reminding a provider multiple times what they need to document in order to be paid for x y z service, the provider continuing not to document, and then blaming us for not charging for the service. Also, specifically in my area, the doctors have a reputation for being very coddled, and the culture around that is changing, so we're seeing some tantrums from people who have had their hands held for a long time.

There's also extra frustration in it now, because the pandemic did a number on healthcare systems everywhere, and we had to try and make up millions of dollars this year just to keep from defaulting on our debts. My company has done a few rounds of lay-offs, so people's jobs are literally dependent on us tightening up billing practices and determining where revenue is slipping through the cracks. I know clinics and providers are tired of us bugging them for x y z thing, but we kind of can't get any money without x y z thing, and since our operating costs are tens of millions of dollars a month, we kind of, you know, need money.

Good call with the chocolate and Nespresso, though. I recommend all doctors bribe your admin using these sorts of methods. We all have to work together to defeat the enemy (insurance).

(Also, while I think doctors tend to fell into the trap of any highly-educated person, which is to sometimes forget they don't know everything, and while some of them have been literally the worst co-workers I've ever had, years ago when I worked in medical records, one of the providers used to bring my sister, who worked with me at the time, and I little treats whenever pharmaceutical reps brought in breakfast, because we were kind of off in a corner downstairs and out of sight, out of mind, and he wanted to make sure we got something before it was all gone. He was consistently lovely and I never heard anyone who worked with him have anything negative to say. So you're definitely not all fucks.)

[permanencia-voluntaria-blog]

The pride in his eyes

1 x 03

The son of an Earl

The officer was a midwingman just recovering from a terrible wound in his abdomen. He had just been promoted to the rank when a boarding party almost captured the capitan of the longwing he was serving. The doctors allowed him to travel home for 2 weeks after he was able to walk without pain and the physician advisedhad light work to get his muscles working and growing. "Not to climb the bloody cliff and get hurt all over again" as the doctors phrase it.

Someone might found curious that Jeremy Rankin knew all of this or condemn how he could insert himself in someone else's business, but he did not have friends to question his interest or care.

Officer Little had really fair skin under the bandages and his untied hair gave him a halo of contrast in his pillow. He did not had a single freckle he coud see from the chair next to the bed, not even in the sunkissed beaky nose, but had a mole in his right tumb. His clothes were of good quality but not as nice as his and had a horrible habit of nail bitting. Rankin was almost sure he was smart and proper but who could tell the character of a laying body.

Rankin was gratefully unsettle by the incident. He was no longer the undesirable in his class, two of his classmates even acknowledge him during lunch and it was almost time for him to finish his "education" and although he had not been asked by any particular captain he was not worried, after all he will be send to a prime dragon in preparation for his future assignation.

It had been almost a week since the accident and 3 days since he had seen officer Little after he disappeared from the infirmary and back to his cuarters. He had not coincide with him in the mess hall, meals or during training. He wondered if he knew it was him who found him. Was he ashamed? Was he grateful? Would he be invited to be part of the crew of the longwing? Just as this thoughs were circling his mind officer Little finally appeared in front of him next to one of the vulgar female captain his father warned him. He straighten his back and corrected his posture and face, however he had just finished his turn with the ground crew so the first impression he could give was a sweaty and dirty one.

"Mister Rankin" he began with a soft but firm voice "I apologize for the lack of proper introduction, I am Agustine Little and this is Capitan Little of Caleum. I have been informed that you not only saved me, but that you suffer great injuries from my fall. I want to express my gratitude for my life and apologize for the troubles I caused. Please let me know anything I can do to begin to repay my debt." after this pretty speach he looked to who Rankin could only fathom his sister as if consulting her on the the property of his speech, hilarious.

"Good day, officer Little, Miss Little" he began " My name is Jeremy Rankin, I am the son of the Earl of Kensington and future capitan of Celeritas. I am happy to be your aqueintance" After all the other boy could not help his relations. "I consider no debt is due as I was only doing my duty and what anyone would do under similar circumstances." and it was true, he would not have considered any other course of action.

The two siblings interchange a look in the rudest fashion and the female captain adress him. "I thank you in a personal manner regardless, my brother is my only living family. Caleum and I have been severly distressed knowing he was severely injured once again." she made a small bow, small talk and left them alone in the middle. The wench had no manners.

"You can call me Agustine" He said to Rankin "I am currently unassigned and you? Who are you serving with?"

"I am not, but I expect the assignation will come any day now"

The deamy expression of Agustine was taken a back and dropping all pretence of formality said "how old are you? Yo should be a runner by now, do you want me to ask my sister? She would be happy to, her enison was killed in Gibraltar and has an opening"

Ranking briefly contemplate the appalling idea of serving under a woman but decided to consider it regardless as the opportunity of serving in a Longwing was no small thing in his future career and it was set.

They spend the walk to his cuarters talking and he could not help to notice how delicate and soft he seem in comparison to his sister. After they separated with the agreement to meet him in an hour for dinner he let himself be satisfied with his path.

He was appointed to Caleum the next morning and went to the longwing clearing to report just to find it empty and after an hour of waiting in anger he went to his instructors to see what had happened. He saw Agustine talking with a well fleshed capitan and continue his way until he found officer Berkeley instructing new cadets in aereal tactics. He patiently waited for him to notice him, but after what he felt an eternity he cleared him throat gaining a scowl as he apparently miss him, he wondered not for the first time if he was longsighted.

"Yes mister Rankin, does Capitan Little require my assistance?"

"She is not in her clearing" he said, going for the direcness of the older man.

To this he scowled even depper and after a few more comments he sent one of the cadets to check with the ground crew. The officer ignored him and continued his boring lesson and when he was almost finishing the cadet returned with another runner and said without missing a beat "Where have you been? The capitan send me twice to look for you"

Rankin was appalled by everyones manners and general appearance and tried his best to show by example the correct behavior, but this was too much.

"I have been in the clearing! I went first thing in the morning! What do you mean by this?"

The boy was in the process of answering when officer Berkeley interrupted them "You two settle and shout your heart outs where I cannot hear you, off you go"

They went in relative silence only making small jabs until he turned into a different clearing that expected and he stood in his place a couple of seconds until Martin said "What are you waiting for? The dragon will not come tl you if that is what you are expecting"

"I was told the longwing clearing is over there" pointing in his confusion.

"Yes, so?" suddenly Martin's face iluminante with comprehension "You did not know Caelum is a Xenica?" he said, to Rankin dismay.

[tytothegnoll]

So, CW: long rant in break about irl things under the break

It's funny how the US touts itself as a country all about personal freedom and letting people pursue happiness in their own ways yet tries to squash any and all freedoms of anyone who isn't rich enough to have any sort of sway.

Where is my freedom to not have to stress about if I can even afford a home?

Where is my freedom to just go to the doctor and not have to worry if I can afford it?

Where is the freedom to just not have to worry about fascists breathing down any and every minority's necks?

Where is the freedom to just get a higher education without having to go into debt or sign your soul away to be a tiny pawn in a potential war that is just for profit?

Where is my freedom to not have to worry about a fucking criminal getting elected again?

Where is my freedom to not be a fucking wage slave and just exist as a normal person?

The US only cares about money and swinging its dick around with military force. It's an egotistical nation that likes to jack off to itself so much that it feels like it might as well be a bad gay porno. Like come on, the US can do so much better, especially when there are countries that are just so much more liveable. Where normal people don't have to go online and ask for people to help pay for basic needs while the government spends untold billions on unnecessary military projects and pocketing it all for themselves.

They don't care about anyone but themselves. They just want to blow up any country that isn't profitable or exploitable. They help genocide a whole group of people while trying to jingle keys in front of us as a lot of us keep shouting that it needs to stop. Hell, I don't even know if what little I can do will help as it feels like such a titanic and overwhelming monstrosity that feels nigh unstoppable.

I just want to live without having to constantly stress out about money and my safety as a very not cishet person. I am tired of being in a country where inconsiderate assholes can't see that other people are people, and that their actions affect real people and not some vague *other*.

[muttkat]

Critiquing Joe's State of the Union Address Part One

Ukraine Spending: 100 billion? Why? What does it serve to prolong a war on one of the most corrupt nations in the world? The US and NATO blocked peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Joe says our debt is too high. He's helping with that. Maybe Joe's helping Ukraine for all that crooked money he and Hunter received.

China Threatening our Sovereignty: Joe says " We will protect our nation." Oh yeah, shooting down that balloon after it flew across the whole country over sensitive military installations? You go Joe, China is shaking in their boots. Tiktok should be banned he says...lol Buy manufactured items in USA? From now on all construction materials in govt infrastructure jobs need to be manufactured in the USA. In order to do that we would have to open 400 new copper and iron ore mines. A 100 new steel mills and aluminum refineries. Make America great again, Joe. Since 1995, our carbon emissions are down. Of course, all those manufacturing jobs went adios to other countries. Joe also says we need oil and gas to be around another 10 years. Gas stove guys.... sigh of relief.

Free Healthcare and College Education: Provided by the Soviet Constitution, not the US Constitution.

Taxes: Top taxpayers already pay 40% of the taxes. He wants to tax them more. Joe wants nonprofits to pay 15% of their income, not profit...Violating the 14th amendment.

Joe wants the govt to set prices on mdse. Communist Soviet Union did that too. The Border: Joe made the cartels lots of money. Besides using children for the sex slaves, they do organ harvesting of the children. Nice huh? The cartels say "Thank YOU Joe." In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, millions of illegals entered without being tested and let out into the general public. He doesn't mention all the Fentanyl deaths either. That worthless woman who calls herself the VP wouldn't even go to the Texas valley where all the illegals were. Instead she goes to El Paso and Guatemala. Businesses were shut down, people couldn't work, were stressed out, dying of other diseases because they couldn't go to the doctor. Did Joe care? Joe wants the govt to control everything. Joe took an oath to protect the Constitution, our freedom of speech and our liberties. He doesn't. He sucks! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCng7eBvcs4

[rareeducation]

MBBS in Philippines: A Comprehensive Guide for Aspiring Doctors

Are you an aspiring medical student looking to pursue MBBS abroad? If so, you may want to consider the Philippines as a destination for your studies. With its high-quality education system, affordable tuition fees, and excellent medical facilities, the Philippines has become a popular choice for international students looking to earn their MBBS degree.

Here's everything you need to know about studying MBBS in the Philippines.

Why Choose the Philippines for MBBS?

There are several reasons why the Philippines is a top destination for medical studies. Firstly, the country has a well-established education system, with many universities recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Medical Council of India (MCI).

Secondly, the cost of studying MBBS in the Philippines is relatively low compared to other countries like the USA, Canada, or Australia. This makes it an affordable option for students who want to pursue their dreams of becoming doctors without incurring huge student loan debts.

Lastly, the Philippines has a high number of medical facilities, including hospitals and clinics, where students can gain practical experience during their studies. This exposure to real-world medical scenarios is crucial in developing the skills and knowledge required to become a successful doctor.

Admission Requirements

To be eligible for MBBS in the Philippines, international students must fulfill certain admission requirements, which may vary depending on the university they wish to attend. However, some common requirements include:

After class XII: 

Student should have passed class 12 with at least

50% in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology in Class 12 and passed English

Should have Physics, Chemistry, and Biology in class 11

Preference will be given to students with better academic credentials

After class bachelor degree: 4-year MD (MBBS) course:

Students should have passed Bachelor with science

Student should have passed class 12 with at least

Minimum 50% in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology in Class 12 and passed English

Should have passed Physics, Chemistry, and Biology in class 11

Preference to students with better academic credentials

Curriculum and Course Duration

Was drawn up by doctors educated in Harvard Medical School, USA, and meets the latest international standards of Medical Education. Students after class XII take 5 years to complete medical education. Students with bachelor’s Degrees take 4 years to complete medical education. Pre-Medical: Students from India after class 12 first enroll in a pre-medical course for 2 years to get equivalency in the Philippines and be eligible for admission to the 4-year medical course. Students with a Bachelor’s Degree can be admitted directly to the MD course.

The curriculum for MBBS in the Philippines covers a wide range of subjects, including anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pathology, microbiology, and preventive medicine. The course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the human body and how it functions, as well as the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases.

Tuition Fees and Scholarships

The cost of MBBS in the Philippines varies depending on the university, with some universities charging higher tuition fees than others. However, on average, international students can expect to pay around $2,000 to $5,000 per year for tuition fees.

Fortunately, many universities in the Philippines offer scholarships and financial aid programs to help international students cover their tuition and living expenses. These scholarships are often based on academic merit, financial need, or other criteria, and can significantly reduce the cost of studying MBBS in the Philippines.

Career Opportunities

After completing their MBBS degree in the Philippines, international students can choose to return to their home country to practice medicine or continue their studies in the Philippines or elsewhere. The MBBS degree from the Philippines is recognized by many countries around the world, including the USA, Canada, Australia, and the UK, among others.

The career opportunities for MBBS graduates are vast and varied, with many choosing to specialize in areas such as surgery, pediatrics, gynecology, oncology, and cardiology, among others. With a high demand for qualified doctors worldwide, MBBS graduates can expect to have a fulfilling and rewarding career in the medical field.

In conclusion, studying MBBS in the Philippines can be a life-changing experience for aspiring doctors. With its high-quality education system, affordable tuition fees, and excellent medical facilities, the Philippines offers a great opportunity for international students to earn their MBBS degree.

If you are interested in pursuing MBBS in the Philippines or any other country, Rare Education can help you with the admission process. As an MBBS abroad consultancy, we offer comprehensive guidance and support to help students fulfill their dreams of becoming doctors. Visit our website to learn more about our services and how we can help you achieve your career goals.