susiecambria

As a policy person who worked on child welfare issues for two decades, I'd be interested in knowing more about the incidence of child abuse and neglect in the municipalities mentioned in the article. I'd also be interested in hearing about the policy and practice discussions had by elected and appointed officials, advocates, and parents. These practices and approaches come from somewhere.

Seems to me both are examples of institutions not complying with the rules (laws, regs, etc.) by choice.

The Philadelphia government could have budgeted for ADA compliance and it chose not to, just as Berkeley could have budgeted for captioning. Budgets reflect our priorities. It is clear from both examples that meeting the needs of people with disabilities is not a priority.

But what regular people know what nonprofit FOSS apps are?

If not this, then what?

Like others, I was interested in the article because of Lyme and other diseases. Ticks really do suck.

I appreciate all the science-y comments though I understand very little. I appreciate comments about personal experiences with ticks, getting bitten, and getting sick.

I’m left with this: If this test is not really a viable solution (or at least one solution) to the problem of the unaffordability of visits to the doctor, what is a better solution. I would put all options on the table and move things like universal health care to the “working on it but not helpful right now” pile of solutions.

Not sure a cut of $186m between 2025 and 2034 warrants the cavalier description -- "benefits were scaled back" -- of changes to SNAP in the BBB.

In the immediate term, "Approximately 4 million people in a typical month will lose some or all of their SNAP food benefits once the changes are fully implemented, based on Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates." according to the Center on Policy and Budget Priorities. [1] I'm not sure what is going to happen in my community (rural Virginia with a good portion of federal and federal-adjacent retirees living here full-time) as people continue to be kicked off SNAP. Food pantries are serving more people than at the beginning of 2025. I've not investigated the status of donations. But anecdotally, friends are giving fewer food items to emergency pantries.

But as is the case with other aid programs, there is a public benefit to public benefits: "Here’s the remarkable thing about SNAP: it’s one of the highest return investments the government makes. According to USDA Economic Research Service data, every $1 in SNAP benefits generates approximately $1.50 to $1.80 in economic activity. During the Great Recession, that multiplier reached $1.84." The question is, with the reduction in people served coupled with work requirements, will the follow-on economic benefits be realized between now and 2034? How will low-income households fare?

[1] https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/many-low-incom... [2] https://polimetrics.substack.com/p/the-hidden-economic-engin...

Bulletin boards! They are such a great thing.

When I started doing promotion of public events sponsored by a small nonprofit in rural Virginia (USA), I was handed several pieces of paper with notes like post office, banks, dry cleaners, lumber yard. Over time, I've built a spreadsheet of places to share event and other community information. There's churches, HOAs, social media groups, IRL locations, media outlets, and so on. I am constantly referring people to the list to use (share information and seek information0 and edit. I knew very few people would make edits but I expected a couple of folks to use it for outreach.

About a month ago, I started thinking that my small neck of the woods could use something other than FB to share info. I'd love for electronic discussion groups to fill the void. Of course there are downsides, starting with slow adoption. But I feel like it's a lift anyone can manage given that it's based in email.

Of course, what will be shared is stupid stuff and not what I want (public opinion on state and local policies) and particularly information relevant to people with low incomes.

I know nothing about the topic BUT I can remember John Kirby and Jake Sullivan regularly talking logistics, Poland, and other things mentioned here. I don't think I've heard those things from this administration's reps. Not sure if not hearing is good or bad. I sure learned a bunch from Kirby and Sullivan, though.

> Professional soccer socks are, by design, form-fitting. In addition to holding shin guards in place, they provide support to the ankle, the arch of the foot, and the calf; they help manage moisture and reduce foot movement inside the cleat to improve stability. This design principle has been used in professional soccer for decades. Although materials have evolved to become lighter and more durable, they are still primarily based on synthetic fibers such as polyester, nylon, and spandex.

> There is a biomechanical component to this sensation. During a sprint or a change of direction, the largest muscle in the calf contracts and increases in thickness to generate the force that propels the athlete forward. This change in shape occurs thousands of times during a game. For some, the repeated expansion of the muscle is enough to create a sensation of pressure when the sock exerts constant compression on the calf.

Players complain about discomfort (the socks are too tight) and the players cut holes in them to "'release tension' and run better." But according to the article, there is no science substantiating the value of cutting the holes.

Not sure if one conclusion is that organizations are okay with player discomfort. If this is the case, this sucks for current and future players.

Yes, rules are absolutely necessary. And community engagement is also essential. Community input might be tiring, frustrating, and the like but people get to speak as part of the process and because they have a right to.

Apologies. Was taken with the names and stories. . . didn't read the about page. Guess my critical thinking was on the fritz. Seriously, learn a lot here and will try to do better.

Ooh, cool. Will check it out :-)

As others have said, thank you for sharing.

Every time I read stories like this my heart hurts. And I feel like I've been punched in the gut.

Every single time I read stories like this all my shit comes to the surface. Thank goodness for mental health professionals and prescription drugs.

No matter how I feel about your experiences, I want to know more. I want others to feel like they can share with people who are ready to listen and be supportive however we can.

They make fantastic stocking stuffers if you celebrate Christmas.

I've been involved in social services public policy since 1997 and this one of the meanest, hateful, despicable sets of rulemaking I have ever seen. It's almost as though the president and his team hate poor people. Or maybe that it's that they are dismissive of poor people.

I can't do anything to change the rules right now, but I can and will engage in a ton of GOTV work for elections this year.

Or, as prep school teachers and college professors told students who asked the question "How long does the paper have to be?", "Short if you have a lot of time and long if you don't.

I (now) fondly remember getting my first English paper back as a hs freshman with an F. Shook me to my core. I had, after all, gotten into this good school as one of the select few. That was a good lesson and it's served me pretty well.

Having had three colonoscopies so far, my system for prep is to change what I eat at least the week before. Jello, ice pops. . . generally light stuff. At some point before I start drinking the beverage from hell, I get butt cream. Smear it on and then drink. Keeping a layer of diaper rash ointment on the tush helps a LOT.

I suggested to the pharmacists at my local pharmacy they should recommend butt cream when someone buys the prep stuff. Not sure if they do it, but all agreed it was a good idea.

This.

I cannot be this calm about the administration that is all about the chaos and harm. Thank you for writing what I can't.

OpenAI Foundation is a corporation established in Delaware. It has received it's 501(c)3 status from the IRS which means donations are deductible to the fullest extent of the law (or some such; it's been a long time since I've had to write that). The American people do not own the foundation.

As for the OpenAI that is a public benefits corporation, I know nothing about all the ins and outs of that type of corporation.

So get rid of antidepressants but bring on tanning beds! YES. America IS healthy again. Sigh.

Met him at the Black Pearl in Newport, RI during his America's Cup days. Gruff guy but took the time for this fan girl.

All I could think about when I read the title was all the food insecure people who live in my little rural neck of the woods.

I cannot imagine the dedication of the makers. I make quilts, all improv, because the mere thought of following a pattern sends me into a tizzy.

So much admiration for the designers and fabricators.

My thought exactly.

Of course my next thought was "Maybe they are reading the Epstein files."

Totally agree. Websites are a must.

But websites are not everything. Everything would include updating the website with hours, menus, etc. And since way too many businesses in my part of the world (rural Virginia, though not sure that matters) can't update their hours, email, menus, etc. on socials, there is no way they can manage a website.

Lately, I've been trying to get restaurants, in particular, to share their news in text in addition to the graphic. They can't/won't do that. Why? Not sure and I don't care enough to ask. But I am not following them anymore and telling them why. Not sure they care, which is fine.

This story and many of the comments illustrate the need for and value of human connection. The Yakult Lady is akin to Men's Sheds and long table events (The Longest Table, Longer Tables). Also on the continuum of connection building is the Friendship Bench.

These are all interesting to me. But of late, I've honed in on the challenge faced by those who are transitioning from one stage of life or circumstance to another. While working and raising a family, work-related activities such as Toastmasters and family-related ones like church or scouts or athletics, may drive participation in groups. But moving from that through a divorce or RIF or retirement may end previous activities and leave a person with no idea what to do next.

As a non-tech person but lover of HN, I love this and have shared with friends. It makes me so happy to see people doing cool stuff.

If from menhaden, there's a raging debate on the one hand about trout, the Chesapeake Bay (Maryland and Virginia), the ecology and environment more broadly, and the other hand a Canadian company based in a small rural county in Virginia (Omega Protein, which, BTW, does not provide year-round benefits to all of its employees which creates a drain on already super limited services and supports. Omega Protein is not alone in this.).

I don't know enough about any of this to have an informed opinion, but I do understand that menhaden put Reedville, VA on the map.

I've not looked at the research associated with the Friendship Bench [1] or UK Men's Sheds [2] -- evaluations or data associated with the model's development -- but I would be surprised if either relied only on individual action. Meaning, the resource is there but participation relies heavily or solely on an individual taking affirmative action to join.

I agree with others that individual initiative is important for connections to be made, but I struggle with imagining how people find out about what the opportunities are. Certainly, there's been a ton of work on social isolation, community connections, whatever you call it, and at some point I need to dive in.

This space needs a lot of investment as well as evaluation of initiatives. I worked in nonprofit land in the US for years and from my limited view of the landscape, way more work is needed to determine what works and fund that and not fund efforts that take no initiative to show their effectiveness.

[1] https://www.friendship-bench.org/ [2] https://menssheds.org.uk/

There are so many things wrong with this website and the underlying arguments, assertions, etc., as others have pointed out, I will simply say that according to https://www.accessibilitychecker.org, the site is not compliant. Which doesn't surprise me in the least, but it is a good reminder that this is not a serious administration.