Author: kirkwallhellmouth

If you can’t afford an iPad, you don’t deserve proper medical care.

Rick Santorum, basically (via girl-detective)

I’ve read this like ten times today from different sources and it still baffles me that this man is being allowed to run for the highest office in our country and actually has a chance—

image

(via goddessofcheese)

Dear Rick Santorum:

A couple of things. First, an iPad currently costs about $500 bucks. Second, A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL NOT BUY ONE FOR THAT VERY REASON, and those people would certainly be less inclined to buy one if it actually did cost $900 (I think you’re thinking of a Mac laptop…which is actually more in the $1000+ area).

Most importantly…you just basically said that pharmaceutical companies shouldn’t even bother trying to look like they give a shit about the actual well-being of the people who take the medications they make and market.

I mean, by your logic, it would be totally okay if some decided that, “Hey, diabetics need insulin, right? And there’s, like, millions of ‘em, right? How about we charge ’em $900 bucks a for a vial of insulin? They’ll totally pay it, since they need that shit to live.”

A vial of short-acting insulin lasts me about a month. I couldn’t not make ends meet if I was attempting to spend $900 a month just on one medication. A lot of people with diabeties would be hard-pressed to find a job where they could budget that kind of cash for one vial of insulin; a lot of diabetes use both a short-acting and a long-acting insulin, so that would be, to continue with Santorum’s example, $1800 a month just for medication. That’s not counting food, that’s not counting gas prices, that’s not counting having to support other family members who may also have medical issues. If you have a minimum wage job, working 8 hour days, you wouldn’t make that much in a month unless you worked 7 days a week and managed to get overtime. And then you would have no money for anything else. 12 hour days, you might be able to manage, depending on how much comes out of your pay.

But really…any way you slice this, it makes Rick Santorum an asshole for thinking this, let alone saying it out loud.

A group of angry moms are bitching because JCPenny has hired Ellen Degeneres to be their new spokesperson.

retailavenger85:

missatralissa:

JC Penney Offends Traditional Families Again

Recently JC Penney announced that comedian Ellen Degeneres will be the company’s new spokesperson. Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families. More sales will be lost than gained unless they replace their spokesperson quickly. Unless JC Penney decides to be neutral in the culture war then their brand transformation will be unsuccessful.

Their marketing strategy is to help families shop and receive a good value for their money. Degeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store. The majority of JC Penney shoppers will be offended and choose to no longer shop there. The small percentage of customers they are attempting to satisfy will not offset their loss in sales.

JC Penney has made a poor decision and must correct their mistake fast to retain loyal customers and not turn away potential new, conservative shoppers with the company’s new vision.

“Importantly, we share the same fundamental values as Ellen,” said Michael Francis, president of J.C. Penney Company in a press statement. “At JC Penney, we couldn’t think of a better partner to help us put the fun back into the retail experience. Moving forward, we’ll be focused on being in sync with the rhythm of our customers’ lives and operating in a ‘Fair and Square’ manner that is rooted in integrity, simplicity and respect. We’re thrilled that she’s joining our team to help convey the exciting transformation under way.”

“They have an incredible vision for the future and are completely re-inventing themselves to become America’s favorite store,” said DeGeneres in a press statement.

By jumping on the pro-gay bandwagon, JC Penney is attempting to gain a new target market and in the process will lose customers with traditional values that have been faithful to them over all these years.


So, what have I learned from all this? 

I will now shop at JC Penny. A LOT. 

Its fucking Ellen. She is like the most non offensive person on the planet. How can you hate her? Jesus H. Christ. Well, time to shop at Pennys. 

Penny’s is basically the ONLY department store at which I can find clothes that I think look awesome which also do not cost an arm and a leg and which generally have my size in stock.

Haters to the left, more clothes for me.

A group of angry moms are bitching because JCPenny has hired Ellen Degeneres to be their new spokesperson.

On new ME3 trailery stuff.

There’s only one rumoured new potential squadmate/love interest I’m really curious to see. But I don’t know that I expect to see this character anywhere until the game is actually out, since ::SPOILER::

she’s supposedly only a romance option for femShep. This is relevant to my has-romanced-no-one-because-none-of-the-ladies-she’s-interested-in-have-been-in-game-options!femShep’s interests in case they don’t actually allow for a femShep/Ashley romance. Which I’m really hoping for.

The outfit progression of my now level 50 Sith Juggernaut, Vraga. SWTOR is the ONLY MMO where I have ever reached a level-cap with a character. And I did that in a little over a month. Also, most (not all; the biker-vest looking thing at least showed of Vraga’s amazing arms) of the armor is not nearly as failtastic on women as the armor in, say, WoW.

There are people who complain that SWTOR sucks or is not really an MMO because of the focus on story-immersion, especially in the class specific quests. For me, it’s the best MMO I’ve ever played, largely because I’m mainly a solo player. The game does not make me feel like I have to group to get the most out of it. I’m a casual gamer–I game in stretches. Does it still have glitches and hiccups and stuff that needs work? Yeah. But it’s only been out a month. And for that, I think it’s pretty amazing.

Every person in this chamber can point to a teacher who changed the trajectory of their lives. Most teachers work tirelessly, with modest pay — sometimes digging into their own pocket for school supplies, just to make a difference. Teachers matter. So instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo, let’s offer schools a deal: give them the resources to keep good teachers on the job and keep the best ones. And in return, grant schools flexibility to teach with creativity and passion, and stop teaching to the test — and to replace teachers who just aren’t helping kids learn. That’s a bargain worth making.

President BARACK OBAMA (via inothernews)

^THIS!

(via feministhistorian)

This state of the union, unf.

(via goddessofcheese)

So much this. And also stop taking money from teachers’ retirement funds. I’m looking at you, my state of Alabama.

Uh just so you guys know

fluiddragonfly:

tearoutmyinsides:

MegaUpload – Closed.
FileServe – Closing, does not sell premium.
FileJungle – Deleting files. Locked in the U.S..
UploadStation – Locked in the U.S..
FileSonic – the news is arbitrary (under FBI investigation).
VideoBB – Closed! Will disappear soon.
Uploaded – Banned in the U.S. and the FBI went after the owners who are gone.
FilePost – Deleting all material (will leave executables, pdfs, txts)
Videoz – Closed and locked in the countries affiliated with the USA.
4shared – Deleting files with copyright and waits in line at the FBI.
MediaFire – Called to testify in the next 90 days and it will open doors. Pro FBI
Org Torrent – Could vanish with everything within 30 days “he is under criminal investigation”
Network Share mIRC – Awaiting the decision of the case to continue or terminate Torrente everything.
Koshiki – Operating 100% Japan will not join the SOPA / PIPA
Shienko Box – 100% working China / Korea will not join the SOPA / PIPA
ShareX BR – group UOL / BOL / iG say they will join the SOPA / PIPA

damn

We need to talk about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.

roxanneritchi:

ACTA is dangerous and devastating legislation essentially proposed and funded by corporations that can and will end the internet as many of us know it as well as limit or even outright ban generic medications and severely hinder agricultural development and the helpfulness of such all in the name of money. While it is being described as the European SOPA/PIPA, the reality is that it is a global effort. The United States of America, Japan, Australia, and many other countries have committed to or are in negotiations to commit to this trade act. ACTA has been under closed door discussion since 2007; it has received little to no media coverage and most of that only within the last year. This isn’t about preventing counterfeiting. This is about giving corporations greater power at the expense of the voices and lives of everyone else; it is the prioritization of money over human beings.

As of October 2011, eight nations have signed ACTA: the USA, Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Korea; at that time, the European Union, Mexico, and Switzerland had not signed but had promised to do so ASAP. The agreement is open for signature until March 2013, which means additional countries may commit to it. If you live in the USA and you’re rejoicing at the (temporary) disarmament of SOPA and PIPA, know that if ACTA goes into effect, it doesn’t and won’t matter if SOPA and PIPA died. ACTA is far more dangerous, and it is on the cusp of happening.

Information:

Protest:

  • At least one USAmerican on-line petition exists; please do sign it if you’re able.
  • This petition for the UK goes directly to Parliament; again, if you are able, please sign it.
  • If you live in one of the eleven countries that have committed to or expressed intent to commit to ACTA, and if you are able, please contact whatever political representatives you have and/or signal boost the issue. If you live in a country that has not committed or expressed intent to commit, and if you are able, please voice concerns to your representatives as well.

If you know of additional efforts to combat ACTA, please let me know that I might add them to this post.

Alright people, we need to concern ourselves with ACTA

chocotaur:

Five facts:

1. ACTA isn’t the “European” SOPA. It’s nearly GLOBAL, and will apply to every country that signs the treaty.

2. ACTA is far more aggressive. ACTA will not simply affect websites and have them blocked out of the internet – its measures go as far as surveillance of anything you share through private channels.

3. ACTA doesn’t have a campaign against it that is as wide-spread and organized as the SOPA one. This is DANGEROUS, as there’s less time between now and the final signing of ACTA.

4. ACTA has effects on healthcare, trade, and even tourism.

5. ACTA has to be stopped.

Let’s start spreading the word and organizing a good, solid response to it.

More information:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ56UNL5zeo

Americans earn a failing grade on diabetes awareness, based on survey results released today by the American Diabetes Association. In general, Americans earned a 51% when asked a series of questions about a disease so common that it strikes every 20 seconds. The survey results revealed that many diabetes myths and misconceptions still exist, while the disease’s prevalence continues to rise.

Diabetes.org, “As America Earns Failing Grade, American Diabetes Association Launches Movement to Stop Diabetes." 

It’s nobody’s business, y’all

So apparently Paula Deen has had Type 2 diabetes for three years and has only just gone public with this.

Considering her show is based around butter, high fat, and high carb food, lots of  people are are putting their Judgment Hats on.

My take on this:

1) Paula Deen was under no obligation to come forward with the fact that she has Type 2 diabetes. It’s her health, what goes on with her health is between her and her doctor of choice. It is nobody else’s business, full stop.

2) Fat shaming is bad. I am not going NEAR the comment sections of any postings of this news story, because they will likely be filled with two main things: fat shaming and misinformed Type 2 shaming. And probably a big helping of “lol, only fat people get diabetes.” These are things that make me want to flip tables.

3) There is nothing wrong with high fat/high carb food IN MODERATION as a diabetic. If you are eating it 24/7 without lower fat/lower carb alternatives thrown into the mix, you’re probably going to have some problems. But what a diabetic eats? It’s their business, not the business of every single non-diabetic who happens to know they have diabetes. Seriously, if you know a diabetic, don’t ask them “Are you allowed to eat that?/Should you be eating that?” It’s none of your business and it gets really old really fast.

4) Apparently she’s also doing more health conscious, diabetes-friendly versions of her other recipes. This is a good thing. Apparently she may be getting some money from adds that link to a site with info for a drug that is used to treat Type 2. People are kind of pissy about that last bit. Because she’s making money off something she wasn’t being honest about. Again, no one with diabetes is obligated to disclose to the public that they have diabetes (it is a good idea to disclose this medical fact to teachers, school officials, and employers so they will know what to do if you pass out or something; also, if you let them know, you also should let them know that diabetes is covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which means a diabetic cannot be discriminated against because of their diabetes).

5) I don’t really care how Paula Deen handles her own diabetes. I’m glad she’s handling it, and it’s no one else’s business how she handles it.

6) I am just annoyed that, because Paula Deen is Paula Deen, there is likely to be an influx of diabetes-used-as-a-punchline-ness. Diabetics do not need this, and the only people who, in my opinion, have any right to debate Deens diabetic reveal are people with diabetes. They live with it everyday, and they have to deal with the way the media handles anything to do with the disease. If there are diabetics who are pissed at Deen for knowing she had Type 2 and continuing to push her high fat/high carb food, then I totally understand their anger/annoyance. Non-diabetics? Not their business.