Julie Poole
@juliepoole.bsky.social
I’m a writer and journalist.
I write about health care, housing, mental health. I’m here to serve working class people and folks impacted by dysfunctional systems built to benefit the rich.
juliepoolejp.com
I write about health care, housing, mental health. I’m here to serve working class people and folks impacted by dysfunctional systems built to benefit the rich.
juliepoolejp.com
I savored every word of this article by @oliviamesser.bsky.social Every word. Just brilliant, hopeful, and fucking here.
I wrote the first version of this draft almost exactly a year ago, but I wasn’t ready.
I am now.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/10/27/t...
I am now.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/10/27/t...
Texas Is a Lot More Queer Than You Think. I Am Too.
There are 1.8 million of us, and we’re not going anywhere.
thebarbedwire.com
October 28, 2025 at 6:20 PM
I savored every word of this article by @oliviamesser.bsky.social Every word. Just brilliant, hopeful, and fucking here.
Reposted by Julie Poole
I wrote the first version of this draft almost exactly a year ago, but I wasn’t ready.
I am now.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/10/27/t...
I am now.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/10/27/t...
Texas Is a Lot More Queer Than You Think. I Am Too.
There are 1.8 million of us, and we’re not going anywhere.
thebarbedwire.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:58 PM
I wrote the first version of this draft almost exactly a year ago, but I wasn’t ready.
I am now.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/10/27/t...
I am now.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/10/27/t...
I love this quote so much. The punishment for being poor is all too often further poverty, handed down from generation to generation.
“It’s dual-pronged. Not only are you contributing to increased homelessness, but you’re also preventing individuals from being able to escape poverty by maintaining that critical asset,” Diamond said. “You’re also punishing people for being poor.”
Our top story, from @juliepoole.bsky.social: After suffering a stroke, their mother, Marilyn, spent two and a half years in a nursing home paid for by Medicaid. Now the state wanted its money back.
“It was like wild animals pouncing on meat.”
“It was like wild animals pouncing on meat.”
October 28, 2025 at 5:44 PM
I love this quote so much. The punishment for being poor is all too often further poverty, handed down from generation to generation.
This headlines did something to my brain. You can forget what's possible sometimes!!
Ireland’s new president, Catherine Connolly, is a proud leftist, a staunch supporter of Palestine, a critic of neoliberalism and austerity, and a visionary advocate for economic equality.
Ireland's New President Boldly Opposes Austerity, Militarism, and the Genocide in Gaza
Catherine Connolly, an independent leftist, won a landslide victory with the promise to serve as “a moral compass in a world increasingly driven by profit and spectacle.”
www.thenation.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:36 PM
This headlines did something to my brain. You can forget what's possible sometimes!!
Sometimes I'll read the Wall Street Journal because they publish way fewer pictures of RUMP and crew than WaPo and the New York Times. There's only so much butthole mouth I can take. Frankly, I'd prefer no butthole mouth ever again.
October 28, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Sometimes I'll read the Wall Street Journal because they publish way fewer pictures of RUMP and crew than WaPo and the New York Times. There's only so much butthole mouth I can take. Frankly, I'd prefer no butthole mouth ever again.
I left Instagram recently, am not on X, and haven't been on Facebook since 2013, when I deleted my account and never looked back. I no longer want to work for Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk--two morally bankrupt men who have been allowed to dictate how we live our lives.
October 28, 2025 at 5:14 PM
I left Instagram recently, am not on X, and haven't been on Facebook since 2013, when I deleted my account and never looked back. I no longer want to work for Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk--two morally bankrupt men who have been allowed to dictate how we live our lives.
Just had this thought: Call mom. Ask if her food stamps are still active.
October 14, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Just had this thought: Call mom. Ask if her food stamps are still active.
Love!
“Instead of stalking our ex-boyfriends online, we started a newspaper.”
Founded in 1966, during the Vietnam War, the original 'Rag' emerged out of a sense that free speech was under fire. It's back again. https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/ut-underground-newspaper-the-rag-revived/
Founded in 1966, during the Vietnam War, the original 'Rag' emerged out of a sense that free speech was under fire. It's back again. https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/ut-underground-newspaper-the-rag-revived/
These UT Students Are Fed Up With Social Media. So They Revived a Newspaper From the Sixties.
“Instead of stalking our ex-boyfriends online, we started a newspaper.”
www.texasmonthly.com
October 14, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Love!
Excited to do more long-form journalism about mental health—it’s been a long time coming & I had to work on my own mental health first before diving into the wreck. More soon.
October 14, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Excited to do more long-form journalism about mental health—it’s been a long time coming & I had to work on my own mental health first before diving into the wreck. More soon.
Reposted by Julie Poole
This is terrific reporting on a cruel and exploitative state government scam designed to impoverish families after having a loved one dies, who required Medicaid coverage for the cost of their care. It should be illegal in all states.
From @juliepoole.bsky.social: When callers pose even basic questions about how to get claims on their family homes dismissed, they are often left without answers. When families are hit with enormous six-figure claims, no one advocates on their behalf.
One Woman's Fight Against Texas' Medicaid Estate Recovery Program
Her mother had been in a nursing home paid for by Medicaid. Now, the state wanted its money back: “It was like wild animals pouncing on meat."
www.texasobserver.org
October 12, 2025 at 3:46 PM
This is terrific reporting on a cruel and exploitative state government scam designed to impoverish families after having a loved one dies, who required Medicaid coverage for the cost of their care. It should be illegal in all states.
Reposted by Julie Poole
we’ll see how his mayoral tenure shakes out but i am convinced that Mamdani has the juice. not just the charisma to win an election but the temperament to govern and the measured pragmatism of someone who genuinely believes what they’re saying and wants to accomplish real things.
Inside the Improbable, Audacious and (So Far) Unstoppable Rise of Zohran Mamdani
www.nytimes.com
October 14, 2025 at 1:50 PM
we’ll see how his mayoral tenure shakes out but i am convinced that Mamdani has the juice. not just the charisma to win an election but the temperament to govern and the measured pragmatism of someone who genuinely believes what they’re saying and wants to accomplish real things.
Reposted by Julie Poole
Bernie Sanders tells @nicholsuprising.bsky.social that the Democratic Party is made up of folks who have money.
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/bernie-sanders-democratic-party-mamdani/?utm_campaign=SproutSocial&utm_content=The+Nation+Magazine&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/bernie-sanders-democratic-party-mamdani/?utm_campaign=SproutSocial&utm_content=The+Nation+Magazine&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky
www.thenation.com
October 14, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Bernie Sanders tells @nicholsuprising.bsky.social that the Democratic Party is made up of folks who have money.
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/bernie-sanders-democratic-party-mamdani/?utm_campaign=SproutSocial&utm_content=The+Nation+Magazine&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/bernie-sanders-democratic-party-mamdani/?utm_campaign=SproutSocial&utm_content=The+Nation+Magazine&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky
Reposted by Julie Poole
For nearly two decades, the state’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program has filed repayment claims against Medicaid recipients after they die, threatening the inheritances of vulnerable Texans. buff.ly/kH0rSNE
This state program collects money from the deceased. Families pay the price.
For nearly two decades, the state’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program has filed repayment claims against Medicaid recipients after they die, threatening the inheritances of vulnerable Texans.
txst.us
October 13, 2025 at 5:48 PM
For nearly two decades, the state’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program has filed repayment claims against Medicaid recipients after they die, threatening the inheritances of vulnerable Texans. buff.ly/kH0rSNE
100%!
“'Very little in our current media ecosystem addresses poor Americans,' says Victor Pickard...The main reason for its absence, he says, is that media owners are 'dedicated to making as much money as possible.'”
@alissaquart.bsky.social in @columjournreview.bsky.social www.cjr.org/analysis/ame...
@alissaquart.bsky.social in @columjournreview.bsky.social www.cjr.org/analysis/ame...
America Needs a Working-Class Media
Catering to rich audiences is not serving us.
www.cjr.org
October 9, 2025 at 9:54 PM
100%!
Damn, try to follow this logic.
The Health Secretary has claimed that children who are circumcised have double the rate of autism, most likely because they are taking Tylenol.
RFK Jr. Ties Autism to Circumcision and Tylenol in Bonkers Rant
The Health Secretary also accused some pregnant women of having “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
trib.al
October 9, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Damn, try to follow this logic.
Reposted by Julie Poole
NEW: We sent @stevanzetti.bsky.social to a Turning Point USA event, where Attorney General Ken Paxton was the keynote speaker — just hours after he announced his “undercover operations to infiltrate and uproot leftist terror cells in Texas.” It went how you expect.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/10/08/k...
thebarbedwire.com/2025/10/08/k...
Texas Republicans Are Using Charlie Kirk’s ‘Martyrdom’ to Crush Free Speech
Hours after announcing ‘undercover operations’ into leftist groups, Ken Paxton compared Charlie Kirk to Jesus at a Turning Point USA event.
thebarbedwire.com
October 8, 2025 at 7:53 PM
NEW: We sent @stevanzetti.bsky.social to a Turning Point USA event, where Attorney General Ken Paxton was the keynote speaker — just hours after he announced his “undercover operations to infiltrate and uproot leftist terror cells in Texas.” It went how you expect.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/10/08/k...
thebarbedwire.com/2025/10/08/k...
“It’s assumed that trans people are going to be fined, arrested or kicked out of places when in reality it’s the [public] entity that takes on the burden.”
SB 8 targets schools, libraries and other venues, allowing the state to "investigate" and levy massive fines.
SB 8 targets schools, libraries and other venues, allowing the state to "investigate" and levy massive fines.
How the Bathroom Bill Weaponizes Transphobia Against Public Institutions
A legal expert called the new anti-trans Texas bathroom law “the most plainly unlawful, undemocratic legislation I’ve seen in recent history.”
www.texasobserver.org
October 9, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Reposted by Julie Poole
I wrote about the inherent contradiction between the Trump administration's MAHA agenda and its refusal to investigate or halt the dumping of toxic chemicals into our food, water and air.
theintercept.com/2025/10/02/r...
theintercept.com/2025/10/02/r...
October 9, 2025 at 2:35 PM
I wrote about the inherent contradiction between the Trump administration's MAHA agenda and its refusal to investigate or halt the dumping of toxic chemicals into our food, water and air.
theintercept.com/2025/10/02/r...
theintercept.com/2025/10/02/r...
Reposted by Julie Poole
Public Citizen identified eight companies that received nearly $1B in non-competitive state contracts between 2014—2024. During those same years, these companies, their PACs, their officers, and their employees donated nearly $3M to Texans for Greg Abbott PAC.
www.citizen.org/article/awar...
www.citizen.org/article/awar...
Awarding Influence - Public Citizen
www.citizen.org
September 25, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Public Citizen identified eight companies that received nearly $1B in non-competitive state contracts between 2014—2024. During those same years, these companies, their PACs, their officers, and their employees donated nearly $3M to Texans for Greg Abbott PAC.
www.citizen.org/article/awar...
www.citizen.org/article/awar...
Reposted by Julie Poole
Thorough and important coverage on Medicaid estate recovery, a policy that continues to be understudied, misunderstood, and deeply harmful to families. Behind every bad policy is somehow always, disturbingly, private equity. Follow up this article with our recent MER paper in @jhppl.bsky.social
October 9, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Thorough and important coverage on Medicaid estate recovery, a policy that continues to be understudied, misunderstood, and deeply harmful to families. Behind every bad policy is somehow always, disturbingly, private equity. Follow up this article with our recent MER paper in @jhppl.bsky.social
Reposted by Julie Poole
Trump hastens plan to deny domestic workers the minimum wage. www.texasobserver.org/texas-domest...
Texas Domestic Workers Face Trump Attack on Minimum Wage
Advocates warn a proposed rule by the Department of Labor will deepen the country’s “crisis of care.”
www.texasobserver.org
September 25, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Trump hastens plan to deny domestic workers the minimum wage. www.texasobserver.org/texas-domest...
Reposted by Julie Poole
Private Equity: The “Texas Health & Human Services Commission hired HMS to handle the MERP administration, paying the company a 12.5% commission on any recovered funds ... HMS is owned by Gainwell Technologies, which is owned in turn by a private equity firm, Veritas Capital, worth $50 billion.”
Our top story, from @juliepoole.bsky.social: After suffering a stroke, their mother, Marilyn, spent two and a half years in a nursing home paid for by Medicaid. Now the state wanted its money back.
“It was like wild animals pouncing on meat.”
“It was like wild animals pouncing on meat.”
One Woman's Fight Against Texas' Medicaid Estate Recovery Program
Her mother had been in a nursing home paid for by Medicaid. Now, the state wanted its money back: “It was like wild animals pouncing on meat."
www.texasobserver.org
October 8, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Private Equity: The “Texas Health & Human Services Commission hired HMS to handle the MERP administration, paying the company a 12.5% commission on any recovered funds ... HMS is owned by Gainwell Technologies, which is owned in turn by a private equity firm, Veritas Capital, worth $50 billion.”
Reposted by Julie Poole
You will be shocked to learn that the company the state sends to take people's houses is owned by private equity.
Yes someone's making a profit from this ghoulish venture.
Yes someone's making a profit from this ghoulish venture.
In our magazine, from @juliepoole.bsky.social: When callers pose even basic questions about how to get claims on their family homes dismissed, they are often left without answers. When families are hit with enormous six-figure claims, no one advocates on their behalf.
One Woman's Fight Against Texas' Medicaid Estate Recovery Program
Her mother had been in a nursing home paid for by Medicaid. Now, the state wanted its money back: “It was like wild animals pouncing on meat."
www.texasobserver.org
October 7, 2025 at 3:35 PM
You will be shocked to learn that the company the state sends to take people's houses is owned by private equity.
Yes someone's making a profit from this ghoulish venture.
Yes someone's making a profit from this ghoulish venture.
Reposted by Julie Poole
Troubling.
If we were going to do this, we shouldn’t outsource it for someone to profit off of.
If we were going to do this, we shouldn’t outsource it for someone to profit off of.
October 7, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Troubling.
If we were going to do this, we shouldn’t outsource it for someone to profit off of.
If we were going to do this, we shouldn’t outsource it for someone to profit off of.
Reposted by Julie Poole
I had to get a lawyer to get POA on my dad who was already in a nursing home with Alzheimer's when my mom passed unexpectedly and then get a Lady Bird deed to avoid this very thing. We were privileged enough to go thru a year+ process. TX gonna TX
Our top story, from @juliepoole.bsky.social: After suffering a stroke, their mother, Marilyn, spent two and a half years in a nursing home paid for by Medicaid. Now the state wanted its money back.
“It was like wild animals pouncing on meat.”
“It was like wild animals pouncing on meat.”
One Woman's Fight Against Texas' Medicaid Estate Recovery Program
Her mother had been in a nursing home paid for by Medicaid. Now, the state wanted its money back: “It was like wild animals pouncing on meat."
www.texasobserver.org
October 7, 2025 at 6:01 PM
I had to get a lawyer to get POA on my dad who was already in a nursing home with Alzheimer's when my mom passed unexpectedly and then get a Lady Bird deed to avoid this very thing. We were privileged enough to go thru a year+ process. TX gonna TX