Warren was my preferred candidate in 2020. I would vote for her again if she runs. The country needs progressives who understand how hard it is for the average person in the US today. Due to the strangling of wages/ incomes for the majority and the increasing moving of all the countries wealth upward to the top few, people can not survive in this society. Hugs
Ok I know that as soon as most of you read the title you thought I was going to talk again about my childhood abuse.
No what I need help with is for another abuse victim I have come to care a lot about. He and I met through the abuse site and we bonded emotionally. He needed to vent a lot of anger / hate / why me stuff and I was OK with him doing it on me as long as he never attacked me personally. He also came to care about me and the kind nature I shared with him. He is much farther along in his therapy so was able to point things out to me far sooner than everyone here did.
I think by now everyone who follows here realizes I am talking about Kamyk. Pronounced Camick. He got very ill shortly after we were friends and if you look back through the archives I asked and many of you did send him cards in the ICU he was in. He has told me I can share his medical condition he has suffered from all his life and he blames it on both his childhood abuse and his father’s narcistic behavior he developed cysts on his colon. One day he was talking to me telling me how much pain he was in and then he was gone. Rushed to the hospital and placed in an ICU.
Normally to do a GI surgery they have to void the bowels entirely but they simply did not have time and when they tried he crashed, so they rushed him to surgery and according to the surgeon it was the worst most dirty bowel surgery he ever did.
Sadly they had to take a large part of Kamyk’s intestines and his entire colon. Kamyk wanted to die. After a year of nearly doing so and many surgeries he was left with a couple stomas and an ileostomy. He came so close to death that several times I asked people here to send him cards. I know some did.
Long story short, after all this time he got the ileostomy reversed and one of the stomas. He could have gone back to his apartment he had managed to keep paying for … but the first nursing home he was sent to let him get a huge pressure sore on his tailbone that is so deep doctors are saying it would take a year to heal. I get pressure sores and I know what to do once they developed, the pictures Kamyk sent me were so deep and so gross it is a violation of every medical rule I ever practiced under. It was criminal.
Sadly in a depressed area of the country one can’t sue a medical provider as all the other providers close their doors to you. I mean if you sue a hospital in your area you better hope you never need a hospital again. Unless you are in the emergency room dying no physician can admit you.
Against all odds Kamyk has pulled through everything life thrown at him. He aggressively started learning to walk again after one surgery left one of his legs not working. He really wanted to get out of there and return to his home and I think we can all understand that. Through it all on a very limited income Kamyk kept paying the rent on his apartment. Until just recently tragedy struck in the form of the government and greed.
Kamyk was looking forward to going home from the step down care facility he was in. But without his knowing the facility he was in made arrangements to transfer him to a nursing home. The nursing home grabbed his entire SSI payment which meant not only did his rent payment fail but a recent device he had saved up for to buy also defaulted in the payments.
I understand what he is saying as when Ron’s brother had to be put into a nursing home we had to jump through the same damn situation. He was only allowed 30 dollars of his SSI payment but Ron had to stop his military disability payment of $100 dollars because that put him over the limit allowed to be in the nursing home. Everything was so strict that Ron and his sister Diane had to pay what few bills he had, they sold his car, and they had to buy him anything he needed as he was not allowed to have any money build up in his bank account. The system is designed to keep the person in the home as poor as possible, while letting the home take all the money and assets that person has. It is the punish the poor republican idea of if they are poor then it is their fault.
Here is why I am writing all this. I was going to start a Go Fund Me for Kamyk. He bought a Steam Deck computer device that would let him keep up with friends around the world and with me in a situation where he couldn’t use voice talk to communicate. As you can imagine some of the things Kamyk would like to talk abut can’t be voiced loudly in a shared room. Also he needs it is so he can play games with his friend of a decades Wolfy and escape from the horrid place he is in at least for a while, something every one I really understand. I have worked in a nursing home for a few weeks and I can tell you that the residents in some homes don’t have much to do all day and don’t get much respect. The staff is over worked, underpaid, and they are struggling also.
I care deeply for my friend and have seen how horrendous this time has been for him. He is in a very depressed area of the country in Ohio and he has no family in a position to help him.
Kamyk has helped me do this by sending me a blurb and other information. They will be below. Thanks and hugs.
Kamyk’s journey has been incredibly tough, and it’s clear that every day presents new challenges. After enduring multiple life-threatening infections and a long recovery, the road ahead still feels uncertain. Living in a nursing home where their needs are often overlooked only adds to the struggle. One thing that could bring Kamyk some much-needed joy and connection is the ability to play games with their best friend in New Zealand. A Steam Deck and a secure backpack would provide a way to escape the pain and trauma, even if just for a little while. This small gesture could make a significant difference in their healing process. If you can, please consider contributing to this cause. Your support would mean the world to Kamyk and help them find moments of happiness during this difficult time. Thank you for your kindness and generosity. Best regards,https://gofund.me/5d1def2cc
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Update: There was some questions as to the amount and what the situation was. I wrote kamyk and called him about it. He was able to respond after I went to bed.
Gofundme is weird it only starts with a minimum, supposedly to get the ball rolling before showing the full requested amount. My full requested amount is $1000
Steam deck is $700, TSA approved slash resistant locking backpack is $80, a bluetooth headset i can use with the steam deck or my phone is about $40 which would allow me to talk to you, mark, or wolfy semi privately without the issues the earbuds have, and gofundme suggested the additional difference so i could get some more games
I also added further text to my fundraiser page explaining that my ultimate goal is $1000, and that it feels deceptive to me to rely on a marketing technique to get donations, so I clarified
Thanks to everyone that reads this, forwards it, and if possible can help. I am sorry for the confusion I did not know how Go Fund Me works. Hugs
Supporting and learning from trans people is essential in fostering an inclusive and compassionate world. Members and allies of the trans community recognize the unique struggles and challenges that trans individuals currently face: discrimination, marginalization, and dangerous legislation.
By actively supporting and learning from trans activists and leaders, we can better understand these challenges and work together to create an environment where everyone is treated with respect and dignity, regardless of their gender identity.
We’ve compiled a list of impactful quotes from trans activists to foster understanding and appreciation for the trans community.
Please share and utilize these quotes to promote support for trans people and create a more inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment for everyone.
Explore inspirational transgender quotes and captions — to help celebrate trans liberation & fight for trans rights
“I’ve never been interested in being invisible and erased.” — Laverne Cox
“Trans people are extraordinary, strong, intelligent, persistent and resilient. We have to be. And we will not stand for the picking and choosing of rights. We still have hope.” — Grace Dolan-Sandrino
“Despite the constant hatred we face as the LGBTQ+ community, we must stand united and strong in spreading our message of love.” — Jazz Jennings, in a tweet
“I think trans women, and trans people in general, show everyone that you can define what it means to be a man or woman on your own terms. A lot of what feminism is about is moving outside of roles and moving outside of expectations of who and what you’re supposed to be to live a more authentic life.” — Laverne Cox
“They can try to ban us. They can try to get rid of our health care. They can try to deny us housing, credit, and public accommodations. They can try to shame us. They can try all they want to erase us, but at some point, they will realize the trans community is never going away. Trans people are everywhere. Every country, every race, every ethnicity, every religion, every socioeconomic level, every period of human history — we are everywhere. We are natural. You can’t rid of what’s natural. I think they know that, and it terrifies them.” — Charlotte Clymer
“I want to make a difference in the world by speaking out and spreading hopeful messages. I want to send the message of “you are not alone and you are safe” to other transgender kids.” — Rebekah Bruesehoff
“We have to be visible. We are not ashamed of who we are.” — Sylvia Rivera
“Being transgender is not just a medical transition. … [It’s about] discovering who you are, living your life authentically, loving yourself, and spreading that love towards other people and accepting one another.” — Jazz Jennings
“We have to remain visible. They have to see us, they have to know that we’re not going [nowhere], that we’ve been here ever since God made man and woman, and they have to get over it. I don’t need their permission to exist; I exist in spite of them. I want you to train and teach and love on and create families within my community and gender non-conforming people, so that we can understand that we have a culture, we have a history, we have a reason to be here. We have a purpose. We’re entitled to be loved, and seek happiness, and share that with the people that we care about.” — Miss Major Griffin-Gracy
Snip-There are a few more, and some graphics with the quotes that we can snag and share, too.
The Majority report team talk about this kid who mouthed off to ICE guys and gets beaten, kidnaped, beaten again, then dumped over a mile way in a Walmart parking lot. This is not police behavior these are gang thugs terrorizing people. They are no different than any other criminal gang. Hugs
The Naked Pastor’s art has been posted here more than once. I receive newsletters since he got off Substack, (I think that’s how it happened? Or someone on Substack linked him.) Anyway, today’s newsletter is really nice to post with today’s news. I don’t have a link for the newsletter, so I’ll copy-paste it below. This is the link to his About page on his site. His site where all the art is!💖
Now here comes the letter. Many of the links go to his art pages, or authors’s Amazon pages, and he does sell his art to sustain his work (his work is not on Amazon, to be clear.) It doesn’t hurt to windowshop, but it’s perfectly fine to not click the links (except his About page!) I wanted to say something just in case going to a page might put someone off that this is all about advertising; it’s not. Again, here’s the newsletter! (And Bless The Badass is a fine piece of art!)
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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how deep some of our cultural assumptions run, especially the ones that have shaped how women are treated. Some of these ideas are so old, so embedded, we don’t even notice them. But they are still here, quietly shaping how we build our systems, our theology, our science, and even our car seats. Let me show you what I mean. Cartoon: Bless The Badass! Dad Joke: ‘Jod’ Quote: Violence against women Original: All I Need is a Sliver of Light Merch of the Week: Question Everything T
Cartoon of the Week Bless the Badass! I bless the badass that you are! I am so inspired by so many women to be a badass myself! (BTW… several people have commissioned me to draw “Badass” for a loved one to make the person look like them.)
Dad Joke What if God just came down one day and said, “It’s pronounced ‘Jod’! and then left?
Quote From an expert criminologist on violence against women: “Statistically, we know now that once the hands are on the neck, the very next step is homicide… They don’t go backwards!” – Kate Manne, Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny. This next one is a fascinating book because it exposes just how thoroughly embedded is the patriarchy in our thoughts, attitudes, and treatment of women. “… if a woman became pregnant following her rape, it meant she had ultimately enjoyed herself.” – Eleanor Janega, The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society.
Women Suffer The above quote about a woman getting pregnant from her rape meant that she enjoyed it is based on the “two seed theory”. This theory, which lasted more than 2,000 years, taught that the man and the woman each contributed a seed when they both orgasmed, that these two seeds mixed, and that the dominant one determined the formation of the child. The only way a woman could get pregnant then was if she orgasmed. How condemning! I believe the residue of that bad theology and science is still deeply embedded in the patriarchal psyche. Janega’s research also reveals that whenever women began to succeed, men would attempt to put an end to it. For example, it was believed that embroidery was a woman’s task. But when women began to build successful businesses by embroidering clothing for the wealthy… that is developing a fashion industry… the men took over the businesses, and put the women to work as labourers. There are so many stories like that. Interestingly, though, all of this patriarchal maneuvering is rooted in philosophy, theology, and even science. It wasn’t just the ancient philosophers who proposed and espoused the two-seed theory, but theologians like Tertullian and Augustine, and scientists like Hippocrates. The assumption was that man was the gold standard of what it meant to be a person, and women were a spin-off of that ideal and therefore second-rate. This, of course, is rooted in the creation story of Adam and Eve. But once this assumption of supremacy is embedded in our thinking, then it determines every other thought that follows. I have a personal story. Lisa and I finally got a new car… something we’ve needed for a long time. It’s a Toyota Rav4. We need a reliable All Wheel Drive because Lisa often drives to work as a nurse before the plows clear the roads of snow. I want her to be safe and secure. We love it. Or, I should say, I love it, and Lisa isn’t so sure anymore. Why? Because she can’t get the driver’s seat comfortable. I was talking to a neighbour about her work car, also a Rav4, and she said she wouldn’t get one. Why? Because she can’t get the driver’s seat comfortable. I’ve heard of a few other women with the same complaint. I googled it, and it is a thing. This reminded me of another book I read by Caroline Criado Perez, Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed For Men. As the title suggests, the book is filled with data illustrating how the world is designed by men for men. It’s not necessarily malicious. But when a car seat used to be designed, manufactured, and tested by men, women inevitably suffered. (Is this still going on?) This included seatbelts, especially for pregnant women. As well as little things like lower temperature settings in offices where men warmly wear suits or at least sleeves, while women are expected to bare their arms, upper chests, and legs. Like I said, it’s not necessarily malicious, but women suffer as a result. Just like science believed that women could only get pregnant if they orgasmed. It wasn’t necessarily malicious, but women suffered for centuries. This is why I think it is so important to question everything, including our most cherished assumptions, and to consider the consequences these assumptions have on those around us.
So my friend, if we want to build a more just, compassionate world, we have to be willing to ask hard questions about where our ideas come from and who they are leaving out. It is not just about our personal beliefs. It is about recognizing the ripple effects those beliefs have on others. Sometimes the harm was not intentional. But it is harmful nonetheless. I say, let’s ask more questions!!!
As the flu and covid are on the rise again vaccines are on the decline due to the tRump admin claiming that the best science we have is wrong based on feelings and in the case of the people like JFK Jr it is greed. People don’t realize he makes his money suing drug manufacturers that produce vaccines. Every time he thinks he has some wacked out idea he sues and nothing they can show him will matter to him, all he wants is money and to stop vaccines for other people, as his families kids are protected. Think on it, he is vaccinated, their family has the money to get the vaccines without medical insurance, all he is doing is making it harder and more costly for your kids to get them because you need the medical insurance to help pay for it. Hugs
Under Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s guidance, the CDC no longer recommends routine vaccination to protect against meningococcal disease.
Jan. 11, 2026, 7:00 AM EST
By Kaitlin Sullivan
Deaths from a rare and dangerous bacterial infection could rise if fewer teens are vaccinated, doctors warn.
After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that all adolescents get vaccinated against meningococcal disease in 2005, cases of the potentially deadly illness plummeted in the United States by 90%.
However, cases have sharply risen since 2021, likely due to a combination of mutating bacteria and declining rates of vaccination overall, especially among teens getting a booster dose for bacterial meningitis, doctors suggest.
Dr. Luis Ostrosky, an infectious disease doctor at UT Health in Houston, is concerned that as cases of bacterial meningitis climb in the United States, the CDC’s recent overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule could lead to more deaths.
Under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s guidance, the CDC is no longer recommending a meningitis vaccine for all adolescents. The vaccine and booster protect against the most common types of the infection in the U.S., serogroups A, C, Y, W.
“We see quite a few cases of meningitis per year,” Ostrosky said.
Under the new guidance, the vaccines will be recommended for “high-risk groups,” although parents can still ask doctors to vaccinate their children through a process called “shared clinical decision making.”
Teenagers and college-age adults, who often spend a lot of time in groups or communal living spaces such as dorms, and people with HIV are considered at highest risk for the infection, caused by a group of bacteria called Neisseria meningitidis.
Vaccination is important not because the disease is common — around 3,000 people are diagnosed with bacterial meningitis in the U.S. each year — but because the infection is both extremely serious and fast-moving.
Bacterial meningitis can progress quickly, causing the brain to swell and limbs to develop gangrene and sepsis, and can kill within 24 hours.
Symptoms such as headache, stiff neck, vomiting and fever come on suddenly, and may be mistaken for other minor illnesses. It can be treated with antibiotics, but even with rapid diagnosis, about 15% of patients die.
Fast-acting and life-threatening
Why some people are susceptible isn’t well understood. The infection develops when usually harmless bacteria travel through the respiratory tract and infiltrate the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, causing severe inflammation. These bacteria, which commonly live in the back of the throat, can spread from person to person through close contact.
It can lead to a life-threatening infection in someone whose immune system is compromised — sometimes by a simple cold or flu virus — or who doesn’t have immunity to those bacteria. Viruses and fungi can also cause meningitis, but bacterial meningitis is the most serious.
Among patients who survive, as many as 20% have lifelong disability or complications, including amputated limbs, hearing impairment and neurological problems.
“You can die from a brain hernia, or from sepsis,” Messacar said. “And if you survive a brain hernia, you will most likely have severe complications.”
In 2024, the CDC issued an alert about a rise in cases of a type of invasive meningococcal disease. More than 500 cases were reported, the highest since 2013. Most of the infections were due to a specific strain of the Y serogroup of bacteria, which is included in the previously recommended vaccine. The cases were more common in adults ages 30 to 60, in Black people and in people with HIV.
“It’s even more important now that we get meningococcal vaccines out to people given that we are seeing a spike in this Y strain,” Messacar said.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved three types of meningitis vaccines. In 2005, the CDC began recommending that 11- and 12-year-olds get vaccinated against the most common meningococcal serotypes, A, C, Y and W. Because of waning immunity, the CDC in 2011 added a booster recommendation for 16-year-olds to protect them through young adulthood. A vaccine for meningitis B and a combined shot are available for children or babies who are considered at high risk.
In a statement Monday, Kennedy said that the CDC’s new childhood vaccine schedule was “aligning the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with international consensus.”
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease doctor at the UCSF School of Medicine in San Francisco, said the new approach to meningitis vaccination in the U.S., which is based on Denmark’s, is flawed.
“You can’t just look at another country’s vaccine approach and photocopy it. You really have to look at what is happening in your own country,” Chin-Hong said. Given the safety of meningitis vaccines, “it makes sense to vaccinate.”
Alicia Stillman, who serves on a World Health Organization task force for eliminating meningitis, worries that by moving the vaccine into shared decision making, the CDC is creating hurdles for parents who want to protect their children.
Stillman’s daughter, Emily, died from meningitis B in 2013. Emily had been vaccinated against meningitis A, C, W and Y, but the FDA didn’t approve a vaccine for meningitis B until 2014.
Emily Stillman, pictured with her mother, Alicia, was 19 when she died from meningitis B. Courtesy Alicia Stillman
Because many types of bacteria can cause bacterial meningitis, different vaccines are needed. The meningitis B vaccine hasn’t been recommended for all children but is available for people at high risk through the shared decision making process.
“I have watched medical professionals not bring [meningitis B vaccination] up,” said Stillman, who is the co-executive director of the American Society for Meningitis Prevention. “I have watched parents who are maybe a little less educated and not know how to ask about it, or they go to a public clinic instead of a private clinic where they have less time with a provider.”
She believes that could happen more broadly with the changed guidance.
What the research says
A CDC statement said the changes to the recommendation reflect the need for more data on certain vaccines, “including placebo-controlled randomized trials and long-term observational studies to better characterize vaccine benefits, risks, and outcomes.”
While there haven’t been placebo-controlled trials for meningitis vaccines — which would test how well a vaccine works either by deliberately infecting people with bacteria or by seeing how well they fare if they are infected in the real world — there have been many randomized clinical trials and other studies that use decades of data collected from both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in the real world.
Chin-Hong said placebo-controlled trials aren’t realistic or ethical for every drug, especially for life-threatening and rare diseases.
“A well-designed observational study, especially using decades of experience, can be just as informative as a randomized controlled trial,” Chin-Hong said.
A 2020 CDC report analyzed 20 clinical trials on meningococcal disease vaccines, including data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VS). The most common reported side effects were “mild to moderate,” and included swelling, fever and headache.
In 2005, Katie Thompson, now 39, was infected with an antibiotic-resistant strain of bacterial meningitis when she was a college freshman, the same month the FDA approved the first MenACWY vaccine.
“I don’t know how to describe it besides it’s pure hell,” she said.
After five weeks in the hospital and nearly dying, she went home, but not without lifelong complications. Thompson, who lives outside of Charleston, South Carolina, still struggles with migraines and vestibular disorders that cause vertigo and nausea. The infection was hard on her organs and she uses a bladder stimulator that helps regulate both her bladder and nerves in the base of her spine.
“It’s just not a disease that you want to take a risk on,” she said. “It’s not one that you want to gamble with your child’s life.”
Two vaccines that remain universally recommended by the CDC — the Haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib, vaccine and the pneumococcal vaccine — protect against some causes of bacterial meningitis. However, these vaccines don’t protect against meningitis A, C, W, Y or B.
Kaitlin Sullivan
Kaitlin Sullivan is a contributor for NBCNews.com who has worked with NBC News Investigations. She reports on health, science and the environment and is a graduate of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at City University of New York.
Scottie's Playtime 