https://twitter.com/VotePulver/status/1122324913690484737

Thread: As a NICU nurse, I served on the “Bereavement Team.” We were a special team of Nurses tough enough to help new parents go through the worst day of their lives. Parents of babies who had fought so hard for their tiny little lives and weren’t going to make it... 1/

And parents of babies who, after they were born, and wouldn’t have their moms body keeping them alive, would die rather quickly. As these small bodies were failing, it was our job to be there with the parents at every step, give them support, and do our best to make some .../2

Memories of their precious babies that could help easy their impending and overwhelming grief. When heroic measures failed or a baby without a brain or working lungs or heart was born, we knew the end was near, and we encouraged the parents to be present in these finals moments/3

We placed the babies skin to skin with mom and placed a blanket over them both. We lowered the lights and quieted the room. We had as much or as little family and the parents wanted in the room. We sang songs, we prayed, we hugged, we swayed... and we all cried. 4/

I cried until my throat burned for this family who has just had to endure the unthinkable. We were in the moment with those families. We took pictures, even for the ones who were too traumatized to think they’d ever want to see them, just in case they did. We made footprints 5/

We put a lock of hair into a ribbon. We measured the babies length and marked it on a tape measure. We made special tiny white gowns and hats for our angels. We created a memory box for these families who were losing their child that day. 6/

So yes, there are those in hospitals who are around infants who pass: they are the Bereavement Teams & they provide the equivalent of neonatal hospice to families who are living through absolute Hell. Babies and children die, it’s a sad part of life. But no one, absolutely /7

NO ONE ever, in any hospital, nor any mother who has just given birth, is conspiring with a doctor on whether or not to commit infanticide. This is perhaps one of the sickest accusations levied by this deranged dictator yet. Don’t believe a word he says about anything important//

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1122324913690484737.html

We at the Jane Goodall Institute recently saw articles showcasing a video of a juvenile chimpanzee using a cell phone. Unfortunately, and likely not clear the writers and readers, this is an awful portrayal of a captive live juvenile chimpanzee. We hope the articles and the video will be taken down and that we can as a community commit to better policies around showcasing and caring for captive animals (and wild). We also hope statements/explanations about the decision to remove the articles and the video are made to help improve awareness and understanding of the issue.

I am very disappointed to see the inappropriate portrayal of a juvenile chimpanzee in this video which is currently circulating on social media. Chimpanzees are highly social animals, very intelligent and have complex emotions like humans – it is imperative that we portray them appropriately and that they receive the best possible care in captive environments. Portraying chimpanzees in this way on social media is also perpetuating the illegal pet trade in great apes, and as they cannot be domesticated, interactions with humans as displayed by this video are highly dangerous, as well as harmful to the well-being of the chimpanzee. As responsible and compassionate individuals, I hope anyone who sees the video will not like, share or comment on it and all responsible media outlets change the coverage of the video to highlight stories of chimpanzees in wild or responsible captive care. And I hope and urge the people who have chimpanzees in their care will cease use of him in this way and join those of us who are working to end the cruel treatment of chimpanzees in entertainment. – Dr. Jane Goodall

There are several reasons why the video is highly problematic, and both perpetuates the inappropriate handling of this chimpanzee, and larger threats to great apes (both captive and in the wild) including:

http://news.janegoodall.org/2019/04/25/inappropriate-videos-on-social-media-are-hurting-chimpanzees/

(CNN)When a gunman opened fire in a synagogue in California, killing one and injuring three others, Lori Kaye jumped between the shooter and the rabbi.

Kaye, 60, was shot at the synagogue and died at a nearby hospital. In addition to Kaye, at least three others were wounded in the shooting Saturday at Congregation Chabad in Poway, north of San Diego.

Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, 57, had been shot in the hand when Kaye stepped between him and the gunman. The rabbi suffered what looked like defensive wounds to both of his index fingers, a doctor at the Palomar Medical Center said.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/28/us/california-synagogue-shooting-victims/index.html?utm_term=image&utm_source=twCNN&utm_medium=social&utm_content=2019-04-28T12%3A01%3A09

Trump says US is already sending migrants to sanctuary cities

(CNN)President Donald Trump said on Saturday night that the United States is now sending undocumented migrants to sanctuary cities.

"Now we're sending many of them to sanctuary cities, thank you very much," he told a crowd in Green Bay, Wisconsin. "They ain't too happy about it. I'm proud to tell you that was actually my sick idea."

On Friday in a speech to the National Rifle Association, he said the US is "forced to release" undocumented migrants into the country and that "we give them (sanctuary cities) as many as they can handle."

The Department of Homeland Security has not announced it is sending migrants to sanctuary cities.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/27/politics/trump-migrants-sanctuary-cities/index.html?utm_term=image&utm_medium=social&utm_content=2019-04-28T12%3A17%3A03&utm_source=twCNNp

So this bullshit just went down today at Politics & Prose. White nationalists disrupting @JonathanMetzl talk on his book Dying of Whiteness. Point made. @PM_Learn

https://twitter.com/cewigginton/status/1122255631757524992

As baby boomers age and the workforce shrinks, there may not be enough people or money to care for all our elders, especially those with medical needs. In many ways, that reality has already arrived in Vermont.

A small but growing number of Vermont families are easing the burden by opening their homes to elderly strangers who need a lot of care.

Robert Bousquet didn't need to be in the hospital, but he was stuck there anyway — for two months — earlier this year. "It was a nightmare. I've never cried so much in my life," said Bousquet's wife, Joan Bousquet. "I would leave him to go home, and sob all the way home."

It was a nightmare. I've never cried so much in my life. I would leave him to go home, and sob all the way home.

Robert has Alzheimer's. Joan brought him to the hospital dehydrated, with a bladder infection: he had been refusing to bathe or eat. The hospital treated him quickly. But Joan felt she couldn't care for him at home any longer. And, she said, none of the many nursing homes in driving distance of their rural Vermont home would take him.

Robert qualifies for Medicaid for long term care. But Medicaid doesn't pay enough to cover the costs of high needs patients, like those with dementia, or behavioral problems. That's why it took a caseworker two months of daily inquiries to find a Vermont nursing home that would take him.

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/27/712240801/a-workable-alternative-to-nursing-homes-in-vermont-adult-family-care?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20190427