#oxygen

[pangeen]

" Spot the Squirrel " // © Lukas Richter

[biologist4ever]

Stomata: tiny openings allow plants to exchange gases with their outside environment

[glitterypin]

The Doctor, in a nutshell.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

America’s richest Medicare fraudsters are untouchable

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

https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/13/last-gasp/#i-cant-breathe

"When you're famous, they let you do it": eight words that encapsulate the terrifying rot at the heart of our lived experience, a world where impunity for the powerful trumps the pain of their victims.

"Populism," is shorthand for many things: rage, despair, distrust of institutions and a desire to destroy them. True populism seeks to channel those totally legitimate feelings into transformative change for a caring and fair society for all. So-called "right populism" exploits those feelings, using them to drive a wedge between different groups of victims, turning them against each other, so that elites can go on screwing the squabbling factions.

The far-right parties that are marching to victory through a series global elections are different in many ways, but they all share one trait: they appeal to mistrust of institutions, claiming that the government has been captured by elites who serve them at the expense of the governed. This has the benefit of being actually true, and while the fact that far-right parties are owned by these government-capturing elites might erode their credibility, the fact that so many "progressive" parties have stepped in to defend the institutional status quo leaves an open field for reactionary wreckers:

https://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/02/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-slogan-219908

Why would voters turn out to support a "Department of Government Efficiency," run by a bully whose career has been defined by abusing the people he is in charge of? Maybe they're turkeys voting for Christmas, but they also have personal, traumatic experience with government departments that protected the abusive corporations that preyed on them.

Today on Propublica, Peter Elkind tells the incredible story of Lincare, the nation's leading supplier of home oxygen, a repeat-offender fraudster and predator that has made billions in public money without any real consequences:

https://www.propublica.org/article/lincare-medicare-lawsuit-settlements-oxygen-equipment

Lincare has been repeatedly found guilty of defrauding Medicare; in this century alone, they have been put on probation four times, with a "death penalty" provision that would permanently disqualify them from ever doing business with the federal government. In every case, Lincare committed fresh acts of fraud, but never faced that death penalty.

Why not? Lincare is far too big to fail. In America's bizarre, worst-in-class, world-beatingly expensive privatized health care system, even public health provision (like Medicare) is outsourced to the private sector. Lincare has monopolized oxygen, a famously very important molecule for human survival, and if it were disqualified from serving Medicare, large numbers of Americans would literally asphyxiate.

Lincare clearly knows this. Too big to fail is too big to jail, and too big to jail is too big to care. They are the poster children for impunity, repeat offenders, multiply convicted, and still offending, even today. Lincare has been convicted of fraud under the administrations of GW Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden, and they're still in business.

What a business it is! Elkind takes us to the asbestos-poisoned town of Libby, Montana, where more than 2,000 of the 2.857 population suffer from respiratory diseases from the open-pit mine that operated there from 1963-1990. The elderly, dying population of this town rely on Medicare and Medicare Advantage oxygen concentrators to draw breath, and that means they rely on Lincare.

That means they are prey to Lincare's signature scam: charging Medicare (and 20% co-paying patients) to rent an oxygen concentrator every month, until they have paid for it several times over. This is illegal: under federal rules, patients are deemed to have bought their oxygen concentrators after 36 months and contractors are no longer allowed to charge them. Lincare doesn't give a fuck: the bills keep coming, and Lincare patients who survive long enough have paid the company $16,000 for a $799 gadget.

When Brandon Haugen, a local Lincare customer service rep, noticed this and queried the company's home office in Clearwater, Florida (home to Scientology and the Flexidisc), he was given the brushoff. After multiple attempts to get company leadership to acknowledge that this was illegal, he quit his job, along with his colleague and childhood friend Ben Montgomery. Between them, Haugen and Montgomery had 14 children who depended on their Lincare paychecks. Despite this, they both quit and turned whistleblower, with no job lined up. Eventually, Lincare paid $29m to settle the claim, with $5.7m to the whistleblowers and their lawyers. For Lincare, this was part of the cost of doing business and the fraud rolls on.

Lincare doesn't just defraud Medicare, they also have a high-pressure commissioned sales force that has repeatedly been caught defrauding Lincare customers – overwhelming sick, poor, elderly people. Patients are pressured to accept auto-billing, then Lincare piles medically dubious gadgets onto their monthly bills, as well as useless, overpriced "patient monitoring" services. Customers with apnea machines are mis-sold ventilators by salesmen who falsely claim these are medically necessary.

Salespeople illegally auto-shipped parts and consumables for Lincare machines to patients, then billed them for it. To satisfy the legal requirement that they telephone patients before placing these orders, sales agents would call patients, put them on hold, then part the call until the patient hung up.

Salespeople are motivated by equal parts greed and terror. Make quota and you can get up to $8,000 per month in bonuses. Miss that punishing quota and you're out on your ass (which is why one salesperson ordered a medically unnecessary ventilator).

Lincare also habitually ignores requests to pick up medically unnecessary equipment, because so long as the equipment is on the patient's premises, they can continue to bill for it. As one Ohio manager wrote to their staff: "As we have already discussed, absolutely no pick-ups/inactivation’s are to be do[ne] until I give you the green light. Even if they are deceased." Execs send out company-wide emails celebrating regional managers who have abandoned pick-ups, like a Feb 2022 "Achievement Rankings" email that touted the fact that most regional centers had at least 150 overdue pickups.

Lincare represents a deep, structural rot in American society. They are too big to punish, and too powerful to regulate. A 2006 law meant to curb oxygen payments was gutted by industry lobbyists. Today, Congress is weighing legislation, the SOAR (Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform) Act, which will allow Lincare to bill the public for hundreds of millions more every year, raising rates and eliminating competitive billing. The bill is supported by patient advocates who are rightly interested in getting oxygen to patients who have been locked out of the system, but the cost of that inclusion is that Lincare will be even more firmly insulated from its corruption.

The Trump Administration will doubtless crack down on some of America's worst companies, and the furious voters who elected the only candidate who campaigned on the idea that America was rotten will cheer him on. But Trump has made it clear that he will select the targets of his administration based on whether they are loyal to him or stand in his way, without regard to whether they harm his supporters:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/12/the-enemy-of-your-enemy/#is-your-enemy

Companies like Lincare, repeatedly caught paying illegal kickbacks, know how to play this game.

Image: p.Gordon (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smoke_bomb_with_burning_fuse.jpg

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

[savi-shiji]

since we have inhaling and exhaling, I propose we call the process of doing them 'haling'

[fluffylord]

TWELFTH DOCTOR IN A SPACE SUIT S10 E05 | OXYGEN

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

guys literally every study has indicated that high oxygen content does NOT lead to larger animals plz stop spreading that one thanks

[udavdushilin]

reference for new oc🏃‍♂️

[notyoujamie]

[allura-raine]

[khruschevshoe]

How Behind-the Scenes Issues Affected the Writing of Doctor Who (Both Good and Bad)

Doctor Who is such a fascinating show to look at from a Watsonian v. Doylist perspective. Like, entirely just from an episode writing point of view:

Twice Upon A Time feels so slow and meandering and even boring in places because Chris Chibnall didn't want to start his run as showrunner and Steven Moffat didn't want the show to lose the coveted Christmas timeslot (ironic, I know) so he bumped the Twelfth Doctor's regeneration from the end of The Doctor Falls (where it makes sense) to the end of the Christmas special

Boom Town (my beloved) only exists because originally there was going to be an episode in its spot explaining that Rose had been molded to be the Doctor's perfect companion (by the Doctor, gross) and the writer didn't have the time to commit to the show

The ending of Last Christmas feels like one inside-a-dream too many because originally Jenna Coleman was questioning whether she was going to leave the show or not and the ending was rewritten after the first readthrough when she decided she wanted to stay for another season

The first five episodes of Season 7 feel like each one takes place in a different genre because that's literally how Steven Moffat pitched it to the writers; for example, A Town Called Mercy was literally pitched as "Doctor Who does a Western"

Not so much a weird one but one I find cool: Eleven's first words and Thirteen's first words were literally written by Moffat and Chibnall respectively, as they were brought in to write the first words of the first Doctors of their runs so as to make it cohesive

The reason why Fourteen isn't wearing Thirteen's clothes when he regenerates is because Jodie Whittaker is much shorter than David Tennant and Russell T. Davies didn't want it to look like he was making fun of the genderfluidity of the Doctor (still think he made the wrong decision, but eh)

Wilfred Mott isn't in the Runaway Bride and Donna's father isn't in Partners in Crime because the actor who played Donna's father, Howard Attfield, died after filming several scenes for Partners In Crime, leading to the character of "Stan Mott" from Voyage of the Damned being written into Partners In Crime as Donna's grandfather

Astrid Peth doesn't die in the original drafts of Voyage of the Damned, but Russell T. Davies wrote what is generally considered one of the most emotional deaths in Doctor Who just because he wanted Kylie Minogue to be able to focus on her music career

Originally Oxygen was written as a prequel to Mummy on the Orient Express, where a corporate representative appeared on a monitor. Said representative was fired for his fumbling of the station and would later live on as the company computer, Gus

During Season 11, Chris Chibnall had to do some major rewrites for many of the one-off episodes, therefore The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos ended up being a first draft that made it to screen. He later admitted it was his least favorite episode of the series

And this is only a fraction of what I found in terms of major behind-the-scenes writing reasons. Though I am still totally willing to critique the product that made it to our screens, finding out the reasons behind some of the more badly written episodes of the show really made me feel sympathy for every showrunner of the show as well as appreciate a lot of the good episodes that ended up here despite the short production schedule/unexpected problems (once again, Boom Town my beloved AND everyone's favorite companion Wilfred Mott only exist because of unforseen problems). Absolutely bonkers, isn't it?

[pangeen]

" The Shimmering Blue " // © OLEG REST

[biologist4ever]

Stomata: tiny openings allow plants to exchange gases with their outside environment

[harmoonix]

O X Y G E N

(astrology observations)

~ I wanna be the ocean to your shore ~

🌊 - Asteroid Erato (62) aspecting Mercury/in the 3rd house or in Gemini are erotic vocally, they can write/read/talk about eroticism

🌊 - Asteroid Erato (62) aspecting Sun/in the 5th house or in Leo can be erotic in their personality, they have this eroticism aura surrounding them

🌊 - Moon aspecting asteroid Nessus (258) harshly could've went through a lot of emotional abuse or manipulation abuse

🌊 - Nessus (7066) in the 12th house/Pisces can have an subconscious pain, sometimes even nightmares that contain pain aswell and lucid dreaming

🌊 - Venus in the 2nd house/Taurus may develop a passion for collecting things/making a collection of some certain things for example perfumes or clothes

🌊 - Mercury aspecting Moon may like to listen to music when they want to light up their mood, or to feel better because it can help them

🌊 - Nessus (258) in the 4th house/Cancer can have or had abusive family members, and the word "abuse" is highly sensitive here because they can have addictions aswell

🌊 - Saturn in the 7th house/Libra need to learn how to value the true side of a love relationship, that comes with patience and time

🌊 - Capricorn Venus can symbolize "traditional relationship" but in some cases it can indicate a relationship where they can focus more on work and career

🌊 - Moon at 8°, 20° degrees can have a hard time to open up about their feelings, and to open themselves. They have a fear to not getting hurt again

🌊 - Moon at 2°. 14°, 26° degrees can be the most romantic person or the hopeless romantic partner, sometimes they can be both (ambient)

🌊 - Neptune in the 11th house can at some extent indicate an addictions with getting addicted to your friends/relationships with your friends/online friends/ social circle

🌊 - Chiron aspecting Sun can be that type of person anyone misunderstands, and when you'll learn to know them deeper they can be the nicest people on earth

🌊 - Venus and Moon aspects (all aspects) can have a fear to not get hurt in love/relationships, all they truly seeks for is a healthy relationship with healthy boundaries and reciprocating love

🌊 - Chiron in the 7th house/Chiron in Libra can be pretty misunderstood by people aswell, with this placement you can often met partners who were hurt by others and will want you to heal them

🌊 - Please don't attack me for what I'm gonna say but people with Chiron in Sagittarius or Chiron in the 9th house have a big indicator of wounding religion, they can be the type to judge other people for their religions if the placement is not healed enough (This observation is mostly made by my own experience, I met so many wounded religious people who had this placement in their charts and it was..🤯🤯)

🌊 - Venus at 11°, 23° degrees have a really great fashion style, and they can get most of their attention because of the style these natives wear

🌊 - Moon or Lilith (h12/h13) aspecting Mars can get into a rollercoaster of emotions daily, they can be happy, the next mine they get angry, the next they get overwhelmed etc..

🌊 - Venus in the 9th house can be an indicator of meeting your spouse far from your homeland amd probably a foreign spouse

🌊 - Aquarius/Sagittarius and Capricorn over your 6th house sign can make you to stand up for animals, like a volunteer who needs to help some animals in a bad cause

🌊 - For natives with Sun/Neptune/Moon or Uranus in the 12th house, their bed must be the palace they feel the most comfortable, they love to sleep a lot

🌊 - Sagittarius or Gemini over your 2nd house sign may like to eat food from other cultures/nationalities

🌊 - Mars or Pluto in the 7th house and sometimes Lilith (h12/h13) can get into scandals for being in a relationship with some specific people/ like drama about "Omg look who's he dating."

🌊 - South Node in Libra/Capricorn can make the native interested in the history/past/ and everything that happened in the past agss

🌊 - Venus in 7th house in the solar return chart doesn't always mean that you'll end up in a relationship that year, it can also mean that you'll be more open to the social people around you

🌊 - Libra/Capricorn/Leo Rising in your solar return chart can be a big indicator of having a glowup happening in that year for you

🌊 - Moon in the 9th house natives can hate you for life if you are being strict with them, especially if you are taking their freedom sway. They are born to explore not to follow toxic orders

🌊 - Virgo Moon/Moon in the 6th house are always there for people, somehow they are the cutest when it comes to supporting because they can be so encouraging of others

I'm not sure if this is the last post for 2023 since today is the 30 December,is close to the new years and I'm so so happy about it!! I think 2023 for me definitely was a changing year with good and bad things and I hope for 2024 to be a better year!❤️🫶

Thank you so much to everyone for the support you gave me this year and for all the good vibes we shared with my posts in 2023!!❤️🫶 I know a lot of people are busy during these days as well!!❤️❤️❤️ Happy Holidays and a happy new year to everybody!! Nay 2024 bring good things for all of us!!

With all the love, Harmoonix ♥️ 2023

[unbfacts]

Human evolution tackles similar challenges in distinct ways. Early native peoples adapted to high altitudes uniquely: Andeans developed stronger hearts, while Tibetans evolved to carry oxygen in their blood more efficiently.

[elementcattos]

One of my friends made a dark matter catto a bit earlier, so I made a strange matter one

Strange matter is a bizarre hypothetical substance made up largely of strange quarks - heavier cousins of the up & down quarks that make up the nuclei of "normal" atoms. It's hypothesized to exist inside neutron stars or even (also hypothetical) strange stars, and due to its incredible stability it converts anything it interacts with into more strange matter.