The above ad was commissioned by the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. It reads as follows:
“To our friends in Texas,
"Twelve years ago, you took in hundreds of thousands of us. You opened your homes, closets, and kitchens. You found schools for our kids and jobs to tide us over. Some of us are still there. And when the rest of the world told us not to rebuild, you told us not to listen. Keep our city and traditions alive.
"Now, no two storms are the same. Comparing rising waters is a waste of energy when you need it most. But know this – in our darkest hour, we found peace and a scorching, bright light of hope with our friends in Texas. And we hope you’ll find the same in us.
"Our doors are open. Our clothes come in every size. There’s hot food on the stove, and our cabinets are well-stocked. We promise to always share what we have.
"Soon, home will feel like home again, even if it seems like a lifetime away. We’ll be battling for football recruits under the Friday night lights. You’ll tell us to stop trying to barbeque. We’ll tell you to lay off your crawfish boil and come have the real thing. But for as long as you need, we’re here to help.
"The way of life you love the most will carry on. You taught us that. Your courage and care continues to inspire our whole city. We couldn’t be more proud to call you our neighbors, our friends, and our family. Texas forever.
Surreal Sunday is was made for experiencing phantasmagorical things such as this animated short entitled flow/er created by designers Alexa Sirbu and Lukas Vojir. Watch as seas of particles swirl and collide to form dark, showy flowers that then burst into lush fractal formations.
“In nature, it is often the simplest rules that lead to forming the most complex, beautiful forms. flow/er is a visual poem that observes this through a design lens, combining our fascination with organic, raw aesthetic with foreign geometric forms. We observe natural laws take shape in a strange dance of meticulous choreography clashing with violent forces of nature.”
If you haven’t already heard, Donald Trump has slashed funding for advertising the Affordable Care Act enrollment period by 90%. He has also cut the funding for local organizations that help consumers navigate the buying process by 41%. The time period to enroll has also been cut in half, giving people only 6 weeks to sign up between: November 1, 2017 – December 15, 2017.
These cuts mean that less people will be aware of the enrollment period and less people will be insured. Less people uninsured will also mean a drive up in premiums, making insurance unaffordable for many more. This is an intentional move to make good on his promise to let the Affordable Care Act “implode,” but it will hurt many people in the process. Many people will unknowingly miss the enrollment period and we cannot let this happen.
Since the president is unwilling to inform the citizens we must take action into our own hands. Spread awareness about open enrollment. I made the image above so you can save it and share it to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and whatever other forms of social media you might use. Tell your family and friends. Do whatever you can to make sure that people who need this information get this information.
If you’re like me and do things last minute: be prepared before the deadline. To apply, you need things like:
Who is in your family, their identifying info, including SSNs if they have them.
Tax returns and other financial documents to estimate the household income from everyone on the house/family.
If anyone in the family is enrolled in employer or state funded insurance plans like Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare, military or VA healthcare coverage, you’ll need that info and their policy numbers.
If anyone in the family’s employers offer health insurance that they and your family are eligible to enroll in.
If anyone in the family is covered by an employer based health plan, you will need to fill out a separate form and get information from their employer for it.
If you’re reading this post, its content affects you personally. If
you’re on Tumblr, then you almost certainly also have Facebook
and/or Twitter accounts – which means you were dragged into Russia’s plot to sabotage the 2016 election and didn’t even know it. Your personal data – your likes, your
profile photo, the messages people sent on your birthday – may have
been sold so that you, your friends, and your family could be exposed
to dangerous lies.
H.R. 620 would completely change the way in which a business is required to comply with the ADA. Instead of requiring that a business comply proactively, the bill would place the burden on the individual who is being denied access. This bill proposes that after an individual with a disability is denied access she must first notify the business owner, with exacting specificity, that her civil rights were violated, and then wait for six months to see if the business will make “substantial progress” toward access, before going to a court to order compliance.
Business owners can spend years out of compliance and face no penalty even after they receive notice, so long as the owners claim “substantial progress.” By allowing a business an endless amount of time to become compliant with the ADA’s reasonable requirements, H.R. 620 removes any incentive for a business to proactively ensure that people with disabilities have access. Instead, the bill encourages businesses to just wait until an individual’s civil rights are violated before making any changes.
And ya’ll wonder why I scream at people who try and tell me about how expensive and complicated the ADA is to comply with / enforce.
It’s that shit that gives bill like this their strength. Call your representatives. Use Resist Bot. Disabled folk AND OUR ABLE-BODIED ALLIES need to FLOOD the offices of our representatives and let them know that this bill will should not even be debated much less made law.
Do what you can from where you are and demand that those who can do more step up. I know we’re tired and I know it’s hard but don’t give up. Save yourself one last spoon and make sure the edges are good and sharp.
If you need someone to talk to, feel free to reach out. I’ll listen; I’ll empathize. You are not alone in this.
Resist Bot only works for your senators. This is a House bill.
They updated it! You can choose which one you need now. It’s super cool.
Hearseeno 