Signal Boost: SNAP policiy change

The US welfare system provides food to hungry people through the SNAP program.  One of the aspects of the SNAP program is something called "broad-based category eligibility" which means that some low-income people are judged to be in an eligible category and they don't have to jump through all the hoops to prove they're poor enough to qualify for assistance.  This cuts down on bureaucracy and really helps a lot of people who are right on the edge of eligibility and might be eligible one month but not the next and go back and forth depending on a whole lot of factors as their hours at work fluctuates, or their healthcare costs go up and down, or whatever.  Broad-based category eligibility ("Cat El") basically says "you know what, we're not going to nitpick over a few dollars here and there, both the government and poor people have better things to do than wrangle over this, and kicking someone off the program when they're going to be right back on it next month or the month after would be really stupid and cruel and a waste of resources."  Cat El feeds hungry people while cutting down on red tape and program overhead.

This is something both Republicans and Democrats broadly agree on, by the way.  Yes, there are a few assholes who don't like it, but every time it's come up in congress to debate whether or not it should continue, most people in both parties are in favor of it because it is pretty common-sense, and there really isn't a downside.  So, last year, it came up again in congress during budget wrangling, and congress voted to keep it.

Trump's Department of Agriculture (which handles feeding programs) is trying to kill Cat El.  They're trying to get people off of SNAP even if it's only temporary, increases bureaucracy and red tape, hurts poor people and increases government spending.

Please leave a comment for the USDA saying why it's a bad idea.  Here's a widget to help you do it, but please also personalize the message a bit so they can't mark it as spam.  (Here's a link with more information to help you figure out what to say.)

Rare Pair Exchange is finally live!

rarepairsexchange is finally live, and THANK YOU SO MUCH to whatever pinch hitter was able to fill in at the extreme last minute, your hard work and skill are so appreciated.  Go thou forth and read, because there are 113 works in 88 fandoms.

I received not one but TWO excellent fics:

At Home (1291 words)
Fandom: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Relationships: Mary Bennet/William Collins
Summary: Mary was used to being alone in the drawing-room. In fact, she preferred it.

This has such an interesting Mary voice, I really liked the perspective on her by herself and her perspective on Mr. Collins (which is much different than Elizabeth's perspective) and the way the two of them fit together.  Really good, and I could tell quite a lot of thought went into the characterizations.

Found You (1518 words)
Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebels
Relationships: CT-7567 | Rex/Luke Skywalker
Summary: A tale of the times Rex finds Luke. (The last time is for keeps.)

This one is short and sweet, and it is satisfying as it is but oh, how I would be interested to see where things went from there.


But the whole experience has really hit home for me that I should never attempt to shake my presents.  In case you didn't know, you can often figure out some things about unrevealed gift fics on AO3 by process of elimination.  I knew what fandoms and pairings I had offered, and I knew I wasn't a pinch hit, so once the deadline had passed I "shook my present" by going through and looking at which of the pairings I requested had fic and which didn't.  I couldn't tell exactly what I was getting, but I had narrowed it down to a couple of different options.  I was so disappointed.  Not by the fic--the fic was days from being revealed!--but by the closing down of possibility.  "Oh--it can't be that, but that would have been so cool to get!  Oh, it can't be this either ..."  I genuinely wanted everything I requested, but since I couldn't know what I had actually got and squee over it, I could only focus on the things I wasn't getting and mourn that.

And the thing is, now that I've seen my actual gifts, I would not change EITHER of them!  If you gave me the option now to exchange either of them for fics in one of the pairings or fandoms that I was so disappointed about not getting, I would not even consider it, because they're both great and I LOVE them.  (Seriously, to my author(s), THANK YOU SO MUCH, they're both awesome fics.)  I know some people love shaking their presents and get more excited by it, but the handful of times I've done it I've always regretted it because I always react the same way, and spend more time grieving over what I'm not getting than rejoicing over what I am.  And it's not good for me.