these stories keep appearing?

My reaction to this article was perhaps a bit harsh. Here is the comment I sent the author:

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Because of the lack of explanation of where the money went, the only impression I get is that these people were glaringly stupid. Am I a bad person for feeling anger and not sympathy for this scenario?

Yes, these people were probably manipulated by predatory lenders, but spending twice your income is gross negligence. People shouldn't be excused from irresponsible behavior, they should be held responsible.

writing

I have had a long streak of not being able to write. Not that I write stories or anything, but for a long time I've felt like I couldn't write a shopping list. I had ideas and things I wanted to say, but whenever I'd set down to write them, in any medium, I either couldn't start or would feel completely awful about the start and immediately stop.

Some time, maybe a few weeks ago, that seems to have changed. I don't know what precipitated the change, but things started to slowly shift. I wrote a few things that, though they weren't anything but boring, did at least they came out. Then one night I wrote a letter that I felt came out perfect, or near perfect. Maybe I got my rhythm back. I don't know.

At least now it doesn't feel like an onerous task to write a weekly email to my mum or whip off a few words about a book I've read. I don't claim to be writing any better. At least I feel better about doing the writing.