A lovely day here, got a swim in, then headed off to an urgent care clinic because I have been having this nagging ear issue where it isn’t painful but itchy and just felt “sensitive” so I started using those swimmers ears drops and things just got progressively worse so I decided to go get it checked out. I spent entirely too much damned time online and on the phone the last 36 hours with my health insurance provider to try to figure out where the hell I could go that I just went to one of those pay as you go clinics. It was La Clinica Familia and it was weird having all the signs be in spanish but the staff was great and fast, I paid cash, saw a doctor who somehow got my medical history from my provider here and got diagnosed with really bad swimmer’s ear and was given some special drops that cost 20 bucks at walgreens. It was the most normal doctor’s interaction I have had in decades. I didn’t have to schedule something in two days to see a doctor, I just walked in, said “this ear sucks,” gave them some money, left with a paper prescription and receipt. I wasn’t even trusting walgreens with their digital fuckery and three day waits. I walked right up to the counter and five minutes later, had it. Why is it not always like this. Also all the nurses were latina and adorable.
Let’s check in on the headlines:
Several of the FBI agents and personnel fired last week for their work on Special Prosecutor Jack Smith’s investigation into President Trump’s retention of documents at Mar-a-Lago were members of a counterintelligence squad that focused on media leaks, global espionage, and threats that included those involving the Iranian regime, several sources familiar with the dismissals told the Sun.
The ouster of at least a dozen staffers from a counterintelligence unit, known as CI-12, which operates out of the Washington Field Office, was ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel, according to four former officials familiar with the dismissals. The dismissals came just days before the start of Operation Epic Fury and, separately, a deadly mass shooting at a bar in Austin, Texas, by a man reportedly wearing a sweatshirt that said, “Property of Allah,” beneath which was a T-shirt that was “emblazoned with a design similar to the Iranian flag,” CBS News reported Monday.
CI-12 focuses on media leaks, global espionage, and international threats against America emanating from countries such as Cuba and Iran, former FBI officials tell the Sun. More broadly, CI squads are the lead domestic teams for investigating insider threats and foreign intelligence activity on American soil.
That’s ok, I am sure it will not be a real problem, after all, we can hang our faith on the remaining counterterrorism folks:
Moving right along
This is disgusting:
After graduating college, he persuaded friends and family to lend him $12,500 in seed money for what became Ameritrade, the investing firm that would go on to disrupt the Wall Street trading establishment and put Mr. Ricketts on a path to riches. By 2015, his wealth had grown to $1 billion, and even that stunning figure now feels like a quaint memory, as the powerful elixir of rising stocks and falling taxes that has minted new billionaires across the country has catapulted Mr. Ricketts’s personal net worth to $8 billion.
Along the way, Mr. Ricketts found new community in and around Jackson, Wyo., a playground for the rich. For some things, he has been celebrated: He has donated to research on conservation of red squirrels and American beavers. He contributed $1 million to building a hospital. He has taken pride in building a herd of white bison.
But lately some of his neighbors have come up against the raw power of Mr. Ricketts’s financial muscle. Many of them fought against a plan he advanced a few years ago to turn his ranch into a resort for wealthy tourists, proposing to bypass regulations that limit construction during the brutal winter months to protect local wildlife.
This gilded age will end like they all do, but you really need to do yourself a favor and read the entire thing. It’s a long read for today’s age but worth it.
I still have no idea what is going on really in Iran or what the plan is and I keep typing Iraq because of muscle memory and I am so sick of this shit. That’s my Iran update.
Like I said, I am under the weather and having some anxiety, so I will talk to you all later.
different-church-lady
I’M DRUNK AND I AM PROBABLY GOING TO BE SAYING THINGS!!!!
different-church-lady
I DON’T EVEN KNOW ENOUGH PEOPLE WHO COULD LOAN ME 12 POINT 5 K!!!
VFX Lurker
Feel better soon, John.
WaterGirl
@different-church-lady: Then I guess you don’t deserve to be a billionaire! :-)
different-church-lady
That’s how it used to be. I don’t know exactly when it changed, but I know it changed and I know it’s just one of the most destructive things our society ever did to itself.
grumbles
Wasn’t that the plot of Yellowstone?
VFX Lurker
It was called “indemnity insurance,” and it required the patient to pay out-of-pocket for any care. The insurer would then reimburse the patient. I think pet insurance works like that today.
I suspect human indemnity insurance fell out of favor as medical costs skyrocketed. Few patients today can pay out-of-pocket for $1.5 million in Stage IV breast cancer treatment, or $800,000 for a heart attack.
Eolirin
I’m so tired.
dmsilev
@grumbles: Could also be a precursor to a remake of The Most Dangerous Game.
Old Dan and Little Ann
That guy is worth 8 billion dollars and gave 1 million to help build a hospital? The Google machine tells me that’s 0.0125%.
WaterGirl
@Eolirin: I’m sorry.
WaterGirl
@Old Dan and Little Ann: Pocket change!
DK
@different-church-lady: It changed with the creation of HMOs in the 80s. Medical costs went up on paper so the insurance companies could say they were saving you money.
different-church-lady
@VFX Lurker: I cam up with an analogy a few year ago.
You have car insurance. You have car insurance in case you screw up badly and create a lot of damage to someone else’s car or your own car.
Now imagine if you needed to go through the car insurance system just to change the oil or get a belt replaced or have a ding in the fender filled.
That’s health insurance.
How the hell we did this to ourselves I have no idea.
different-church-lady
@Eolirin:
I’d nominate that but I’m too tired.
Eolirin
@WaterGirl: Hey, it’s okay, it’s as much in response to the content of the post as anything. Like, these lunatics are exhausting. I’m not even capable of getting mad at them anymore.
Marc
I had a day, too. I was coming back on the bus from physical therapy, a dude half my age in front of me slapped the phone out of a Latino’s guys hands who had accidentally stepped on the his foot when the crowded bus lurched, then verbally abused him for several minutes. So, I did a stupid old man trick and told him to STFU. Which eventually led to me getting punched in the mouth. Result swollen lip, no real damage, he was clearly holding back. Not a bright thing to be doing at my age. What amused me was no one else said a word about anything (the bus driver did call it in as it happened) until the guy got off the bus (I kicked him on the way out in a final stupid move), then a whole bunch of them were like sorry that happened OG, you OK?
Eolirin
@Marc: I am so sorry that happened to you. I’m glad you’re okay. But also it was really good of you to stand up for that guy.
piratedan
if Dems ever return to the WH, I do hope that one thing that will be learned is that the press that is controlled by those that have been supported by Fascists no longer need to be catered to. No more good faith for those entities and they can simply fuck off into oblivion. No press passes, no interviews, nothing. They can read and report on the press releases with their typical slants and sit and talk to the fascists every fucking day.
different-church-lady
@Marc: Oh lord, I don’t think that would have ended as calmly as you described had it happened to me.
coin operated
@DK: Ding, ding, ding.
Twas a nurse in the early 90s, when HMOs were really taking off. It’s one of the reasons I left the nursing field…Staffing got fed into algorithms regardless of actual patient care/load. It has only gotten worse…HMOs will squeeze a penny until Lincoln is screaming his head off before they will approve a procedure.
Edited…context
Eolirin
@piratedan: I want the lesson to be large scale arrests of bad actors are necessary. I want Jack Smith to be the next AG and I want his mandate to be going after everyone.
schrodingers_cat
OT: Art supply update. I bought 3 canvases for $3 8×9 inches from Aldi. They are primed and ready to go! I am wondering what I should paint.
Martin
@coin operated: I dunno, Kaiser doesn’t seem to do that. So maybe not all HMOs.
Geminid
@Marc: I’m sorry to hear that; I hope your neck is okay.
Scout211
@Marc: Oh no. I’m so sorry. It’s so hard in those situations to know what to do. You don’t want to do nothing, but sometimes doing something is not good either. FWIW, I respect your decision to call the guy out. I’m sorry he hit you, though.
Scout211
Just to cheer you up, here’s an interesting story about Governor Florida Man and how he so royally f*cked up the whole Alligator Alcatraz construction and management, that DHS will likely not pay back the $608 million that he spent getting around environmental laws, destroying the environment, giving cronies and donors no-bid contracts and using Florida taxpayers money.
The secret deals came out as environmental groups are suing DeSantis. The Feds supposedly told DeSantis that Florida would be paid back by a federal grant but it looks like that grant has now disappeared, for reasons.
Pennsylvanian
@different-church-lady: You can’t possibly be more tired than my outrage fatigue.
different-church-lady
@Pennsylvanian: I’m too tired to compete about it.
HeleninEire
Day 1 of week 2. I woke up this morning and I had no clue what day it was. Yay? Yes. YAY.
Sister Golden Bear
@Marc: Yikes. Hope you’re OK.
different-church-lady
@HeleninEire: Days of the week are overrated.
HeleninEire
@different-church-lady: I AGREE.
p.a.
@HeleninEire: I’ve had to buy day and date wristwatches since retirement.
different-church-lady
RE: comment #1:
If Trump dies before someone kicks him directly in the nuts then life will have been far too kind to him.
Redshift
No one does, least of all anyone who says they do.
RevRick
@Marc: My day was not nearly as exciting. First, I had my six-month cancer screening at the dermatologist. After that I went to the poorest school in the Lehigh Valley in terms of income and read two books to a class of fifth graders for Read Across America: Martin’s Big Words and Mrs. Spitzer’s Garden. They gave me a round of applause after I was done! Came home, had lunch, and then had an hour Zoom meeting as part of the Finance and Facilities Committee for the Pennsylvania Council of Churches. We have a 65-year-old building in desperate need of repair, but its rental income has basically subsidized our staff salaries. Until now. If it was up to me, I’d offer the building and property for sale to the hospital a block away for their expansion.
HeleninEire
@p.a.: I’m still waking up at 6am, but I’m sure that will change.
different-church-lady
@HeleninEire: Waking up before noon is hell on earth, and I’ll brook no argument.
Sister Golden Bear
Just another day of MAGA efforts to eradicate us trans people.
Supreme Court blocks law against schools outing transgender students to their parents in California
If a trans kid isn’t out to their parents, it’s because they don’t feel safe to tell them. This will harm innocent kids.
Worth noting that a much higher percentage of kids living in the streets are LGBTQ+ kids, who were either kicked out of their homes by their parents, or who had to flee their homes to due violence and abuse.
I’m tired boss, so tired.
Jackie
@Scout211: I’m so happy that soon he’ll be in my rear view mirror… now to help defeat Byron Donalds from becoming the next FL gov!
Jay
@Marc:
Sorry that happened to you and the other guy.
I am lucky, my bus and Skytrain commutes, pair with The Trades commutes.
While I want to be the first person who stands up, I am quite often “late to the party”.
The Trades like a quiet, peaceful commute, even if that means beating the crap out of some asshole and tossing them off the bus while it is still moving.
HeleninEire
@different-church-lady: Yeah. I am sure once I’m acclimated to this I’ll go to sleep around 4am and sleep until noon. Can’t wait for that to kick in.
Scout211
I hope it went well. I had my first Mohs surgery in December. On my freaking nose. When I removed the dressing, I counted at least 12 stitches.
Marc
@RevRick: I’d much rather have more days like yours. Once I’m through this round of PT, I can hopefully go back to finding some sort of useful volunteer position.
wjca
Assumes facts very much not in evidence. These guys couldn’t come up with a plan to hose down the driveway.** Let alone something more complex.
EDT @Redshift: got there first.
** And even then they would botch the execution.
wjca
News flash, DeSantis: people who make the mistake of doing business with Trump, specifically business which involves him paying later, always get stiffed. Always.
Pennsylvanian
@different-church-lady: Thankfully not a competition.
The protester I cannot get out of my mind is the lady of mature years with the sign, “I can’t believe I still have to protest this fucking shit.”
I listened to the Pod bros today and it was another Graham Platner interview. Maybe 2/3-3/4 of the way in he was talking about how people want to DO SOMETHING. It was encouraging.
Marc
A number of our kid’s friends are trans, I’ve heard them describe what they’re up against at their jobs (some at government labs). The whole thing is so depressing and so stupid.
Jackie
Who’s the Emcee comedian this year? Or is there going to be one?
Scout211
The quagmire is now official.
Scout211
White House Correspondents’ Dinner taps mentalist Oz Pearlman as host
Uh, who?
Eunicecycle
@HeleninEire: Happens all the time to us retirees! One time I was so upset I had forgotten an appointment and my husband reminded me it was only Sunday.
HeleninEire
@Eunicecycle: Looking forward to forgetting appointments.
Jackie
@Scout211: What the hell is a “mentalist?” That sounds like a hard NOPE for me!
eta I’ll rewatch the Correspondent’s Dinner watching Obama take Trump down, instead!😁
Pete Downunder
@Jackie: a con artist who pretends to read minds. Some are legitimate entertainers but many are just grifters.
wjca
So, a match made in heaven then.
Seriously, what other kind of person would take the gig in a Trump administration?
RevRick
@Scout211: I’ve had three basal cell carcinomas removed from my back and chest and one squamous cell carcinoma from my right thumb. The first was discovered when I first went to a plastic surgeon five years ago to have an annoying cyst removed from the back of my neck, and the surgeon noticed a suspicious spot on my back.
Later this week, I start therapy for a ruptured ligament in my right foot.
I believe that it was the French philosopher Montaigne who observed that life starts throwing diminishments at us as we age to prepare us for the final one.
RevRick
@Marc: Volunteering is good for the body and soul.
RevRick
@Eunicecycle: I recently thought I forgot about an ophthalmologist appointment last month. It turns out it’s next week.
KSinMA
@HeleninEire: Yay!!!
Andrya
@Martin: Kaiser is non-profit- that’s the difference.
I have Kaiser too and they have always treated me well.
Melancholy Jaques
@Old Dan and Little Ann:
For an American with the median net worth of $193,000, that would be $24.13
frosty
@HeleninEire: When I was 25 I took my savings from getting paid as an engineer and living like a college student and “retired” for 18 months. It turned out my natural hours were lights out at 2:00 AM and waking up at 10:20. Plus or minus 5 minutes. Weird.
Enjoy doing what you want when you want!
Melancholy Jaques
Do Americans approve of that asshole’s Iran adventure?
Before you click this link to see, guess what percentage says yes. Come on, guess..
Mathguy
The whole Ricketts family is awful. Nebraska has been stuck with his failson as governor and senator for the past 10 years. Petey was so crappy that it took him 3 tries to be elected governor , wining the last time by clearing the field using his family’s money. Just like so many other billionaire families, they’re a carbuncle on the ass of America.
rikyrah
@Eolirin:
I feel you😔
rikyrah
@schrodingers_cat:
Something beautiful. Have you ever painted The Northern Lights
rikyrah
@Marc:
You are good people. Get well🙏🏽
Stacib
@Old Dan and Little Ann: The Ricketts are also the owners of the Chicago Cubs, and now most of Wrigleyville. My thought was the same as yours – he has all that money, gave a funky million dollars, and he gets applauded.
rikyrah
@Scout211:
Half of it was grift..I am sure of it.
rikyrah
@HeleninEire:
Go Helen👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
rikyrah
@Sister Golden Bear:
The evil never stops with these muthaphuckas😠
rikyrah
@Mathguy:
Isn’t Nebraska on the verge of bankruptcy?
Gloria DryGarden
@frosty: this is so brilliant that you did this. There are many adventures, activities and bucket list endeavors that are better done in one’s 20s or thirties.
I would love to hear about your sabbatical, and what you did. It could be a memoirs book, no?
I have regrets about a few things I longed to do. I didn’t have the skill set to negotiate with family and better resourced adults, to make them happen when it would have counted. I would have liked to spend a summer or longer taking master classes at Martha graham, or Alvin Ailey’s dance studios. Regardless of not having the right stuff to make it professionally, I was good enough, and I’d have loved it. I wish I’d backpacked more. So I love that you arranged things for yourself. I dream of a better world, where younger adults are supported to chase their dreams that require young physical prowess, while they can, or to chase their dreams that require a fresh young mind still in its idealism phase.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
Another war to satiate the ego of a rich man’s son. I feel my own humanity slipping away, because I find myself wishing upon the sadists in power the worst experiences of my adult life, and I have to tell myself that it’s no justification that what I’m wishing on them is something I’ve suffered through myself.
Still and all, in my darkest thoughts, I hope someday every one of those bastards wakes up some morning with a breathing tube down their throat and their arms strapped to the sides of their hospital bed, unable to communicate beyond blinking eyes and head-shakes.
I feel … degraded that I have been reduced to this.
sab
@p.a.: They make clocks that tell you what day it is.
I use my little pill case to do that.
Paul in KY
@Redshift: Get ‘Epstein’ off front pages. That is all.
Ruckus
@different-church-lady:
Very much agree with you!
Ruckus
@Eunicecycle:
I still know what day it is – it’s right at the top of my phone when I check it for the time – and day. Or when I look at my computer, right at the top right on the screen, day, date and time.
Been retired for a bit and it seems to me to be a not all that bad situation.