Mark Zuckerberg offered to let Chinese premier Xi Jinping name his firstborn (seriously), Apple purged the Chinese App Store of privacy tools at the request of the politburo; Google secretly built a censoring search-engine for use in China,
but America’s Big Tech companies are sounding the alarm that they will
no longer be able to promote America’s global dominance if any of the US
Big Tech breakup plans are executed.
Which is hilarious, because breaking up monopolies makes industries stronger,
not weaker: the breakup of Standard Oil spun off companies like Exxon
and Chevron, each as big or bigger than Standard was when it was split
up. AT&T’s breakup gave us Verizon, Qwest, and a host of other
telcos. Monopolies suppress growth by clobbering companies with
innovative ideas in order to preserve the status quo.
By contrast, Japan encouraged and nurtured its monopolies, and lost its
substantial tech lead to become an also-ran in the global tech
marketplace
“A medical professor who has tracked the cost of insulin over the
years says that a one-month supply of a popular version that cost $45
wholesale in 2001 cost $1,447 14 years later, an increase of almost
3,000%. That’s the wholesale price, not the retail price that an
uninsured patient would pay.“
Yeah, that’s messed up.
Wow, it’s really rare I see something cross my dash that’s actually directly tied to my life on a personal level, but yea, I’m Diabetic Type 1 and this is a problem.
I’ve been off insurance for the last three or so years and have been working around through channel I can to continue to obtain insulin and supplies for my insulin pump (of which is currently a problem, fun) for free or at reduced costs.
The Lilly Cares program is one I heavily endorse if your insulin is a Lilly product. They’ve been incredibly helpful to me.
Please spread the word on this. There are a lot of young Diabetics like myself that do not have a support system, do not have insurance, and do not have jobs. Insulin is literally a life-sustaining medication for T1 Diabetics. Please do not just ignore this.
T1 diagnosed over 20 years ago here. Back when I was out of work in 2009 I contacted Lilly Cares and I swear I would not be alive if not for that program. T1s need insulin to live. Daily. Our bodies do not produce the hormone because our immune systems backfired and killed our pancreas’ islet cells.
These days one bottle of insulin costs me approx $600 (before insurance) and lasts 2-3 weeks, tops. Less than ten years ago the cost was closer to $200/bottle. The insulin manufacturers keep “tweaking” insulins like Humalog so the patents can be extended(*), so we don’t even have access to a generic option.
The price gouging on insulin in this country is cruel and damn disgusting.
Please, please boost this info. It WILL save lives.
(*) a fact that even my endocrinologist has confirmed!
Lilly Cares saved my husband’s life when he had no prescription drug coverage. Please, please utilize this program if you can. It’s wonderful.
On this day, 24 May 2014 the campaigner known as the “Rosa Parks of the gay community”, Stormé DeLarverie, died aged 93 in Brooklyn. Born to an African-American mother and a white father, she is credited by many as sparking the Stonewall riots, as according to some eyewitnesses and her own account she was the “New York butch” who was arrested and attacked by police. Bleeding from a head wound, she began to fight back and called to the crowd “Why don’t you guys do something?” When she was thrown into a police van the crowd erupted and the Stonewall rebellion began. As well as working as an MC, bouncer and bodyguard, she carried a gun and patrolled the streets of the Village, protecting other lesbians from street harassment or assault, and also raised money for survivors of domestic violence.
In our brand-new podcast episodes, former participants tell the story of the Stonewall riots and their aftermath: https://workingclasshistory.com/2019/05/13/e21-22-the-stonewall-riots-and-pride-at-50/https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1131003267084822/?type=3
This blog is mostly so I can vent my feelings and share my interests. Other than that, I am nothing special.
If you don't like Left Wing political thought and philosophy, all things related to horror, the supernatural, the grotesque, guns or the strange, then get the fuck out. I just warned you.
