Hu?

Don't know that Blogger will let that title pass.  I Do sometimes feel like I live in a foreign place.  I had to ask what Chick Fillet was, although I guessed it was a chicken eatery of some type.  Then I had to ask what the Berenstain Bears were.  Evidently they have allied together to fund anti-gay legislation and this brought out a public protest.  Good, get corporations Out of our bedrooms and personal lives, I say.

Knew those "bears weren't a sports team, but What were they?  Had to ask about both organizations. 

Want to Know How Your Senators Feel About Relief for Responsible Home Owners?

Rebuild the Dream

This week Rebuilders in swing states are delivering tens of thousands of your signatures

to local Senate offices, demanding that Congress force banks to allow responsible

homeowners to refinance their mortgages at today’s record-low interest rates.

Homeowners are in serious trouble, while banks rake in record profits and Congress

sits on its hands. Our efforts have definitely got their attention,

but right now, we’re hearing conflicting reports about Congress's willingness to

pass this legislation. So we don’t know for sure what they plan to do.

If we can force a vote, it will help make the housing crisis an election year issue.

So we need to figure out -- fast -- where the Senate stands, because we only have

one week before Congress goes on recess. After that the only thing they will care

about is the November election.

Can you take 60 seconds to call your senators to find out their position on homeowner

relief legislation?

Just click here to go to our call page.

 We have all the information you need, including:

Your senators' phone numbers

A quick script for what questions to ask (the whole call should take under a minute)

A form where you can report back what you found out

We're sending this message to enough people to get about 5 phone calls per senate

office, which should be just enough to get the information we need. And along the

way, we'll also send a clear signal that everyday voters really care about this solution.

That could be enough to force a vote.

This is a commonsense proposal that will keep folks in their homes. There’s no reason

Congress shouldn’t pass this -- but we all know how Washington works.

If we can just force a vote, however, then the millions of 'Underwater Voters' will

know who to hold accountable in November for Washington's inaction.

Click here to go to our call page and let us know where your Senators stand on homeowner relief legislation.

Speak up today and let them know you're paying attention, that you vote, and that

you'll remember what they did (or didn't do) while people were losing their homes.

Thanks,

Ian and the Rebuild the Dream team

P.S. -- Check out these great pictures from our deliveries to Senators Olympia Snow

and Scott Brown's offices!

Senator Brown Delivery

Senator Snow Delivery

Rebuild the Dream is a platform for bottom-up, people-powered innovations to help

fix the U.S. economy. You can

follow us on Twitter

, and

like us on Facebook

.

Yes, you will have to look up the organization to make the links work.  Personally, my opinion is that the Senate is sitting on it's hands on as Much as Possible Precisely because a major election is coming and campaigns need funding.  But forcing a vote by calling Would tell people how Their Senators were likely to vote.

Sneaking in the Vegetables

Sneaking in the Vegetables

I eat so many vegetables that most people think I like them.  This is Not nearly as true as it looks.    But after having cancer twice I have made huge changes to my life style.  That includes a lot of brightly colored vegetables and a lot of dark leafy ones.  But I sneak them into my food.

One basic ingredient is home made cole slaw, using organic broccoli stalks, carrots, and cabbage.  The slaw is a base.

A smoothie may include plain unsweetened yogurt, a banana, pineapple packed in its own juice and slaw.  "Do you know what that Looks like!"  My best guess is a bad diaper.  So get out the food coloring and make it look orange or like a banana.  Sweet spices can help too; pears with ginger, cinnamon or nutmeg to taste are great.

Make jello, adding fruit, walnuts and, you guessed it, slaw, you just sneaked in three vegetables.  Put in the fruit and walnuts on top and the taste of slaw will be covered. 

Another way to sneak in vegetables is dip.  I like strongly flavored hummus, because chick peas or garbanzo beans are themselves another vegetable.  If I eat hummus and veggies with blue corn chips, a bean and a grain make a progein.  I do not especially like the taste of kale, collard greens, or  hot greens.  But if I roll the leaves up around their stalks then dip them in hummus I only have to eat the length of the stalk covered by the leaf.  And if I have chipotle or jalipeno pepper hummus, I get to count the pepper as another vegetable.  Sometimes I wrap a leaf of a least favorite vegetable around one I like; carrot, tomato, spinach,  sweet pepper, and then dip in hummus.  Watch the canola oil the chips are fried in if you don't want to eat GMO food.

Left over green stalks can either be covered with peanut butter (peanuts are a legume, like beans) or frozen then broken up easily into tiny pieces added to soups, spaghetti, etc.

Spices are a wonderful gift.  In the seasons Below 100 degrees I like curry, chili, and spicy soups.  If I think of curry or chili as just ways of seasoning rather than specific recipes I must follow any vegetable can go into them. Slaw grated fine cooks down to Nothing in soup made in a slow cooker, but you still get the veggies.

Stir-fry is a relatively quick way to use nearly any veggie., no, not slaw though.  And again, the secret is in varying the sauce.  Thai peanut sauce, a mildly sweet and slightly salty lemon and ginger sauce, or traditional stir-fry sauce, are all good variations.  I like to use fruit juice (usually pear or pineapple) from canned fruit in all kinds of sauces or marinades. Salad dressings not high in fat can add a lot of variety to stir-fry sauces and grilled veggies.

So if you want to eat at my house but hate vegetables, Inspect All Foods Carefully and you will find them sneaked in, nearly everywhere.

Since I can't afford all organic food I try to choose the most sprayed foods (apples and strawberries, for example) and buy Them organic.  Or I can substitute less sprayed foods, (raspberries, blackberries, sweet potatoes, cabbage) sometimes.    

So I try to eat 7 to 10 veggies or fruits per day.  It isn't that I love them all, though I am Very thankful for their nourishment, it's that I Need them.  Eating a whole fruit, such as a pealed or organic apple, an orange, etc. is Much healthier than just drinking the juice.  I try to limit fruits to two per day and make the rest veggies.

Twenty Second Anniversary of Americans With Disabilities Act, Personal Note

Twenty Second Anniversary of the ADA and Still Much of the Internet is Not accessible!

I got an E-mail from our local center for independent living reminding us to Celebrate, as it is the 22^nd anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

It is true that Many things have changed for the better.  Most colleges and universities now have Disabilities Office Coordinators and many of these people have disabilities themselves.  More of us are seen in public doing ordinary things:  shopping, eating at restaurants, crossing streets, taking the bus or train,  and joining in community projects.

I would like to Thank the Veterans of the Vietnam War who helped to make the Americans with Disabilities Act a reality.  Their contribution was Major.

It is also true that there is a "Smart Phone App." Coming out which will allow sighted and deaf-blind people to communicate.  I cannot afford a "smart phone" and couldn't see to make it app.s work if I could afford one.  Thank goodness most deaf-blind people are Not totally blind, as I am!

But the unemployment rate for blind people has remained at 79 to 80 percent ever since I can remember

While technology Has allowed me to communicate with you and an amplified cell phone and hearing aids will allow me to call for help in an emergency, there is NO website, Absolutely None, which I can manage and maintain independently.

What this means is that many blind and deaf-blind people who Could work are Not working.  Those who do have websites also tend to have wives,  and sometimes husbands, or parents who do the management of their internet work for them. 

Blind and deaf-blind people can bake, make home made pasta, make drink mixes, dolls, doll clothing, decorative ornaments and wreaths, do wood working, build furniture, make baskets, carve, sculpt, paint with the vision they have,  write songs or music, do bead work, weave, knit, crochet and embroider,     and come up with Many original ideas and helpful items for All people.  But without sight they  Cannot sell Any of these items.  Maybe I should start a petition on Sum Of Us.org to try and make paypal, Internet Explorer 9,  and websites Fully accessible to Screen Readers, (talking computers) and Braille displays.

Disabled people, (especially disabled women) are among the poorest people in this country.  And worldwide they are among the most Marginalized, usually having to beg by the roadside for their very Survival!  I am angry and tired!  For Years, these are the populations I have wanted to target, along with hopefully raising my own income a bit.  But I have to try and find a "good hearted person" who will serve as a webmaster until my site starts to make money and I can pay them. This is the conclusion of the Access Technology people who Know what they are doing.

  I have no husband, partner, my sisters work and my mother is herself disabled.  SOL!  That's where I am.  What next?  I have already asked one person to consider being a webmaster for minimal pay.  Honestly, I expect to Lose money at first, between paying payppal, a non-volunteer webmaster, (if one can be found) and little or no activity at first.

There is much to celebrate, curb cuts, accessible buildings, beeping elevators which tell blind people what floor they are on in a public building, and accessible public transportation in many places.  

I am Thankful for all of these Positive changes!  And at the same time I wish McDonald's hadn't taken Braille markings off of their drink lids, that all restaurants had one Braille menu each, and that the internet, supposedly the most "progressive" force in society, were fully accessible to blind and deaf-blind people.  It would also be nice if elevators and bathroom doors were marked in a Standard place, so I don't have to feel all over a men's bathroom door to find out it is the wrong one.

Am I Still an American?

Am I an American?

Sometimes I wonder where I belong.  I grew up never especting to own a home and to be honest, this never bothered me.  I knew I had too small an income to support a house.  Because it was Extremely important to Ann, after I lost my mobile home in the ice storm of Jan. 2007 I bought a small home in May 2008.  When a very unusual string of tornadoes came through in Jan. of 2008, rocking our home on its foundation, Cracking the foundation, I lost that home.  It wasn't a subprime mortgage, my credit rating was very good and all payments were being made on time.  But the home had only been insured since the previous May and the "triple A" rated insurance money wouldn't put the thousands of dollars into it which were needed to repair the damage.  We fought the insurance company, involving the state's insurance commission for about six months then gave up.

The two factors making us give up were: 1.  The mold coming in from the floods of March that year was making us ill and so was the bleach the insurance agent told us to use to clean it up.  And 2.  Sometimes if you want peace in your life you just have to cut your losses and decide that sanity and calm are more important to you than winning.  This was our decision.

We moved and I declared bankruptcy as there was no way to make both a mortgage payment and a rental payment in the place we moved to.  Both of us were Quite aware that you can't buy back your health.  By the time we moved we were both sick from the house I bought.

Honestly, I was glad to return to renting, with all its inconveniences.

I also don't watch TV.  I use the VCR/DVD combo to watch movies and get my news from NPR and the BBC.  Also, just to get a differing perspective I occasionally listen to Fox News. 

So when anyone talks to me about the latest vampire flick or comedy series I let them tell me about it, if it's important to them.  And often they treat me like I'm from some foreign country, even though I usually know more about both world history and current events than they do.  But they aren't usually interested in such things.  What I'm Not current on is who locally killed someone, robbed a store, is charged with a sex crime, what good does it do me to know?

I don't use Facebook or Twitter.  I will have to find out how accessible Facebook is, if I Ever get my online store open, but until then I don't care.  I don't know how to text.  The letters associated with particular numbers on a phone keypad are not known to me, phone keypads aren't usually in Braille.  I do know a few texting abbreviations, LOL, LOLRF, (how often can this Really be true?) OMG, that's about it except for BAMF.  Wonder if Blogger will let that one pass?

Then there is food.  I hate McDonald's food, but they have a good unsweetened  ice tea. I don't keep ice cream in the house because I would eat it far too fast.  I do like ice cream.  I don't eat white bread or white rice (except on rare occasions when I go out to eat Asian food) or granola bars or energy drinks, or cold cereal or canned hardly anything.  Does all of this make me better than anyone?  Hell no!  But it does make me weird!

Once I heard a friend say that the women in Vermont were strange.  When I asked "in what way" she said, "Well, you know, they wear long skirts and don't shave their legs and eat all that health food stuff."  I smiled, Trying not to laugh!  So That's what I am, a Vermonter, or as a friend who lives in Maryland says, a "Granola".  I make a sugarless granola with one kind of dried fruit or another in it and a sweet spice, like cinnamon.

Given the drought and heat here this Summer, maybe I should Become a True Granola and move Northeast.  But I'd always be an outsider their too, probably.

When I got to the E-mail below I care.  But I remember watching what is now an Old Michael Moore film where a family got evicted from their home on Christmas Eve in Michigan and literally put out into the snow.  They were African American.

Is the home ownership crisis a crisis now only because it has hit the white middle class?  Don't misunderstand me, please.  Wrong is wrong and tragedy is tragedy no matter Who Suffers it.  But I think this question Must be asked as we help those of all races who are now losing their homes.

Once I shared with a friend how odd I thought the whole home owing as part of the American dream was.  She said "But it Is a major Part of the American dream."

Don't many people in Europe rent flats for most or all of their lives?  Maybe we should ask what the American dream Should be.  I think it should include healthcare for all, decent education for all, respect for differing viewpoints, and many other things.  I do Not want to see people losing the homes they have.  But does a person have to Have a home they Own to be happy?  Loosing something you already have is Much Harder than not having it and not expecting to.

I Do think

Wall Street Owes Main Street

and

Poor Street

a great deal.

You will have to look up the organization below or the link to the blog referred to, or it won't work.

Rebuild the Dream

Your dad was having trouble paying his mortgage. He fought with his bank for years,

asking them to refinance because his house was $50,000 underwater. But the bank said

no, again and again. The stress got to your dad, and he got sick -- he passed away

the day the bank auctioned off his house. The kicker?

The bank forced you and your sister to clean out the house that day, even though

your dad had just died.

This isn’t a story we made up -- it’s just one of many that have been submitted to

our ‘America Underwater’ blog by Rebuild members. The stories on the blog range from

heartbreaking to infuriating, and all of them make us wonder why Congress still hasn’t

taken action to help American homeowners.

There are three important pieces of homeowner relief legislation currently making

their way through Congress.

With the election coming up, now is the perfect time to turn up the pressure on Congress

but we have only a few weeks to force a vote before Congress goes home to face the

voters.

We want to make a series of videos that highlight the stories on the America Underwater

blog, but we need to raise $15,000 to do so.

Can you chip in $5 to help us get there?

Here's how we'll make sure people across the country see it. Van is a rising presence

on national television. In just the last several weeks, he's been on CNN, ABC, and

MSNBC multiple times over. And here's what we've learned: TV producers are dying

for good stories to show and tell. They already like having Van on. And they'll love

it if he brings a great short video, ready made to fill up their airtime. Help us

create powerful video from these homeowners' stories, and Van can get them onto national

TV the next time he's invited to a show.

The more people hear these heart wrenching stories, the more pressure will build

on Congress to take action

.

Click here to help us get the $15,000 we need to bring the stories of Americans Underwater to Congress’s front door.

These videos are a vital part of our Hope for Homeowners campaign. This week we’ll

be delivering thousands of your signatures to key Senators to demand a vote on these

bills. But as terrifying as all the stats and figures of underwater homeowners are,

nothing breaks through the noise as much as seeing the faces of regular Americans

who are struggling to hang on to their piece of the American Dream.

Together we’re giving hope to homeowners across the country.

Thanks,

Ian and the rest of the Rebuild the Dream team

Rebuild the Dream is a platform for bottom-up, people-powered innovations to help

fix the U.S. economy.

Rape in War

Rape and War

I understand that there is an instinctual desire to create life when there has been a death of someone close.  It isn't something logical and it often  effects both men and women.

I remember a PBS program following the lives of young African American women, teenagers.  One girl was being raised by her grandmother who kept a condom supply openly available, both for herself and her granddaughter. 

This young lady was an excellent student, a beautiful singer, and was scrupulous about condom use.  Then her favorite and much loved cousin was killed.  She became pregnant and simply couldn't explain why.

I thought I might understand some of it.  When my father died I was fifteen.  I loved him very deeply and he was the only person who consistently showed me kindness.  This doesn't mean he was perfect, it meant he was the only person I cared enough to try and please.  And he did love his kids.

After he died I felt terrible grief and there was nowhere to go for help.  I became sexually active.  This is a normal thing for a 15 year-old to do, especially today.  But I was 15 many decades ago.

So I understand that where there is death, there is an instinctual craving for sex, the means to create life.

Helen Benedict in her book, "The Lonely Soldier" describes the sexual harassment, assault, and rape of American women soldiers by American male soldiers.  In countries where no prostitution is allowed, because of Islamic law and a woman caught with a foreign soldier may be literally raped then stoned to death, our soldiers are attacking their sisters in arms.

I get very tired of patriotic slogans which Never admit what war means.  War always means the rape of girls and women.  War always means destruction of the environment.  War always leads to food shortages and oftenh the deaths of many children.  Innocent civilians are murdered and accidentally killed in Every war. 

Why were people in this country so shocked that prison guards allowed to mistreat American prisoners did the same and took pictures of it in Iraq?

We have a history of saying, "Well, that's war."  Maybe we can say this because, with the exceptions of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon,  it hasn't happened on Our soil since the Civil War. Although our veterans, who DO deserve our care know, and so do some Native Americans.  Leslie Marmon Silko talks about the "Indian slave trade" in the Southwest, which happened after the Civil War was fought.

War Always means the deaths of elders who hold the culture together.

This is why it should be the Absolute Last Resort.  Oil isn't worth it, somebody's Election isn't worth it, a Pipe line isn't worth it, diamonds and Gold aren't worth it!  But for these very things we fight, maim, kill, and rape.

So what should be done For the women soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan?  Do we blame the victim?  "That's what they get for signing up?"  Talk about PTSD!  Not Only does a friendly Iraqi look to an untrained eye like a "Hostile" who would plant an IED by the roadside, but women troops must be on guard against their male counterparts.  This problem must be Openly Acknowledged and Dealt with.

And what about marines who rape their sisters?  Should they get Honorable Discharges and no criminal record?

What do you think?  I admire the courage of the Lance Corporal below.  At the Very least, she is Trying to Wake our sleeping citizens up to Part of the nature of War Itself.  And if I understand her petition would also include soldiers who rape girls and women of the countries where they are stationed, and are convicted.

As a sexually abused child I have always wondered about the connections between sex and death.  I have felt that sex Could be an expression of love, but haven't experienced this.  I know that blind prisoners were often targets of rape in the prisons where I did Rehab. Teaching.  I have tried to understand, knowing that we all are capable of atrocities under the right circumstances, but I have failed to truly understand. 

Yes, you will have to look up the organization to sign the petition if you think it is fair.

Change.org

Lance Corporal Nicole McCoy wants soldiers who are found guilty of rape and sexual assault in the military to be identified as sex offenders.

petitions/secretary-of-defense-create-a-central-national-registry-for-military-sex-offenders?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=7877&alert_id=GWTJCDsPSi_bVNxGvYxgK

Sign Nicole's Petition

 -

I served as a Lance Corporal in the Marines for over three years.

During that time, I was raped twice and sexually assaulted twice more.

 It happened so often that I assumed it must be normal.

After I left the Marines, I learned that some studies estimate that

one in three women who serve in the US military are raped during their service.

 But according to current military law,

military rapists are not required to register as sex offenders in a national database

or to list their crimes on their discharge papers

.

I don't think it's right that some convicted sex offenders get to wipe their records

clean when they leave the military.

That's why I started a petition on Change.org asking the Department of Defense to create a mandatory national database for convicted military sex offenders -- and to make sure they register at the local level too.

Click here to add your name to my petition.

Thank you,

Lance Corporal Nicole McCoy

This email was sent by Change.org to

   |

Start a petition

Get Your Laws Off My Body, and a Personal Note about Dolls

Get Your Laws Off My Body

When will legislators Ever understand that regulating when babies are born is Not Their Business?  If all of those people concerned with "family values" adopted unwanted, African American, biracial, and disabled kids I'd be Much more likely to take them seriously.  As it is, I Can't.

The title of this post was scrawled inside a women's bathroom stall and read to me by Ann years ago.  It was so to the point that I never forgot it.

Ok, you will have to look up this organization to make the links work.

Unrelated personal note.  I do leather drafts and am experimenting with making doll shoes to go with outfits for 18 inch dolls.  A couple of days ago I checked out K-Mart's "What a Doll" which I think is also being sold by Sears.  Some have nicer feeling hair than others.  Kids may not notice, but I cracked up when I realized these dolls have no backside.  Where their bottoms should be they are flat as pancakes.  But in front, well, either they have Very low tummies, or their bottoms were stuck in front, instead of in back.  Too bad, because they have a couple of nice face variations.  I didn't buy one, even though kids might not notice.  I figure an "American Girl" "Journey Girls" and a "BFC (Best Friends Club" are enough for models, and a "Karito Kid".

Back to the Serious topic of legislators dictating family planning for citizens, see below!

Right-wingers in Congress want massive cuts to women's health care. This week they're

pushing a bill that would take away birth control coverage and de-fund Planned Parenthood.

We need to show them that this strategy is going to backfire with voters.

Can you sign the petition?

click here

Click Here

Right-wing politicians are advancing

a new law that would de-fund Planned Parenthood and repeal birth control coverage.

They're tying it to legislation that is required to pass in order to fund critical

government operations.

1

It's expected to come up for a vote next week.

It will probably pass the House of Representatives. And political insiders are saying

that right-wing members of Congress are going to keep pushing this and similar bills

because their goal is to win massive cuts to women's health programs in every budget

negotiation of the year.

2

If we don't speak out, they'll get what they want.

 They've been able to win restrictions to women's health repeatedly over the years

because enough of us aren't making our voices heard.

But we can stop them and make sure their plan backfires. Voters have spoken: They

value the work Planned Parenthood does,

3

 they strongly support birth control coverage

4

 and they think women should make decisions about their own health--not politicians.

5

If hundreds of thousands of us show Congress and the media that we're not going to

let them gut women's health care, we'll expose how unpopular their plan is and lawmakers

worried about their elections this fall will be forced to back off.

 But we need a really strong outcry to win. Can you sign the petition?

Add your name to the petition

All of us working together have been able stop the right-wing from gutting women's

health before. In February, Tea Party members of Congress were intent on repealing

the birth control coverage provision in the Affordable Care Act, but millions of

us spoke out and the media took notice. It quickly became clear that voters were

disgusted by their attacks and they were forced to back off. Now they're hoping to

revive that push, betting that we've all stopped paying attention.

Specifically, the bill being advanced in the House of Representatives:

De-funds Planned Parenthood and Title X family planning services.

Blocks the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Allows any employer to deny women birth control coverage for "moral reasons."

Increases spending for abstinence-only education.

We need a loud public outcry against this attempt to roll back women's most fundamental

rights. There are going to be numerous fights before and after the election in Congress

on spending and budget bills--and conservatives are clear that their number one priority

is going to be cutting funding for women's health programs.

If we don't show them that voters aren't going to stand for it, they will get their

way. Please sign today, and send this to all of your contacts.

Add your name to the petition

Thanks for speaking out,

--Nita, Shaunna and Kat, the UltraViolet team

Sources:

1.

House Republicans Revive The Contraception Wars,

 Talking Points Memo, July 19, 2012. And

GOP Revives Efforts To Let Employers Deny Birth Control To Women,

 ThinkProgress, July 18, 2012

2.

GOP Spending Bill Aims To Defund Planned Parenthood, Up Abstinence-Only Funds,

 Huffington Post, July 17, 2012

3.

Two New Public Polls, NBC/WSJ and Quinnipiac, Show Majority Support for Planned Parenthood,

 Planned Parenthood, March 3, 2011

4.

Voters side with Obama over Romney on birth-control mandate,

 The Hill, February 7, 2012

5.

US Public Opinion on Abortion -- Roe v. Wade,

 Roper Center, February 2012

You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.

Book, Garden, and Heat!

Book, Gardens, and Heat

I have been reading a book by Leslie Marmon Silko called "The Turquoise Ledge".  In the heat we are having (95 degrees F. at 8:00 tonight) I think of what she said about the Pueblo People's rhythm of work.  She said that if the moon was up people might go out to work their fields at midnight, then go to bed when it began to get hot during the day.  By 9:00 in the morning here  it is already Hot, so this night rhythm schedule makes sense to me.  Also, I've got to find a better way to irrigate the food.

Everyone has been complaining that their gardens are burning to a crisp, true.  But when I ask what kind of mulch they are using the answer is either None or a thin layer of newspaper. 

When we first laid down a garden bed everyone kept saying, "Are you sure you need That much straw?"  Yep, I was.  The six to 8 inches of straw put around the plants, as soon as they were big enough has now compacted and rotted down to four to six inches.  As the mulch shrinks I just keep pulling extra dry straw around the plants and soaking it, too.  My garden May still die from the heat.  But I no longer have to go to the farmer's market for greens and we're getting a few green beans and peppers.  The tomatoes are full of blooms.  We didn't get it planted until after the person sharing the garden had finished her semester of school, mid-May.  So all of our food is behind everyone else's.

I just keep telling the plants that if they can hang on another four to six weeks it should get better and I'll do all I can to help them.

Tonight we only had 20% humidity!  Amazing!  Our Lowest is usually 40% and it gets up to 75%.  That's when you go outside and start dripping so that you take an outdoor shower before the indoor shower.  But that 95 degrees felt like 80, because the humidity was so low.  The trade off is that we have fire hazard warnings everywhere and the garden has to be watered twice weekly instead of only once.  Most people who aren't mulching are watering daily with limited success. 

I wish I were more of a friend to the Earth.  I don't think we have all that much water Or that much electricity to waste!  I like the night schedule and have Always wondered why the Ozarks doesn't have a siesta.  Too much European work ethic, I guess.

I lost the air conditioning over this last weekend and discovered I Could still live with a box fan in the window and a ceiling fan, IF I took an afternoon nap.

Now that my thermostat has been replaced and the outside unit cleaned of lots of grass clippings, I have turned it up from 74 to 76, and am comfortable.  Yah, I know you keep yours at 80, but do you Work from home or go to an air conditioned factory or office which is cooler?  I try to do laundry after 9:00 at night, to put less of a strain on the power grid. I hang what I can on a drying rack in the garage, which is like an oven.  All of this Isn't just selfless love on my part, unfortunately.  My utility bills in this smaller house I rented after Ann's death are Horrid! Wonder if they make solar panels for renters.  They should, but of course they can't be allowed to get too cheap, or what would the fosil fuel burners do?

 

I love birds the way Ms. Silko loves snakes, and I respect, but do not hate snakes either.  I'm finding that the birds are eating as much from the feeder in this unusually hot and dry  Summer as they do when the ground is frozen, almost None of the time last Winter.  I like feeding them and listening to them.  But how to keep them from munching too much in the garden?  That I don't know and will have to see if another gardener or conservation agent does.  I don't mind sharing, but I can Use the food.  I'm not willing to harm the birds.  Any suggestions?

The Europeans who came to what is now the Southwestern U.S. thought the Pueblo peoples were lazy for not working in the heat like they did.  I vote to work at night and for me the light or lack of it makes no difference.  My only worry is about the two-legged Big critters which come out at night.

My new healthcare aide does an excellent job, but comes early in the morning, well, early for someone who starts laundry at 9:00 PM. Or later.  I hate having my day chopped up and always feeling short of sleep!  But then she, like many working poor people here has both a night job and a day job, so she's always short on sleep, too.  Brain fog is no laughing matter when you are trying to do something creative, or learn ASL by 9 or 10 hour emersion days.  When all your body wants to do is Sleep, time alone is Precious and murdering the phone feels Quite reasonable!

 
Well, I can Thand Blogger for taking up Another Hour of precious time, Remember, don't Evwer put an exclamation mark in "labels"  I just spent an Hour of sleep time Trying to remove this, after the word Tired!  My speech went dead time after time, so did Braille, no way to find what I had written.  A grumpy Good Night!!!!!!

Legal to Murder a Gay Person for Flirting?

Change.org

Is it really murder to kill a gay man who flirts with you? One law in Australia says it isn't.

Sign Father Kelly's Petition

-

"Yeah, I killed him, but he did worse to me."

In 1997, a man in Queensland, Australia killed a gay man who he claimed flirted with

him by bashing his head into a wall and stabbing him to death.

Today, "gay panic" is still a legal defense for murder in Queensland that can result

in lesser charges.

In fact, just two years ago, a man was brutally killed in a Queensland churchyard,

and his killer used the "gay panic" defense in court. He was subsequently acquitted

of murder.

Father Paul Kelly is a priest in the parish where that man was killed, and

he started a petition on Change.org

 demanding that Queensland abolish the gay panic defense. It looked like Father Kelly's

petition was headed for victory,

but now there's a new Premier in Queensland, Campbell Newman, and he won't say whether

he will abolish the gay panic loophole.

Father Kelly thinks it's crucial to build quick international pressure on Premier

Newman, particularly from important Australian allies like the US --

click here to add your name to Father Kelly's petition demanding that Queensland abolish the gay panic defense.

A recent study named Queensland as Australia’s most homophobic state --

73% of gay and lesbian Queenslanders are subjected to verbal abuse or physical violence

for their sexuality

. Father Kelly believes that if the gay panic defense stands, Queensland's gay community

will be forced to live in terror knowing that the law is on their tormentors' side.

"The support from people in Australia for my petition has been wonderful," Father

Kelly says, "

but we need help from our friends in the US.

 We need to send Premier Newman a message that he is being watched, and we will not

tolerate this despicable gay panic loophole."

Click here to sign Father Kelly's petition demanding that Queensland abolish the legal loophole that justifies the murder of gay people.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

- Michael and the Change.org teamorg

   |

Start a petition

Unsubscribe.

I don't intend to make a gibit of using other people's writing as a substitute for my own posts.  But Some things just Have to be Stopped!  The problem is that there are so Many of them.  Again, the organization will have to be found via Google to make the links work.

What ever happened to saying "I'm straight, no thanks, NO, or get the hell away I already Said NO?

I Need Your Help with Blogger

I Need Your Help With Blogger!

Blogger's "old interface" is due to be withdrawn completely soon.  In order to use my speech and Braille output computer I have to use Internet Explorer 8. something.  IE9 (thank you Microsoft) destroys speech, according to the Access Technology Specialist I have consulted.  I was told Not to switch to IE9, as this Specialist had been working to get disabled people who Had out of their current computer messes.

Blogger's "new interface", introduced months ago, Requires IE 9.  So, when Blogger "removes its Old Interface" it will be keeping many disabled people from blogging.  I have tried to Contact the people who run Blogger to talk with them about this problem.  Where Are these mysterious ones?  I cannot Find them.

Those of you who are sighted and fully hearing might be surprised how much of the web is Not Accessible to those of us with disabilities.  Can Anyone reach thr thrones of Blogger High or tell me how?  I've Googled until I'm ready to spit.

When I have an appointment with an Access Technology Specialist I will Dump Internet Explorer altogether.  But these appointments may sometimes have to be scheduled Months ahead.  Then I will have to learn the keyboard commands for using another browser, and that could take some time, as I must put them all into Braille, and refer back to my notes, until I can remember them.

I want the right to speak that you have, as sighted people who can use both a mouse, (rodent) and IE 9.  Any help would be appreciated!

President Obama Allows Investment Without Conditions in Burma

You will have to Google US Campaign for Burma to make the links work.

There once was a time, many centuries ago, when the land now called Burma was largely literate and peaceful.  The British colonized it and at one point the King and Queen of Burma were put under house arrest.  For reference to this time read "The Glass Palace" by Amitav Ghosh.

Burma became a British colony with imported soldiers from India to keep the peace.  But it already Had been largely peaceful Before colonization.

During the second World War Burma became a place of slaughter and occupation and prison camps.

When Independence was granted in the early 1960's, a group of ruling military officials soon took over.  These are the Same people to whom our President is granting, along with our Congress, the right to do nearly anything they want in the name of "foreign investment."  We Finally put a Stop to that in White Only rule in S. Africa, so Why don't the lives of people in Burma count?

As a human being Both situations bothered me Very much!  As a co-religionist of the Burmese people, (Buddhist with animist beliefs) I am aware that it was monks who have lead one uprising after another.  These have been huge and for the most part very Peaceful protests.

We helped engineer "regime change"  in Libya. Libya has gas and oil.

In the name of "gas and oil" plus Election Year Politics, (multi-national corporations are now given the same rights as Persons" by our Supreme Court (read Campaign contributions and election meddling) it would seem that Burmese civilians, especially the Rohinga, a Muslim group, and the ethnic civilians of Cachin State are no Longer persons.

Burma has gas and oil too, plus rubies.

Please share the E-mail below and take a few minutes to find this ortanization and try to save Some lives?

New Role for Americans to Promote Human Rights in Burma
Dear Teresa,
On Wednesday, President Obama lifted the ban on U.S. investment in Burma without
putting any safeguards in place.
President Obama ignored the advice of the human rights community, who implored his Administration to ensure only responsible investment was permitted and human rights were respected
. For the first time since 1997, U.S companies will now be allowed to do business
in Burma, including with Burmese government owned businesses, an actual requirement
all foreign companies are subjected to by the Burmese government.
What this means for human rights in Burma and your role in promoting human rights
and democracy for the people of Burma.
A)
Sanctions against the Burmese regime and its cronies are leverage to push for democracy
and human rights. By lifting the investment ban, the United States loses leverage
to bring about more reform, while the people of Burma are still suffering human rights
abuses and mass atrocities at the hands of the Burmese regime. There is now only
one sanction left–the import ban–which must be renewed by Congress before the end
of July.
Call your Senators to support the renewal of the import ban
.
Burma’s military still commits heinous human rights abuses against Burma’s ethnic civilians
, particularly in Kachin State, where their military
won't allow
 international humanitarian aid into the region. The Burmese regime refuses to admit
there are
still hundreds
 of political prisoners behind bars. In an extremely worrying move,
President Thein Sein told the UN on Wednesday, he wants the Rohingya put in camps or deported, a request the UN immediately refused
. Something must be done to end these abuses!
We must send a strong signal that real reform respects human rights, not profits.
The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act is the ONLY influence the United States has
left to pressure the Burmese regime to move forward with genuine democratic change.
B)
Investment without safeguards will contribute to human rights abuses and profits for the Burmese military
.  More and more farms have been
confiscated
and some farmers have
been arrested
 for refusing to leave their land. In addition to the most egregious human rights
abuses in conflict zones,
throughout the country the regime carries out forced labor, forced relocation,
extortion, land confiscation and burning of civilians’ crops and farms
, some of it in the name of making way for foreign investment. American Oil and Gas
companies are now allowed to partner with the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE),
a Burmese government company who generates billions of dollars in profits for the
Burmese military. The money our corporations will invest can fuel this murderous
machine. For a more detailed explanation of the dangers of investment without safeguards,
check out our
blog
, the
LA Times
 and
IPS
.
In the months ahead, as American companies enter Burma, we will need our supporters,
like you, to help ensure their activities and investments do not involve land confiscation,
human rights abuses and money to those who obstruct political reform and commit human
rights abuses.
The people of Burma will need our help—will you speak out to for the people of Burma?
Right now, you have the power to keep the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act (S.J.RES
43) in place by calling your Senators to cosponsor the bill, but time is running
out. The bill expires in less than 3 weeks, you have to
call your Senators now!
Click here for
calling instruction
,
congressional scorecards to check where your Senators stand
 and the
background of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act
.
Thank you for speaking out for the people of Burma.
Myra and USCB team
Click here to unsubscribe
empowered by Salsa

Who Are They

What are Trees?

Living beings, pillars connecting Earth and Sky.  They draw down the rain, (scientific studies have shown it tends to rain more where trees are gathered) and they protect the soil and the life within it.  Trees clean our air, lift our spirits, and provide shade.  They are homes for innumerable creatures:  underneath where cicadas sleep, in their bark, on the leaves, and on their branches where birds, squirrels, and others rest.  They provide food for many kinds of beings, including deer and you and me.  What will poor people eat with no acorn or hickory nut crops?  No deer, no Squirrels. 

When the phrase "tree hugger" came out I thought it was pretty funny.  As a blind child wanting to see how large a tree was, that's what I did.  I hugged it and walked around it, stretching out my arms to measure its lifespan.  So I guess I'm the original "tree hugger."

When the ice storm of Jan.  2007 hit it Forced people to realize just how important trees were.  Ice would form so thickly on big limbs that they would literally Rip a huge chunk out of a tree from top to root.  Some trees split in half.  If you have ever heard a tree scream as it is being torn to pieces, you would Never be able to forget that shound, not when it continues day and night for a week!

We threw out some thawing food for the whirling flocks of mixed species of birds wheeling and crying in the air, homeless.  They were so hungry they fell on it, grabbing whatever they could reach.  Then they rose and cried more, where could they rest?  Trees were dying and screaming all around!  There was no safety or rest to be found!  They needed a Lot of food to stay alive, to keep flying all day in search of a place to land!

Everywhere Ann and I moved we always planted food bearing trees, for ourselves and the creatures for whom we planted cover.

I hope the peaches, pawpaws, cherries, and others are still growing.

So what brought all of this up about trees?

IKEA claims it’s committed to sustainability, but is carving up 600-year-old trees

to make furniture.

Tell IKEA to stop clear-cutting Russia's ancient forests.

Tell IKEA to stop destroying Russia's last old-growth forests before it’s too late.

Click to Send a Message

,

The roar of a chainsaw shatters the peaceful calm of the Karelia forest in Northwestern

Russia. A logger carves into an exquisite giant -- a 600-year-old tree -- with expert

precision. Within minutes, he has masterfully sliced through tree rings, added the

felled tree to a growing pile, and moved on to the next.

These trees -- part of Russia's last remaining old-growth forests -- will be chopped

up to make cutting boards, wooden spoons and other items for IKEA. IKEA has built

a reputation around sustainability and tells its customers, literally, “We Love Wood”,

and that the furniture they buy will not contain wood from old-growth forests. But

a new report shows that

IKEA is clear-cutting Russia's remaining ancient forests and destroying hundreds

of thousands of unique animal species for profit.

 If it doesn’t stop now, there may be no trees left.

Send a message to IKEA CEO Mikael Ohlsson telling IKEA to stop clear-cutting Russia's ancient old-growth forests.

IKEA is the third-largest purchaser of wood in the world, behind Home Depot and Lowe’s,

and roughly 60 percent of the products stocked in IKEA’s 300 department stores across

the globe contain wood of some form. IKEA already decimates 1,400 acres of forest

a year -- that’s why it purchased this enormous swath of over

740,000 acres of Russia’s Karelia lush boreal forests -- for expansion.

IKEA is trying to convince customers that it adheres to the strictest environmental

standards, and only uses wood sourced in economically, socially, and environmentally

sustainable ways. But a Swedish conservation group discovered that IKEA’s wholly-owned

subsidiary, Swedwood, is clear-cutting the last of Karelia’s old-growth forests from

areas of high conservation and devastating invaluable forest ecosystems in the process.

This

directly violates the minimum requirements IKEA has set for its timber.

IKEA truly cares about its sustainable image and internationally-known brand and

is especially vulnerable to public pressure from SumOfUs.org members. That’s why

it is important we send a strong message now.

As a world leader in the furniture industry and one of the world’s largest companies,

with over $30 billion in profits between 2000 and 2008, IKEA has the means to make

its forestry practices more ecologically friendly and needs to stop misleading its

customers.

Tell IKEA's CEO to prove he really loves wood and to stop clear-cutting Russia's remaining ancient forests. Send a message now.

Thanks for loving trees,

Emma, Taren, Kaytee and the rest of us

*******************************

Why are old-growth forests so important?

Russia’s lush, old-growth forests perform vital functions for life on Earth. They

help to stabilize the climate by locking carbon in the soil -- which helps safeguard

our climate. In addition, old-growth forests have much greater biodiversity than

managed plantations, and are home to literally hundreds of thousands of unique animal

and plant species, like rare species of lichens, mosses and other plants and animals.

These species cannot survive in secondary forests.

But because of logging,

only 10% of Russia’s old-growth forests remain.

NGOs claim that IKEA, through Swedwood, is helping to destroy ecosystems that are

home to endangered species by clear-cutting already depleted old-growth forests.

In Karelia, only isolated tracts and pockets of old-growth forests remain.

In Russia, Swedwood Karelia LLC owns a logging concession of over 740,000 acres.

And with Russian markets increasingly opening to the global market, and World Trade

Organization (WTO) membership likely, environmentalists fear the worst damage to

Russia’s forests is yet to come.

Further Reading:

IKEA under fire for ancient tree logging

, The Guardian

. May 29, 2012.

 SumOfUs is a world-wide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations

accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

You can follow us on

Twitter

, and like us on

Facebook

.

If you don't want to receive emails from us anymore, you can remove yourself

from our list by clicking

here

. But just know, we'll miss you!

 If you should decide to help with this campaign, you will have to find the organization via Google, etc., and then the links will work.  Unfortunately, they Don't work from Blogger.

More News About Factory Workers in Chicago Trying to Buy Factory

More About Trying to Buy the Factory in Chicago

I am contributing a bit and hoping the workers win this one.  Also, hope my few dollars Go where I intend them to.  Think I will ask them to be mindful of hiring people with disabilities along with my contribution.  I live on Disability.

A kind reader suggested, Google the organization,  

SumOfUs.org then look for this particular petition.  The reader said links flipped over to Blogger from an E-mail will not work.  I tried putting it in a Word document first, no good.  Copy and Paste, no good.  So hope someones will care enough to find this organization.

As readers know, I tend to think multi-national corporations with loyalty to no country have a bigger influence on the government than voters.  That is why I like this organization.  They focus on money and "money talks, BS walks".  Shows you how old I am.  Wonder if Blogger will let more than BS pass, they won't let me write things like "disgusting" in the "labels".

To be honest, we weren't sure how our campaign about the New Era Windows cooperative would go over. We knew we loved what the workers were trying to accomplish and wanted their story to be heard by as many people as possible,

but we were overwhelmed by your response

. Our inbox has been deluged by SumOfUs.org members asking how they could help the

workers and sharing how much this campaign has resonated with them.

And our pressure is working!

 This week, Serious Energy and Mesirow Financial are allowing the New Era Windows

worker cooperative to tour the factory and inspect the machinery they want to purchase,

something Serious had previously only offered other companies and private equity

groups looking to sell the machinery off for scrap.

And later this week, Serious will sit down with the workers -- who will arrive armed

with your petition -- to see if they can come to an agreement on a fair price for

both parties.

In preparation for their meeting, the New Era workers are working overtime to raise

the money they need to compete with the other investors Serious has been courting

for months. Meanwhile, New Era only learned a week and a half ago that Serious wanted

hundreds of thousands more than it had been offered. If you would like to donate

directly to the workers,

click here to give to the workers' factory fund.

 Forward this email to your friends and send them to

our original petition

, and share this campaign on Facebook to ensure that the New Era cooperative gets

all the support they can.

Click to share this campaign on Facebook

Thank you for being one of us.

Claiborne, Kaytee and the rest of us

 SumOfUs is a world-wide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

You can follow us on

Twitter

, and like us on

Facebook

.

Was this email forwarded to you?

Click here

 to add yourself to SumOfUs.

If you don't want to receive emails from us anymore, you can remove yourself

from our list by clicking

here

. But just know, we'll miss you!

Trying Again for Black Doll Enthusiast

Tomorrow Congress is going to vote to repeal health care, again.
Can you sign this petition telling them that it's time to accept that health care
reform is here to stay?
 Congress has to move on to urgent business--like creating jobs and ending pay discrimination
against women and families.
click here
Click Here

Tomorrow, Republicans in Congress are going to vote, again, to repeal the Affordable
Care Act--the most pro-woman piece of legislation in decades, and a law that is going
to help tens of millions of people get health care who wouldn't otherwise be able
to afford it.
They tried to defeat the bill in 2010 and they failed. They tried to get the Supreme
Court to overturn it and they failed. They tried to gut birth control coverage in
the bill and they failed.
In fact, this will be the fourth time they have voted to completely repeal the whole
law in the last few years.
Far-right conservatives have succeeded at one thing though, distracting Congress
from dealing with serious issues facing our country, like the economy.
It's time for all of us to rise up and send a strong message to these politicians:
Enough is enough.
Can you sign this petition telling Congress that health care is here to stay and
it's well past time to move on to urgent business--like creating jobs and ending
pay discrimination against women and families?
Add your name to the petition.
The fact is that when health care reform passed and the Supreme Court upheld the
law, millions of working Americans won and billionaire insurance companies lost.
These members of Congress just can't accept that--and they want their giant corporate
donors to know it.
In the last few years, the right-wing Congress has tried to:
Take away health care from women and families, votes they have taken repeatedly.
Cut funding for Planned Parenthood--the only source of health care for millions of
low-income women.
Restrict access to reproductive health care.
Take away birth control coverage from millions of women.
Jobs? This Congress has failed to create a single job in these last two years. But
they did manage to:
Reject equal pay protections for women.
Refuse to allow women and families paid sick leave so that they can care for their
ailing parents or kids--or themselves--without fear of losing their jobs.
Roll back protections for survivors of domestic abuse--leaving millions of women
at greater risk of violence.
This is crazy. And it's time to let them know that we, women and men voters all over
the country, are paying attention and aren't going to let them get away with distraction
politics.
Please sign today.
Add your name to the petition.
Thanks for speaking out,
--Nita, Shaunna and Kat, the UltraViolet team
You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.