Just Another Black Sheep

Farewell to Kiki (aka Coffee Cat)

2009-12-03T14:43:00.001-08:00

On April 8, 2008, Kiki was handed over to us by friends of a woman dying of cancer. What wonderful friends.

In times of crisis, families are often overwhelmed and/or careless about placing the beloved companions of those dying or recently deceased. Sadly, many are driven to the local shelter almost immediately which--especially for cats--almost guarantees their death(s).

Kiki was taken to our vet and diagnosed at that time with renal failure (chronic renal failure, or CRF) and stomatitis (which is a very painful mouth disease). Our job was to do the best we possibly could for her to keep her comfortable and as healthy as we could for the remainder of her life given she was obviously unadoptable.

What a gift this little cat was! She loved everyone and everything that came near her. She was perfectly fitted to be a rescue house cat!

On meds and given specific foods, Kiki did very well until the last several days of her life. She had her ups and downs but always came through. This time it was not to be.

So, on Tuesday, we sent Kiki--aka Coffee Cat--to the bridge holding and reassuring her as she departed this world for another.

The bell tolls for Kiki. Godspeed little Coffee Cat. We sure miss you.

The Timmy Finds His Furrever Family! It's ALL About The Dogs!

2009-11-19T20:26:00.000-08:00

About a year ago, we took in a little shelter dog, then about 5yo or so, who we named Timmy who became The Timmy.

The Timmy weighs a wee 12 lbs. and is a Min Pin mix. (note in this pic, the usually perky prick (up) ears and demeanor is missing. Poor guy, he just had a dental and hey, the vet? Ugh!).

Timmy came in very thin making his little head look WAY too big for his body. When we were at the Pet Expo, it was sad to see people laughing at him. I really wanted to slap them silly. Hey, so you are what? A glamour queen/king? Poor guy. WHY we always dwell on looks versus heart--in people and animals--escapes me.

Timmy is also a mostly black dog, the very hardest type to photograph well. I took hundreds of pictures of Timmy and barely eked out three that were somewhat acceptable.

Timmy's story was truly one of luck and caring. The very day the shelter scout was at the shelter (she only goes there once a week), she was approached by a shelter staffer who said they had a nice little dog that for some reason was still alive given he was to have been killed the evening before. He survived due to some kind of error. Okay. The Timmy, The Living error. I take a different view but whatever.

The shelter scout checked Timmy out--then bailed him out--then checked me out. "Yes," I said. "Get him out we will take him."

So, for the next year plus, Timmy became part of the family. And The Timmy (eh-hem) got VERY spoiled, sleeping under the covers and (eh-hem) going about everywhere with me for quite a while. And The Timmy gained weight, and The Timmy got healthy.

No matter what I did--from showing to making him the poster boy--I never got even ONE application to adopt The Timmy. Until last week.

The young late twenty something couple that applied--a really mellow and sweet couple with a WONDERFUL application (I get tons that are just awful and are rejected on sight and even more rejected because they don't really have a clue, or lie, or the match is just all wrong) fell in love with his story--and him when they met him. (We do home inspections for the safety of the dog (and often potential adopters HAVE to make safety changes to trash cans, fencing, gates and if puppies are involved the list is VERY long) , so we took The Timmy to them to meet once we approved their app). They loved him. We walked him around their condo complex and he met other doggies and they were SO impressed that even when other dogs tried to get snarky with him, The Timmy just didn't react.

The Timmy is really SO above all that.

So I called The Timmy's new companions today to see how he is doing. Well... he was laying on the male companion's feet. I asked, "You are at your computer? (The Timmy liked to lay at my feet when I was typing.)

"Nope. We're on the bed watching a movie." (Big smile on my end of the phone...)

"Is he being a gentleman and good?" I asked.

"He is perfect," came the reply. (Another big smile on my end of the phone. Just as I suspected!)

*****

When we adopt a dog out, we adopt them out as perfect as we can get them. They leave with clean teeth (The Timmy's were cleaned the very day he left thus the bit spacey look in the photo, and he had his second blood panel done that day also, make sure all vaccinations are up to date (to good protocoal) and if any other problems are suspected or found that we cover them, and we pass along all the veterinary information in a packet for the owners and the dogs/cats are all microchipped each one kept in my OWN personal name for very good reason), and we do an exit exam with the owners present with the vet so they can ask any questions they have all of us together with the vet so we ALL know the condition the dog left in. I do this so if ANYTHING goes wrong, my butt is covered, legally, morally and ethically plus it is good for the dog and the new owners.

And if they have ANY problems within some reasonable period, the dog is taken back to my vet, free of charge to the dog's/cat's new companions, and we deal with it.

If a groomed dog, the dog either leaves perfectly groomed, or if the owner wants a specific groom, we allow for that in adoption fee.

So, you might ask, what was the fee for Timmy? $200.00 ($25.00 cheaper than the shelter which often releases sick dogs with no such blood tests or clean teeth or experience with other cats/dogs to unknown people who may or may not take care of the dog).

We ate probably $500.00 on The Timmy which is hardly unusual. It's not about the money, it's about the dog. So whenever I hear people bad-mouthing rescues for their fees, I go nuts. Sure, some rescues are lousy and should just plain get out of it. This isn't a business, it's a RESCUE. But most break their fannies to do right by the dogs.

Yes, we are probably in the go-to-extremes category, but that is how we do it and that is what I can live with. I know many rescues, likewise, that spend thousands of dollars on a dog's behavior training. I don't take behavior cases anymore just because I don't have the time and am older and don't feel confident enough--especially given the amount of stairs here--in properly and safely handling a wild 100 lb. dog and keeping that dog under control to do that extremely precious and VERY hard work, but I used to do that. I hold great respect for those that do.

And, yeah, the new owners get the big lecture on nutrition and WHY good food makes a difference (DUH!) (and, um yes, in dogs anyway, human food is fine--often better than dog stuff--for snacks as long as... long list), and everything else you can imagine including, importantly, efficacy of vaccines and new vaccine recommendations, blood titers for parvo and distemper versus auto vaccinations and we near insist they go to a vet we know and approve of given we know a LOT of them and some are absolutely terrible and some are remarkable.

So, when someone clears our application, interview and home visit they have to be pretty damn good!

THEN, they sign a contract that the dog is returned to us, regardless of age or location of the dog, should the adopter not be able to keep the dog for WHATEVER reason. We provide lifetime protection for the dog which is why the dogs are kept in MY PERSONAL name. If a shelter or group sees a first contact rescue name on a microchip, they often ignore it. That's why I don't do it that way. We get the call, we get the dog/cat out, and we wait for a call from the owners.

Given our screening process and the emphasis on calling us immediately if a dog is lost, we rarely have to go through this. It has, in fact, happened only once in the last five years. And I personally found the dog. Long story.

Is this great or what?

And more of The Timmy...

We miss The Timmy, he had become a part of our family.

But in rescue--as in foster--one thinks or really must think differently. The more we release to good homes, the more we can save.

There is just so much space.

God Bless The Timmy and his new and wonderful companions.

A Long Hard Road Of Blessings

2009-11-16T18:08:00.000-08:00

Note: Major cuteness at end!

These last several weeks since my last update on the hoarder cats has been an emotional fruit cake. These weeks have included wild ups and downs, but overall I am doing okay. Just tired and trying to raise funds for the remaining surgeries/care for the Lancaster hoarder cats. This rescue has been extremely expensive (even with discounts and help) and we have a long way to go to pay for everything.

During this time we have learned quite a bit more about the eye problems in these cats and the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to come together. I had to know. I needed and need to understand.

Feline Herpes Virus-1

The entire Lancaster hoarder population (a total of 24 cats/kittens) is either an active feline herpes virus-1 (FHV1 or FHV-1) cat/kitten or a possible carrier. So, we must assume they are all carriers.

Feline herpes virus infection
Clinical signs

Feline herpes virus 1 (FHV-1) infection is a very common infection in cats. FHV-1 is an alpha herpes virus. It has been associated with many ocular diseases in cats including conjunctivitis, keratitis, corneal ulceration, symblepharon formation, chronic epiphora, eosinophilic keratitis, sequestrum formation, keratoconjunctivitis sicca and anterior uveitis. Primary infection with feline herpes virus manifests itself usually in the respiratory tract and the eyes. FHV-1 replicates in epithelium of nasal mucosa, conjunctiva, tonsil and nasal turbinates. Tissue damage during active infection is due to viral cytolisis.1 Clinical signs include lethargy, fever, sneezing, nasal and ocular discharge, conjunctival hyperemia and chemosis. One or both eyes may be affected. In more severe cases, the corneal epithelium is affected as well leading to corneal ulceration. Dendritic corneal ulcerations represent viral replication within the corneal epithelium. Corneal lesions are most common on days 3 and 12 of the primary infection. Lysis of conjunctival epithelium cells with subsequent virus release is responsible for the corneal lesions seen around day 12 of the primary infection.1 Dendritic ulcers may coalesce to form larger geographic ulcerations. Secondary bacterial infection may lead to deep corneal ulceration or corneal perforation. Iris prolaps and anterior synechiae may form after corneal perforation. Adhesions between third eyelid and the cornea or eyelids may lead to permanent protrusion of the third eyelid. The corneal epithelium may be replaced by conjunctival-like epithelium that contains blood vessels and is not completely transparent. Approximately 80% of cats infected with FHV-1 will become carriers of the virus after the initial infection. [edited by author to fit subject; bolding represents issues seen in these cats/kittens]
Source: Alexandra van der Woerdt, DVM, MS, DACVO, DECVO here.

NOTE: In these kittens, symblepharon formation is represented by the adhesion of the third eyelid to the cornea.

As you cat folks know, stress brings active herpes outbreaks. So every trip to the vet (we are sure hoping the last will be coming soon!) stalls containment.

Many of these cats--in fact a remarkably high number--also have microphthalmia (tiny eye) (and here, page through for several discussions, but warning the photos on this site which is about feline ophthalmology may be too rough to view for some of you) and even micro microphthalmia. This is a congenital condition where the eyeball, at some points, ceases to further develop. NONE of the adults in our possession have this disorder.

ALL of the kittens, and all but two of the adults, also suffered from secondary eye infections.

So while some of this is congenital, complete lack of care (aka neglect) took the several compounding factors and made them much worse. Iris prolapse, for instance, doesn't just 'happen'. It is the result of a herpes sick eye, left untreated, which ruptures.

Mazzie, who I discussed in my last post, will be getting her spay staples out tomorrow and the very last of her vaccines. She is now blind, but doing pretty well. Here is a photo of her taken approximately 7 days after her surgery:
Mazzie's left eye is microphthalmic with secondary infection. This eye is still being treated. The eye removed included infection, herpes corneal ulceration and iris prolapse.

Mercury also had his eye removed, but his sighted eye is getting much better. The eye removed, like Mazzi, included infection, herpes, corneal ulceration and iris prolapse. Merc is a spirited little boy and will do just fine as a monocular kitty. He plays just like the others and with the exception of the missing eye, one can tell little if any difference between him and his normal-sighted siblings.

Jupiter has glaucoma as a result of a ruptured herpes eye. Nothing genetic here. Her normal eye is doing well. Jupiter's most recent (11/11) exam indicated that her eye is less sore and perhaps a tiny bit less enlarged and less infected. Though this condition is NOT reversible, and the eye will require removal, this is at least temporary good news for Jup while we raise the money for her ultrasound to address her loud and rather severe IV/VI heart murmur which must be done prior to surgery. Photo taken 10/22.

Mars, Comet, Black Hole and Swiss were scheduled for single enucleation (eye removal), but in the end, the opthalmologist advised leaving the eyes in place. Each has a microphthalmic eye, and each is blind in this eye. We have treated for infection and for herpes, and continue to treat. Each is now fully vetted except for their microchip. I am working on getting some good pictures of each of these kittens at play. The veterinary photos no longer reflect their reality.

Venus has a number of problems. She is right eye entropian, bilateral symblepharon (see above):

Entropion is the inward rolling of all or part of an eyelid. The cornea and conjunctiva are irritated by hairs on the eyelid causing problems from mild discomfort and tearing to chronic pain and eye injury. Entropion is more common in dogs than cats, but may be under-recognized in cats. In this study from the U.K., 50 cats with entropion were examined. About 1/3 of the cats had a mean age of 4 years, while the remainder of the cats were relatively older, with a mean age of 11 years. Among the younger cats, entropion was likely to be caused by a pre-existing irritative disorder, such as conjunctivitis or corneal ulceration. [my bolding]

Source: Wynn Foundation, here.

Here is Venus on 10/22 at the vet. The difference between her entry photos and this photo is drastic, but still, it appears she will have to have both eyes removed. The jury is still out though. She is being spayed this week, and has all other vetting complete except for microchipping. We continue to treat her eyes 3x/daily.

Galaxy is a success story. While we might not be able to save her right eye (jury still out, she is symblepharon R eye, we HAVE saved her left eye so she will remain sighted. This is a huge relief given we could not even tell if she HAD eyes when she arrived. She is being spayed this week, and all other vetting except for microchipping is complete. We continue to treat her eyes 3x/daily.
Photo at vet 11/11/09

Moo, Brie, Mixed Nuts, Jack and Garganzola while still undergoing medication, all have saved eyes and will be normal visioned for the most part. There is corneal scaring on some, and Jack has corneal plaque. But they are otherwise healthy and happy cats. Moo and Mixed nuts are now fully vetted except for microchipping, and Brie, Jack and Garganzola will be spayed/neutered, respectively, this and next week. If they react to this stress as the then-healthy-eyed Mixed Nuts and Moo did, we can expect the stress to bring on active herpes--again, which we will treat until they are again stable. Sigh.

Now for the Blessings!

Some very good friends, and some new ones, are helping us raise money and get help. I cannot--absolutely cannot--do this alone. The time alone in caring for these cats/kittens is huge.

Consider:
We go through 1400 lbs. of litter/month
1.5 cases (and rising as they get older) of food/day
Medication includes treating 60 eyes/day plus other care
Cleaning and laundry, well... we never stop!

So this help in raising funds and getting necessary supplies is greatly appreciated. The help and support of other rescue friends has been critical to keeping me sane. This is extremely hard work and, as you can imagine, extremely time consuming. We have also received help from Best Friends (Utah) and United Animal Nations. Actors and Others have helped with a small discount off spay/neuter fees. Saddleback Valley Humane will be paying for Jupiter's spay. Ruff donated $50.00 to the general veterinary bill. Every penny helps and is deeply appreciated.

And here are two more blessings.

Meet Captain Whitebeard and Captain Greyblaze who are now 7wo and healthy as little horses! They were born here the day after their very preggers mom, Little Star, arrived:
Captain Whitebeard

Captain Greyblaze
While resistant to weaning (mmmpff!), these two balls of cuteness are doing just great. Mom will be vetted when they leave to go to kitten rescue to find their furrever homes in about a week. We have been careful in the extreme with these little ones and they will soon be in the arms of fosters who will do likewise in a disease-free environment as their mom's immunity begins to wane and they become more vulnerable. We are grateful for the help of other rescues who have agreed to take a few kittens for us as they are releasable.

AND Mazzie has a home. Another excellent rescuer with herpes cats will be taking the very precious little Mazzie! Horray for Mazzie!

Another blessing is knowing that while many kittens died (her admittance) a rather terrible death at the hands of this hoarder, these kittens didn't. And thankfully we got to many of them in time to save their sight. They will have a future now.

So amid the darkness and the oft disappointment, I have to remind myself that I was given the privilege of caring for these cats and kittens.

I really and truly believe that God gifts each one of us in some way. I know my true gift and have been using it for several decades. I'm really glad that God gave me the gift he/she did.

And for Baby Bell who did not make it, Godspeed little one. She has been cremated and her ashes spread in a wildlife sanctuary.

I'm SO Disappointed...

2009-11-03T21:02:00.000-08:00

Those of you following the fate of the 24 Lancaster cats/kittens know that we have been holding out GREAT hope for one wee kitten, only 17wo, Mazarella, to keep one eye. We KNOW she can see something. Cat's don't chase things like she does (well, chase is too grand a word... perhaps bat-at) if they are completely blind.

Sadly, it turns out that the untreated herpes caused a prolapsed Iris (Iris bomb), and she has to have the only seeing eye (be that as it may) removed. So, Mazzie, as of tonight, is now blind.

I'm really heartbroken, actually. And I am madder than hell at the woman that caused all this.

Blind kittens, like puppies, learn differently about the world, and she will adjust. But my dear God, WHY did this have to turn out this way? (rhetorical question)

I'm not mad at God. God didn't do this. An emotionally unstable and perhaps psychologically unbalanced human caused this.

I am so terribly disappointed.

Mazzie will come home to total darkness. Instead of needing to be by the window to watch the hummingbirds (yes, we still have them), she could as well live in a cave.

I know she will do better than I will with this. Nonetheless, I feel terrible.

This is a beautiful and sweet little girl kitten that just didn't deserve this.

I am bouncing between near rage and deep, deep sorrow.

Update 2 on Kittens

2009-10-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

Warning: Those of you sensitive to eye or cat neglect issues may not want to view this. It is very graphic. But you might!

As in Update 1, only good news! All of the second eight kittens (those we lovingly call the 'Space' kittens) were cleared for spay/neuter and given their first fvrcpc vaccine. As of tomorrow, they will have been here four weeks.

And there is increasing hope for three of these eight, Venus, Galaxy and Saturn.

Five have now, also been cleared for enucleation (removal) of a damaged or missing eye, four of these are 'Space' kittens, the fifth is Swiss (a 'cheese and nuts' kitten):

1. Mercury at vet 9-30-09:

Mercury at vet 10-22-09

This little black domestic shorthair is a fireball! He loves to play and is hardly the lethargic mop he was coming in. As for his eye, we never had ANY hope of saving this eye. The pupil has detached and pierced the cornea. He will be a one-eyed, healthy and happy kitty really soon!

2. Mars at vet 10-30-09

Mars at vet (pic taken on 10-22-09 did not turn out well)

This is a gorgeous and nice domestic medium haired kitten whose eye (in this case, hardly ANY eye) we knew we couldn't save. Nonetheless, he is now healthy and playing up a storm with his kitten buddies and soon will be a happy little one-eyed kitten.

3. Comet at vet 9-30-09

Comet at vet 10-22-09

Comet is a little shyer than most of the kittens, but is coming right along! Loves to play and will be a super little guy who will need a bit of understanding and a LOT of love at first. Like Mercury and Mars, there was never any hope of saving his eye, but he is a beautiful and healthy little guy now and will soon be going in for his eye surgery.

4. Black Hole at vet 9-30-09

Black Hole at vet 10-22-09

Black Hole is a wascally little guy and will make a great addition to a kind kitten family (hopefully with a sibling!). We knew up front we could not save his eye, so his release for surgery--meaning his good health--is wonderful. And look at his healthy and perfect left eye! Outstanding!

Now for OTHER great news!

1. Galaxy's R eye--one we were not even sure existed as we could not see it at all--has been saved! We are working to continue clearing the eye and have changed medications, as have we with Venus and Saturn, below. Galaxy's best eye (L) is getting better all the time and is now saved. We do need to continue to work on this eye, but Galaxy WILL be a sighted kitten, and unless something goes south, will have binocular vision!

Galaxy at vet 10-14-09 (two weeks after first visit, I cannot locate original photo, but it was dismal)

Galaxy at vet 10-22-09

2. Saturnphoto at vet 9-30-09

Saturn at vet 10-22-09

The change in Saturn's right eye is subtle, but enough to warrant a hold on removal and a change in medication. The vet was pleasantly surprised. This is a GREAT little kitten.

3. Venus at vet 10-14-09

Venus at vet 10-22-09

I don't know if you can appreciate the change in Venus's eyes fully, but the vet seemed cautiously excited. We think she sees something, and the eyes look very different from just a week earlier. Venus has a lot going on here. She is entropian in her right eye lid (lashes growing in, not out, which, if she keeps her eye has to be surgically changed), and on the left, we are not sure if her third eyelid has adhered to her cornea. But there is HOPE! If we can save even one eye, and that eye has partial sight, she will not have to live in darkness her entire life. This is a fabulous kitten the vet just fell in love with.

So please, keep up the prayers for these 'Space' kittens. Several still have a ways to go!

Jupiter, the glaucoma kitten, remains unchanged. He WILL have to have his right eye removed, but first we have to do an ultrasound of his heart given the loud IV/VI heart murmur. So, we're working on getting that set up. Jupiter is, perhaps, the most shy of the bunch.

And for tomorrow... UPDATE 3 and pics of the two healthy 4wo kittens that were born here from one of the hoarder mom cats, Little Star, the day after she arrived! Captain Greybeard and Captain White Blaze will charm your hearts!

Update 1 On Kittens

2009-10-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

Warning: Those of you sensitive to eye or cat neglect issues may not want to view this. It is very graphic. But you might!

There is some really good news in here (and no bad news!) and you can see the difference in some of these kittens over the four week period of their treatment which says a great deal.

First, the good news. (No bad news in this post... horray!)

A total of 6 of the 15 hoarder kittens have been medically released (and given their first FvrCPC vaccinations) for both spay/neuter and enucleation (eye removal).

I know that doesn't sound all that great, but it IS!!!

Two of these, particularly, have had quite a massive change (you can click on the photos to go to the original and enlarge by zooming in):

Swiss: now 16wo, m, black domestic short hair (dsh):

Entry photo, 9-23-09 taken at vet:

While Swiss (one of the the seven cheese and nuts cats) will still have to have his right (OD) eye removed, he is healthy now and playing up a storm. This is a spirited and fun
little guy that will do JUST FINE when he gets the remainder of his vetting (neuter/microchip) a new, loving home, disabled or not! Coming in, he was sick and lethargic. What a change in this great little guy, not to mention the health of his good eye, now, ear mites under control, and no snotty nose.

Swiss photo 10-20-09 taken at vet:

Garganzola: now 16wo, m black DSH.

Entry photo, 9-23-09 taken at vet:

Garganzola photo 10-20-09 taken at vet:

You can see exactly how badly that kitten felt when he came in (went from pick up directly to vet with the others). Lethargic, (and what you can't see...) dirty, runny eyes, massive ear mites and a runny nose. This little guy, probably a brother of Swiss (but who knows: five moms and dozens of babies were living together in the hoarder's garage so she said) is healthy as a horse, loves to play and his eyes are beautifully perfect.

Perhaps you now see WHY I do this. A veterinarian, a mere mortal, a lot of prayers, a LOT of medication and a lot of time, love and attention (and in this case, quite a bit of money) makes a HUGE difference. Garganzola is ready to fly now after being neutered and microchipped. He's a great little guy.

The Hopeful News.

Mazarella

The more I watch this kitten, over time, the more I become convinced that her right eye (she is blind in her left eye) has some kind of sight.

This little kitten--in despicable condition coming in, lethargic, runny nose, filthy, full of ear mites and eyes a disaster--plays and seems to see some kind of light and image through her right micropthalmic (small, and in this case diseased) eye.

So, we are trying to raise enough money to get this little one to the kitty eye specialist to see if there is ANY hope that this wee one can keep her eye if, as we suspect, she uses it even a little.

Expensive, but well worth it if she can keep ANY kind of sight.

Mazarella at home (vet pics didn't turn out well) 9-23-09

Mazzi after clean up and a few days post entry at 9-23-09

Mazzi 10-20-09 at vet

This beautiful and loving (and fun! even mostly blind) little girl, Mazzarella, is a wonderful kitten that deserves the best.

One can cradle her in their arms, tummy up, and she purrs away...

None of this ever needed to happen. This is a case of massive neglect.

And you know what most amazes (and disgusts) me?

Given the horrid condition of these kittens, the hoarder asked me if we were going to change their names. As if that would somehow magically change the neglect of their lives.

That is a glimpse into the mind of a hoarder.

The Eyes Have It

2009-10-17T23:33:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much, friends, for being so understanding and sending thoughts and prayers my way.

The last three weeks have been weeks from hell. Not only did I have to deal with the horrid rescue (which allowed me just hours of sleep daily for the first week leaving me extremely tired), I then got the crud which I am trying to get over (eating better, trying to sleep more).

I want to WARN you that this post will be difficult for some of you to read. The photos are extremely disturbing and graphic, so if you are very sensitive, it might be best if you do not continue.

In a nutshell, we took in 23 hoarder cats from Lancaster, CA. 16 were kittens ranging in age from 9wo to about 17wo. All but four were in horrific condition as the photos will attest. The hoarder had kittens infected with the feline herpes virus and let the disease ravage these kitten's eyes. They didn't HAVE to turn out this way.

Here is a picture of a shelter cat I fostered for another group that came in without us being able to see the eye at all (though this was a short term problem in an adult cat, not kitten). With correct and aggressive treatment, this beautiful cat not only kept her eye, but just LOOK at him! I can see a tad of corneal scaring in the photo, but you probably can't.

Again, you might want to stop here if photos of neglect are not tolerable to you.

Of the 16 kittens, we lost one on day five despite our best efforts. We lost this very sick little kitten, Baby Bell:

Of the remaining 15, 9 will have to have one eye removed, and two will have to have BOTH eyes removed.

Here is a quick slideshow (click on the healthy-eyed cat below, then on slideshow which is in the upper left area under the Picasa symbol):

Lancaster Kittens

We really bit off a lot with this one. The medical, food (we go through a case/day of food that is $25.00/case) and extraneous costs (e.g. litter... we go through about 30#/day) so far are extraordinary, and we havn't even reached surgery. I am madly writing grant requests, contacting anyone that might be able to help. I have gotten cover from a 501(c)(3) (we are so small, relatively speaking, we never did this... we were always able to self fund until this year--but you all know what is different about this year...), Helping Persian Cats who I help and have fostered for. They are a fabulous group and their Director is VERY helpful and so kind to help with this situation.

As you might imagine, the time involved in caring for these little ones has been extreme.

The first 14 days, each received oral meds 2x/day, had their ears flushed (they were LOADED with ear mites... I went through 1000 cotton tips in two days!) and ears cleaned 2x/day, and every single eye had to be treated 3x/day. That is a LOT of ears and eyes and it takes a LOT of time!

Their food was prepared with a second antibiotic included, plus L-Lysine (an amino acid that helps knock out the herpes virus in many cats).

Because we suspected a horrid disease as the cause of Baby Bell's death, panleukop enia, EVERYTHING had to be sterilized... from linen (I washed 7 loads/day w/10% bleach), to counters, to utensils (I had to switch to plastic), to floors, cages, laundry... me... every time I came in contact with a cat box, cat, linen, water bowl... gads. What a nightmare.

I switched to paper plates and bought a dozen cat scoops and gallons of bleach (something I don't like to use because it is also a poison and has to be used very carefully around animals, especially babies).

We didn't lose another cat or kitten. It probably wasn't panleuk (death rate is extremely high and the virus is resistant to freezing and heat up to 133 degrees C and persists in the environment for a VERY long time) but we had to do the incredible protocol nonetheless. My other rescues are in lock down.

To say I am tired is an understatement.

But as of today, we are three weeks out from the last of them coming, so I can relax a bit.

Nine of the kittens rather than being in iso kennels, are now having a blast in their playpen with a giant cardboard box with holes in it, a bunch of toys, food and neat-o bedding. The remaining six, including the two cats who are functionally blind, and those with extreme conditions such as Jupiter and Mercury (whose detatched pupil has pierced his cornea... argh) are not able to enjoy this fun and freedom just yet. I HAVE done all I can to make them comfortable and secure, but until they are stronger and get their surgeries, it is all I can do.

With kittens, you have to keep their nails cut short anyway as they are little razors, and these guys require constant attention to nails given their very fragile and sick eyes. I have honed my clipping skills to lightening speed--the upside.

Today, it only took me 4 hours to clean and feed and another couple to do the laundry and wash windows (a couple of very large cages are up against the large front window so they can watch the birdies). The afternoon feeding cleaning took about 1.5 hours. Evening was a cinch. I scoop boxes VERY frequently because, well you know how it is when you come across a dirty toilet... cats aren't any different.

Of the adults, two of the five females came in pregnant (of course!). We managed to spay all but one of the adults prior to birth, and she had five kittens the second night (a Sunday) she was here. She was SO stressed she ate three of her kittens. The remaining two are fine and appear herpes free, but I am quite concerned about one that is too thin. She is a very sensitive mom and I borrowed a huge crate from another rescue and set it up to allow her the utmost privacy.

The poor two males have gotten the least attention, and must be neutered... but first things first.

So... this is why you haven't seen me around much for a while!

The good news is that I have another group putting out a funding letter for me, and Best Friends is helping with a $1,000.00 grant which should get some eyes done quickly. I am also working with other groups hoping to get help for the spays/neuters and to help cover other costs. It's a full time job, and then some. We are also appealing to other national groups asking for help, but it's like taking on the Queen Mary in a row boat. So I just paddle as fast as I can.

All this because of a mental illness, hoarding.

It has been just heartbreaking.

Thank you for inquiring about me (and Fred, thanks for the note). I'm alive
(maybe not well), but at least things are now looking up!

I'm Alive and Well

2009-10-01T21:48:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let my friends know I am alive and well. I have been involved in a horrid hoarder cat rescue which I will write about soon. Been too busy to even pen a note... things are a little better now, but not much.

Anyway, God Bless you all and please say a lot of prayers for the Lancaster 23.

Rep. Weiner (D-NY9) On The Bad Baucus Bill: Thanks, But No Thanks

2009-09-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

Now, you MAY (as I did) need to watch that clip more than once as there is a LOT of info in there (both speakers are rapid-fire verbalists!).

And from Dr. Howard Dean, STERN and alarming words on the Baucus bill (hat tip to slinkerwink at dKos):

Howard Dean, former Democratic National Committee chairman, minced no words about Sen. Max Baucus's healthcare proposal, unveiled to the public this morning. "The Baucus bill is the worst piece of healthcare legislation I've seen in 30 years," Dean said last night at a healthcare town hall and book signing in Washington. "In fact, it's a $60 billion giveaway to the health insurance industry every year," he said. "It was written by healthcare lobbyists, so that's not a surprise. It's an outrage."

"I'm glad Senator Rockefeller is not going to vote for it. I wouldn't vote for it at all under any circumstances," Dean added. Instead, Dean said Senate Democrats should and would end up using the reconciliation process to pass a plan with the public option. "It can be done, and that's how it will be done," Dean said, pointing out that a majority of Senate Democrats still support a more robust bill.

OOOOwee!

One important thing Weiner mentioned as getting traction: Buy ins to Medicare by age-chunks over some time period.

Wyden and Weiner have bills that will be heard/voted on on the house floor soon.

Tomorrow I will be discussing these.

In the meantime... PLEASE continue to call your senators and reps. You can use the FREE 866 number: 866-338-1015. If you do not know your reps/senators, go here.

Here's what to tell your senators and reps (this is simple, really it is!):

Hello: my name is _____ and I am a constituent of yours from __(your city)__.
I am calling to tell you to support a health care reform bill that has all of the following:

No triggers. And, BTW, we need to have a bill that kicks in prior to 2013.With 50 people/day going into medical bankruptcy, 1400/day losing their insurance because of job loss or personal income issues, we simply cannot wait. One American dies every 12 minutes because they cannot get health care help. That is immoral and wrong and it MUST change immediately.
No co-ops. As Senator Rockefeller (D-WV) has noted after investigation, and as the CBO (PDF) has indicated, there are NO successful health care co-ops in the nation and their impact would be unsubstantial.. (go here for info on Rockefeller's co-op information.)
MUST have a competitive medicare-like public option given there is a MANDATE to be insured. This will cause increased competition and keep costs down.
NO "Pilot Programs". All these do is delay what we need.

PLEASE call.

It is only pressure that gets things done. Be that squeak that gets things done!

Permission given to copy this post with no attribution necessary. PLEASE put on your blogs, or link this post to your friends/family who are interested in health care reform. We ONLY get things done BY doing them.

As Thom Hartmann says, "Tag... you're it."

Kaiser Outlines Future of Health Ins. And It Ain't Pretty

2009-09-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

For those who are confused about what the future means in terms of health care costs (as well as the past relative to income), you need to read the new information from Kaiser Family Foundation (if you don't know, Kaiser is the largest non-profit health care provider in California).

The first number was the average cost of a family health insurance policy in 2009: $13,375. To put that number in context, if you are an employer, you can hire an employee at the minimum wage for about $15,000 per year. If you are a consumer, you can rent an average two-bedroom apartment nationwide for $11,136 per year (though it is quite a bit more here in Menlo Park, California where our Foundation is based). You can also buy a new Chevy Aveo for $12,000, and it gets 35 miles per gallon on the highway.

Let's do some very simple arithmetic. Start with a fairly conservative assumption: If we assume that premium increases over the next ten years will average what they did over the last five (about 6.1% per year), the average premium for a family policy in 2019 will be $24,180. That's a big number. On the other hand, if we assume increases revert to the average of the last ten years—an average annual increase of about 8.7% and a very plausible scenario—premiums in 2019 will average a whopping $30,803, a very scary number (Figure 1).

Now I know some of you may not even blink at this information, but most of you will probably be aghast. When my health insurance costs would be double that of my mortgage, something is dreadfully wrong.

Here's another nifty video on United Health Group. Think their CEO will take a nice hefty pay cut just to help? Yeah... right.

Former Cigna Exec Wendell Potter Speaks Out

2009-09-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

This is an excellent video on the issue of healthcare, and delves into some of Cigna's behaviors.

US Physicians Across All Specialties and Geography Support Public Option

2009-09-14T18:40:00.001-07:00

Well, now. It would appear that those physicians claiming that doctors not only don't like Medicare but don't support a public option are incorrect.

A new study released today shows they do, in fact, support both:

Overall, a majority of physicians (62.9%) supported public andprivate options (see Panel A of graph). Only 27.3% supportedoffering private options only. Respondents — across alldemographic subgroups, specialties, practice locations, andpractice types — showed majority support (>57.4%) forthe inclusion of a public option (see Table 1). Primary careproviders were the most likely to support a public option (65.2%);among the other specialty groups, the “other” physicians —those in fields that generally have less regular direct contactwith patients, such as radiology, anesthesiology, and nuclearmedicine — were the least likely to support a public option,though 57.4% did so. Physicians in every census region showedmajority support for a public option, with percentages in favorranging from 58.9% in the South to 69.7% in the Northeast. Practiceowners were less likely than nonowners to support a public option(59.7% vs. 67.1%, P<0.001),> it. Finally, there was also majority support for a public optionamong AMA members (62.2%). [emphasis mine]

I strongly suggest that you read then take the journal report with you to town hall meetings, and also send it to your representatives and senators.

This is very powerful stuff.

Hat tip: Helenann dKos

President Obama's Saturday Address On Healthcare

2009-09-12T12:28:00.001-07:00

First, here's Robert Reich on the Public Option, this is about 2:25, and he breaks it down into the most simple of terms. Very helpful.

Here's President Obama. This is about 4 minutes long and wonderful.

For Your Viewing and Listening Pleasure...

2009-09-10T23:17:00.000-07:00

Link is here. (very photo heavy)

BTW, when the link comes up, click of full screen. Nicer that way:)

Shelter Animals Need Adopting

2009-09-08T15:11:00.000-07:00

The fires in CA recently stuffed every single shelter, boarding facility and wildlife rehab center. In addition to animals who have lost their families because of the economy and/or home foreclosure--and in addition to those being born to animals not spayed and neutered--more than ever, dogs, cats and bunnies need help.

Here are a couple of really neat videos on the topic. The first is from HSUS... a little sad at first, but has a happy ending!

This one, Ode to the Station Fire, is a shortie (you tube)... The scene inside a local shelter is pretty amazing.

Adopt Some Love! Adopt a shelter or rescue animal! Don't breed or buy while shelter animals die.

Pres. Obama Kicks In On Health Care

2009-09-07T15:15:00.000-07:00

This is but an intro to what he might talk about on Wednesday (BE SURE and watch it Wednesday).

Here ya go, and he is just warming up. From Cincinnati today:

Health Care Reform and "Triggers": No, And Why

2009-09-05T16:39:00.001-07:00

As many of you know, the issue of triggers--a mechanism for compelling the institution of a public plan for health care after we give insurance company giants one more chance to be good--are being talked about again.

This is a short and well done piece from Firedog Lake explaining what triggers are, and why they are bad, with extensive linking. As you may or may not be aware, Olympia Snowe (R-ME) has proposed the idea in the ongoing mess that is the US Senate Gang of Six (3 dems, 3 republicans) from the Finance Committee working on the remaining congressional bill.

This is important to know in light of Obama's upcoming Wednesday talk on health care. Knowing the basics will help you to discern what is going on and why.

The stakes are very, very high. If we cannot provide a good, medicare-like public option that is affordable (some suggest no more than 2.5% of income), we will not have this chance again for decades. The poor, the uninsured will remain so and out of range for health care.

For those with insurance, the costs are rising an average 4.4 times faster than pay. That is obviously unsustainable for everyone but the very rich.

We are facing the multi-headed hydra on health care and unless we knock down every additional compromise as they spit and hiss at us, we won't win. And we have to win.

CA Nurses Assn. and CA Gov. Jerry Brown Investigate

2009-09-04T21:58:00.001-07:00

Well worth watching... this is outrageous.

This is An Excellent Two-Part Video on Health Care

2009-09-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

Very worth watching:

A Really FUN Explanation of Public Healthcare

2009-08-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

I think you'll enjoy this...

hat tip to tunesmith at dKos

The Shame That is American Health Care

2009-08-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

This video says it all. It needs no introduction. It does, however, need to be thought about. This is ONE woman and there are thousands more out there just like her.

Breaking the Myths: 14 Lies and 14 Truths

2009-08-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

NOTE: There are two parts to this post. The first is on the Media Matters Lies/Truths and the second is a two-part video (and the second part is absolutely killer) between John Steward and insurance company shill Betsy McCaughey on the health care bill. If you don't know who Betsy McCaughey is, she was trotted out during Clinton's campaign to shut down the health care bill then, which she succeeded in doing. But Stewart, who is a really bright guy, eats her up. McCaughey resigned today from the medical device (read really profitable) company she works for to work on healthcare to "avoid" the appearance of impropriety. Gee, Betsy, a little late, isn't it?

*****

Media Matters has taken on 14 of the top myths about health care. Not only is their piece well written including some historical perspective on how many of the myths got started, it is helpful in understanding the truth AND is a great source to be able to send to others.

You can view it here.

Hat tip to mcjoan/dKos.

Now, on to John Stewart.

I attached these at the last minute to give you a flavor of how the discussion has become so absurd, especially after reading Media Matters. You'll get it.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Exclusive - Betsy McCaughey Extended Interview Pt. 1

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Healthcare Protests

and part two, which is especially yummy:

Exclusive - Betsy McCaughey Extended Interview Pt. 2

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Healthcare Protests

My Mom Needs Your Prayers, and So Do I and So Do The Rescue Animals

2009-08-19T00:10:00.000-07:00

I received a giant jolt today. They believe my 95yo mom may have multiple myeloma.

I don't have the time right now to post much more about it than to send you here.

I have asked other rescues to take my animal rescues off my hands so I can clear my plate. I have gotten a few responses and sure hope to get more. In this economic environment, for every one animal I place well, I have at least 60 requests (and these would make you cry) to take animals that have no place to go because of death, foreclosure, homelessness... The list is long.

Every day that I open my e-mail, I pray to God that things will change. And I open my e-mail a lot. So, I pray a lot.

I have always lived on the edge, emotionally, as this is what people in rescue do every minute of their lives. If you have not done it, you have no idea.

Rescue is emotionally painful to the max. The suffering we see--both animal and human--is over the top. Many of us become shells of people. Some of us become suffering saints. Some work their abilities to brave new worlds (like Best Friends in Utah). Some fall to the depths of despair (and this is usually really awful and involves dead animals). With the exception of the last, most of us are a combination of all of these to one extent or another. And there are lots of dark spots in that mix as life intercedes as it always does.

I have three cats coming in this week. The people are depending on me as their last resort and I have made a commitment. What a mess. The cats will, indeed, come in and be safe even if they have to stay at the vet until I can get my feet on some kind of land again. If I do not do that, they will be taken to the shelter where, right now, over 80% of cats are being killed. It's kitten season. These little ones are being killed too.

So please, will you... will you PLEASE say a prayer for my mom? I am her only caregiver and I am scared shitless right now. My life is even more upside-down than it was six months ago.

Hard to believe that is even possible.

Dr. Howard Dean on Public Option (video)

2009-08-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

There are ~~two~~ three outstanding interviews done today with Dr. Gov. Chairman (!) Howard Dean on health care reform and the public option, etc.

Please note... if you REALLY want to understand what is going on after the whipsaw weekend, go to my first post from today, below, and see the shake out from yesterday which was rather incredible.

Here are the three videos and they are VERY telling about how not only health care reform will get passed, but passed with the public option and WHY the public option is necessary.

If you don't understand the public option OR co-ops, this will help you.

He also addresses:

Co Ops (excellent discussion, second video)
Economies of Scale
Public Option (third video and others)

The first video, from MSNBC's Morning Joe 8/17 (today):

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Dr. Dean on Dr. Nancy's Show on Co-ops etc. 8/17 (today):

From the Today Show (8/17 (today):

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

My goal in doing all of this is to help you sort out the wheat/chaff and to sort of distill some of the arguments of the day. The postings will be getting far more frequent now as this is becoming a battle of lines and lies drawn.

I hope this is helpful to you. This is the most important legislation since Civil Rights Legislation of the 1960s and is now or never.

On The Public Option...

2009-08-17T14:17:00.000-07:00

Many of you may have opened up a local or national newspaper today to see that Obama is walking back on the public option. That does not appear to be the case. Let's take a look at what is happening and think this through, okay?

First of all, this situation totally exploded yesterday when HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that the president may not require a public option in health care reform. Believe me, that was like a declaration of war against most dems and most certainly against progressive and liberal dems.

For great coverage of what happened (including Sebelius commenting and commentary on her comment and other comments in contrast etc.) go here... it's a great piece and pretty well sums things up.

So let's look at today [what the newspaper DIDN'T print this morning and where things now seem to stand (this constantly changes)].

1. First of all, you have the infamous Dem Blue Dogs (you may be in one of their districts, so PLEASE check this list) many, but not all, of which are acting more like republicans than democrats. If YOU find your rep on that Blue Dog list, call them using the toll free number, 1-866-338-1015 and ASK them if they do or do not support the public option. Many of the Blue Dogs do NOT support the public option, but some do.

If they don't support the public option, straighten them out. Without a public option, there is NO way to control costs in the private industry (and for those of you WITH private insurance, this is a big, big issue).

2. Second, you have the progressive caucus. Look for your house member on this list. Then, using the toll free number above, call their offices and see what they think. IF they are NOT a signatory to the letter discussed here at FireDogLake, ask WHY. Let them know in no uncertain terms you want a public option to be included in health care reform.

Now, you saw, above some math done by Jane at FireDogLake on the numbers. THAT is the tale.

So, is the public option dead? NOPE! Not even in the ER. Not even at the doctor's office. But we need to get and keep support for it.

Here is a GREAT CNBC interview done this morning with (my hero) Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY9). Weiner is extremely bright, very articulate, and KNOWS this issue. Watch:

The bottom line is this, folks: YOU either fight for health care or everyone loses.

Losing means those of you WITH insurance will still have caps (lifetime and illness), your policies can and will continue to be rescinded, your premiums will continue to rise dramatically, your insurance will REMAIN forever tied to your job and you will have no back up if you lose your job and cannot afford escalating and temporary COBRA rates, you can be back-charged by the insurance companies for things they have already paid for if they decide they WANT you to and you made one teenie weenie error on your app (and geez, is there anyone that probably hasn't?) etc.

For those of you without insurance, or who cannot GET insurance, you will continue in limbo without health care just as you are now.

If we blow this chance it is blown for years. So if you are NOT actively working on this... please start now.

Obama Absolutely Hits the Mark in Colorado Today

2009-08-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

These two excerpts from his speech/town hall meeting in Grand Junction today are absolutely powerful and help to explain a LOT about what is and is not intended.

These are just *must watch*.

IRD and Soujourners At Odds Over Healthcare Reform

2009-08-15T19:00:00.000-07:00

NOTE: There is action to take to support healthcare reform at the bottom per Soujourners.

IRD and Soujourners at odds shouldn't be shocking, right? True.

Here you can read IRD's thoughts on the matter from President Mark Tooley. A snippet:

“The new Evangelical Left, like the old Social Gospel Religious Left of decades ago, always materialistically equates Big Government and centralized control with the Kingdom of God. They learned no lessons from the 20th century, when Big Government again and again wreaked destruction and was often the antithesis of Christian teachings. For the Religious Left, Obamacare is just one more opportunity for coercion and eradication of private initiative."

Soujourners, on the other hand, has developed a creed-statement on the issue which is remarkably beautiful and faith oriented. You can send this to your senators and congressional members by going here:

As one of God's children, I believe that protecting the health of each human being is a profoundly important personal and communal responsibility for people of faith.

I believe God created each person in the divine image to be spiritually and physically healthy. I feel the pain of sickness and disease in our broken world (Genesis 1:27, Romans 8:22).

I believe life and healing are core tenets of the Christian life. Christ's ministry included physical healing, and we are called to participate in God's new creation as instruments of healing and redemption (Matthew 4:23, Luke 9:1-6; Mark 7:32-35, Acts 10:38). Our nation should strive to ensure all people have access to life-giving treatments and care.

I believe, as taught by the Hebrew prophets and Jesus, that the measure of a society is seen in how it treats the most vulnerable. The current discussion about health-care reform is important for the United States to move toward a more just system of providing care to all people (Isaiah 1:16-17, Jeremiah 7:5-7, Matthew 25:31-45).

I believe that all people have a moral obligation to tell the truth. To serve the common good of our entire nation, all parties debating reform should tell the truth and refrain from distorting facts or using fear-based messaging (Leviticus 19:11; Ephesians 4:14-15, 25; Proverbs 6:16-19).

I believe that Christians should seek to bring health and well-being (shalom) to the society into which God has placed us, for a healthy society benefits all members (Jeremiah 29:7).

I believe in a time when all will live long and healthy lives, from infancy to old age (Isaiah 65:20), and "mourning and crying and pain will be no more" (Revelation 21:4). My heart breaks for my brothers and sisters who watch their loved ones suffer, or who suffer themselves, because they cannot afford a trip to the doctor. I stand with them in their suffering.

I believe health-care reform must rest on a foundation of values that affirm each and every life as a sacred gift from the Creator (Genesis 2:7).

Amen.

Amen indeed. What a difference in tone and legitimacy.

Lawrence ODonnell Rips on TX Congressman Culberson

2009-08-14T17:55:00.000-07:00

Boy, this is absolutely worth watching! The hypocrisy!

Go Lawrence! Rep. Culberson is lying through his teeth.

As for him saying that no one has proposed eliminating Medicare, Culberson isn't doing his homework. Recently, during the House Energy and Commerce hearings on HR3200, Rep. Weiner (D-NY) did exactly that: He offered to the republicans who call HR3200 socialism (without telling their constituents they support/oppose Medicare which clearly IS socialism) a chance to shut down Medicare through an amendment. He, like many of us, are sick and tired of the socialism meme.

You can watch Weiner take on the Republicans below. It is a beautiful thing:

I challenge ANYONE to a discussion about how this country is not ALREADY a socialist country given tax moneys are collected then distributed for:

Schools
Police
Fire Departments
Roads
Health Clinics
Sarah Palin's famous Bridge to Nowhere
Military funding including the National Guard
Farm programs
Libraries
Museums
Animal Shelters
Housing renewal projects
Social Security
Medicare
ETC.

And now health care.

Everyone needs to stop with the socialism meme. It's not credible, not factual and designed to illicit some strange response (especially in the same crowd with people calling healthcare Marxism, Fascism, Nazism etc.) from those in the nitwit category.

The level of ridiculousness has reached a new and appalling height.

Hat tip to theone718 at dKos.

Focus on The Family Stops 'Gay Conversion' Project

2009-08-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

It's a money thing. They aren't rollin in the dough now, so they are dropping the program.

Read about it here.

However...

The Love Won Out conferences on "leaving homosexuality" will be handed over in November to a longtime ministry partner, Orlando, Fla.-based Exodus International.

So... it ain't over. It's just being recycled.

Powerful Stuff From a Former Right Wing Evangelical

2009-08-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

This is must watch stuff... especially given the rhetoric against Obama, the current situation with town hall meetings across the country, etc.

More from Frank at HuffPo.

And here's a doozy, also... c/o Rachel Maddow exposing the truth about a Republican party operative who falsely identified herself at one of the town hall meetings.

The bottom line on these town hall meetings is this: GO! Stand with those who refuse to see the right take down the democratic process. It can be done peacefully, nicely. Take a camera or a video camera.

We cannot let the democratic process fall from rhetoric and fear.

Hat Tip to: ohcanada at dKos and marabout40 at dKos

Be As Rich As Ed!

2009-08-03T21:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a neat new 30 sec. commercial on healthcare.

Just for the record, if anyone makes over $5K/hour, as Ed does/did as CEO of Cigna, please contact me. I need a loan (to buy insurance!).

Hat Tip: dKos.

MO Senator Roy Blunt HATES Medicare!

2009-08-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

He also hates the public option being considered.

For those of you in Missouri, I hope you will take this Vid and pass it around, especially to those ON Medicare.

Medicare has never done anything to make people more healthy.
--Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO)

Hat Tip to Jed Lewison dKos, here.

Vids: DADT and The Killer Weiner on Healthcare

2009-07-31T00:16:00.000-07:00

First, Rachel on DADT.. excellent:

Second, if you haven't seen Rep. Weiner (NY9) kick butt in the House Energy and Commerce Committee on health care, my friend, you have missed a beautiful thing:

And of course Weiner makes me wonder WHY I live here and not in NY9.

47 Second Fact Check on Lewin Healthcare Study

2009-07-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

During the Congressional August recess, you need to know you are going to see and hear an onslaught of insurance company fear (cue the scary sounds) like you have never seen or heard before. Really. It's true. It's all about their bottom line which they would like to keep to themselves.

And it is about stopping healthcare reform.

This is going to be the modern Ebenezer Scrooge August. No, you can't have more. In fact most of you are going to pay more (gotten you rate increase raise notice yet?) for less, with more insurance companies telling you no.

What a bargain!

So let's stop for a moment and see what your congressional members might try to pull over your eyes in town halls while they are home. You in the south, pay particularly close attention.

Some of you may have already heard about the Lewin Study, the group the GOP has been referencing for the last month or so (30 seconds, and interesting and funny):

Oops.

Alrighty then. So much for the Lewin Study. Check.

Stay tuned: Tomorrow we are going to take a look at another issue... and likewise all through August.

Howard Dean on Reform

2009-07-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

That would be ~~health care~~ insurance reform. Ala Maddow, c/o dKos. Great clip.

Hate Speech (great video) and The US

2009-07-26T15:37:00.000-07:00

I hope you will watch this great video from Bill Moyers.

Health Care Action for Monday

2009-07-19T22:55:00.000-07:00

A number of Blue Dog democrats are holding up the health care bill in Henry Waxman's House Energy and Commerce Committee refusing to vote it out of committee. This is one of the three House committees which are working on the health care bill (referred to, often, as the tri-committe for the three committees and tri-care for the resulting bill).

These Blue Dogs (BDs), for various reasons, could side with republicans to crush the health care bill. We cannot let that happen. There are seven BDs on this committee that need to be targeted tomorrow through Tuesday, but preferably tomorrow (Monday, July 20).

The next action is to use a letter writing form tool to connect with newspapers that can help influence these legislators. The form tool will send automatically to the various papers, and is VERY easy to use.

1. Click on the legislators below, that will link you to the form tool for that legislator.
2. Fill in the contact information, EVEN if you are NOT in that legislator's state. Be sure and do your own legislator, however, if they ARE on the list.
3. Click through to begin the letter. PLEASE customize and personalize your letters... this is VERY important. Editorial page editors can sniff letter writing campaigns a mile away (so we are told by former editors!), so customize all letters. Use the points suggested aside each letter. Take one or two points and mix it up! CUSTOMIZE!
4. Send your letter, go to the next legislator on the list and start over!

This is a critical step because if we cannot get at least TWO of these Blue Dogs off the fence, they are expected to provide amendments to KILL the health care bills or add time/issue triggers that seriously weaken the bill.

Rep. John Barrow (D-GA)
Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR)
Rep. Baron Hill (D-IN)
Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN)
Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT)
Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA)
Rep. Zachary Space (D-OH)

Please write these letters today and e-mail a link to this post to anyone you like, or just lift it entirely for your own blog!

Let's get this done!

PS... If you do NOT have a rep on this list, please be sure to address both Rep Barrow and Rep Space. These two legislators may be the most movable at the moment.

Thanks to slink at dKos and everyone at FireDogLake for doing such wonderful work on this issue and helping to organize support for these bills!

PBS On The 2009 TEC Convention

2009-07-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

My eyes about bugged-out in places when I watched this.

What do YOU see in this piece?

Please Do This For Me, I Need Your Help

2009-07-11T12:24:00.000-07:00

Please read my story and understand why the issue of health care is so important to me. Please.

If you have not seen Moore's film, Sicko, about the health care debacle that is American insurance, you must.

You can go HERE and watch the entire film. This is a funny and powerful film that touches on every aspect of American health insurance (or not).

Then, go HERE and watch an insurance industry exec, Cigna's self-retired former Vice President of Corporate Communications, Wendell Potter, say that Moore's film was right on in an interview with Bill Moyers.

Moyers exposes the insurance companys' campaign to discredit Moore and keep me and tens and tens of millions of people like me untreated, or under-insured. And to cancel people like YOU that have insurance, at least until you need it.

Between the two of the above, I was sobbing. Still am.

Between the two films above, it explains how and why we are in the position we are in and WHY you are not safe: Even if you ARE INSURED. And Moyers discusses the politics of it all.

*****

My Story

What you may not know is that my brother--my ONLY brother and my ONLY sibling, my mother's only son, my sister-in-law's only husband, my niece and and nephews only father--died because his insurance company was "considering" whether he could have a medical test.

During that "consideration" period, my fun, hard-working, creative and wonderful brother climbed into bed, said he did not feel well, and was dead three minutes later.

Had an insurance company not been invovled, my brother would have gone for the test, they would have easily found the problem, and he would have been immediately admitted to a hospital. He wasn't. He's dead.

I had cancer. I am a cancer survivor. I am uninsurable. I have no insurance.

When I get sick or injured, I go to the emergency room. I do my best not to and should have gone more times than I have ever gone. The terrible reality for me is that I am embarassed to ask for help at a hospital. I feel inadequate.

When I broke my arm falling from a wall onto the street, I went to the hospital. They x-rayed my arm, confirmed the break, put it in a sling, and gave me a few names of doctors to go to.

The next day, I called the doctors. They didn't take payments. I ended up calling EVERY orthopedist in Orange County and every clinic. Not one would take payments.

I left my arm in a sling. It took me almost two years to get my left arm to heal on its own and get mobility back.

When I had severe chest pains, I drove myself to the hospital. They confirmed I had had a a heart event but didn't understand exactly what had happened. They wanted me to stay in the hospital at least overnight for more tests, but because I was uninsured (I was working full time for a small company who did not offer it and I did not make enough to pay for ANY insurance that a company would offer given my cancer history), I ended up being sent home with a prescription for nitroglycerin and a warning that given where I live, if I had a serious event then or in the future, I would die.

I remain undiagnosed, and untreated. I was in the hospital for perhaps four hours. The bill was $5K. I could not pay the bill.

Those of you with insurance paid for me. That's the rip. You are ALREADY paying for health care for the uninsured, but at the highest rate possible.

Who knows how long my feet will walk this beautiful earth. I love this place. I have spent the majority of my adult life defending this beautiful place, paid, and mostly not. I have no interest in being dead. None. I am only 55. My brother died at 52. My mom is 95 and on Medicare and gets wonderful care. I know--I am with her at every appointment.

This post IS about me. This post is to ask for your help.

When you understand what is possible, and what is involved with an American health care option (or best, and cheapest) single payer health care, you will not be so afraid. And if YOU have health care insurance, you will understand YOU are not safe under the current system.

Please, for me, your friend, will you help? Will you watch the Moore film and listen to Potter talk about the insurance industry and admit that his very company, Cigna, targeted Moore's film out of fear of the truth?

Every few days I post a call list for particular states and for all states to influence politicians who are receiving obscene amounts of money to stop any form of national health care. These are calls to politicians who hold MY LIFE in their hands, and yours as well. Will you please help me--and yourselves--by making these calls?

Don't be shy. Remember, our Congress members have the best insurance in the land and we foot the tab. Shouldn't we have the same option?

I am, literally, one of the least of these. As uncomfortable for me it is to ask for help, I am asking--begging, really--for your help.

Will you help me? And if you are not willing, will you at least tell me why you won't help me, Cany?

I can take the hits.

I cannot take not knowing why people are unwilling to help. And I cannot understand why anyone would feel that calling your elected officials is, somehow, "someone else's" job.

DADT: Movement on the Hill! (and healthcare)

2009-07-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

Preliminary Note: Scroll down to see what action to take (in red, below) on this issue. Please note the updates at end for bill number and link to track bill.

In the middle of the legislative healthcare debacle (and if YOU have not supported folks like ME, a cancer survivor, essentially uninsurable, but are interested in DADT, please realize that no matter WHAT the issue is we have to stick together and this takes WORK. Are you fighting for ME on healcare, cuz I am fighting for YOU on DADT!), word now comes that Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy (Pennsylvania-08) (and here) a Iraq Veteran and officer, BTW, is taking up the fight through the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (MREA).

Go here and here and here to read about Murphy's engagement. [NOTE: This last link is dedicated, at this point, to THIS (DADT) issue].

Watch Murphy today (July 8, 2009) address this issue in a press conference:

"It's our job," Murphy said of a repeal. "This was an act of Congress in 1993 and it will take an act of Congress" to reverse it.

The measure got a subcommittee hearing last year, but Murphy says Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has promised him a full committee hearing on the bill this session.

And though gay-rights groups have been critical of the Obama White House for what they see as a lack of attention, advocates of repealing the 16-year-old policy see new evidence that the administration is willing to move on reversing "Don't ask, don't tell."

Here is an older video (referred to in the above highlight) which shows part of his questioning in the 2008 House hearings on DADT:

Action for Thursday, July 9:
All States:
Contact Rep. Murphy in DC.
1. Dial toll free (ask for Rep. Patrick Murphy), 1-866-338-1015.
2. E-mail Rep. Murphy, go here, use the zip code 19007 or 18901.

Message: Tell him THANK YOU for beginning, again, the repeal process for DADT. Ask how you can help him succeed! Also, PLEASE, tell him on healthcare to support a public option with no co-ops and no triggers available to all... a medicare-like plan.

This is what is reported about his healthcare stance on the public option, but remember, this is a Democratic Blue Dog, and it is important we continue to pressure him to support a good, strong public healthcare option:

"Rep. Patrick Murphy (Penn.) still backs a public plan without a trigger, said his spokeswoman Kate Hansen. "Congressman Murphy stands with President Obama in supporting the inclusion of a public option without a trigger in healthcare reform legislation, and believes it would be a good way to introduce transparency, competition, and cost-control into the insurance market," she said." --PDA, 09 June 2009

The clock is ticking. Make the calls. Send the e-mails. Get it done. Then take this information and put it on YOUR website, or link to this post, and forward it to friends and family.

UPDATE 1: Here is a very recent and good article on DADT and its history. (Update on Committee information and state x state contact info coming.)

UPDATE 2: You are perhaps wondering who the hell Elaine Donnelly is (second video). It's a good question. Here's a piece from 31 March 2009, Towleroad, and one from Lavender Newswire, 02 May 2008. In a nutshell, Donnelly is a homophobic, misogenistic whack ala Phyllis Schlafly.

UPDATE 3: The bill is HR1283. It was introduced by Rep. Ellen Tauscher (CA-10). However, Ellen was appointed to a state department position earlier this year, thus Patrick Murphy is apparently taking over the bill. GO HERE to get information on the bill, and bookmark this site as it will track history.

Sunday News for Monday ACTION on HCare

2009-07-05T21:49:00.000-07:00

Hope you had a great 4th!

Two words about Palin and Michael Jackson. Palin. Jackson. There. I'm done.

*****

Now, go find your phone. Fire up the computer. This is a work day and we have a lot of calls to make and e-mails to send on healthcare!

Look for your state below in blue.

Headline: Insurance companies are spending $1.4 million dollars A DAY lobbying against healthcare reform. Click on the word 'headline' to read the piece. Good God, folks. If this doesn't explain part of the problem, nothing will.

Healthcare Fact of The Day: In almost 3/4 of medical bankruptcy cases, families HAD health insurance. If you are a person with health insurance and think you are immune, think again.

*****

Connecticut: I love these short 40 second vids produced by Lee Stranahan (LeeStranahan.com). They are brilliant and produced by a Connecticut guy that's just ON IT! You Connecticut folks are a fun bunch.

So... WHY NOT call Joe toll free: 1-866-338-1015... ask for Senator Joe Lieberman. Tell him you want the same coverage he has, no triggers, no co-ops, no bull! And send the link to this post to your Connecticut friends and family!

Also, you there up in the beautiful state of Connecticut, call The White House at 202-456-1111 and E-MAIL THEM!

Message to the White House: On healthcare: No co-ops, no (time-kick-in) triggers. We need a Medicare-like plan. And no, Mr. President, I will NOT back off on moderate or Blue Dog dems that are not solidly supporting a good public option. They need to be held accountable.

*****

New York: Chuck Schumer. The man looks like wheat blowing in the wind today on good healthcare.

1. E-mail NY Senator Chuck Schumer (link to his e-mail)
2. Call Schumer's DC office. Use this toll-free number: 1-866-338-1015

Message: Do not under any circumstances support a co-op for the public option. We need a broad, medicare-like option with no triggers, affordable and available on day one to everyone that chooses to enter.

Also, New Yorkers, call The White House at 202-456-1111 and E-MAIL THEM!

Message to the White House: On healthcare: No co-ops, no (time, kick-in) triggers. We need a Medicare-like plan. And no, Mr. President, I will NOT back off on moderate or Blue Dog dems that are not solidly supporting a good public option. They need to be held accountable.

*****

If you live in ANY of the following states, listen up!

The Senate Finance Committee is preparing a co-op healthcare plan. This means somehow, some way, someone somewhere will form a non-profit co-op (or not) that would be the vehicle (or not) we all hop on (state x state, or county x county or???? so no benefit in economy of size when negotiating for drug or care benefits, for instance) to insure ourselves. Bad idea, bad plan.

In four words: Co-ops are a MESS!

Use this toll free number to contact your Senator, regardless of state: 1-866-338-1015, ask for your senator by name.

Click on the name next to the state to take you to each e-mail and state contact info page.

Arkansas: Blanche Lincoln
Delaware: Thomas Carper
Florida: Bill Nelson
Maine: Olympia Snowe (when you get there, click on the contact button)
Massachusetts: John Kerry
Michigan: Debbie Stabenow
Montana: Max Baucus
New Jersey: Robert Menendez
New Mexico: Jeff Bingaman
North Dakota: Kent Conrad
Oregon: Ron Wyden
Washington: Maria Cantwell
West Virginia: John Rockefeller

Call AND e-mail your senator in the above states.
Message: NO on the Conrad Co-Op Compromise, adding...

I do NOT want any trigger--7 year or otherwise--for the public option, take it off the table.
Don't tax our employer health benefits to pay for this.
We need a strong, affordable Medicare-like public option open to everyone ON DAY ONE.

Remember, you are in the driver's seat. This is YOUR senator.

For those of you that do not have a senator on the above list, these are ALL committee members and, as such, on committee business, they represent YOU, TOO. Pick a name or two or 13, call them and write them.

We have an opportunity this year to do what FDR wanted to do decades ago: Provide a means for everyone to see a doctor and get needed medical care. If we let this chance go, it may not return for decades and many of your friends and family may, like me (a cancer survivor with no insurance), not live to see that day.

A public option would allow for people to keep their insurance, if they like it, and bail if they don't.
A public option will help curtail medical bankruptcy.
A public option is the sane way to shut down an insurance industry which is designed not to protect you, but to make money--A lot of money.

Tuesday News for Wednesday ACTION on HCare

2009-07-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

Come on folks, we CAN do it. BE the change! Look down the list depending on your state. MAKE these calls AND send an e-mail. KEEP doing it.

This post has actions for EVERYONE (at end), but some specific state actions are called out.

*****

For Californians: I called every office of CA Senator Dianne Feinstein today (more about that tomorrow when I do the same thing again).

But here is what you need to do tomorrow, Wednesday:

1. Call Feinstein's DC Office. Use the toll free number: 1-866-338-1015, ask for her office.
Phone: (202) 224-3841
Fax: (202) 228-3954

This message is short and sweet:

I want a public option and nothing else.
No co-ops
No time triggers (for bill provision(s) to begin)
Medicare-like plan open to all, day one.
Get off the dime and DO something to support your CA constituents.

2. Call your local Feinstein office.
San Diego
Phone: (619) 231-9712
Fax: (619) 231-1108

Fresno
Phone: (559) 485-7430
Fax: (559) 485-9689

San Francisco
Phone: (415) 393-0707
Fax: (415) 393-0710

Los Angeles
Phone: (310) 914-7300
Fax: (310) 914-7318

3. Call one or more of the people on the Senate HELP (health, education, labor and pensions) Committee (the committee is working on health care leg in the Senate so it is important to understand that you do NOT have to be a constituent of theirs on this issue). Personally, I suggest focusing on Kay Hagan (D-NC) (again, you can use the toll free number 1-866-338-1015). Here is her Senate site.

Tom Harkin (IA): (202) 224-3254
Barbara A. Mikulski (MD): (202) 224-4654
Jeff Bingaman (NM): (202) 224-5521
Patty Murray (WA: (202) 224-2621
Jack Reed (RI): (202) 224-4642
Bernard Sanders (I) (VT): (202) 224-5141
Sherrod Brown (OH): (202) 224-2315
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (PA): (202) 224-6324
Kay Hagan (NC): (202) 224-6342
Jeff Merkley (OR): (202) 224-3753

North Carolina: Call Kay Hagan (again and again). Not only is she possibly your senator, she is on the Senate HELP Committee. See info above in RED. Also call one or all of her state offices. See sidebar for telephone numbers. If you called or wrote once, do it again.

For the following states:
Iowa
Maryland
New Mexico
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont
Washington

Call your senators. Each state has a senator on the Senate HELP Committee which is drafting legislation RIGHT NOW.

Message:

We want a public option.
No co-ops.
No triggers.
Medicare-like and comprehensive.
NOW!

Here is the list. Call toll free using 1-866-338-1015:

Tom Harkin (IA): (202) 224-3254
Barbara A. Mikulski (MD): (202) 224-4654
Jeff Bingaman (NM): (202) 224-5521
Patty Murray (WA: (202) 224-2621
Jack Reed (RI): (202) 224-4642
Bernard Sanders (I) (VT): (202) 224-5141
Sherrod Brown (OH): (202) 224-2315
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (PA): (202) 224-6324
Kay Hagan (NC): (202) 224-6342
Jeff Merkley (OR): (202) 224-3753

THEN also call Kay Hagan, in red above whether your senator or not.

For everyone not specifically listed: Contact your Senator's state office locally and in DC . You can find the numbers here. Use the toll free number for DC: 1-866-338-1015.

The message:

We want a public option.
No co-ops.
No triggers.
Medicare-like and comprehensive.
NOW!

It is important to make as many calls as you can and send e-mails.

Please, get this out. You are welcome to copy this post, take from it whatever you like. But PLEASE get this out there!

This is a hard, hard fight and senators are balking in helping us while they suck up HUGE amounts of insurance industry money. Fight, and fight hard!

One Minute to Help Lt. Dan Choi

2009-06-29T14:32:00.000-07:00

Please go here and sign. His trial is tomorrow (Tuesday, June 30) morning.

Just click on his picture under "Action".

Sunday News for Monday ACTION

2009-06-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

Please take these actions tomorrow, Monday June 29! It will take you maybe 5 min.

For you North Carolinians: Contact Kay Hagan on health care. Hagen is hanging up the Senate HELP Committee on health care legislation for everyone. Read here. Please don't let your senator stop health care for all. Keeping things the same or opting for co-ops (most of which have been dysfunctional and many have gone out of business stranding members) and/or demanding triggers (times when things kick in) are NOT the answer. A public option, available on day one, or better yet, Single Payer are. Please post to any No. Carolina blogs you belong to. Get the word out!

*****

Now, let's talk about the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) for a moment, and where they stand on health care, because it is not only RELEVANT, it is critical to getting a public option in any eventual health care bill.

On June 5, the CPC sent a letter to the house leadership regarding their position on health care. The house leadership are the following folks:

Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House

Steny Hoyer
Office of the Majority Leader

Jim Clyburn
Office of the Majority Whip

John B. Larson
Democratic Caucus Chair

The CPC's letter included the following requirement for a robust public option that must:

Enact concurrently with other significant expansions of coverage and must not be conditioned on private industry actions.
Consist of one entity, operated by the federal government, which sets policies and bears the risk for paying medical claims to keep administrative costs low and provide a higher standard of care.
Be available to all individuals and employers across the nation without limitation
Allow patients to have access to their choice of doctors and other providers that meet defined participation standards, similar to the traditional Medicare model, promote the medical home model, and eliminate lifetime caps on benefits.
Have the ability to structure the provider rates to promote quality care, primary care, prevention, chronic care management, and good public health.
Utilize the existing infrastructure of successful public programs like Medicare in order to maintain transparency and consumer protections for administering processes including payment systems, claims and appeals.
Establish or negotiate rates with pharmaceutical companies, durable medical equipment providers, and other providers to achieve the lowest prices for consumers.
Receive a level of subsidy and support that is no less than that received by private plans.
Ensure premiums must be priced at the lowest levels possible, not tied to the rates of private insurance plans.

In conclusion, the public plan, like all other qualified plans, must redress historical disparities in underrepresented communities. It must provide a standard package of comprehensive benefits including dental, vision, mental health and prescription drug coverage with no pre-existing condition exclusions. It must limit cost-sharing so that there are no barriers to care, and incorporate up-to-date best practice models to improve quality and lower costs. All plans, including the public plan, must include coverage for evidence-based preventive health services at minimal or no co-pay. All plans, including the public plan, should be at least as transparent as traditional Medicare.

This is why Nancy Pelosi KNOWS that without a public option, NO health care will pass in the house. It's not a matter of what she thinks, it is an effective CPC that will withhold their votes on anything health care that doesn't meet their test. What this ALSO means for the poor and/or unemployed, is that waivers would exist to cover their medical care until their incomes improve. With the economy in such sad shape, that is sorely needed.

So, Action #2 is to write the CPC and lend your support. Send a letter to the CPC's director, Bill Goold: e-mail: Bill.Goold@mail.house.gov

Hat tip to mcjoan, dKos. Hat tip to slickerwink, dKos for CPC contact info.

*****

This is for Californians: Here's Move On's short vid (30 sec) on CA Senator Dianne Feinstein:

Californians, contact Feinstein. Tell her to get off the dime and represent Californians on health care by supporting a public plan that covers everyone with NO triggers or co-ops.

Healthcare: Will You Help The Least Of Us?

2009-06-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

This is the question being asked right now by the 45 million uninsured in this country. I am one. I am an uninsured cancer survivor. You can imagine the cost of insurance for me, which I cannot possibly pay. I am not alone. I did nothing to get cancer. Nothing. I was just unlucky.

Others--for instance the nearly 20% unemployed in parts of Michigan and Ohio--are wondering asking for help, too.

72 percent of Americans support a public plan for health care including 50% of republicans. These people are your neighbors, your co-workers, your waitress, those pew-sitting beside you, your car mechanic, the family now living in their car down the street, and the families of your childrens' friends.

This is about you, me and 72% of everyone we come across. For every 10 people you meet, 7.2 of them support a public option for health care.

Think about that for a minute.

Now, be honest. What have YOU done about it?

Have you made calls over and over and over and over to your senators and house reps?

Have you sent e-mails?

Do you even KNOW where your senators and rep stand on the issue?

72% of this country should be melting the phone lines. 72% of this country should be causing servers to fail. Are they?

We Christians talk a lot about caring but we don't really focus much on action. I am asking you to change that and to change that today. Right now! 45 million of us need your help, and so does 72 percent of everyone else.

So here's what you need to do:

1. Call your senators and reps:

Ask them if they support single payer or a medicare-like like plan without triggers (a date when things click in), and without co-ops.
If the answer is no, tell them you do and that 72% of others and 45 million uninsured also do and that they had better support such an option. Ask them to defend their position against the 72% of the public that wants them to do something and wants it done NOW. Call them EVERY DAY until they say they support single payer. And if they never do, find someone else to vote for next time. Opponents should NOT be reelected regardless of party.
If the answer is yes, thank them and tell them you expect them to do everything in their power to get this done AND SOON.

2. E-mail your senators and reps EVERY DAY... You can use the same e-mail every day. Tell them you want a yes or no answer and you are TIRED of waiting. If they say yes or no in writing, see above for your response.

It's time to put our actions to work. Consider Matthew 25:31-46:

The Sheep and the Goats

³¹"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

⁴¹"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

⁴⁴"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

⁴⁵"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

⁴⁶"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

I have a feeling that if Jesus was preaching today, he's be asking you to make calls and send e-mails to help those in need. It's a presumption, but surely a plausible one. This is the way, today, we CAN--all of us--help the sick.

Now, will you PLEASE GO and make those calls and send those e-mails?

Health Care, Health Care, Health Care!

2009-06-23T17:14:00.000-07:00

Now, to get started, let's watch some really FUNNY stuff, shall we?

Funny! Well, sort of! Well, not really. The sad part is, as you saw, these excuses are actually being used in press conferences, on news shows, and on entertainment news (read Glen Beck etc.).

In fact, it's really not funny at all... the whole point of the two vids, AND, importantly, these things are also not true.

Rick Warren to Speak at ACNA

2009-06-20T14:41:00.000-07:00

Interesting bedfellows. Not that we haven't seen Warren's involvement before and certainly not that we haven't intoned the Calvinist leanings of many in ACNA.

And what would a day be without IRD being mentioned in the mix (not to mention their press release)?

You can read it here.

Legislative Action for EVERYONE on Fed LGBT Legislation

2009-06-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

Now, before you do this, I want to give you a cheap way to contact your legislators. AND everyone reading this--many of you from TEC--need to make these calls.

Here's a toll-free number to use: 800-828-0498. Just ask for your legislator.

Also, write and e-mail: here is a site with the information to do so.
US Senate
US House of Representatives

Keep your letters short, nice (if terse) and to the point.

*****

Now...

Those of you sensitive for one reason or another on dKos... please set that aside. Just don't read the comments, and you don't have to comment. But Please (and you know who you are!) read this post and get busy cross-posting on your sites and to your personal e-mail lists to get this done.

Every person that comes here needs to do this. Change happens from the bottom up.

This is activist work. You are activists. Do it. If you aren't an activist, start being one. It is how change happens.

The LGBT Community Doesn't Get It

2009-06-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

What I have to say, many of you won't like. Sorry. Politics are ugly, and having worked on issues in the sausage machine (v. those that have not), I think I have a bit of a different spin on the recent events.

Perhaps no one will like what I have to say. Fine. But you need to understand that just because you don't like it doesn't make it less true.

And before I continue, let me make my position as clear as possible: I support equal rights for ALL people. I support legal marriage for lgbt+ people, though I prefer ALL marriages be civil contracts with a "marriage" being considered a religious affair--an event by choice in whichever church (or other entity) you prefer.

*****

1. Recently there has been a monstrous fight over the Department of Justice (DOJ) response to litigation where DOJ supported the horrid Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) because DOJ responds to federal suits against federal laws. You may not like that, but tough. That is what DOJ does. And if we begin to have DOJ NOT respond to federal litigation in defense, we become the past Bush Administration. What if DOJ doesn't defend court opinions on global warming, huh?

And NO, that is not different. They do or they don't.

As to the language used in the DOJ DOMA brief, it was horrid. Worse than horrid (you get a good sense of it here, in a previous post, where John Dean and Rachel Maddow discuss it). This is the same vile language spewing forth from every rabid right wing literalistic Christian lap dog that you can name, bar none. It's even worse than many. It makes Rick Warren look like a near Saint (and if you have been here for long, you know what I think of that man).

I do NOT want a current DOJ like the old DOJ. I don't want the Gonzales support for torture manipulated by the president. If the DOJ screws up, I want the president free to replace it's head and others. This means, as Obama has said he would do, a presidential hands-off on DOJ. And I concur.

Does that mean that Obama shouldn't hear from hell hounds like me that his DOJ head went WAY beyond in its language in defending? No. It MEANS that you call not only Obama on the point, but the offender himself. It means you register a blistering response, as I did (did you?), to DOJ's outrageous language and seek redress. And if you haven't, do it. And if you won't, then go away. You are politically irresponsible and useless.

No one is here to help you with your issues. DO IT yourself. It doesn't come from the cosmos.

Does it mean Obama needs to be blamed for this? NO. He cannot micromanage an entire nation. Get over it. Stop whining and start doing something about it (see above para).

2. Regarding the US military "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (Clinton.. and believe me it could have been worse) policy, it's a ridiculous, harmful, and seriously unwise policy from a US Security standpoint that has NO place now or in the past not to mention all the other crap that goes with it. In polling (even by the most conservative of credible pollsters which Gallop is), the American public agrees.

So, why hasn't Obama just used his pen (which he actually CAN do in this case) to undo it? Good question and I, like Dean in the above cited MSNBC vid with Maddow, doesn't know either. There may be political reasons that exist we all are unaware of. If so, I don't have a clue, factually, what it (they) might be.

But I do know that often, politically, you let rest one thing for another so something moves through realizing that you only have 3-5 issues that you can realistically support and get through at one time. Given the NO Party's (read GOP) reaction to everything Obama and Democratic Party, it is not impossible to imagine that that some horse trading is going on not only within the Democrats but aside it with the GOP.

Has it ever occurred to you that if health care is passed, more might be likely to accept other things the pres does given the enormous support for national health care of some kind (which is well above polling for ALL other issues and clearly the issue of the day, and on the other hand, if not gotten by the public, your issues are moot entirely for the public)? Are you out there supporting this and advocating for it? If not, you should be, it's good politics.

Then, of course, you have the military structure to deal with which is, in and of itself, an entire huge problem in terms of its own culture and structure. It might not be helpful, politically, to the president and dems in getting big ticket items passed to have renegade generals and the like dissing Obama for this move before the path is paved politically. Do I believe it will come and come relatively soon? Yes, I do. And, if for no other reason than national security, I think even homophobes might agree (though I doubt any will speak up as this will just be spun as homo-loving... well you know the lingo... regardless of party).

That we have traded a smart military for a white-supremacist/neo-Nazis military v. lgbt inclusive one is incredulous on all points. AND it does NOT help the country in terms of success, understanding or security.

But really, how many people do YOU know that actually READ?

3. On Obama's announcement today regarding federal benefits for same gender partners, a post was on dKos last night that got a huge amount of response. But if you read through the comments last night (and I re-read today) much is understandably emotional response, not well calculated political response. The former is understandable, the latter isn't and represents, mostly, people who don't get how legislation is made and the grinding until the end process. Obama CANNOT offer domestic partnership health insurance. NOR can he offer equality. And if those minds and bodies as represented on dKos are NOT moved to a political position, you will lose. Plain and simple.

The issue is right, the framing is wrong, yet it sets up the president... the one that CAN actually do something positive in terms of arm bending and signing bills, for not only a fall but places the blame on him for things he cannot do without giving the duty to congress which CAN do something. DOMA is a federal law. Congress makes laws, and congress changes laws. Presidents sign or veto laws.

This is what happens when you have a leaderless movement, nationally (unlike the King movement). If only Harvey Milk was alive today.

But realize, the environmental movement, a much older and broad movement, is likewise fractured, though less so now than 20 years ago. I could have strangled the Sierra Club for some of the inane work (not to mention their ridiculous community-based issues structure) on various issues. BUT, some were good. And some were REALLY good. It's how it goes.

So... my advice? If you want to GET SOMETHING DONE, then get OUT THERE and do it and make sure you have a clue as to what is politically feasible this month, the next and the next, and FIND A LEADER. The anarchistic approach just isn't working and won't and is actually destructive.

I am, frankly, sick of the whining. I understand it, but I am frustrated that no national approach has been put forward by the very movement that needs it most.

I will follow if YOU LEAD.

Howard Dean with Rachel Maddow on DOMA

2009-06-16T15:30:00.000-07:00

Needs no introduction, both can speak quite well for themselves.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Ah... The Mere Brilliance of it All

2009-06-14T21:14:00.000-07:00

--Steve Sack, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

I got a kick out of this blogger's take on Rick Santorum's recent whine on gay marriage.

This LA Times article on Newt Gingrich should be archived if only to refer to it every time one of your GOP friend says just how moral and smart (and what great political instincts and skills) he is. History is your friend.

The economy appears to be improving. That might be a bad thing for all those that hope it doesn't because of their hatred for our president. In CA, however, we have our own set of problems. Read this which includes some really super info and great graphics and notations. Be happy!

This... without explanation... bears reading. It says a lot about the difference in two kinds of politicians and men.

And finally, just to cheer you up (heh):

LGBT Rights and Phrasing... Important Thoughts From 538

2009-06-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

Please go here and read. It is a VERY interesting piece, and I tend to agree with this master in stats and polling, Nate Silver.

I think he is clearly heading in the right direction.

Stephen Colbert in Iraq on DADT (Funny!)

2009-06-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

Hat tip to dKos.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Formidable Opponent - Don't Ask, Don't Tell

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Stephen Colbert in Iraq

Stoopid Quote of the Week!

2009-06-06T21:12:00.000-07:00

And the winner is...

Newt Gingrich for this gem:

“I think this is one of the most critical moments in American history,” Gingrich said. “We are living in a period where we are surrounded by paganism.”

If you just cocked your head and uttered "huh?" well join the club.

If you want to watch the conference where Newt and other speak on the topic of Rediscovering God in America, you can go to God TV and watch tomorrow (Sunday evening). Yeah I know... ya'll will be there:)

Who is Okay to Hate?

2009-06-05T17:09:00.000-07:00

Recently, I came across a dKos commenter, Random Acts of Reason (Random), in a diary by writer ErraticSynapse.

Random asks a very good question:

Will Christians stand with atheists on fighting hate and prejudice against them?

This graphic, displayed on a Texas billboard, is the center of the diary's issue:

In order to understand the group, you can visit the link on the billboard. I just won't link a hate group regardless of religious or other affiliation. I won't support hate no matter who it comes from.
.
This really, really creepy 15 seconds found at the Genesis site should give you great pause:

BTW: To the Aussies that come here... hey, the leader of this group, Ken Ham (and boy does that fit in so many ways) started out as your guy... now he is, unfortunately, our guy. Is that because he couldn't get a foothold there and came to the really, really stoopid US? What's with that?

Now, many of you that come here are NOT atheists or agnostics, as I am not, and a few VERY respected folks ARE. And as many of you know, I WAS an atheist/agnostic bouncing back and forth from agnostic/atheist before returning to the Episcopal Church in my very late 40's (and, BTW, you can thank--or I suppose blame!--the Fr. Terry/Jake for that, going back some nine or ten years, I guess).

Atheism and agnosticism have advocates of all stripes, much like the difference between Jerry Falwell and ++Desmond Tutu in Christianity. Some of their reasoning and knowledge about theology is good (on the theology part, almost NO atheists/agnostics in the movement seem to understand or even care about modern scholarship on the matter, one thing that irritates the hell out of me, personally... they come at Christianity with the boring sticks of Falwell-like literalism which makes them look absolutely eye-rolling STUPID to their educated opponents on the matter).

But THAT is NOT the issue. The issue is HATE and whether we Christians will stand with them against the vitriol of hate the billboard above, for example, posits.

Now many of you may say... argh... enough to do... who cares. And I guess that is your answer.

Because you are not defending against a certain TYPE of hate directed at a certain TYPE of person, it seems too small to worry about if you are neither. For whites, civil rights for African Americans really wasn't a big deal... until it was.

For hets, lgbt rights were not an issue until the hets' mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles, neighbors, church members, friends, bosses, co-workers, social contacts (and on and on) ... 'came out.'

HATE does not confine itself to race or gender identity. It is far more inclusive. It might be political or social or intellectual identity. It might come from envy or jealousy. And it might come disability or illness or class. I certainly never lacks teh stoopid.

No matter where it comes from, no matter what the thinking, hate needs to be called out for what it is. Hate leads only to civil rights violations and limitations, harm in all aspects of life, and in some cases injury and/or death.

So the question is this, on the Christian front: How should we be dealing with this within the frame of Christianity? Why are Christian groups NOT framing hate from another Christian group as unacceptable? DO we, as Christians, follow some 'code of respect' for the hateful among us and if so, how can we possibly defend this?

Those here lgbt know how Rick Warren's lgbt positions (and the scrubbing of his mega-church website on the matter) pissed everyone off. Most don't really understand, to this day, how Warren works with TEC schizmos in helping them into the more Calvinist beliefs by giving them cover and this over women in the church, lgbt issues, prop 8, evangelizing in Africa, reproductive issues (e.g. birth control) etc. In other words, evangelizing through exclusion and more soft-pedalled-Hawaiian-shirt hate. It's still hate. You know it, and I know it.

We all know the purpose of IRD, yet our OWN church, a target of the organization, doesn't talk about it at all. WHY? Does anyone really believe that the damage done to TEC is absent IRD influence? Does anyone care that when issues arise, they don't contact TEC for thoughts, but IRD as though we have NO opinion or social witness? Errr... do we have a social witness?
Do we REALLY have environmental witness?

It's one thing to SAY you do something. It is entirely different to DO something.

Hate: It isn't just a noun.

Irony of the Week

2009-06-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

Update: the pre-signing add by NOM... view it here, (30 sec.) Then call the NH Governor (it will cost almost nothing and take about one minute of your time!) and let him know how much you appreciate him signing the bill. NOM, nicely, provides you with that number in their video. Finally, they are useful:)

Yesterday, after years of working on the issue, the New Hampshire Governor signed a bill that would allow lgbt persons to marry in the state. This is the sixth state to "legalize" lgbt marriage.

The Episcopal Church's first openly gay Bishop, Gene Robinson, testified at the hearings in favor of lgbt marriage before the state's legislative body. +Gene is a New Hampshire resident, as is his partner Mark Andrew, and is Bishop of the New Hampshire Diocese.

Meanwhile, we learn, in the face of the upcoming TEC convention being held in Anaheim, CA--a state which recently banned lgbt marriage via Proposition 8--that a subcommittee (of nameless membership, and here) of the Bishop's Theology Committee is "studying" same gender relationships with a report due out in 2011, two years AFTER the upcoming July 2009 convention.

Over a dozen resolutions to be considered at the upcoming convention pertaining to marriage of lgbt persons, revision of Prayer Book language, canonical revisions, even the rescinding of B033 etc. are known at this time.

But the irony greatest to me is this:

This man, our Bishop of the Episcopal Church's New Hampshire Diocese...

can now legally marry his partner Mark Andrew, should they desire, anywhere in New Hampshire with one major glitch...

He and Mark could not, under B033, marry in a New Hampshire Episcopal Church.

So... the state gives the green light, TEC's B033 stands in the way, and a Bishop's Theological subcommittee want to study it for a few more years.

If this ghastly irony doesn't give you pause, it should.

While many of we Episcopalians are marching with our lgbt brothers and sisters, knocking on doors to "listen" to people in California (I am training this Sunday for this) in preparation for a 2010 or 2012 ballot measure to legalize equality through lgbt marriage in the state, our own church (already with lgbt's active in EVERY level of our church) lags behind after 30+ years of reflection on the matter.

As my e-mail signature suggests:

Lead, follow or get out of the way.

So I have to pop the question: Which will it be, TEC?

Silk is Gone:(

2009-06-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

Since 15 February, Silk has been at the vet... well over three and one half months. Not in a cage, mind you, but at the vet. This was just one of the 23 cats rescued from the hoarder/foreclosure situation in Los Angeles which we are, unbelievably, STILL dealing with.

First, Silk, extremely ill, was in a cage... all the tubes and bags and all that stuff... one extremely ill cat that required more drugs than I have ever had through four illnesses and cancer, and a blood transfusion from Scarlet the Cat as well.

But as the first weeks went by, Silk was better and free to leave her cage and jump from a surgery room counter into the deep window ledge where she would sleep in the sun for the day.

Or maybe she would walk the vet office and just say hi to everyone, including all the other vet cats.

Or maybe I would get to the vet to see my vet standing and using the computer because Silk was sound asleep in her chair.

Or perhaps you would see Silk curled up on the entry counter of the clinic, last Thursday, in a wee little green cat bed, sound asleep but with a touch would radiate a huge purr and a head-butt.

But no more.

Little wee Silk, whose owners NEVER even gave her one damn chance, has moved on. We gave her EVERY chance ten times over. And with your prayers, so did you.

For the last two days, Silk has lived at the vet's home. Today, my vet put Silk to sleep. My vet and the staff loved this cat and this was VERY hard for her, particularly, and for the staff as well who cared for and adored this cat.

So, tonight, please lift a cup to the wee Silk and sound a prayer for her. She fought, I fought, the vet and staff fought and you fought. We all did our very best. And please say a very special prayer for ALL the people, Dr. Laura and Gilbert especially, who moved mountains for this little girl at the clinic. They are really very, very sad.

Tonight we all send her off to the comfortable ledge in the sun, the sweet slow walk, and the nap on the counter and all the other places that Silk enjoyed while sharing her world with us.

May Silk bask in the sun forever more, and may God Bless this beautiful little one... Silk.

Thank you, each and every one, that took a moment for Silk in prayer.

Moving Away From B033, Some Personal Thoughts

2009-06-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

I deeply hope all of you, especially my TEC brothers and sisters, will read through this and take action. I beg you to do so.

*****

As many of you know, I have put my attendance at my TEC church (and all TEC churches) on hold pending the upcoming convention's decision on B033, meaning not necessarily rescinding it, but replacing it. As Susan Russell+ put it, 33 years is long enough (to wait).

This was, and remains, a very painful decision for me. But I simply cannot attend a church that does not recognize all the baptized in the sacraments which is, simply, TEC's own form of discrimination.

Today, I am sending letter to the priest of my church with a link to each video asking her to please forward this to the deputy representing my parish. I want to go home. I can do that if they allow others to go home too.

This is a very emotional issue for me not because I am lgbt--I'm not--but because friends and loved ones, Episcopal and not, are deeply injured by prevailing B033. I cannot stand with a church that would so injure those I respect and love and set them apart, spiritually. It is wrong and it must be corrected.

When one reads the pain on the faces of--or taste the tears of--those spiritually wounded and intellectually confused by a church like ours, self-described as a "big tent" church that claims to "Welcome Everyone" but doesn't in reality, how can one not turn away from this wrong?

In one respect, I am just as bad as the GAFCONers in that I left though I did not, and will not, cut the spiritual strings. I am 180 degrees from GAFCON's point of view, but I also took a departing path in fact over one of the issues they claim as their opposite own.

I feel so very conflicted about this and it has been very difficult. I feel like I have let those I love down. I have justified this because I don't, personally, have a vote. I cannot, personally, make a difference. I can support with my vote and presence and action in the public square, but not in TEC's square. But now I can at least do something to help, and so can you.

On the other side, I cannot look at any of my lgbt friends or those I meet, especially those Episcopal, and explain how or why I can walk through my sanctuary's doors in the face of B033's standing.

If you only knew how this makes my heart ache.

I have prayed and prayed for clarity. It has not come. I feel apart from my church. I cannot imagine what it must feel like for our lgbt brothers and sisters who have felt this way for decades.

Meanwhile, five states have legalized gay marriage, and more have approved its second cousin, domestic partnerships while in CA, the recent Prop 8 passage and subsequent Supreme Court decision have brought flesh back to the dinosaur of exclusion. Other states are addressing either recognition of lgbt marriages in their states, or are considering domestic partnerships or lgbt marriage. Yet in the states where marriage is legal--and even where domestic partnerships are legal--our TEC clergy cannot marry or bless our own brothers and sisters.

Will the government lead the way on an issue that is apparently confounding for the children of God? Ironically, that answer is unquestionably yes.

While my diocese is progressive and active on the issue, I see little if any parish leadership on the issue in Orange County with the exception of the likely suspects. No TEC banner was in the recent Prop 8 protest held in Santa Ana. No TEC priests were lined up supporting our lgbt brothers and sisters there along with clergy from other churches. Why? Why? Why?

Is keeping peace in conservative parishes more important that guaranteeing our church's baptismal promises to our lgbt brothers and sisters? Well, is it? Apparently, it is.

Fear of rancor and loss of giving frightens our clergy into silence? Apparently. Shameful.

So I hope you have seen the recent videos from Integrity, and if you have not, I hope you will not only view them right now, but contact your deputies and let them know your wishes on the matter. I am begging you to do so EVEN IF you believe they are already in support.

Both Integrity videos are below and both are excellent. Please watch them and take action. I ask you--I beg you--to do so. Please help us all come home.

The following video is VERY powerful and explains many legal and spiritual points.

Pray for the church.

On The Murder of Dr. Tiller

2009-05-31T14:44:00.000-07:00

Standing in the foyer of his Reformed Lutheran Church, Dr. Tiller was murdered today (as his wife sang in the choir) with a gun by an alleged 51yo man who has been apprehended.

Dr. Tiller has been a target of pro-fetus groups around the nation for thirty-plus years, and was shot in both arms by a member of the Army of God (and be sure to check the associated people AND groups) some years back. His clinic has been repeatedly vandalized over the years and for three years he was surrounded by federal Marshalls for personal protection.

Army of God's statement on the murder today (and no, I will not link to their hate site):

A great day for the unborn children scheduled to be murdered by Babykilling Abortionist George Tiller.

George Tiller reaped what he sowed and now has been cast alive into everlasting torment and fire for the innocent blood he has shed.

Psalm 55:15 Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.

I pray the person who performed this deed is never known or apprehended.

Right wing anti-choice groups have repeatedly targeted Dr. Tiller over the years, and he has been the topic on O'Reilly and other non-news shows (30 sec vid of Dr. Tiller reciting the history of violence against him and his legal clinic):

*****

Now, regardless of how one feels about abortion, it is legal in this country and will likely remain so.

In 1969, when I was sixteen years old by a month and ten days, I was FORCED to have my child as abortion was illegal. Regardless of whether my child was the result of rape, incest or the stupid action of an ill-informed, unprepared teenager, I was still forced to have my child like thousands of other females my age, older and younger.

So, what did the pro-fetus folks have to say about Tiller's murder today? Well here is one outstanding comment from Roman Catholic Randall Terry:

"George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God. I am more concerned that the Obama Administration will use Tiller's killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions. Abortion is still murder. And we still must call abortion by its proper name; murder.

Those men and women who slaughter the unborn are murderers according to the Law of God. We must continue to expose them in our communities and peacefully protest them at their offices and homes, and yes, even their churches."

A pretty horrid statement, but hardly as horrid as this statement from Randall Terry:

.."You better believe that I want to build a Christian nation," Terry said, "because the only option is a pagan nation. Not that the government can make someone a Cristian by decree. A Christian nation would be defined as 'We acknowledge God in our body politic, in our communities, that the God of the Bible is our God, and, we acknowledge that His law is supreme." snip "When I, or people like me, are running the country, you'd better flee, because we will find you, we will try you, and we'll execute you. I mean every word of it." He added, "I will make it part of my mission to see to it that they are tried and executed."

Or perhaps this will strike your fancy:

"I want you to just let a wave of intolerance wash over you... I want you to let a wave of hatred wash over you. Yes, hate is good... Our goal is a Christian nation. We have a biblical duty, we are called by God, to conquer this country. We don't want equal time. We don't want pluralism."

That's right, boys and girls, hate is the new right just like the old right.

Now, I don't want to cull Randall Terry for no reason as I do not want to target Roman Catholics at all. Roman Catholics, according to Gallup polling, support abortion rights at 40% while their non-Catholic counterparts support it at 41%. Likewise, Roman Catholics support stem cell research at 63% while their non-Catholic counterparts support it at 62%.

I am perfectly fine with Roman Catholics and everyone else believing what they will and acting that way as long as it does not amount to taking their beliefs and creating law that prohibits non-Catholics or non-believers from exercising their individual rights.

I even give Terry the right to his vitriolic hate speech, given the First Amendment, and I would support the ACLU in protecting his rights to speak hatefully. Much of the western world, obviously, does not protect this kind of speech and it is understandable why especially if and when it incites violence.

Randall Terry pushes his right to the very edge in threatening people. Nonetheless, he does not cross the line into advocating direct violence in these words, nor does he incite riots or violent civil disobedience.

UPDATE: Here is Randall Terry today, and listen to his words carefully... they are important (vid, 3 minutes):

Personally, I detest hate speech and everything that goes with it and I cannot tolerate Randall Terry for even a moment. I also hate guns. Nonetheless, Terry's speech is protected by the law of the land JUST like abortion is legal AND THE LAW OF THE LAND as are guns.

We cannot pick and choose our freedoms. They are broad and there for everyone. This is not only what the religious right and abortion opponents don't get, but often what liberals and progressives don't get as well.

Was Dr. Tiller's murderer a domestic terrorist? I don't know. I have no idea what motivated this man, what group or groups he belong(s)(ed) to, or what caused him to enter a church today, brutally gun down a doctor in cold blood and (allegedly) threaten a bystander then speed away in his sedan.

But I can say these things under the First Amendment:

ANYONE that supports Randall Terry is a loon and probably just as vicious as he is.
ANYONE that thinks we don't need better gun laws isn't paying attention.
ANYONE that believes the US should be a theocracy is off their rocker.
ANYONE that supports violence against another person or group is amoral.

LGBT News For The Day

2009-05-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

Meet in the Middle Live Feed here. It takes a while to load and jumps or stalls every now or then, but hang in there... some great speakers.

As LGBT folks and their supporters march through Fresno, CA as this is being typed, kicking off the next battle for marriage equality in the state, New Hampshire is poised next week to make same gender marriage legal.

On May sixth of this year, the District of Columbia's City Council approved, 12-1, a measure which would recognize LGBT marriages from out of state. This has some breath taking implications which could force the hand of the US Congress and the President.

A Bill has been introduced to legalize LGBT marriage in New York.

Update: Here is a vid on New York's Governor Patterson on the topic. Hat tip to JeremiahFP at dKos:

Maryland is looking at the question of whether to recognize LGBT marriages from other states.

Update: Illinois votes on Civil Unions tomorrow, May 31, the last day of session.

Here is an NPR interactive map showing the disposition of LGBT "marriage" in each state with historical discussion on the issue for each state. Domestic partnerships/civil unions are called out separately.

My Thoughts About Prop 8

2009-05-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

I was devastated by the news that Prop 8 was upheld by the CA Supreme Court. As IT has pointed out, some believe the decision not so incredulous as was believed at first, but still, we have three classes of people: Hets like me that can do what- ever they want inclu- ding marry a dozen times and di- vorce just as many; lgbt couples who are mar- ried (some 18K post March 2008 to midnight November 4, 2008); lgbt couples who cannot now marry.

The law being upheld means that in California, lgbt folks cannot marry but somehow are seen as still having equal rights. To me this is tomfoolery. Marriage isn't a nuance of words. It is a legal contract between two adults. It is a civil action.

Three states allow lgbt marriage; Iowa, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Others are very close to allowing lgbt marriage, and several are strongly on that path. Some 30 states have laws prohibiting it (state DOMA-like bills).

As a het, I cannot possibly under- stand to my core the experi- ence of lgbt folks who want to marry, but cannot, or the terrible fear that engulfed married lgbt couples prior to the California Supreme Court decision. Being the eternal optimist (a survival skill), I just had to believe the Ca Supremes would do what was right even though it was patently evident through the hearing before them, which I watched, that many members of the court bought Ken Starr's bizarre legal thinking which is the saddest part of all given what Starr enunciated: That sure, Californians can take away rights through the initiative process via an amendment to the California constitution. Apparently, the court didn't buy that the removal of civil liberties deserves the higher bar of legislative action to do so via a different instrument, a constitutional "revision".

In effect, about 41% of registered California voters exercised their tyrannical right to dispose of marriage equality of a smaller minority. It was a ghastly and shameful day.

The core of this issue is the understanding about secular rights versus theological opposition. One can choose to follow their faith personally, and I have absolutely NO problem with that. But in terms of our laws, we have no business imposing our religious beliefs on others who may or may not be of our individual religion, sect or denomination, let alone a person of faith to begin with.

The protests held on Tues- day should have been much larger than they were. This is NOT about lgbt issues alone. It is about the integrity of our constitution, particularly the 14th Amendment.

At the protest I attended, they asked the hets among the crowd that were supporting their lgbt brothers and sisters to raise their hands. There was a small smattering of us. Rather than feeling proud, it made me ashamed of those that really don't give one small damn about civil liberties or the framework of this country.

While the talking heads on TV blather over Newt Gingrich and his religious views and those likewise of Lou Dobbs, there is little basic discussion of what this precedent means: That through a curtly-worded legal initiative petition, we can rescind the rights of any group of people. Thus my signature line on dKos: Whose marriage do we get to vote on next?

My signature line is serious. We could limit marriage to only Baptists or, perhaps, the fastest growing church, Latter Day Saints. We could take away the right of single or lgbt adults to adopt or foster children. We could take away the right of apartment dwellers to own a dog. We could limit attendance at public schools to only white people (gee, that would be novel) and emergency room service to only those with insurance. We could fully outlaw divorce.

And each time, those unaffected could register to vote, and in turn exercise their tyrannical rights.

Ask yourself where this could stop.

As well, since the decision, I have worried over what the courts would deem more important than civil liberties which would require a constitutional revision instead of amendment via initiative. I can't think of a single thing short of California removing itself from the United States and taking our star and funds with us and that is just a guess.

So where ARE the people that believe so strongly in civil liberties such as members of the Libertarian party? Or is this just about what you can do with your land and limiting taxes?

And where was the democratic majority? Where were my friends and neighbors that voted in my precinct distinctly in opposition to Prop 8 (we had the highest no vote of any precinct in the county)? Are civil liberties by the masses so assumed that until a right of the majority is taken away no one will give a damn?

And where was my priest and those priests of other Episcopal churches in the county? Where were the friends/family of lgbt singles or couples or married couples? Is my county so conservative that we only relish our rights in the privacy of our own homes never to be seen (God forbid!) in public, marching with a sign and white ribbon pinned to our lapels?

The only thing I can lay at the feet of those that can't manage to get their fannies out to protect their friends, family, neighbors and the Constitution itself is that Americans are lazy. Indeed, that will be our undoing. Democracy, like relationships, require work.

If we are not willing to do the work then we will continue to get what we deserve: some cockeyed form of democracy and a discounted version of civil liberties as handed to us on Tuesday.

That may be acceptable to some, but it is not acceptable to this native Californian.

We Won't Back Down

2009-05-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

HRC has produced this short video of people in solidarity with California on Prop 8.

Nicely done. Made me cry, actually.

And here's a link to IT's latest diary over at dKos.

Photo Journal of OC's Prop 8 Protest

2009-05-27T14:20:00.001-07:00

Update: go here for IT's diary on dKos.

In order to minimize the suffering of my poor mouse which is going south, I refer you here.

I'll have more to say about this later, but I think you will enjoy the protest wherever you may be in the world.

And if you have delicate feelings about language... just ignore all the swearing... heh.

Update with cartoon (hat tip to JekyllnHyde at dKos) Click on cartoon to enlarge.

The Very Newest Line On LGBT Marriage: Didn't Count This As Humor, But Should Have

2009-05-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

I have read, watched and heard some awfully absurd things about lgbt marriage and why it should not be approved. But this takes the cake! I have to say it certainly made my giggle reflex come to life.

Just about every thought, coming from this thrice divorced writer, is patently bizarre. Try this on for size:

...It is that marriage is concerned above all with female sexuality. The very existence of kinship depends on the protection of females from rape, degradation, and concubinage. This is why marriage between men and women has been necessary in virtually every society ever known. Marriage, whatever its particular manifestation in a particular culture or epoch, is essentially about who may and who may not have sexual access to a woman when she becomes an adult, and is also about how her adulthood--and sexual accessibility--is defined.

Good Lord. Put me on a dinosaur and carry me away, would you?

So now, in 2009, we surrender women to the past in the necessary care of only a man? What about herself? What about law? What about family and friends?

This... this clearly absurd idea is the reason to be against gay marriage?

We're winning as evidenced by such shoddy, if humorous, logic. Next thing you know, the reason to stop same gender marriage is that certain complexions don't look good against off-white!

I guess when you are desperate, you throw whatever the spaghetti machine spits out at the wall to see if it sticks. It ain't stickin'.

Oh Noes! Socialism!

2009-05-24T15:36:00.000-07:00

Here in the US, we don't like political isms and throw them about like baseballs as if Americans have ANY clue what any of them really are given at least one of them (communism) was not allowed to be taught in school. We just needed to follow the bouncing ball and hate communism, no matter what it was, which, of course, we all did. Some of us followed so carefully and faithfully we ended up in coffins via Vietnam which, of course, is now a fully democratic country; the spitting image of the US, just like Iraq.

1. For example, if one supports welfare for children, one supports socialism (bad). If one supports NAFTA, that's free trade economics (good) and anti-unionism, also good. We simply cannot have unions for they are an ism that doesn't end in ism and was a terrible mistake brought about, in theory, by Catholicism. In some countries, they meet: NAFTA and economics blend into something called child labor which results in capital profits which is good but which is opposed by evil humanitarianism which would not allow children to be labor slaves, thus humanitarianism is bad.

2. Taxation is always, always bad and so bad it doesn't even meet the ism test. Taxation leads to pools of money that are then redistributed to do all kinds of bad things. Thus, taxation is the root of socialism. A few examples of socialism through the more evil taxation are:

Roads and bridges. Our folks and/or grandparents walked always uphill through five feet of snow everywhere they went. We should too. No need for roads, let alone evil bridges that connect one place to another. We'll have none of that! You want a road? Pay for its building and maintenance yourself!
Schools, colleges and universities. Only some people need schools. Most can sign their X on the line by someone in the family freely showing them how to do it. As for colleges and universities, that is for the intellectual elites (elitism is never, ever good) and normal people don't need an education. Education is socialism. Elites should be killed off. They are a clear threat to America as GOP candidates such as the American patriot Sarah Palin have so carefully, forcefully and originally noted.
Fire departments and police departments are a form of socialism and should be stopped immediately. In this case, evil taxation has supported this collective which we don't need and worse, these institutions are unionism, too. In the case of fire, get a bucket and a hose. In the case of police, just join the NRA and give everyone guns and ammo and that should do the trick. If you cannot defend yourself, you don't deserve to live or keep your private property.
Insurance. Insurance is an exception to the rule. In this case, because it is not based on taxation, and is a voluntary pool of funds designed to make a few CEOs really, really rich and sometimes cover those pooling their moneys when they file a claim, it is a form of ism that because it is not government controlled is always good. Currently, there are moves to stop the enriching of CEOs by the horrific suggestion that people might be able to get something called health care (this is an obscure service/thing that, simply, means if you need medical help you can see an actual doctor instead of dying in the waiting room of the local privately owned emergency hospital) from an elite that stupidly went to a socialism supported college or university school to learn how to help people who are sick [another form of humanitarianism but with the caveat that they are in business for themselves (at least for now)]. In the case of so-called health care, companies are actually expected to sometimes give up the moneys they are paid so they can pay for someone to get health care. This is never good, as they know, and they often will not pay, as well they should not. There are also other forms of insurance for things like cars and jewelry and such. All these things are owned only by elites and who cares about them as they should just all be killed letting the companies keep the money. One particularly egregious form of insurance is for those who fall off someone's 12-story building while welding a beam because they were too stupid not to or someone who falls off a roof while fixing a chimney or who slips in a puddle of water and breaks their back. In all cases, these people are idiots who should never see a penny of funds from the insurance companies. And these companies agree. They have good elitists (the capitalist kinds) to make sure that not a penny of money ever goes to the purely stupid so the capitalist CEOs can build bigger houses and fly in the skies in things called magical airplanes. Bottom line: insurance good. Insurance payments bad. Any attempt by our horrible government to take away moneys from these wonderful insurance companies should be a clarion call to the NRA members to fight against their own best interests. Don't you just hate it when someone has their own best interest in mind? I know I do.

3. Our government has been, and remains, a nanny state. For some stupid reason, the government gets involved with water and air and food. They seem to believe that they have some kind of knowledge that really helps. So here is my advice:

Water. Since the earth was created, about five thousand years ago, Adam and Eve and all of our other relatives drank it. So go ahead, drink it. Who needs the government to tell us when or what we can drink. Stupid fools!
Air: If you are reading this, you are breathing and are not dead. We don't need some stupid federal agency filled with socialism educated elites to make ridiculous rules on what we can breathe. We all breathe air. Nuff said.
Food: Sniff it. If you don't like the smell, don't eat it. It's don't ask don't tell. One word of advise: Stay away from anything red including apples and berries. We know how that goes. Figs might not be great either, but pray and sniff before making a decision.

4. Endangered schpecies and the like. This is really a threat to America and just gives jobs to socialism educated elites and WE pay for this through the evil taxation.

Schpecies don't matter. All that matters is humans and given were given the right to kill anything we want by God, we should. In fact, we must.
My gun is endangered. I want it protected and so does the NRA! My friends, buy ammo and lots of it. Stock up.
Bowling alleys are endangered. We really need a national discussion on this issue, seriously. If, as Newt Gingrich suggests, a couple of bombs can knock out all the electricity in the US, then we have to have volunteers to set the pins and return the balls. Let's get together and figure out how to keep it going!

5. National Security. Despite all the people that made us give up almost all of our nuclear bombs, we still have a few left, thank God. We need a national convention (perhaps we can walk to someplace in the central US?) to figure out where to drop them.

This common sense stuff has been brought to you by republicans throughout the United States (except Texas because these folks are planning to leave after they take all the money they can from the federal government to rebuild their state house that burned down. God Bless Rick Perry and God Bless Texas.).

If you like these thoughts, please contact the head of the Republican Party (whoever that is next week) and let them know. If you walk to Washington DC, you can find someone.

Some Thoughts for Tuesday

2009-05-23T20:36:00.000-07:00

Hat tip to slowbutsure over at dKos (who admittedly stole it from KentuckyKat).

Given tomorrow is Sunday, I thought this might be a good time to reflect on Tuesday from a Biblical perspective. Being a bit lazy about it, myself, I thought this might do the trick. Enjoy. This is one of my VERY favorite clips:

Oh... and while I'm at it, you really need to read this. Here is a lovely excerpt from the piece which speaks to the new GOP Judiciary Counsel William Smith recently installed by Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions a notorious homophobe and bigot who thinks that an out lgbt "would be a concern" if nominated to take a seat on The Supreme Court.

Smith was responding to a speech given by a McCain consultant and former Bush aide Steve Schmidt to the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay Republican lobbying group. In his post, Smith linked same sex marriage to child rape, bestiality and pedophilia.

Sort of reminds me of Rick Warren, our pal hanging with the schizmos of late.

You may need to watch the vid again after reading this last part.

GOP Leader: Gay Marriage Bad For Small Biz and More!

2009-05-22T15:07:00.000-07:00

So as if it wasn't bad enough that the majority of Christian churches feel the need to control the constitutional rights of lgbt folks who would like to marry, the GOP has recently turned it into an economic issue.

There cannot be anything more insidious than this.

But watch Keith Olbermann tear the crap out of this argument:

Let me just say that as a single person, I have not ONCE been employed by a small business that insured even me. Not once. And if insuring families is the issue, then I would think the answer would be either 1) not to hire married hets because obviously, they suck up the most money, or 2) don't hire anyone married at all, or 3) don't hire anyone with kids, married or not, or....

You see where this goes.

And while we're at it, let's see what NOM has been up to after their last inane "Gathering Storm" add against lgbt marriage.

Now, they seem to be thinking that same gender marriage shouldn't be acceptable because it confuses children. Like purple dinosaurs don't? Like divorce doesn't? Like hunger and poverty don't?

What a pile of absolute crap.

Now, this child, Ethan, who is a Colorado sixth grader, organized an equal marriage rights rally might be the one to debate Michael Steele. Kudos to Ethan... baby, you are the future!

International Nutro Cat Food Recall... Urgent

2009-05-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

*****Please crosspost this by link or copy text to your site or e-mail list*****

Here is the story, and the foods, by type/brand/size are listed at the bottom. This is very important. If you feed ANY nutro dry cat food product, please check this information with what you have, then print out and take the list with you when you repurchase.

As a suggestion... move your cats to Wellness dry or preferably Wellness wet (in both cases, move AWAY from a fish diet).

*****

Recall -- Firm Press Release
FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.

Nutro Products Announces Voluntary Recall of Limited Range of Dry Cat Food Products
Contact:
Monica Barrett
Nutro Products, Inc.
(615) 628-5387
monica.barrett@ effem.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Franklin, Tennessee (May 21, 2009) -- Today, Nutro Products announced a voluntary recall of select varieties of NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Dry Cat Foods and NUTRO® MAX® Cat Dry Foods with “Best If Used By Dates” between May 12, 2010 and August 22, 2010. The cat food is being voluntarily recalled in the United States and ten additional countries. This recall is due to incorrect levels of zinc and potassium in our finished product resulting from a production error by a US-based premix supplier.

Two mineral premixes were affected. One premix contained excessive levels of zinc and under-supplemented potassium. The second premix under-supplemented potassium. Both zinc and potassium are essential nutrients for cats and are added as nutritional supplements to NUTRO® dry cat food.

This issue was identified during an audit of our documentation from the supplier. An extensive review confirmed that only these two premixes were affected. This recall does not affect any NUTRO® dog food products, wet dog or cat food, or dog and cat treats.

Affected product was distributed to retail customers in all 50 states, as well as to customers in Canada, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Israel. We are working with all of our distributors and retail customers, in both the US and internationally, to ensure that the recalled products are not on store shelves. These products should not be sold or distributed further.

Consumers who have purchased affected product should immediately discontinue feeding the product to their cats, and switch to another product with a balanced nutritional profile. While we have received no consumer complaints related to this issue, cat owners should monitor their cat for symptoms, including a reduction in appetite or refusal of food, weight loss, vomiting or diarrhea. If your cat is experiencing health issues or is pregnant, please contact your veterinarian.

Consumers who have purchased product affected by this voluntary recall should return it to their retailer for a full refund or exchange for another NUTRO® dry cat food product. Cat owners who have questions about the recall should call 1-800-833-5330 between the hours 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM CST, or visit www.nutroproducts. com.

Recalled Pet Food

The varieties of NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Dry Cat Foods and NUTRO® MAX® Cat Dry Foods listed below with “Best If Used By Dates” between May 12, 2010 and August 22, 2010 are affected by this voluntary recall.

Nutro Products Recall List – Dry Cat Foods

U.S. Product Name
Bag Size
UPC

NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Kitten Food
4 lbs
0 79105 20607 5

NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Kitten Food
8 lbs.
0 79105 20608 2

NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Kitten Food (Bonus Bag)
9.2 lbs.
0 79105 20695 2

NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Kitten Food
20 lbs
0 79105 20609 9

NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Kitten Food (Sample Bag)
1.5 oz
none

NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Adult
4 lbs
0 79105 20610 5

NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Adult
8 lbs.
0 79105 20611 2

NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Adult (Bonus Bag)
9.2 lbs
0 79105 20694 5

NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Adult
20 lbs
0 79105 20612 9

NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Adult (Sample Bag)
1.5 oz
none

NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Adult Oceanfish Flavor
4 lbs
0 79105 20622 8

NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Adult Oceanfish Flavor
8 lbs
0 79105 20623 5

NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Adult Oceanfish Flavor (Bonus Bag)
9.2 lbs.
0 79105 20698 3

NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Adult Oceanfish Flavor
20 lbs
0 79105 20624 2

NUTRO® MAX® Cat Adult Roasted Chicken Flavor
3 lbs
0 79105 10228 5

NUTRO® MAX® Cat Adult Roasted Chicken Flavor
6 lbs
0 79105 10229 2

NUTRO® MAX® Cat Adult Roasted Chicken Flavor
16 lbs
0 79105 10230 8

NUTRO® MAX® Cat Adult Roasted Chicken Flavor (Sample Bag)
1.5 oz
none

NUTRO® MAX® Cat Indoor Adult Roasted Chicken Flavor
3 lbs
0 79105 10243 8

NUTRO® MAX® Cat Indoor Adult Roasted Chicken Flavor
6 lbs
0 79105 10244 5

NUTRO® MAX® Cat Indoor Adult Roasted Chicken Flavor
16 lbs
0 79105 10245 2

NUTRO® MAX® Cat Indoor Adult Roasted Chicken Flavor (Sample Bag)
1.5 oz
none

NUTRO® MAX® Cat Indoor Adult Salmon Flavor
3 lbs
0 79105 10246 9

NUTRO® MAX® Cat Indoor Adult Salmon Flavor
6 lbs
0 79105 10247 6

NUTRO® MAX® Cat Indoor Adult Salmon Flavor
16 lbs
0 79105 10248 3

NUTRO® MAX® Cat Indoor Weight Control
3 lbs
0 79105 10249 0

NUTRO® MAX® Cat Indoor Weight Control
6 lbs
0 79105 10250 6

NUTRO® MAX® Cat Indoor Weight Control
16 lbs
0 79105 10251 3

Off She Goes!

2009-05-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

Today was a wonderful day for our rescue cat Buttercup.

After a two-day stay at our vet to get a major looksie, have a dental and some x-rays, Buttercup left in the arms of her new mom, a movie industry agent!

What a lucky, lucky cat. She not only has a new mom, but a cat nutritionist and one of the best vets around to take positively wonderful care of her.

We are thrilled!

With Two You Get... Eggroll?

2009-05-19T19:09:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, we are STILL dealing with the cats from the 15 February foreclosure/hoarder situation in Los Angeles. Two of the three ferals were trapped and a wonderful woman in so. Orange County has taken them to see what she can do with them (just how tame (or not!) they really are.

Well... one, a female, was inobviously preggers, and so now instead of two adults, we have two adults and three kittens.

She sent me some photos today, and when I was lightening them up to post... imagine my surprise... check this out:

Photo 1 as it came in.

Photo after light- ening.

And what is mommy cat saying, exactly? Well, her pupils are saying she is afraid (and look how she is holding her whiskers... about 45 degrees back... meaning half way to tear your face off:).

Typical cat! Hide n pounce:)

My New Old Job

2009-05-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

Some things never change, but do, but not quite. Or something like that.

Out of the blue, and in alignment with my prayers for more work, I got a call from a dog rescue which I used to run a kennel for. It was a disaster when I started--the kennel that is. It took me almost three months of very intense work to spit shine that baby into something to be really proud of... rain and shine, fires and drought. The dogs were fed and exercised properly, the place was spit-shined, the owner was happy as a clam and I didn't have to deal with stupid humans who often have very weird ideas about dogs and what they like or need.

Despite eight years of college (and a whole lot of additional classes of interest), I chose not to go into my field of education as I couldn't square my environmental leanings to the industry. Later, recruited by the community to work on land use (read development), my science background helped me to parse the truth from the bullshit (more bull than truth in these things) in environmental impact reports (EIRs). If you have ever read one, you probably thought all was okay. Trust me... it's NEVER okay. Never.

I am probably one of the best educated shit scrubbers in the biz. Well, maybe not. I do have a friend that left a law practice to do the same. Shit and law have a lot more connection than geology/biology and dogs and cats unless you are in the field of animal testing or vivisection and if you are, I curse you.

Anyway... so I get the help call (read SOS) and now I work, again, for a woman that somehow just doesn't seem to attract people that have a clue as to how to run a kennel. But this time, the dynamics are VERY different and extremely challenging. Just my cup of Joe.

Cut to the chase...

I am now working 14 hour days so if I am absent a bit, please forgive me. The really cool part is now, JUST WHEN NEEDED, I will have the money to defend a piece of property in court that I have been working on for almost 25 years... a little less than half my life. This land is incredibly important to save not only for the plant/animal particulars (including endangered species), but for connectivity to already acquired lands which is important to large mammals.

So... sore and tired as I am, I am thrilled, exhilarated and challenged.

Thanks Be To God... and God, I really mean that.

Domino and the Woman With Faith!

2009-05-10T20:55:00.000-07:00

"I have faith," she said.

This is an amazing video about a Laguna Beach, California woman helping a woman from Phoenix, Arizona who had lost her dog in San Diego three weeks prior. Just an amazing and heart warming story.

Watch the woman of faith find the lost dog... hankey alert, BTW...

OMG! Great Stand Up By Pres. Obama... VERY Funny

2009-05-09T23:55:00.000-07:00

Takes a moment to load.

Prayers for Paws (And Me, Too!)

2009-05-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

I have three or four cats that may be homed in the next week or so... plus two that are leaving a foster this weekend.

First, the kitties that need prayers for a good home:

Buttercup.

This little girl so badly needs her own home. She is a singleton and finds it difficult and stressful here with other cats. I have a potential adopter up in the Ventura area interested and so far... so good. Pray that Buttercup finds the perfect home and that I make a good and wise decision for her. Poor kitty was abandoned, then taken in by another who had to place her... AGAIN. So this will be her third home, not including her being in rescue. This is real hard on a cat.

Whaler

This once obese seal point Sia- mese boy is now trotting through the house so happy with his new trim body! This is a wonderful cat who really needs a super special home that will continue to care properly for him and keep him slim and trim. He does well with others, and the adopters are happy to move their kitty to his food (Wellness chicken, a very premium wet food). It is really important I make the right decision for Whaler! He was found on a street corner near a park just crying his eyes out, taken to the shelter, then adopted, then given up (he wouldn't eat... was sick), then here. All better now after nine months!

Snowflake, Beauty and Elvis

We have a great home for one of the above cats.

Snowflake, the pure white, is an awesome, mellow cat that does well with everyone and does fine with dogs. This cat came from a hoarder who was busted and she was in less than stellar shape at the time, but is just perfect now. Snowflake has been here two years, and we really don't know WHY other than the fact that pure black and pure white cats are the hardest to place. Personally, I'm pulling for Snowflake who likes to sleep atop the piano where I keep my little St. Francis and angel statues, Bibles, hymnal etc. Smart kitty.

Beauty, the grey and white do- mestic short- hair, is a lovely, playful and ex- tremely gentle cat. She was given up with another cat we have, Bella, when a child in the family was said to have developed allergies. She was loved and well cared for and now we just have to find the perfect home. Great cat, and quite beautiful.

Elvis, the show- shoe Sia- mese mix, is a gor- geous and goofy love bug and super affectionate. He is not the most coordinated cat I have ever come across (!) but his temperament is just superior! Elvis is quite beautiful, as well. This is an all around funny and wonderful cat. Elvis was given up due to allergies.

Some Things to Chuckle At

2009-05-06T20:32:00.001-07:00

You know you wanna (1:11)!

Paired with this (1:41):

Noodle, Happy Fifth Week Birthday! Welcome Fioria!

2009-05-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

Noodle, the enormous kitty, turns five weeks old today! AND, my wonderful foster found him a kitten sister about his age (but smaller... gosh how could ANY kitten be as huge as this monster?!) so he can learn to do kitten things in order to become a better CAT. Single kittens don't tend to be very well adjusted, and, wisely, she is tossing that option!

Mom was VERY upset at first, refusing to accept Fioria and swatting everything in sight, but after 24 hours, she was nursing both Noodle and his new sister both of which are weaning. Mom Ragu is a great mom and extremely protective.

So... also welcome Fioria!

Here we go!

First, here is our boy, Noodle! Note his eyes have lost almost all their "baby" blue color, and he is going to have gorgeous green eyes! You can age kittens about this age by their teeth and eye color.

Meet Fioria (on the left)! WAAAAAAAAY to cute, these two, who my foster color coordinated. Having a kitten attack yet?

Here they are in repose, Noodle in the front, Fioria rear.

And here are Fioria and Noodle doing exactly what they should be doing! Being able to save another kitten from death is a really nice thing. The kill rate at shelters right now is sky high.

And, of course, every- one has to eat... Ragu nursing Noodle and her new adopted daughter, Fioria.

If It Be Your Will

2009-05-02T22:46:00.000-07:00

Of the many, many Leonard Cohen songs that move me, If It Be Your Will is right at the top of the list:

"If It Be Your Will"

If it be your will
That I speak no more
And my voice be still
As it was before
I will speak no more
I shall abide until
I am spoken for
If it be your will
If it be your will
That a voice be true
From this broken hill
I will sing to you
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing

If it be your will
If there is a choice
Let the rivers fill
Let the hills rejoice
Let your mercy spill
On all these burning hearts in hell
If it be your will
To make us well

And draw us near
And bind us tight
All your children here
In their rags of light
In our rags of light
All dressed to kill
And end this night
If it be your will

If it be your will.

From the 2007 tribute to Leonard Cohen, who recently played in Los Angeles to a packed audience (if you never have seen him perform, you really must), here is Antony covering this gorgeous piece--more a prayer according to Cohen--in his understated way:

I was so blown away the first time I saw this I sat literally mouth open, near paralyzed just in the absolute beauty of this song... which Cohen said (specifically beauty) was the point of this song.

Here is Cohen singing this absolutely beautiful and somewhat haunting tune:

Amen, I say. Amen.

Newt Rediscovering the Religious Right?

2009-05-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

A while back, I made the observation that Newt Gingrich was courting the religious right and despite his claim that he would decide "later" whether he would run for president in 2012, Newt sure seemed to be doing so.

As time passes, we see more and more evidence that Newt is not only courting the religious right, but perhaps attempting to herd them into a possible following.

*****

This June, Newt will be one of the religious right's special guests at a Pastor's Policy Briefing hosted by The Family Foundation, Pastors for Family Values and the Virginia Renewal Project. If you don't know the groups, you probably don't want to. If you do, Google is your friend.

The Title of the conference? Rediscovering God in America. It is not coincidental that Newt wrote a book by this title in 2006, and has produced a DVD by the same name (see trailer here).

And let's see, recognize any of these other religious right/political right wing names who are also speakers?

Historian David Barton (and here from 2005), self-taught historian oft considered a historical revisionist (probably the kindest of the charges), darling of the Christian evangelical wing and GOP (especially in Texas). Here's RightWingWatch on Barton.

Mike Huckabee, former AK Governor and 12-year Baptist preacher who came in second in the 2008 GOP primaries. In a speech 2008 speech given in Michigan, Huckabee supported amending the US Constitution to reflect God's Standards. (Vid. here, beginning moments of video.) It is fairly clear that Huckabee has his sights on 2012.

Bob McEwen, former GOP congressman from southern Ohio, former house ally of Newt, and caught up in the 1992 banking scandal.

Lt. Col. Oliver North of the famed Iran-Contra Affair of the 1980s.

Lou Engle, co founder of "TheCall", a third-wave charismatic movement, and participant in the film 2007 film Jesus Camp, can be seen here (video, Engle in the first 27 seconds in San Diego just days befor the November 4, 2008 election specifically to support passage of California Prop 8); and here (vid. at 0:59, a trailer to a documentary about the movement); and here from CNN on post election Prop 8 protests, see Lou Engle at 2:35); and here where Engle and others speak to "The Call", including a short statement by Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council, and offshoot of Lou Dobb's Focus on the Family. Perkins was a state representative in Louisiana 1996-2004 and was alleged to have done business with David Duke, KKK, in the mid-90s (see wiki for allegation and refutation). Perkins has some interesting things to say about the Christian right's current relationship with the GOP here (US News and World Report, 01 May 2009). Perkins, an attorney, graduated from Liberty University (see Dr. Jerry Falwell, Jr., below).

Dr. Jerry Falwell Jr., son of televangelist Jerry Falwell and current Chancellor/President, Liberty University. Falwell supported Huckabee (above) in the GOP presidential primary.

Dr. Mat Staver, Dean of Liberty University School of Law and founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. Defended the "Good News Clubs" in their rights to use public school grounds. See quote from Staver (page down about a third of the way) here.

Dr. Laurence White. Here's as good a description as any: Dr. Laurence L. White is the Senior Pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas for more than 25 years. Pastor White is a regular speaker for national pro-life, pro-family organizations like James Dobson’s “Focus on the Family,” D. James Kennedy’s “Reclaiming America,” Beverly Lahaye’s “Concerned Women for America,” and Tony Perkins’ “Family Research Council.” ... Dr. White also serves on the National Advisory Board of the Family Research Council. He is currently the Chairman of the Niemoller Project and the Texas Restoration project. In 1997, Pastor White was awarded a Doctor of Divinity degree by Liberty University of Lynchburg, VA. in recognition of his efforts on behalf of the pro-life movement. ..

So, the question is, what is Newt, the spanking new Roman Catholic, doing suddenly hanging with a bunch of right wing evangelicals?

It seems pretty clear that he is trying to establish his creds with this bunch in advance of his 2012 run for president. The only way Newt stands a chance to win in 2012 is to have the blessing of this bunch in order to draw the evangelical vote.

Will it work? Who knows. She From the North is the darling of the populist and evangelical crowd, she herself being one, and it is hardly a coincidence that Gingrich has been downplaying (or should we say up-playing her lack of political experience and knowledge?) her readiness to run, though he has generally done this gently.

And even if Gingrich could manage to peel off evangelical support from another candidate, he most certainly cannot peel off support from evangelicals (and fundamentalists) who view Roman Catholicism as everything from apostate to the work of the devil and there are plenty of these folks out there [read here; here (a short video from Larry King Live with Albert Mohler, April 9, 2007); here (another short video from Larry King)].

These represent the rather "nice" differences. There are many that are far more harsh.

For many of you who read this site--many of us here tolerant of individual beliefs especially when they do not abandon secular civil rights for those who do not believe as we do--you can see the irony in all of this and it most certainly is not lost on those who believe that their religious views are the only correct or moral views and that laws must reflect their religious views. This, of course, is where some things come together, and some things fall apart.

During the fight on Prop 8, for instance, many leaders of various religious stripes, banded together to see Prop 8 pass and the literature and arguments were shared between them. They also band together on pro-fetus issues. They diverge on the issue of the death penalty and on many other topics.

So, I predict, Newt is in for a bumpy ride in the near future. And so are we. And, irony of ironies, so is God.

The Honest Scrap Award(s)

2009-04-30T17:27:00.001-07:00

I finally posted on the award, and you can find the post here.

Thanks, Leonardo!

S. 909: From Matthew Shepard's Mom, an Appeal

2009-04-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

The Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Protection Act (HR 1913) has passed the house (249-175, go here to see how your congressional member voted, only 18 republicans voted FOR the bill), but now faces the US Senate as S.909 introduced by Senator Ted Kennedy with bipartisan co-sponsors including:

Sen. Edward Kennedy [D, MA]
Sen. Daniel Akaka [D, HI]
Sen. Evan Bayh [D, IN]
Sen. Jeff Bingaman [D, NM]
Sen. Sherrod Brown [D, OH]
Sen. Maria Cantwell [D, WA]
Sen. Benjamin Cardin [D, MD]
Sen. Robert Casey [D, PA]
Sen. Susan Collins [R, ME]
Sen. Christopher Dodd [D, CT]
Sen. Richard Durbin [D, IL]
Sen. Dianne Feinstein [D, CA]
Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand [D, NY-20]
Sen. Thomas Harkin [D, IA]
Sen. Tim Johnson [D, SD]
Sen. John Kerry [D, MA]
Sen. Amy Klobuchar [D, MN]
Sen. Mary Landrieu [D, LA]
Sen. Frank Lautenberg [D, NJ]
Sen. Patrick Leahy [D, VT]
Sen. Carl Levin [D, MI]
Sen. Joseph Lieberman [I, CT]
Sen. Jeff Merkley [D, OR]
Sen. Barbara Mikulski [D, MD]
Sen. Patty Murray [D, WA]
Sen. Bill Nelson [D, FL]
Sen. Ben Nelson [D, NE]
Sen. John Reed [D, RI]
Sen. Charles Schumer [D, NY]
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen [D, NH]
Sen. Olympia Snowe [R, ME]
Sen. Arlen Specter [D, PA]
Sen. Mark Udall [D, CO]
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse [D, RI]

S 909 is next scheduled to go to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Likely no votes:

Cobern (R-OK) is very anti-gay. Cobern is about as anti-gay as one could be. He supports a ban on gay adoptions and likewise a federal ban on gay marriage. For more of his record, go here.
Cornyn (R-TX) is very anti-gay and strongly called for a constitutional amendment opposing lgbt marriage.
Graham (R-SC) very anti-gay and strongly supports a constitutional amendment to ban lgbt marriage.
Grassley (R-IA) very anti-gay. Record here.
Orin Hatch (R-UT) previously opposed gender identity in hate crimes legislation, supports gay marriage ban. Record here.
Kyl (R-AZ) anti gay, supports gay marriage ban as constitutional amendment, previously voted no on inclusion of gender identity in hate crimes legislation. Record here.
Sessions (R-AL) ditto Kyl, above. Record here.

If you are represented by any of the above senators, please contact their offices about this bill. Let them know you want them to support the bill and that you are watching their votes:

You can reach your senator by going here:

You can click on the state, your US Senators will be at the top of the list with e-mail and telephone contact information. I did both, sent a letter and called.

Please help our friends, family and those we do not know. Help law enforcement by giving them the legal tools they need to properly prosecute hate crimes against our lgbt friends and family.

Thank you.

Additional Links:
(Bill Language not yet available on line).
Matthew Shepard Foundation
Human Rights Coalition

hat tip to electblue.org

Very Kewl:) The Scraper Award

2009-04-28T17:13:00.001-07:00

Better late than nevah!

Well thanks to Leonardo, I have received the Scrap Award. Kewl, thanks, Leonardo.

I have been putting off thinking about this because of the 10 things to say about yourself. Some things are easy for me, and some things are not.

Thanks, Leonardo! Back atcha:)

One of the requirements of the award is that I list ten things about myself. Gads, hard to pick ten truths about myself that would seem relevant or interesting among, probably, the thousands of declarations I could make.

Also, we must award seven others. That part is easy. So many, many great bloggers.

So... the Ten Things:

1. I have a rat living in my SUV and it is driving me nuts. Go here for more.

2. I deal with illness and death all the time in animal rescue. It worries me that I might ever become staid or nonchalant about it. It's painful and human defense is natural. I have been in rescue for a long time and it worries me.

3. See above. I worry too much.

4. I had a child at barely 16.

5. I miss my ex. I have no one to play tennis with. Such a nice man. Fun to play tennis with. (5a would be... LOVE being single.)

6. I love my mom, and in many, many ways deeply respect her, but just don't like her sometimes. Control and guilt are not my thing.

7. I haven't taken a vacation since 1996. Not even for two days. I'm nuts.

8. As a cancer survivor, I am very, very worried about my health. I have not gone to the doctor for years... as in over a decade, at least. I have no medical insurance and if you are a cancer survivor, you know the cost of paying insurance monthly which defies my income. I know something is wrong but am now afraid to go anywhere and can't pay for it, besides. Sucks.

9. I don't like the color yellow. (note my blog has a yellowish tinge... but is not, NOT yellow).

10. I don't believe in the physical resurrection of Christ. Sorry. Off my list of acceptable. Nor do I care about whether Mary was or was not a virgin. Neither makes any difference to me, nor does it matter.

Okay, now the seven receivers...

1. Fran I Am. She makes me laugh and has little restraint. Just the kind Just Another Black Sheep so likes.

2. Fred at Real Anglicans. Fred is a black sheep, just doesn't yet ID with that, and is quite conciliatory yet willing to kick your butt. Ah, the mark of the black sheep. Hez got itz.

3. Friends of Jake gets my nod. Always enjoy the excellent postings here.

4. Grandmere also gets my smiling nod. Part pacifist, part punch and seemingly always on the right side of God, though MP might disagree.

5. Mad Priest who makes me laugh, keeps me thinking, and loves animals.

6. Episcocamp, starring Lynn and Fred. Here, between wonderful music, some great recipes and some great thought, I feel quite at home.

7. Susan Russell, An Inch At A Time. She has more patience than Mars has candy bars. Anyone with that kind of patience and wherewithal definitely deserves this award.

Paging Goran, Paging Goran...Check In Please!

2009-04-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

Have not seen Goran on any sites lately commenting. Anyone know if he is okay?

I don't have a contact address. Hoping he is on vacation or something...