#the government is here to help

[rachel-sylvan-author]

"And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic" by Randy Shilts

Thank you @dr.bookmom for the intense, enlightening read ❤️

[signipotens]

For anyone wondering what this has to do with the 14th Amendment, most famously known for its Equal Protection and Due Process clauses, the relevant part of section 4 of the amendment reads:

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, […] shall not be questioned.

It’s never been tried in court before because the debt ceiling has always been raised before it’s become a litigable issue* (even during the big controversies after the GFC), but it is widely regarded by legal experts that the plain text and original intent of the amendment would render the debt ceiling (at least in part) unconstitutional.

* In the United States, the Supreme Court isn’t allowed to issue rulings sua sponte (on its own initiative) and strike down whatever laws it wants whenever it wants, it has to wait for someone who has been injured by a law to file a lawsuit against the government.

There are some extraordinary measures that the Treasury Department can take on its own to get more money to tide things over, but at the scale that the US Federal Government works, the money from those runs out pretty quickly. Many of these measures have already been taken, and it’s that money that will run out here in the next couple weeks.

What may happen if this continues is that Biden will issue an executive order to the Treasury Department telling them to ignore the debt ceiling, using the various powers granted to the president by the Constitution to ensure that the government runs smoothly and meets its debts and obligations. Then someone will try to sue, and then the Courts will review the constitutionality of the debt ceiling.

If you or anyone you care about is relying on:

Food stamps/SNAP/EBT

SSI/SSDI/social security

a tax refund not yet received as of May 2023

a government employee salary

Medicaid

Medicare

Pell grants that have not yet been disbursed

Or anything else paid out by the US federal government—

You need to be aware of what's happening with the debt ceiling!

Because any or all of the items listed above might not be funded right away in June 2023.

The US government is increasingly looking like it will run out of money on or around June 1st, and no one has yet made the rules about which bills WILL get paid when that happens.

The usual way the gov stops this from happening is being blocked by Republicans who insist they won't let the problem be fixed until programs keeping people alive are cut. (They won't cut corporate subsidies though.)

You and people you care about could be impacted by this.

Please save back any money you can, fill your prescriptions now, and look up news about the debt ceiling.

[anjellybb]

Mood after watching trump sign anti-trans executive orders, send out endless ICE raids, get rid of the affordable health care act, and freeze financial aid ALL WITHIN A WEEK

[sforzesco]

hey! hi! the cartoonist cooperative has an e-sim drive for gaza, offering art for e-sim donations (instructions etc in the link)

[leverage-ot3]

my drafts finally ran out and I’ve been too exhausted to go through like 2k worth of drafts to tag so apologies abt break in posting

urgent question: if you have any tips about recognizing undercover cops and ICE agents please write below. I never thought my very liberal state would come to this but I live in an area with a very high level of immigrants + multiple municipalities are basically de facto sanctuary cities since they have extra protections written into local law

I work at a healthcare facility that sees high numbers of new americans (with varying ‘legal’ statuses). there are reports from individuals within the local spanish speaking whatsapp channels that ICE is stopping people on their way to our healthcare facility. I can’t disclose too much without revealing highly identifying information about who I am and where I work, but higher management is not handling this good enough. everyone in my department (social work) is outraged and will do whatever it takes to protect the people we serve regardless of management. they deny it’s happening because it wasn’t happening when they went outside to look but that doesn’t mean shit- they’re 100% making rounds and patrolling. we are likely going to start taking walks during our limited breaks around the neighborhood to keep lookout. I’d much rather have a patient do telehealth or reschedule, or have them wait in my office an extra 20 minutes instead of possibly getting stopped by undercover agents. with the recent executive orders healthcare facilities aren’t even respected as sensitive locations discouraged from being raided anymore.

so yeah. any tips on spotting any undercover cops/ICE would be swell. funnily enough I have been thinking a lot about that one thing eliot said about undercover law enforcement and shoes. I’ve also been researching that already + rights and what to tell patients + everything else I can think of BUT thought I’d float it out here as well

stay safe, everyone in the US and outside. you are cared for, loved, important. you matter and deserve to be treated with humility and respect. look after each other

[isa-isfruity]

can we collectively as a society just decide to lobotomize whoever the fuck makes and enforces country visas? I think I would like that very much

(if my local embassy is reading this, no you're not. I'm kidding, allegedly.)

[basofy]

i think you can be as critical about the venezuelan opposition and maría corina and edmundo as you want but arent venezuelans allowed to choose for themselves even if the options arent perfect? are you willing to justify electoral fraud and police brutality, class inequality, bad management of resources, lack of maintenance of the country, breach of the law, lack of investment in health services and education etc etc just because the person doing it is someone you like or because you don't like the other option? are people at fault for wanting something different?

[barksbog]

the leos are now in temporary bin prison until their new setups can be put up. it's not the ideal housing but they got all their needs met and i'll be extra careful dusting their feeders.

hopefully i can get enough money to order the new vivs soon. it's been hard to focus on work with everything going on but i'm doing my best to get through it.

[amphibianaday]

day 1246

[equalperson]

something that far too few people--including other autistics--acknowledge about higher-support autism is the defenselessness that comes with it, namely when you don't have a high-quality caregiver or support system.

so many people only talk about the impairments that come with low-support autism, the things that you can easily cope with through self-accommodation, sensory aids, and understanding; so little attention goes out to those of us who can't help ourselves, at least not enough to remain physically safe and healthy on our own.

I'm visibly dirty (dermatitis neglecta) because I have anxiety attacks when I try to task-switch and bathe. nearly a quarter of My teeth are decayed because I go months without brushing. at the time of writing, I've lost over 3% of My body weight in the past month due to inertia preventing Me from eating more than once a day.

I can't simply use a schedule or set alarms, because I end up not acknowledging either of them (except to turn the latter off). the "simple fixes" that low-support autistics recommend offer little-to-no improvement for Me.

that's ultimately the difference between low-support autism and medium/high-support autism: someone with LSN can accommodate themself enough to stay afloat, whereas someone with MSN/HSN literally needs another person to do some or all things for them.

because of this, people whose caregivers believe they don't need assistance (My situation), believe their autism can be disciplined away, are too careless or busy to help them, and those who don't have and can't easily access a caregiver at all are left in a totally isolated position.

at best, either our caregivers' attitudes or our autism miraculously improve and we're able to get our needs met. at worst, we continuously suffer until we experience a medical crisis from the neglect or seriously injure (if not kill) ourselves for the same reason.

this isn't to say that autism--even higher-support autism--is all horrible, but I really do wish that more autistic advocacy focused on relieving this helplessness, rather than just the self-advocacy of low-support individuals.

[aressida]

[hauntingblue]

The king and queen are visiting Paiporta and they receive them with mud xd two men have spoken to the king and told him to do something, but we all know that he is going to go to his palace and cross his arms because It's literally the only thing he can do. Is this what had to happen for people to realize that asking the king for help is nonsense? He has no power, he is only there to parade around. They have kicked out volunteers from the site to let the king and his escorts (police and military) pass, which is the first time they have touched that ground and they are going to do NOTHING. The president is doing the same. The president of Valencia is doing the same.

[cr0mble]

Saw this coaster in a shop and my mind went straight to government worker Grian.

[al-mayriti]

what's happening in valència is terrorific. I hope you are all safe

[thedreadvampy]

unfortunately the world is too fucking messed up so I am currently unable to give a shit about how messed up everything is because it's all too big and if I get upset about any of it my entire ability to be a person will come crashing in

normal service will resume as soon as possible

[the-offical-raishas-circus]

I found this on Pinterest. What the hell.