So everybody knows Dustin Harbin, right? Active up and down indie comics, one of the folks who’ve helped put on HeroesCon (the newest iteration of which is Friday-Sunday next week), gentleman beloved by all that have met him? And, as of a little bit ago, the latest recipient of access to medical care¹:

Hey guys: a couple weeks ago I faceplanted on my bicycle and — short version — they had to reattach the bones of my upper jaw to my skull and I lost 3+ teeth, Guess who doesn’t have insurance? I’ve set up a GoFundMe for what will be some large large bills: http://bit.ly/nosmash

Let’s get what passes for good news out of the way: as of this writing — approximately six hours after Harbin posted his tweet and eighteen since the fundraiser went up — he’s over US$23.5K; he originally was looking to raise US$25K, but surgery being what it is, he’s raised his estimated need to US$75K. I donated, and if it’s in your means to do so, I’d request you join the 400+ people that have done so already.

I hate that this is necessary. I hate that quality of healthcare you’re entitled to in this country depends on your ability to leverage social networks. I work a corporate, technical job with what’s likely a 90^th percentile health insurance plan and I know that one bad diagnosis would still result in bills that would bankrupt me. It shouldn’t be like this, every other country in the world manages to not be like this, and it needs to change.

If I had smashed up my face like Harbin did² my insurance would probably find a way to soak me for a few thousand dollars — which I have a far greater ability to absorb, not being self-employed in the arts — and I’d complain about it, and the hassle of getting fixed up, but I’d eventually get fixed up to a reasonably high quality end state.

I do not deserve this more than Dustin Harbin.

I do not deserve to pay US$20 for a three month supply of meds that I require on a daily basis instead of wondering how I’m going to get by because a drug company decides to discontinue low-margin drugs or jack prices up by 100,000% because they can³. I am not more worthy of good health because I have a good job because I had a good education because my family was able to pay for it because they didn’t have to worry about medical needs sucking us dry because my father had a good job because he had a good education because Jesus tapdancing Christ I’m at least four generations from anything resembling bootstraps.

Nobody wants this. Go Fund Me doesn’t want this, despite the fact a full third of their income has been from campaigns for medical expenses. Our economy and everybody that lives here would be infinitely better off if medical bankruptcy weren’t a thing. But a cabal of super-rich are existentially offended by the idea of paying a proportional amount of their wealth in taxes for the common good and then give relative pittances in charity⁴.

None of this needs to be the case. None of this should be the case. If you don’t want any of this to be the case, give what you can to Harbin, and then give to/support candidates for political office who are willing to say that healthcare is a godsdamned human right so we don’t have to do all this again in a week.

Spam of the day:

It is a new “super” antenna that is able to capture TV signals through the air like no other antenna ever could.

It is a piece of wire that is between 01.x and 10x the wavelength of the signal it’s trying to capture. In the US, that’s between 54 and 806MHz, or from 0.37-5.5m, so a hunk of wire 50-100cm long would do it. It was not developed by a NASA engineer using military technology, except that I suppose somebody in the military uses technology like tape measures, wire clippers, and plug crimpers. Fuck outta here with this bullshit.

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¹ No word yet if he was seen at St Biden’s Memorial.

² And I damn near did when I was 16. I was also thrown headfirst from my bike, but I landed right side supraorbital instead of facefirst. I managed not to crack my skull, managed not to break my neck, but also managed to pierce my right ear in seven places. The fact that I landed on gravel — which skidded beneath me — instead of on hardscape probably saved my life.

³ Fun fact! My wife worked for a company that got bought by Mallinckrodt years ago. They treated their employees like shit.

⁴ Which is then leveraged into a tax break. For the record, I’ve ranged between 8-12% charitable giving for the past ten years, less for the past couple since my wife’s been back in school and not working.