How I lost my health insurance at the hairstylist's is one story among millions about the insanity of US health care. 59% of the American public and 59% of physicians support single-payer national health insurance, but in a recent prime time town-hall meeting on health reform proposals, ABC did not air a single question about single-payer. HELP is on the way. At a HELP hearing on single-payer, Kucinich pwned a doctor who claimed Canadian health care was worse than the US's.
posted by shetterly on Jul 8, 2009 - 561 comments

Woof Report has a litter of pup-perfect ideas, dog care tips, products, and more. Think of it as your daily dose of doggie delight. Woof Report works to promote awareness of animal welfare causes, pet adoption initiatives and charities.
posted by netbros on Jan 18, 2009 - 2 comments

Having trouble voting? Have a question about the polling process in your state? The folks at the non-partisan 866-OUR-VOTE Election Protection Hotline are there to help. Online, they offer information about voting in your state, the ability to report problems at the polls or live chat with Election Protection workers.
posted by eschatfische on Nov 4, 2008 - 14 comments

Seemingly, customer service isn't what it used to be, if you can even find them. Well, no more hiding. Enter Hard to Find 800 Numbers, an alphabetic list that eliminates the scramble for contact information. Waiting on hold for customer service or tech support is painful enough.
posted by netbros on Aug 4, 2008 - 30 comments

Listen, can you hear them talk? They might be soft spoken, and not easy to get along with, but they can still command (previously) our respect. Read how they are looked after around the world, and the stories which affect their daily lives. Also, here (pdf) is a comprehensive study of their living conditions in different kinds of societies across the globe.
posted by hadjiboy on Jul 18, 2008 - 9 comments

Quamut — learn how to write cover letters, crochet baby booties, make a home, how to self-medicate, and do other stuff.
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Mar 24, 2008 - 12 comments

Jim Henson's 1965 short film, Time Piece [more inside]
posted by not_on_display on Mar 24, 2008 - 33 comments

Homeless people are just too lazy to work, aren't they? Besides, they panhandle to get by, so what's the big deal? What does it mean to be homeless [previously] anyway? How do people find themselves in these sorts of situations, and why can't they get out of them? How do they feel about it? And are there any alternatives that we can supply them with?
posted by hadjiboy on Mar 23, 2008 - 69 comments

Three award-winning photographers come together to photograph women from around the world, who have been the victims of war, and survived to tell their tale.
posted by hadjiboy on Mar 4, 2008 - 4 comments

You are most welcome. sigh. Bill Gates must feel like several billion dollars.
posted by longsleeves on May 29, 2007 - 48 comments

Taxgirl is a tax lawyer who invites you to ask her offbeat and unique questions about federal taxation in the United States, as well as Philadelphia-specific tax questions. She also covers the fun side of taxation and the not-so-fun side of tax evasion, usually the domain of Posse Comitatus and white supremacist groups, but lately extending in bizarre ways to celebrities like Wesley Snipes and Ron Isley.
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Feb 23, 2007 - 20 comments

New Orleans City Ordinance #26031 --...those who have not been able to make the necessary repairs to their battered homes by August 29th risk having their property seized and bulldozed by the city.... Bush says today: Katrina Repair Will Take Time, but time's up for many New Orleans residents. (more here from ACORN, who has been trying to help save homes there)
posted by amberglow on Aug 23, 2006 - 62 comments

How do you get help on a web forum? RTFM.
posted by Roger Dodger on Feb 1, 2006 - 38 comments

For Christmas Briony would like: a sketch book, pencil crayons and 2 new rodent cages for her pet rats. A lot of people give to charities or directly to a homeless person during this time of year in the hopes that their money will be put to good use. But what do the homeless really need? Jennie and Dan Keeran found out, put the answers up on the web and are now asking for people to donate. I think it's an awesome idea.
posted by concreteforest on Dec 15, 2005 - 15 comments

Fed up with navigating badly set up voice mail systems, Paul English has posted a voice mail cheat sheet to help you cut through to a real human. Which is just as well because most companies seem to set up their voice mail systems like this.
posted by Zinger on Nov 25, 2005 - 19 comments

17 Minutes is a performance and video blog project by new media artist Chris Barr. It's about suicide. [MI]
posted by sjvilla79 on Nov 22, 2005 - 7 comments

There lay Vera. Jacob Appelbaum posted about body recovery in New Orleans today, posting photos of what is apparently the destroyed remnants of the interim tomb of one Elvira "Vera" Smith at the "corner of Magazine Avenue and Jackson Street." Smith's daughter hopes her body will be brought to her former home of Victoria, Texas, for final burial. Smith's tomb was the single most indelible image of the New Orleans disaster, reprinted - and shot - countless times over the past two weeks.
Discuss. God help us all.
posted by mwhybark on Sep 16, 2005 - 15 comments

Ourmedia needs volunteer moderators. Ourmedia, which provides "free storage and free bandwidth for your videos, audio files, photos, text or software" is doing well. Too well. The current volunteer moderator team of 40 is faced with the overwhelming task of reviewing the submitted content of 40,000 users for copyright and other policy violations, on which their open submission policy depends. If you'd like to get involved, now would be the time.
posted by Caviar on Aug 24, 2005 - 6 comments

AskTheTechGirl.com : Because not everyone gets off on calling India for tech support
via something positive, who also has a funny comic thread on this
posted by qDot on Jul 1, 2004 - 6 comments

Trapped Briton sends Internet SOS. Trapped in his garden shed while surfing, he sent a request to a chat room for someone to call the Lancashire police. An American did.
posted by sierray on Oct 22, 2001 - 14 comments

How To: RTFM. M$ steps up its Support Services. The information in this article applies to: general lamers.
posted by tallman on Feb 23, 2001 - 11 comments