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    Kerberos824Hamilton Nolan
    12/23/13 10:15am

    My wife, along with around 350,000 other people in NY, just lost her extended unemployment benefits. She's smart, dedicated, hard working, and horribly depressed. It makes me sadder than anything to see her like that every day and not be able to help her. I love you so much, and it's not your fault.

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      HypnoCatKerberos824
      12/23/13 10:27am

      Your post brought tears to my eyes. Thank goodness she has you to help her through this rough patch.

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      seeyaKerberos824
      12/23/13 11:03am

      Just support her in every way you can. I not only lost my job, but my partner dumped me right at the same time. I was unemployed for 14 months, and while I had some friends who let me crash at their places occasionally, I truly felt I had no support. I would have given anything for someone just to say, just take a deep breath, I have you covered.

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    poofypantaloonsHamilton Nolan
    12/23/13 10:19am

    And to add to the anguish and sadness during these tough times, in the US, more people now die of suicide than in car accidents. And suicide rates among middle-aged Americans have risen sharply in the past decade. Source

    ————————————————

    National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

    No matter what problems you are dealing with, we want to help you find a reason to keep living. By calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255) you’ll be connected to a skilled, trained counselor at a crisis center in your area, anytime 24/7.

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      seeyapoofypantaloons
      12/23/13 10:58am

      I called them this year. It was weird, like they didn't know what to do with me.

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      poofypantaloonsseeya
      12/23/13 11:27am

      That's terrible.

      Have you looked for any local resources? Perhaps try calling again in the hopes that you get better service?

      Is there a way I could contact you directly? Perhaps a temporary email address you could post here so I can try and assist without compromising a real address?

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    amgarreHamilton Nolan
    12/23/13 10:51am

    If Gawker Media created a new site called Hard Times, I would be on it every day. These are the voices we don't hear in mainstream media. And we need to.

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      VivaTerlinguaamgarre
      12/23/13 11:51am

      That's a great idea - I'd read it, too.

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      amgarreVivaTerlingua
      12/23/13 1:18pm

      Heck, I'd even quit my job and write for it. But probably there'd be no ad revenue. Because what company wants to associate with the poors, right? But what I like about these stories is that I can relate to almost every one. Whenever the MSM does something on the poors, it's like some sob story. Not your ordinary everyday struggle.

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    narcissusHamilton Nolan
    12/23/13 9:59am

    "'There but for the grace of God,' said John Bradford in the sixteenth century, on seeing wretches led to execution, 'go I.' What this apparently compassionate observation really means—not that it really 'means' anything—is, 'There by the grace of God goes someone else.'"

    — Christopher Hitchens

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      icoholicnarcissus
      12/23/13 10:04am

      perfect.

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      Graby Saucenarcissus
      12/23/13 10:17am

      It's okay to be happy when bad things don't happen to us.

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    JackDupHamilton Nolan
    12/23/13 10:00am

    All these people should stop whining.

    Don't they know about all of the people suffering from malaria, fistulas and trachoma?

    Buckle up!

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      wilkomenwelcomebienvenueJackDup
      12/23/13 10:04am

      American poverty looks like 3rd world upper middle class. Most have cars, tvs, and places to stay. Go watch the child recyclers in Africa and India burning plastic off of wires to reclaim the copper and then complain. Its all about perspective.

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    HypnoCatHamilton Nolan
    12/23/13 10:28am

    Thank you, Mr. Nolan. This was a timely reminder.

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      BrianGHamilton Nolan
      12/23/13 2:08pm

      I read alot of these stories, it honestly makes my blood boil. However I'm just wondering.......... I'm a 45 year old blue collar worker - worked as a welder, millright, your basic industrial mechanic. Worked at the same company now for 10 years and naturally want something better. Put my resume on Monster and wow. That was 2 years ago. I still get 3 or 4 calls a week from companies and recruiters, I simply don't have the time to answer them all. My company has been shorthanded for around 2 years, can't find people to work. My maintenance department has been looking for a year. Companies I interview with , one is a major company who is in the top 10 "Best places to work" who have been looking for YEARS for people. Thing is I'm not rich, never will be. But I can pay my bills and live a decent life. My advice, and I'm sure I'm gonna get hammered for this, is to learn a SKILL. Plumbing. Electrician.Welder.Machinist. Anything like that. You have been reading for years and years how these jobs are gone, its a load of crap. Even if you want to go to college (and if you can GO TO COLLEGE), but first learn a trade. You won't get rich working at a trade but its better than the crap I read on here about people working at Wal-Mart. Yes people will look down on you because your blue collar, but who cares what "they" think anyway.

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        ZoeykinsHamilton Nolan
        12/23/13 11:06am

        My hard time: I'm a military veteran that seperated in March , who started her gender transition. Since then I've been assaulted, laughed at, insulted, disowned by my mother, lost my wife and stared at constantly in public. The list goes on. Woe to the trans woman who cannot pass, for hatred and death is constantly on her doorstep.

        Despite that I'm doing pretty good. Gender transition saved my life. I would have killed myself for sure if I hadn't done it.

        I just wish other people cared. Nobody seems to give a shit how the world treats us. LGBT money goes toward gay marriage when there are no basic rights for trans people in most states. DADT was repealed but trans people can't serve openly still. There's no money and no support left to fight for any other changes.

        Trans people especially women are the most vulnerable people in our nation and no one gives a shit. There aren't that many of us, we need help. I just wish more people would offer it.

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          lormnZoeykins
          12/23/13 1:01pm

          I'm not sure that I agree. In the state where I live trans rights preceded gay marriage rights. Thus a trans person could have their gender officially changed on their birth certificate. Straight trans persons were also able to get married.

          I'll agree on the military service issue. But there are is an additional consideration. Most of the trans people that I know have health issues stemming from surgery and hormones. I still think it was the right choice for them, but I can understand why the same organization that bans people for fairly trivial health issues would ban trans persons. Moreover, the trans community, in an effort to get insurance coverage for surgery and hormones, has labeled it as a medical disorder. This also likely means the military would have to cover related health costs and probably doesn't want to. I agree trans people should be able to serve, but there are non discriminatory reasons why they might be banned.

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          Zoeykinslormn
          12/23/13 1:16pm

          heh babe, dont talk about what the military allows and doesnt allow unless you've served. there are waivers for EVERYTHING.

          and what i mean by transgender rights is, like the right to use a restroom without scrutiny, employment protection legislation, creating a protected class for trans people in hate crime laws. stuff like this is rare.

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        frau meixia, twitter troll extraordinaireHamilton Nolan
        12/23/13 12:04pm

        It's the most wonderful time of the year! Sort of... if I don't think about the fact that I'm hungry and have to be careful about what and how much I eat because I need to make a tiny amount of money last for a few more weeks. But the decorations, the decorations! I love them!

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          martham334Hamilton Nolan
          12/23/13 11:17am

          What people always miss is, labor has one party but Wall Street has two - money goes from banks and corporations in equal amounts to both Republicans and Democrats from the local to the national level, so both parties serve *their* interests pretty much exclusively, and not the people.

          And even "labor" serves both parties, in the sense that modern union leadership continually collects billions of dollars in union dues and then buys politicians from both the Republican and Democrat parties. And it's not labors or unions buying these politicians, it's union *leadership,* who can be grouped into the same category as banks and corporations, lining their own pockets and serving their own financial interests under the guise of serving their membership, which they don't really.

          The modern playbook of politics seems to be, get elected with around 50% plus 1 of the vote, call that a "mandate" and act as if a full 100% of Americans are 100% behind you, then grab control of everything and cram it down the throat of the other half of the country, who actually disagree with every single thing you say and do. Nothing that lasts will ever get accomplished like this, because as soon as the pendulum swings the other way, as it always does, the other party does the same thing, instead of working together and compromising so laws that can actually do some good will endure past the next big election.

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