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Technically true, but collectively nonsense

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Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Consistently wrong since 2002

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You are here: Home / Archives for Balloon Juice / Bleg

Bleg

Friends In Weird Places – Bleg

by ruemara|  February 27, 20239:49 pm| 15 Comments

This post is in: Bleg, Celebrating Jackals, Open Threads

Afternoon or evenin’, Jackals. ‘Tis I, your erstwhile, post starting and not finishing, friendly neighborhood sometimeish front pager. It’s a busy life in chez Rue and I have a lot to catch y’all up on. It’s been a lot. However, tonight’s post is not about me, it’s about Friend of the Blog and Jackal, Larime. In case you don’t know, Larime & Sylv have been going through a tough time from late last year to now. The great news is two-fold. Sylv is out the hospital after her surgery and recuperating back at home. And, Larime wrote this kick-ass comic book – Sex on Wheels. But, enough from me, let’s let Larime speak in his own words. Donations are truly needed and if you have art needs, please, order a commission. Buy a book. Below are the amazing cast portraits Larime did for my podcast audiodrama, Fast Track To 40. Help an artist out, eh?

Some of you may remember me from pet portraits I did for John over the years – I’m disabled and draw with my mouth. Sylv, my spouse of 25 years, is also disabled. We’ve had our rough patches and successes over the years, but this year has started out as the hardest, yet.

On January 12th Sylv went into the ER with what we thought was pneumonia from COVID. We’d both been sick right after Christmas, I got better, they did not. Scans showed over a liter of fluid in one lung, and about a third of that in the other. They were admitted, and a couple days later had the worse lung drained. There were enzymes in their blood tests that gave the doctors concerns about heart issues, and after a series of tests, they decided to do a cath (run a tiny camera up into the heart via the thigh).
Sylv has bad genes on both sides of the family, and the doctors said their heart was the weakest and worst they’d ever seen in someone their age. A bypass was ruled out because the veins and arteries were all too small and fragile for harvesting, so they decided to do 5 stents between two arteries. When working on the second artery, Sylv coded. Twice. CPR was successful both times, and the procedure finished.
After a week in the cardiac ICU, then another in a rehab wing, they finally discharged Sylv a month after they first went in. They got a nifty DVT (deep vein thrombosis) in the right thigh as a parting gift, and now we have about $1k in monthly prescriptions between crazy-expensive blood thinners, blood pressure meds, cholesterol meds, and a number of other things they’ll be on for life to keep from having any future heart attacks. They are uninsured (not by choice, it’s a looooong story) and I haven’t even looked at the hospital bills yet. We’re low-income disabled people. You can’t get blood from a stone.
During all of this, I was completely on my own for a month except for two visits a day from a friend I’m paying as my aid for an hour each visit. I had to eat delivery, order groceries delivery, go out to get drinks after my initial drinks were gone, and could only use the restroom twice a day. I survived it, it was nothing compared to what Sylv was dealing with.
Now we’re just trying to recover and rebuild. Sylv isn’t able to help me load up and unload all my gear I need to go draw caricatures on the Strip, my normal gig I support us with. We burned through everything we had getting to this point, and without regular work, we’re in a bad spot. Anything and everything is appreciated.
If you’d like art, you can check out my online shop here: https://store.sendowl.com/s/5fa9ad67-17ae-4eaf-a85f-985227fb3f2a
If you just want to help, my PayPal and Zelle are xlarimex (at) gmail (dot) com. My Cash App is $LarimeTaylor. I don’t have Venmo, and Go Fund Me takes several days to clear, and I have rent and bills due in three days and it might not clear fast enough.
Thank you all, and we’re so sorry we have to ask, but your help is hugely appreciated.
And there you have it. If you can do a little mitzvah, much appreciated. We’re a weird bunch but a good bunch. Open thread.
Friends In Weird Places - Bleg
HLM, BLF, Richard
Friends In Weird Places - Bleg 1
Clarity, Janet, Pennny
Friends In Weird Places - Bleg 2
Aaron, Jason, Dan

Friends In Weird Places – BlegPost + Comments (15)

Readers, Commenters, Lurkers In DC: Norm Ornstein’s Dog Has Escaped In the Dupont Circle/Kalorama Area, Please Keep Eyes Out!!!!!

by Adam L Silverman|  April 20, 202212:28 pm| 29 Comments

This post is in: Bleg, Dog Blogging, Open Threads, Pet Blogging, Pet Rescue, Silverman on Security

Some of you know that Norm Ornstein is a senior mentor and friend. He just tweeted out that his dog Henry escaped at 18th and Church in the Dupont Circle in Kalorama area of DC. SO KEEP EYES OUT FOR HIM!!!!!

If you are in the Dupont Circle in Kalorama area, our dog Henry escaped at 18th and Church. Please let me know if you see him pic.twitter.com/wyQ20XKcqc

— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) April 20, 2022

Update!!!

We have not found Henry yet, He was in a van on his way to being boarded for a couple of days when he jumped out at 18th and Church sts. Sighted by a work crew at Connecticut and Q over 30 minutes ago, no sightings since. Please keep a lookout!

— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) April 20, 2022

If you see this good boy, you know what to do!!!!

Thanks in advance.

Open thread!

Readers, Commenters, Lurkers In DC: Norm Ornstein’s Dog Has Escaped In the Dupont Circle/Kalorama Area, Please Keep Eyes Out!!!!!Post + Comments (29)

Pet Rescue Bleg in Texas! Shaun & Tado Need Our Help!!!!

by Adam L Silverman|  February 15, 20224:28 pm| 76 Comments

This post is in: Bleg, Dog Blogging, Open Threads, Pet Blogging, Pet Rescue

Last night one of our long time lurkers using the nym TexasBoyShaun made a request for our help for his dog Tado.

Hi everyone. Long-time lurker but I rarely post. I have a special request because I’m in a bad spot right now and desperately need help.

My name is Shaun and I currently live near Houston. I was recently diagnosed with autism and bipolar II disorder. I’m also going through severe anxiety and depression related in part to PTSD and adverse childhood experiences. I haven’t been able to work since the beginning of November. I’m now facing a 30-day eviction. I’ve had to accept a close friend’s offer to live with them in New Jersey until I am on my feet again.

I have a miniature American Eskimo named Tado (short for Potado) that’s about 13 years old. He’s in good health except for an inoperable hernia in his lower intestine (I keep him on a higher-fiber diet and that keeps things under control.) He’s very well-behaved and really energetic. He’s an excellent family dog and loves kids- before I got sick I babysat my young nieces and he was so gentle with them. He weighs 19 pounds. My heart is broken because I can’t take him with me (I also have a 16yo dachshund who’s getting certified as my psychiatric support animal.) My mental health has deteriorated to the point where Tado’s energy actually makes my anxiety even worse. Right now I live in a small apartment and Tado really needs a yard to play in.

I have talked to my family and friends here, and no one is able to take him in. I’m so worried about him. Could you please possibly help me find a good place for him?

Thanks so much for listening. Those of you who are animal lovers know how much I don’t want to rehome him.

So if you are in the Houston area or in Texas or even close to Texas and you can help out, please leave a note in the comments or shoot me an email and I’ll connect you with Shaun.

Tado also earned an A+ in deportment!!!!

Look at that face!!!

You definitely want to help out that face!!!!!

Schnoozle time!

Anything any of you might be able to do to help, please let us know in the comments so we can get Tado’s situation resolved and reduce some of Shaun’s stress as soon as possible.

THANKS!!!!

Open thread!

Pet Rescue Bleg in Texas! Shaun & Tado Need Our Help!!!!Post + Comments (76)

Let’s do the math — 20 years and a day of Balloon-Juice

by David Anderson|  January 3, 20222:47 pm| 61 Comments

This post is in: Anderson On Health Insurance, Anniversary Week, Balloon Juice, Claire Updates

Wow, I can not believe Balloon-Juice is over twenty years old.

I was aware of this chunk of the internet during the run-up to the Iraq War. When Watergirl reminded me that the big 2-0 was happening a few weeks ago, I searched the comments and the archives for my first interaction here at the full service cats, politics, rage, laughter, humor, health insurance, geo-political analysis and cooking blog. I think I found my first comment from November 2003 trash talking the Steelers. My next comment was 2006 and then I started to comment here rather regularly after Tim F. highlighted a few things that I had written at other places under names other than Richard Mayhew.

I went down the rabbit hole. And my comments as part of the Jackalariat were under the theme of “let’s do the math to figure out if the desired end state is readily achievable….” And sometimes it was, and often I was a wet blanket on hopes and dreams. I stuck around and kept on pointing out that healthcare reform would be determined by 218-51/60-1-5 so that while Lieberman was a douchebag, the marginal vote in the Senate was either a douchebag or someone representing a state/district that went landslide for McCain and that significantly constrained the possibility space.  Tim and I went to a couple of Steelers games and we kept in contact even as I was switching careers from program evaluation to health insurance.  I kept on reading Balloon-Juice through the first decade until the summer of 2013 where the ACA had been passed and everyone in comments was going “WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN TO ME???”

And that is an awesome question.  It was a question that I could answer.  So I reached out to Tim, and he reached out to John.  Three days later, I started to write here and I never stopped.

As I have said before, I really thought I would have been done by December 2013.  That was a minor underestimate a million words later.

This place is just fundamentally weird.  I get to geek out on something that fascinates me.  All the other front pagers geek out on things that fascinate them.  And then the comment section in almost every post does its own thing within thirty posts.  And somehow this all works in a community.

And this geeking out has led to another career change to academia and significant policy impact.  The past year, my research has led to West Virginia to change how they instruct insurers to price for the Cost-Sharing Reduction (CSR) benefits so that premiums are much cheaper for most buyers now. California has passed a significant state wrap-around subsidy with details that are directly lifted from a working paper that my co-authors and I are trying to get published at this moment.  The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services is responding to significant chunks of my research in their 2023 rulebook for the ACA marketplaces.  The Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation at the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) recently cited a Balloon-Juice post and made “silver spamming” a term used in a federal document.  I can’t even imagine that being in my possibility space from 2013 when I started to write here.

And that is not the coolest part of writing here.  Instead it has been the e-mails with all of the Jackals here as people are trying to figure out the almost impossible to navigate US health finance system. We’ll mutually bang our heads into the wall and then figure out a pathway forward. I know that these conversations have led to people savings tens of thousands of dollars, I know that these conversations have allowed people to retire safely.  I know that these conversations have allowed people to get the care that they need.  I know that we help each other out.  That is the most amazing part of the Balloon-Juice community.  We help each other out.

That still blows my mind. I am still amazed that you all came through to help Claire and her family out with over $25,000 in under a day.  As a quick update, she is doing great.  We saw her and the in-laws over the Christmas holiday and the only thing that she needs to be aware of is that shorts are not always indicated for late December.  Other than that she is a happy, healthy kid who has an interesting choice in hair styles and a need to perform on stage.

I’ve rambled enough but given that this is Balloon Juice, we’re always on topic even if we’re off-topic.

 

 

Let’s do the math — 20 years and a day of Balloon-JuicePost + Comments (61)

Claire update

by David Anderson|  July 6, 20218:28 am| 48 Comments

This post is in: Claire Updates

Good morning —

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend.  We drove up to New Jersey to visit my sister-in-law and her family.  We went to the lake, the kids paddle boarded and I took the youngest two out kayaking for a couple of hours on Sunday and then we watched fireworks.

The conclave of cousins was held in the cardboard box fort which has been the host of all prior conclaves.  The final statement from the conclave of cousins was that ice cream was urgently needed.  We complied.

 

Claire update

The big news was that there was no big news. Claire is doing well. She is getting a monthly blood test. So far, it is detecting nothing. Her cancer is currently in remission and although it has a fairly high relapse rate, each month with a negative test increases the probability that she’ll not relapse. Her family is doing well enough. You Jackals, along with others, helped make sure that they did not experience the financial toxicity that is associated with cancer treatment. Y’all gave them the ability to be with their daughter without worrying about money (too much at least) and for that, I am forever grateful.

Claire still needs to figure out what she wants her next hair style to be, and then she is worried about going back to fifth grade after not seeing her classmates for a year and a half, but those are mostly normal worries of a soon to be fifth grader.

Claire updatePost + Comments (48)

New Orleans Based Readers & Commenters: BOLO Regarding a Missing Autistic Man In New Orleans!!!!!!

by Adam L Silverman|  June 28, 20214:08 pm| 17 Comments

This post is in: Bleg, Open Threads

I was killing time and reading Norm Ornstein’s twitter feed when I came across this tweet he’d retweeted:

Please share if you can. This is my cousin who has been missing since yesterday in New Orleans, LA. Jesse has severe autism and we are afraid he wouldn’t be able to tell anyone his name even if they did find him. pic.twitter.com/rH1zn6taLl

— Doc (@witticus10) June 28, 2021

New Orleans Based Readers & Commenters: BOLO!!!!!! 1

New Orleans Based Readers & Commenters: BOLO!!!!!!

My cousin Jesse is still missing in New Orleans. It has been over 48 hours since he was last seen in the French Quarter. Jesse has severe autism and may not be able to communicate if he is frightened. #FindJesse #NOLA #MissingPerson #Autism #AutismAwareness https://t.co/rtOcgeFyQt

— Doc (@witticus10) June 28, 2021

Reporting from WDSU in New Orleans:

NEW ORLEANS —

The New Orleans Police Department needs the public’s help in locating a man reported missing from the French Quarter.

The report says 34-year-old Jessie Lewis was last seen around noon Friday in the 1000 block of Decatur Street.

He was last seen wearing the pictured clothing.

Anyone with information on Lewis’ whereabouts can contact the NOPD at 504-658-6080.

Any of you who live in New Orleans, who have friends and/or family in New Orleans, please amplify this on your social media feeds if you can!

Thanks!

Open thread!

New Orleans Based Readers & Commenters: BOLO Regarding a Missing Autistic Man In New Orleans!!!!!!Post + Comments (17)

Claire is home

by David Anderson|  February 12, 20218:14 am| 66 Comments

This post is in: Claire Updates, Fuck Cancer

My niece Claire was released from the hospital for the last time for this round of treatment earlier this week. She is at home.  She is with her parents and her little sister and her grandma in a house that is mostly snowed in and overloaded with toys and books and presents.  She is doing pretty well right now considering that she just finished up her 5th round of chemo.  Her numbers are good to very good.

Her parents finished cleaning out the apartment on Wednesday and handed back the keys to the landlord a day early.  They no longer have a place in Philly.

The Balloon-Juice Jackal Crash Pad was heavily used and greatly appreciated.  It was a spot where Megan and Travis could sleep without listening to beeps.  It was a spot where they could breathe.  It was a spot where Megan and Travis could have their younger daughter come down and visit to see mom and her big sister.  It was a refuge.  Thank you!

Right now, the plan is fairly straightforward.  Claire resumes normal on-line learning on Monday. She can probably win the first argument on where the family should order take-out once her appetite fully comes back and her stomach settles.  She can play in the snow/ice/sleet that is supposed to be hitting her house today.

She will have monthly lab work.  If the results are not scary, that is all she needs for several months and then she’ll get a check-in with her oncology team. If the results are scary, something happens and we don’t know what that is.

Claire is homePost + Comments (66)

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