Gin
ginjones.bsky.social
Gin
@ginjones.bsky.social
I'm in training to become a Nac Mac Feegle. Their motto is: "Nae king! Nae quin! Nae laird! Nae master! We willna' be fooled again!" WEE FREE MEN by Terry Pratchett.

Meanwhile, I'm a traditional mystery author and patient advocate. GinJones.com
This is worthless. If you've got insurance, it doesn't change anything. If you don't have insurance (or have a high deductible), you may qualify for assistance by pharma, so no cost. If you don't get assistance, GoodRx and CostPlus already exist.
TrumpRx supposedly helps people pay less for prescription drugs.

In reality, it sends users to pharma giants’ websites, where they can pay out of pocket for certain medications.

One company that could benefit? BlinkRx, which has Donald Trump, Jr. on its board.

Funny how that works.
February 6, 2026 at 9:59 PM
Reposted by Gin
This is only related in a sideways manner, but: the story of any small slice of humanity is the story of humanity, just boiled down and distilled. So:

In 2020, we had a lot of conversations about harassment at SF/F conventions, and Isaac Asimov came up several times.
the Epstein files are really devastating because they remind me of how many girls and women miss out on professional opportunities, mentorship and careers because of how many powerful, rich and influential men only view girls and women — and interactions with them — through the lens of sex
February 5, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Reposted by Gin
Hey, do we have a Chicago area tax lawyer in network?
February 5, 2026 at 8:34 PM
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The hits keep coming: NY grid confirms, “in the absence of new [blocked clean energy] resources coming online, older and more costly [fossil fuel] generators are being dispatched more frequently, resulting in higher wholesale prices.”
February 5, 2026 at 7:47 PM
Reposted by Gin
Context: this speech is from SIR THOMAS MORE, a history written, as near as scholars can tell, in the early 1600s by 6 or 7 people including Dekker, Heywood, Chettle, Shakespeare, and Munday.

It was never performed, because Jacobean England was a police state and it was banned by the censor.
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
February 5, 2026 at 2:30 PM
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Layoffs just hit their highest start-of-year total since January 2009 — the height of the Great Recession — according to data tracking firm Challenger.

Meanwhile, CEO pay and corporate profits continue to hit record highs.

Does anyone still believe that trickle-down tax cuts create jobs?
February 5, 2026 at 6:35 PM
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Not that there are likely to be a ton of you near Holyoke MA on Sunday but, if you are, come visit a small portion of #romancelandia #booksky 📚💙 #writing
February 5, 2026 at 3:58 PM
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Ian McKellen performs “The Strangers’ Case” speech from “Sir Thomas More” on Colbert.
February 5, 2026 at 1:07 PM
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I have determined that everything right now is All Too Much and it needs to be Considerably Less, so if reality could just dial it down a fucking iota or two, I think we'd all like that
February 4, 2026 at 8:33 PM
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These guys two months ago: ha ha I hope there's a civil war we'll make those LIBERAL BITCHES cry for mercy

These guys now: waaaaaa they're using whistles it's not FAIR waaaaa

(You can get free community safety whistles, quantity 100 to 1000, from here:

linktr.ee/3Dwhistles

)
Right-wing media figures are furious at activists for using whistles during ICE activity
Right-wing media figures are lashing out at community members in Minnesota for using whistles to alert others of federal immigration enforcement in the area, asserting that whistles should be “conside...
www.mediamatters.org
February 3, 2026 at 7:40 PM
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BHATTACHARYA: We have to reestablish trust in public health. If you just double down on the same, we're not gonna change it

CASSIDY: Now we have a measles outbreak among those who did not trust. To further cast doubt upon the vaccines for no scientific reason - that's not gonna increase trust
February 3, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Reposted by Gin
it's grim, but the reality is that Trump wants more innocent people to die here in the Twin Cities and the GOP majorities in both chambers of Congress are either ambivalent about more lives being taken or outright support it
February 3, 2026 at 4:38 PM
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I DON'T LOOK LIKE THIS WHY THE FUCK WOULD ANY ACTUAL COMMERCIAL SITE MAKE AN "AI" PICTURE OF ME WHEN THERE ARE DOZENS OF PICTURES OF ME AVAILABLE ON STOCK ART SITES AND EVEN SOME GODDAMN CREATIVE COMMON PICTURES FOR FUCK'S SAKE THIS PERSON LOOKS LIKE A HUMAN BOOGER

DON'T FUCKIN' USE "AI" Y'ALL
February 3, 2026 at 3:43 PM
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BHATTACHARYA: I do not believe patients' care was disrupted. If there were disruptions, it's the responsibility of the researchers, not the NHS

HASSAN: That is an unacceptable and outrageous response. You can make an edict - 'Don't disrupt care!' - but that can be a very complicated thing
February 3, 2026 at 4:11 PM
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Timeline cleanse from Murderbot. I know time is meaningless now but it aired in May-June 2025 and is eligible for award nominations this year marthawells.dreamwidth.org/670572.html
February 3, 2026 at 4:20 PM
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Reporting in from rural America: This piece of shit can fuck right off, give us actual fucking doctors and nurses
Dr Oz on rural healthcare: "There's no question about it, whether you want it or not -- the best way to help some of these communities is gonna be AI-based avatars"
February 2, 2026 at 7:20 PM
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It’s 2026. There is a measles outbreak in the prison for babies
February 2, 2026 at 7:15 AM
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The message from the stars was very long and complex, but contained instructions how to decode and parse it incrementally.

There was an image, of a very cute furry creature. And a text, which loosely translated said:

"Send cat pics please!'

#MicroFiction
February 1, 2026 at 10:07 PM
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relevant to many of yalls interests.
February 1, 2026 at 2:09 AM
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Discworld QOTD, from Jingo
January 31, 2026 at 7:00 PM
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It was the kind of audacious idea that can make a fortune. Combine a widely loved concept with a just as widely loved item. What could go wrong?

Pre-opening sign-ups filled up in minutes.

In practice, though, they couldn't make the cat library work.

"They won't stay on the shelves."
January 30, 2026 at 9:22 PM
Reposted by Gin
New #WriterBeware blog post: More gen AI-driven scams from Nigeria, aimed at tricking writers into paying for editing. As with other Nigerian AI scams, they're very roundabout, involving several intervening steps before getting to the editing referral writerbeware.blog/2026/01/30/t...
Two New Impersonation Scams to Watch For - Writer Beware
Impersonation scams in publishing tend to be variations on a theme, since the goal is always the same: to sell you something. In that sense, the scams below, which are aimed at tricking writers into p...
writerbeware.blog
January 30, 2026 at 7:15 PM
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🧵: As the week ends there are 3 different things going on to keep in mind. 1) No matter what happens in the Senate today/this weekend, it will not stop the ICE/CBP actions. This is because the ridiculous 9 figures of ops & detention funds are locked in from last years One Beautiful Bill. 1/
January 30, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by Gin
Journalism is not a crime.

The Justice Department should investigate the federal agents who killed US citizens in broad daylight, not arrest reporters like Don Lemon. He should be released.

It's a spine-chilling assault on press freedom and threatens the public's right to know.
January 30, 2026 at 4:43 PM
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Discworld QOTD, from Thud!

“Beating people up in little rooms…he knew where that led. And if you did it for a good reason, you’d do it for a bad one. You couldn’t say ‘We’re the good guys’ and do bad-guy things.”
Discworld QOTD, from Making Money

"‘Even tyrants have to obey the law.’ He paused, looking thoughtful, and continued: ‘No, I tell a lie, tyrants do not have to obey the law, obviously, but they do have to observe the niceties.’"
Discworld QOTD, from Thief of Time

“People like that don't need a reason apart from "because I can". They have a nightmare and try to make it happen.”
January 29, 2026 at 7:03 PM