I too would rather stand in the median of a busy highway interchange for 12 hours a day, in the rain or snow, with a bag of my stuff getting ruined, holding a sign and watching everyone turn their head away from me to not make eye contact, day in and day out, than get a job. I’m so glad you understand

/s

What they’re saying is that the assistance is so little that, even with it, people are still dying from malnutrition.

How? Because nearly everyone who is poor enough to qualify for food stamps doesn’t have extra money to buy other food.

After rent, renter’s insurance, internet, utilities, household toiletries, maybe a new (used) piece of clothing sometimes as things wear out, car insurance (bc good luck affording to live somewhere with any decent public transportation or having your work/home near enough to use it), car payment (because try saving up for even a used beater while being poor enough to qualify for food stamps), health insurance (even if the actual insurance is free from the marketplace, there are still copays, medicine costs, vaccinations, etc.), haircuts sometimes, etc. etc. etc. there’s just no money left.

And this is assuming that people have time and energy to cook for their kids because food stamps doesn’t cover fast food or prepared food. What it does cover is cheap food (and more expensive healthy food, but when money’s tight, you buy the high calorie per dollar foods, not the $4 container of lettuce). This cheap, bad-for-you food is less nutritious. And now we’re back at malnutrition.

There are some standards. The ingredients are listed in descending order of size (ie the first is the largest).

They can get around this in a few ways (though this isn’t really relevant here), such as for example preserves having this ingredient list: blueberries, sugar, corn syrup. Even though the amount of blueberries is technically larger than both sugar and corn syrup, sugar and corn syrup (still basically sugar) can add up to much more than the amount of blueberries. By including multiple types of sugar they can sort of hide the fact that the largest ingredient is some form of sugar

Indiana has stopped that thankfully. Several counties near Chicago (northwest IN) and near Evansville (southwest IN) are on central time and the rest of the state is eastern time, but everyone changes for daylight saving time now.

Herd immunity means it’s effectively eradicated, meaning that enough people are protected from it that the virus cannot readily find new hosts and basically “dies out” in the areas in which herd immunity is reached. That’s why severely immunocompromised people, eho often cannot get vaccines or cannot mount a response even if they do get vaccines, do not get, e.g., polio. If only the majority didn’t get the virus, those who are susceptible (the minority) still would, but this doesn’t really happen (in places where herd immunity is reached). Other places around the world may still have the virus floating around, but after a while at the herd immunity level in a location/ country, it is effectively eradicated.

Kerrygold (and other imported-to-US/European, “fancy,” etc.) butter just tastes better. It has more fat content than land o lakes, for example, which contributes. The unsalted version is also cultured, and that makes a difference too. It’s definitely worth the price in any use where the butter flavor is important. In baking, maybe it’s not as worth it, but even then I’d still use it over a US brand.

Cottage cheese with granola. Similar to yogurt but I think cottage cheese is more palatable. The low fat version (often 1% or 2% instead of whole/ full fat) doesn’t have as strong a taste to me and is covered pretty easily by granola if you don’t like the flavor of cottage cheese. I also recommend store brand for the same reason—the taste is less strong, it seem, than name brand. For example, I think Daisy cottage cheese tastes a lot like their sour cream and just doesn’t work as well as whatever store brand is available (and often cheaper) right next to it.

Sometimes I add a little jam or something too, which is also good

Cancer. Sure, people realize you undergo treatment for a while. You may be in the hospital for a bit. You’re very sick but you do your best. Eventually (maybe) you get to some state termed “remission.” You’re probably no longer being admitted to the hospital at this point. So you’re basically all better right?

No. Not at all.

There are lingering problems that vary among patients. It’s hard to explain. Very few people understand what it’s like to feel under the weather for days, weeks, months. To live with the fear of relapse. To wonder if the chemo you underwent will cause you to develop a secondary cancer later. To have bone damage from steroids. To have increased sensitivity (read: pain) in many senses/ places from the courses of radiation. To have to fight harder for jobs if you lost yours (or didn’t have one) and now have a gap. You may be such a determined, hard worker, but it doesn’t take much to be seen as a liability.

Even if someone thinks they understand, they really probably don’t. You dont even fully understand what’s happening—today you wake up and just can’t. You’re tired. You’re trying but you’re so tired.

I can’t get too upset, I guess, with people who don’t understand. But I wish they could. Things may get better, but they’ll never really be back to “normal,” whatever that even means.

40c is 104f. The article mentions possibly peaking at 48c, which is 118f. In case anyone thought something was a little off