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ShazzieB

ShazzieB's Journal
ShazzieB's Journal
June 30, 2025

Study Names The Worst State For Health Care In America

A new nationwide report has revealed the best and worst places to live when it comes to health care, and the gaps are deeper than you might expect.

The Commonwealth Fund’s 2025 State Health System Performance Scorecard ranked all 50 states using 50 measures, including outcomes like avoidable deaths, life expectancy, and hospital use. The report makes one thing clear: your state could be the single biggest factor in your ability to live a long, healthy life.

Massachusetts took the top spot for the strongest overall health care system, followed by Hawaii, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia. These states had the lowest rates of avoidable deaths and scored high in access to care, preventive services, and effective treatment.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Mississippi ranked dead last, earning the title of worst state for health care in America. Joining it at the bottom were Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and West Virginia, all of which showed significantly higher rates of preventable mortality and limited access to timely medical care.


More here: https://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/study-names-the-worst-state-for-health-care-in-america

No real surprises here. It's amazing how certain (red) states consistently manage to rank at the bottom on things like this, and always have, for as long as I can remember. Decades and decades can go by, and the people who run these states never seem to get a clue that something needs to be done? Mind-blowing.
June 28, 2025

Insane Trump Merch Store Shut Down for Taking Over Sidewalk

I considered posting this in the Illinois forum but decided to put it in GD, where it's likely to be seen by more people.

The owner of the Trump Truth Store in Huntley, Illinois, vows to roar back with an even bigger space.

The village of Huntley, Illinois, is famed for one thing: a giant inflatable of President Donald Trump outside a MAGA-themed market.

Standing six feet tall in a blue suit and red tie flapping in the wind with both thumbs up, the big blow-up has become an attraction for tourists who stop by the Trump Truth Store to pose for photos.

But after city officials accused the store of violating Huntley’s “building and sign ordinances” with MAGA merch blocking the sidewalk, a court ruled it must take down every banner and flag and vacate the premises by 6 p.m. on July 17—inflatable and all.

*snip*

The city said in a written statement that Fleischmann “insists on maintaining signage in violation of the ordinance that includes temporary banners, flags, inflatable figures, and signs placed within the right-of-way.”

More: https://www.thedailybeast.com/insane-trump-merch-store-shut-down-for-taking-over-sidewalk/


This place is only 15 minutes away from me, but I didn't know it existed until I saw an article about in my newsfeed. I had no idea there would be enough MAGA freaks to support something like this around here, but as I've said before, I do kind of live in a bubble.

Huntiey is on the outskirts of the NW Chicago suburbs, and the area west of that is more rural, so I guess it's not that surprising. Still, the thought of this thing being so close to me is pretty gross. No word yet on the new location, but it sounds like it will likely be at least equally nearby. 😱

Here's the hideous Trump inflatable mentioned in the story:

June 26, 2025

Pritzker to announce reelection bid Thursday: WGN News

Running for a third term, amid talk of a presidential run in 2028!

June 24, 2025

I was raised Southern Baptist, too!

Was fine with it as a kid, but pulled away during my later teen years. There was a heavy emphasis on making sure you were "saved" and going to the right place when you died, and part of that was the idea that anyone who hadn't heard about the "plan of salvation" was automatically going to hell, so we all had a responsibility to "witness" to as many people as possible and try to "lead them to the lord." (All words in quotes were Baptist buzzwords that had very specific and significant meanings.)

As a socially awkward, introverted, teen girl, there was no way I was going to run around trying to convince people to change their beliefs, but I felt guilty about it because I was the kind of kid whose natural inclination was to do what I was told and if I couldn't, I saw it as a personal failing.

Add to that the messages I was being given about how the music I loved (the Beatles in particular) was the "devil's music" and listening to it was "sinful," and you have a perfect recipe for my becoming alienated from the kind of religion I grew up with. I eventually stopped attending church, which my mother didn't like but eventually learned to live with.

I did not become an atheist, however. The existence of God always has been and still is something that's too real to me to deny. Religion, including the idea that there was a creator who loved me, had sustained me throughout a difficult childhood, and I had no desire to ditch the whole thing just because I didn't like some of the trappings that a certain type of religion came with.

For the next few years, I looked for something I could commit to without having to give lip service to things I didn't really agree with. I still felt like a Christian in a lot of ways, but I was done with the biblical literalness I'd been raised with, as well as the idea that everything we'll ever need to know, the answers to every possible question about life were to be found in the Bible, and nowhere else. I stopped believing that in high school, after reading about how Martin Luther King -- an actual Baptist preacher! -- took a lot of his ideas about nonviolent resistance from Mahatma Gandhi. (He drew on some of the teachings of Jesus as well, but it was from Gandhi that he learned how to put nonviolence into practice as a catalyst for change.) That was an eye opener for little ex-Baptist me, that there were many sources of wisdom in the world to draw upon, not JUST the Bible.

My search for another way to connect with God stayed with me into my early 20s, when I learned about the Baha'i Faith and fell in love with its message about working for world unity and the idea that "the earth is but one country and mankind its citizens." I eventually embraced its teachings fully, became a Baha'i, and married a Baha'i man who is still my husband (51 years and counting!). For over 30 years, we both remained fully committed to that way of life, but as time went on, we began to disagree more and more with certain aspects of it.

The thing that eventually pushed both of us over the brink was the teachings on sexuality. Sex was to be reserved strictly for marriage (3 guesses how many Baha'is ever manage to fully live up to that), and marriage was between a man and a woman, no exceptions allowed. Gay people were warmly welcomed into the Baha'i fold but counseled to regard their same sex attractions as a sort of spiritual defect, and to remain celibate if they couldn't bring themselves to marry a member of the opposite sex. Ugh.

Long story short, we both left that religion a long time ago. My husband is just fine not bring affiliated with any religion, but I have continued to look for something that's a better fit for me, and I am now getting ready to join the Episcopal Church, which has the inclusivity and emphasis on reason (as opposed to blind belief) that's I need. In a way, I've come full circle, back to my Christian roots, but this is a very different flavor of Christianity, and I feel at home there.

In a way, my life might have been a lot simpler if I hadn't continued to feel a need to have religion as a part of it, but I do have that need, and pretending otherwise would never have worked for me. My belief in God is not something I've chosen intellectually; it's something that comes from a place deep inside me and has never left. If I was capable of being an atheist, I'm sure I'd be one by now, but I'm not.

At this point in my life, I do not believe there is any "one, true" religion and the others are all wrong. All I know is that being part of a religious community that reflects my own deeply held values is good for me in a way I can't really explain. It gives me something that I seem to need, and it feels like the right choice -- for me, not necessarily for everyone.

June 20, 2025

Mary Trump and E. Jean Carroll (video)

Mary Trump interviews E. Jean Carroll about her new book, Not My Type: One Woman vs. a President, in which E. Jean provides a very informative and sharply witty behind the scenes look at what it was like to sue the former (at the time) president for defamation.

These two women are obviously very good friends, and much hilarity ensues.



More info about the book itself can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250381681/
June 16, 2025

Chicago "No Kings" protest pics

(No, I wasn't there. I attended one of the many suburban events scattered throughout Chicagoland, because I knew I wouldn't be handle the gigantic crowd downtown. And from the looks of some of these pics, I know I made the right decision. )

I've been on the lookout for some good pics of the Chicago event that weren't blocked by a paywall, and I found some! Take a look at how the nation's third largest city did No Kings!



Article with lots more pics here:
https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/06/15/photos-no-kings-rally-in-chicago-draws-thousands-to-the-loop/

June 14, 2025

My signs!

These are the two signs I made for the No Kings protest tomorrow -- one for me and one for my daughter (I'll let her take her pick).

Not particularly original, but I think they will be eye catching and should get the point across!



May 25, 2025

A prayer for Memorial Day

https://youtube.com/shorts/6DJaMUCouXo

O Judge of the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy. Grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its disciplines. This we ask in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer p. 839)
May 25, 2025

Donald Trunp at the Pearly Gates

This video is very short. I promise you it's worth the click!

https://youtube.com/shorts/oOvGpHqtN4s

May 14, 2025

Stop the Township of Toms River, NJ from Seizing Christ Episcopal Church

I hope it's okay to post this here. I promised to share it with at least one other person, and I can't think of any likely candidates among my direct contacts. The link below has the full information on it.

The Issue

On Tuesday, April 29, 2025, less than 24 hours before a scheduled Toms River Township Council meeting, a concerned community member alerted the leadership of Christ Church, Toms River, that the church property had been added to a proposal for an eminent domain ordinance. The mayor of Toms River is attempting to claim the 11-acre downtown church property, to be used as a recreational center and community park. Despite widespread community opposition, the motion passed its initial reading at the meeting on April 30.

This action is unjust. It comes while the congregation is seeking municipal permission to build a homeless shelter on their property as an extension of the church’s many ministries and programs that serve and support those in need in the Toms River community. If the eminent domain ordinance goes forward, Toms River will lose a vital source of support for vulnerable residents.

Christ Church is a large and active congregation with a longstanding commitment to outreach and community support, especially for those in need. Together, the people of Christ Church participate in more than 20 essential ministries that support the Toms River community and beyond. These offerings include feeding and clothing programs, multiple 12-step groups, and more. Christ Episcopal Church has been part of Toms River for 160 years and has a long history of service and outreach.

Now, the congregation of Christ Church, Toms River needs your support. Please sign our petition to tell the mayor and township council that people matter more than pickleball courts. Eminent domain should never be used to control a church’s ministries. We stand together with the congregation of Christ Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey, and The Episcopal Church, to oppose the unjust actions of the Toms River mayor and township council.

*snip"

More info: https://chng.it/qsTQcPRvqv


If this is inappropriate for this forum please let me know, and I'll delete it. Thanks!

Profile Information

Name: Sharon
Gender: Female
Hometown: Chicago area, IL
Home country: USA
Member since: Tue Mar 26, 2013, 04:18 AM
Number of posts: 21,074
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