The Medical Industrial Complex Is Broken, and We’re All Just Supposed to Accept It

The Medical Industrial Complex Is Broken, and We’re All Just Supposed to Accept It

The medical industrial complex has gotten completely out of fucking control, and what blows my mind is where the hell are the protests for this? When you’re in pain, when you know something is wrong with your body, the system doesn’t move toward care, it moves you through a maze. Wrong doctors. Endless referrals. Bureaucratic gatekeeping. All while you’re paying for insurance that promises access but delivers obstruction. This isn’t medicine anymore. It’s compliance theater.

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Nothing’s Wrong, Says the System

Nothing’s Wrong, Says the System

They told me nothing was wrong.
They told me my body would absorb it.
They told me to wait.

Meanwhile, fluid sloshed around my knee like a reminder that I exist outside their flowcharts. I didn’t come to the ER because I wanted to—I came because bureaucracy left me no other option. This is what happens when medicine stops listening to bodies and starts worshiping process.

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Thirteen Weeks Without A Calm Soul

Thirteen Weeks Without A Calm Soul

Riding is how I regulate my soul. It’s how my mind and body agree to occupy the same space. And that was taken from me — not by fate, not by chance, but by someone else’s negligence. Thirteen weeks without riding isn’t just time off a bike. It’s thirteen weeks without calm, without grounding, without being fully myself. And the system that’s supposed to care? It shrugged and wrote “citations pending.”

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Four Weeks in the System, and One Woman Who Finally Showed Up

Four Weeks in the System, and One Woman Who Finally Showed Up

After four weeks trapped in a maze of cancelled surgeries, mixed messages, and hospital bureaucracy, I finally met a surgeon who didn’t waste time, didn’t sugarcoat anything, and actually fixed the damn problem. This is the story of surviving the system long enough to find the person who gave me hope again.

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The Shoulder, the System, and the Bullshit We Call “Healthcare”

The Shoulder, the System, and the Bullshit We Call “Healthcare”

Something is still incredibly wrong with my shoulders — but getting a doctor to care feels harder than surviving the accident itself. This is the reality of navigating a medical system built on ego, blind compliance, and checklist culture when all you want is to actually heal.

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Hollywood Lies: Volume II

Hollywood Lies: Volume II

Hollywood calls it “entertainment.” I call it propaganda. From self-surgery as a badge of honor to cars that explode at the slightest nudge, from gymnastic gunfights to hackers who break into the Pentagon in 14 seconds — the myths keep coming. And people believe them. These aren’t harmless movie tropes; they shape how we think, vote, and talk about the world. Here are five more ways Hollywood is full of shit — and why it matters more than you think.

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Mickey Mouse and the Message Machine: How Hollywood Is Reshaping America
Rants & Raves, The System is Broken Kate Sjostrand Rants & Raves, The System is Broken Kate Sjostrand

Mickey Mouse and the Message Machine: How Hollywood Is Reshaping America

Hollywood isn’t just telling stories — it’s shaping how we think. From glorifying booze and workplace sex to rewriting gun laws and sanitizing police power, Tinseltown has become a propaganda machine that trades truth for entertainment. And we’ve swallowed it whole. Here’s my unapologetic takedown of ten of Hollywood’s biggest lies — and the dangerous myths we keep believing.

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We’re Just Trying To Pee

We’re Just Trying To Pee

America has a problem. A big problem. A huge — pronounced YOU-dge — problem. Politicians spin it, pundits sensationalize it, and suddenly transgender people needing to pee is treated like the nation’s biggest crisis. I’m not an activist. I’m not out here waving signs on the street. I’m just trying to live my life. But when the laws, the headlines, and the mobs all turn something as basic as a bathroom into a battleground, it’s time to pick up the pen — because we’re simply trying to pee.

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Liberty On Trial
Freedom & Fire, The System is Broken Kate Sjostrand Freedom & Fire, The System is Broken Kate Sjostrand

Liberty On Trial

A Nogales man was sentenced to 32 months in prison for pointing a gun at a Border Patrol agent — on his own land. Court records show the agent drew first, aiming at the man’s pit bull. The homeowner reacted exactly how the Founders envisioned when they wrote the Second Amendment. For that, he’s headed to prison. Liberty itself is on trial.

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We Used to Hang Horse Thieves. Now We Bill Them by the Hour.
Rants & Raves, The System is Broken, Humor Kate Sjostrand Rants & Raves, The System is Broken, Humor Kate Sjostrand

We Used to Hang Horse Thieves. Now We Bill Them by the Hour.

Once upon a time, justice was swift. A horse thief caught with the horse? A gunman seen by the whole bar? The verdict wasn’t a two-season Netflix drama — it was a rope and a tree by sundown. Today, justice isn’t about truth; it’s about lawyers billing hours, juries awarding millions for potholes, and semantics drowning common sense.

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The Rise of the Keyboard Cowboy

The Rise of the Keyboard Cowboy

Everyone’s a developer now—at least until their DIY automation collapses in a flaming heap. This post takes aim at the rise of the keyboard cowboy: the office renegade who skips IT and rides straight to leadership with half-baked ideas, leaving us to clean up the mess.

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