Waiting for Physical Therapy

Waiting for Physical Therapy

I sit in the loby cacooned, in a shroud of meaningless noise.  It's all loud, incomprehensible as sounds blend.  There's applause, must be the TV game show.  And more voices than I can possibly count.  Occasionally one stands out for a moment, then submerges into the senseless, frightening rushing.  I can't stand it, so bring an audio book with headphones on maximum.  That doesn't change the situation, but it makes me Feel better.  There is One thing in my environment which I can understand and even Control.   

Roundup

Round Up

This one is important.  I am no scientist and cannot verify the facts.  But it makes good sense that just as the overuse of antibiotics has led to drug resistant strains of TB. And an increase in infections in hospital patients which are hard to treat, an over use of a weed killer which kills Everything on which it is sprayed will lead to Round Up "super weeds" resistant to any herbicide now known.  Some researchers say they have found "Round Up" Ready bacteria in the intestines of people.  Butterflies and bees are pollinators of food crops, we Need them.  I worry for my friends who use lots of Round Up and for the farm laborers who have to work around this and other hazardous chemicals all day, Every day.

A friend of mine is an "over the road" long distance trucker.  She says that all across parts of Ohio, for one example, there are pro-Monsanto bill boards proclaiming the benefits of genetically Modified crops sold by Monsanto.  If something happens to wipe out the GMO corn, soy beans, and wheat, what will replace them?  How will poor people afford food?

I'm reading Barbara Kingsolver's book "Flight Behavior" and it's ironic because yesterday parts of this local area received nine and a half inches of rain, in One Day!  Talk about Flooding! That is the most rain in one day ever recorded for the area.    It has been too wet to plant some crops, others have rotted, waterlogged in the fields.  Last year it was a drought and temperatures of 108 with dry hot winds.

You don't have to be a climate scientist to know the weather has become more weird and inconsistent.  You just have to be a farmer or even a Gardener.

Monsanto's top herbicide, Roundup, is wrecking our environment, poisoning our bodies

and driving whole species to extinction.

Tell Monsanto to provide more information about the deadly effects of Roundup. Limit

amounts sold until the real effects of product are understood.

Sign the Petition

Teresa,

Monsanto has spent the past three decades wrecking our environment, poisoning our

bodies, and pushing species of crops to the verge of extinction with a wide array

of toxic products. And Monsanto's signature herbicide, Roundup, does all these things

at once -- but

Monsanto has lied over and over

 and said that the product is perfectly safe. Yet independent research has found

the chemical is

creating herbicide-resistant superweeds, making a species of butterfly extinct, and

disrupting normal human body functions.

Monsanto has inflicted awful damage upon the Earth and its inhabitants, but

the company is finally facing significant blowback.

Now, while the tide in

the ongoing war of consumers vs. the agriculture giant is swinging our way

, it is the time to call on Monsanto to tell the truth about the effects of Roundup.

Tell Monsanto: Stop ignoring the deadly effects of your top herbicide. Provide more information about the real effects of Roundup.

After years of lobbying European governments to allow the cultivation of Monsanto

GMO plants and seeds,

Monsanto finally quit lobbying because the company could not gain support on the

continent.

 This week, an American appeals court has

prevented Monsanto from suing farmers

 that might inadvertently grow Monsanto laced crops.

We're standing as consumers, shareholders and citizens of the world to say “enough

is enough” and

demanding Monsanto stop lying that Roundup is safe and start putting strict limits

on the amount of Roundup it sells to any one area until we know more.

 Every day we delay is another species near extinction, another superweed created,

another child who falls sick. But every signature we get brings us one step closer

to stopping Monsanto from destroying our planet with Roundup -- and showing Monsanto

that we won't let it continue leading us down that path of destruction.

Monsanto: Stop lying that Roundup is safe and put strict limits on its use.

Thanks for all you do,

Angus, Martin, Kaytee and the rest of us.

**********


More Information:

How Monsanto Went From Selling Aspirin to Controlling Our Food Supply

, AlterNet, 18 April, 2013

Heavy use of herbicide Roundup linked to health dangers-U.S. study

, Reuters, 25 April, 2013

Monsanto’s Roundup Shown to be Ravaging Butterfly Population

, Natural Society, 6 March, 2012

www.sumofus.org/

 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

Mining in Burma, Do We Need these Jewels for the Price?

If the US. Campaign for Burma had Not spoken out and urgeed actions to help stop violence against that country's Muslim minority I would have been angry.  But they did.  And now the mining practices described below remind me of the old system in S. Africa, (which I Pray is changing) and actions still taken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

There Is something to do about it.

Sounds Like Mining Was in S. Africa and still Is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

They are Beautiful, but do we Truly need these things to be Happy?

Tell Congress: No Burmese Blood Rubies

Last week, we wrote to you about the ongoing suffering of the Kachin people. Now

the Kachin need your help to make sure Congress doesn’t lift the ban on importing

Burmese rubies and jade.

Tell your Representative to cosponsor the renewal of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act.

Rubies and jade are mined in northeastern Burma where the Burmese military continues

to wage war against the Kachin ethnic group. Control of the mines and labor exploitation

fuel the war against the Kachin, to whom the rubies are known as blood rubies – not

because they are the color of blood, but because of the blood spilt in mining them.

The Burmese government uses child labor and forced labor in the ruby and jade mines,

which are highly lucrative moneymakers for the Burmese government and its business

cronies.

We visited Kachin leaders, human rights organizations, relief workers, and internally

displaced persons earlier this year. They expressed their frustration at how ignored,

betrayed, and abandoned they feel by the international community. They want the United

States to keep some sanctions in place to pressure the Burmese military to stop attacking

them, to stop abusing them, to stop exploiting their natural resources, including

the rubies and jade mined on their land, and to guarantee their rights, and let them

return home in safety.

The gem ban in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act is one of the last pieces of

leverage the U.S. has to push the Burmese military to meet the Kachin concerns and

pursue rights-respecting reforms. If Congress does not renew the gem ban, the ban

is automatically gone.

Please take a minute to send an email to your Representative to renew the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act before it expires.

Don’t let the Burmese government profit off the sale of these rubies and jade in

the U.S.

Email your Representative today

 and let him or her know that the gem provision is essential for keeping pressure

on the Burmese government if we want to see the end of human rights abuses.

Help us not fail the Kachin when they need us most.

Have time to send more than an email?  Email myradah@uscampaignforburma.org for instructions

for calling your Representative.



In solidarity,



USCB team

Click here to unsubscribe

empowered by Salsa

Opinions Wanted: How to Stop Sexual Assault of Servicewomen

A Chance to be Heard, Strategy for Stopping Sexual Assault of Servicewomen

What you think we should do next in our campaign to end sexual assault in the military

and demand justice for the survivors?

In the past 48 hours, nearly 50,000 people have signed our petition demanding that

the U.S. Senate invite servicewomen who have survived sexual assault to testify.

It's an incredible start--but petitions alone won't be enough.

That's why we're planning our next steps to keep the media spotlight on this crisis,

and keep the pressure on Congress to act. But we want your input before we decide

what we do next.

 Can you tell us what you think UltraViolet should do, and which actions you would

be interested in participating in?

 The survey is short and only takes a minute.

Tell us what you think.

Thanks for your input.

--Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Malinda and Karin, the UltraViolet team

You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.

How Can I Ignore This One with Zero Signers?

How can I Not sign this petition?  Ann and I Did lose our home even though all credit card and mortgage payments were current.  I bought it in May and a string of Very early tornadoes came through the next Jan. causing so much camage the insurance company didn't want to pay for it.  I hadn't paid premiums long enough is my guess as to why.

I am a renter who has declared bankruptcy.

Change.org

Hurricane Sandy destroyed my home and now I could lose it to foreclosure. Sign my petition asking Wells Fargo to comply with federal orders and help all Sandy victims with mortgage payment extensions.

wf/click?upn=L4wUyO6b13sjdmUXmXaF3ImVTD6G6GFyhYT-2F9kLEoC8rNdSfuS-2FLPyq62QB5RW-2FFr3bAB6ILaUFwsZFGrEuSJzJVkK5OpAEwv5d-2Fmso1Uj-2ByjWJ5-2BXSMXgQxzaNQY-2BHCHCinQArwad32JCZymSizx9wR-2FVmZmlO-2BQiZdZhYB42PtYeJi9xkhJpXaXn3gvjXnkvrJTmSFNaS-2FJ9axjCFMAmnDywv1mshO6SfcTZ1H7NQa7VIuaJSjE540y5HJI8ck_M97dK4ppjqAUhQa03OdsxnXFjwvZVp-2BcPZpDEKfq2Ds60Pfo03Nj9IryL-2FsRbqMQaSbN3hv1VAkz3XIlkyirlSvKc8rFlrs8jiCIN-2Fvi4yGVfFqyggKwX7jI1ORBDqr062rpC-2F8496M9XA8yp6Gckl-2BbinH9HlnlnCWILjVXveRp2mIw2PCyWwbP1oGTqObm-2FVqXaDH-2FkY5Uyatov-2BirxSoH6yiArqjoWZhj-2FHrHVPpO3hiBNogJLtAL2-2B2BcApW

Sign My Petition

When Hurricane Sandy hit my home, it sustained so much damage we almost had to tear

it down and start over. My family and I could have lost everything.

After the hurricane the federal government agreed to allow homeowners to temporarily

suspend mortgage payments without being threatened with foreclosure in order to rebuild.

When I called Wells Fargo in April they said everything would be fine, and we were

hopeful for the first time in months.

But last week I learned that Wells Fargo went back on their word and might foreclose

on my home.

Wells Fargo is defying the federal government and unfairly targeting my family and

other Sandy victims who have already suffered so much.

wf/click?upn=L4wUyO6b13sjdmUXmXaF3ImVTD6G6GFyhYT-2F9kLEoC8rNdSfuS-2FLPyq62QB5RW-2FFr3bAB6ILaUFwsZFGrEuSJzJVkK5OpAEwv5d-2Fmso1Uj-2ByjWJ5-2BXSMXgQxzaNQY-2BHCHCinQArwad32JCZymSizx9wR-2FVmZmlO-2BQiZdZhYB42PtYeJi9xkhJpXaXn3gvjXnkvrJTmSFNaS-2FJ9axjCFMAmnDywv1mshO6SfcTZ1H7NQa7VIuaJSjE540y5HJI8ck_M97dK4ppjqAUhQa03OdsxnXFjwvZVp-2BcPZpDEKfq2Ds60Pfo03Nj9IryL-2FsRbqMQaSbN3hv1VAkz3XIlkyirlSvKc8rFlrs8jiCIN-2Fvi4yGVfFqyggKwX7jI1ORBDqr0csLjsmxQq5oTCRVeapYieXnsYcSzOrRDyKlKOonKjj2f1BT6dzkFBV9AVPDZgFhB1EIigD6QLpnJs61Vqicgfv9WNDfIyR233pJA2Gt5rK46s3OchPO-2BJNkpC7FDAcVF

I started a petition on Change.org asking Wells Fargo to obey the federal mandate and provide me and all homeowners affected by Sandy a payment extension. Click here to sign.

After Hurricane Sandy our home was unlivable, and my family and I spent the rest

of winter living in a trailer in our front yard. Our water froze and we lost heat.

But we stayed because we wanted to save and rebuild our home, and the extension of

mortgage payments made it possible for us to do that.

Not only is Wells Fargo refusing to comply with a federal mandate to protect all

homeowners affected by Hurricane Sandy, but they're jeopardizing my family's financial

security. Because of the extensive damage to our home caused by the hurricane, my

family had to take out a loan against my husband's 401k -- the only savings we have.

I've heard of countless other homeowners saving their homes from foreclosure by starting

petitions on Change.org. I believe that with enough signatures, Wells Fargo will

do the right thing and suspend mortgage payments for homeowners affected by Sandy

instead of foreclosing.

Sign my petition asking Wells Fargo to comply with the federal government mandate and work with Hurricane Sandy victims like myself to save our homes.

Thank you for your help.

Kathleen Murphy

Brick, New Jersey

Sign My Petition

Mailing Address: Change.org · 216 W 104th St., #130 · New York, NY 10025

The New South or the Wild West?

Trigger Warning for first email.  But it's Important!

Couldn't this guy have gone to Small Claims Court and gotten back his money instead of committing Murder?  But then That takes more time and requires Thought!

A jury in Texas just acquitted a man who shot and killed a woman for refusing to

have sex with him. No one should ever fear for their lives when saying no to sex.

Will you sign the petition to Texas Attorney General Abbott asking him to clarify

that nobody should be killed for refusing sex?

click here

Click Here

A court in Texas just exonerated a man who shot and killed a woman who had refused

to have sex with him. She's dead, and he will serve no time at all.

1

We have to speak up to make sure this never happens again anywhere in the U.S.

Here’s what happened: Ezekiel Gilbert shot and killed a Craigslist escort after she

left without having sex with him. His lawyer argued that since he had paid her $150

for the evening, he was justified under Texas law in shooting her because state law

allows people “to use deadly force to recover property during a nighttime theft."

2

The precedent this case sets is dangerous. A woman is NEVER required to have sex

with a man if she doesn't want to. Ever.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott can issue an opinion clarifying that nobody can

be shot for refusing to have sex.

As the state’s chief legal official, his opinion will influence elected and legal

officials.

3

 In Texas and across the country, making this clear is incredibly important to saving

lives in the future.

Yesterday's verdict has generated a national firestorm of headlines that are making

their way across social media. If we can focus the national spotlight on Abbott,

the pressure could force him to act.

Will you sign the petition asking AG Abbott to clarify that women always have the

right to say no to sex, no matter the circumstances?

Add your name.

It’s horrifying that we have to clarify that a woman’s consent is hers to give, regardless

of the circumstances. But if we don’t speak out, this sexist mentality and its sad

results will only continue.

This story has already gotten the attention of national blogs. Both

Gawker and Think Progress

 have written about the jury’s decision.

4

 Local Texas outlets are also seeing lots of online outrage. Commenters at

My San Antonio

 have weighed in saying things like “I don't even know what to say, I'm speechless.

That's not what this law is in place for” and "this is not the Bexar County I want

to live in, where women can be murdered for not giving someone the sex they believe

they're owed."

5

We can make sure this doesn’t happen again. We need AG Abbott to speak out and issue

an opinion making it perfectly clear that nobody should be killed for refusing sex,

no matter what the circumstances.

Sign the petition.

Thanks for speaking out.

--Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Malinda and Karin, the UltraViolet team

Sources

1.

Jury acquits escort shooter

, My San Antonio, June 5, 2013

2. Ibid.

3.

About Attorney General Opinions

, Attorney General of Texas, March 1, 2012

4.

Texas Says It's OK to Shoot an Escort If She Won't Have Sex With You

, Gawker, January 6, 2013

Jury Acquits Texas Man For Murder Of Escort Who Refused Sex

, Think Progress, January 6, 2013

5.

Jury acquits escort shooter: Comments

, My San Antonio, January 6, 2013

Glade stinks --

and it's not just the smell. SC Johnson, Glade's parent company, is refusing to disclose

the chemicals in each of its products.

Tell Glade to stop hiding chemicals in its products.

Sign the petition

Something about the massive fragrance brand Glade stinks. Although Glade’s sprays,

candles, and air fresheners are marketed as clean and refreshing, independent investigations

have showed that

Glade products contain secret, potentially toxic chemicals.

When health advocates Women’s Voices for the Earth commissioned an independent lab

to test Glade for toxins, they found

chemicals that have been linked to allergic reactions

, birth defects, and increased risk of breast cancer

. We know Glade uses synthetic musks that build up in the body over time, and

ultimately show up in blood and breast milk.

Other companies, like Chlorox and the makers of Lysol have dropped these ingredients,

but not Glade -- and we don't even know what else might be lurking in Glade fragrances.

In the United States,

manufacturers aren’t required to label the ingredients

 of fragrances, so most don’t. That means consumers can’t avoid fragrances that contain

unhealthy chemicals and allergens, like those found in many Glade products.

Tell the makers of Glade to stop keeping secrets and let consumers know what chemicals are in its fragrances.

S.C. Johnson, the massive chemical conglomerate that owns Glade, likes to brag that

it’s committed to honesty and transparency. But

it only discloses the contents of its fragrances in a single online master list with

over 1,500 ingredients.

 That master list

includes scary ingredients like petroleum -- but it doesn't say which chemicals appear

in which products!

 Consumers have no way of knowing which products to avoid if they have allergies

or small children, or if they simply want to shy away from toxins.

In the European Union, where disclosure rules are stricter, Glade products already

have labels about their ingredients, so

we know that the makers of Glade could easily be more transparent.

 But it’s chosen to keep customers in the U.S. in the dark.

Glade recently responded to consumer complaints about its lack of transparency, but

it simply reiterated what its policies are. It didn't address the basic issue: when

we buy Glade products, we don't know what we're getting. Glade dodged a handful of

complaints, but if thousands of us speak out together, it will have to get serious.

 S.C. Johnson wants to be seen as a leader on transparency,

 and this is its chance to live up to that billing. By labeling potentially harmful

ingredients in Glade products, it can help set a new standard in the fragrance industry.

Click here to demand that Glade disclose its fragrance ingredients.

Thanks,

Rob, Kaytee, and the rest of us

*********

More Information:

Women's Voices for the Earth,

Dirty Secrets test results

 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

Change.org

It's the law in Alabama that teachers must tell kids that being gay is a criminal offense, even though that's not true. I want the state legislature to repeal this hurtful, outdated law.

Sign My Petition

 -As a teenager, I expect my teachers to tell me the truth.

So why does my state, Alabama, require by law that my teachers tell me that being

gay is a criminal offense?

The Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that being gay is not a crime -- it's incredible

that happened so recently. But it's even more incredible that in Alabama, the law

requires sexual education teachers to emphasize that

"homosexuality is not a lifestyle acceptable to the general public and that homosexual

conduct is a criminal offense."

I'm a queer teen in Alabama, and I don't think it's acceptable for the law to force

my teachers to tell me I'm a criminal.

A bill has been introduced in the Alabama state legislature to repeal this hurtful, outdated law. My friend Adam and I started a petition on Change.org calling on the legislature to repeal the law -- will you click here to sign?

It's bad enough to be a gay kid and hear from your teachers that your identity is

invalid. But what's even worse is the way this school forces teachers to sanction

anti-gay bullying, even if they don't want to.

Queer kids are significantly more likely to attempt suicide than straight or cisgender

kids, partly because society teaches us to think awful things about ourselves --

that we're weird and abnormal and not okay. But we are okay, just the way we are.

We need for our teachers and the people in our lives to be able to tell us that we

are.

It's been ten years since the Supreme Court ruled that it's not a crime to be gay.

It's time for Alabama to stop forcing teachers to lie to students -- and I know that

if enough people sign my petition the state legislature will do the right thing and

take this hateful law off the books.

Click here to sign Adam's and my petition calling on the Alabama state legislature to repeal a law that forces teachers to tell students that being gay is a crime.

Thank you,

Sarah Noone, age 16

Birmingham, Alabama

Dream About Ann

I read once in a book that there is a difference between grief and mourning.  Grief is experienced at the loss, especially the sudden loss, of a beloved person.  Grief is experienced when there is time.
     Mourning is longer and slower and is experienced when there are children to raise, or for some other reason, grief must be postponed.
     For the first time since Ann died I had a dream about her last night.  I was acting silly, we were talking together in the way we had, trying to figure out a possible motive for something.  I have felt very sad ever since.  But I have enough of a life of my own now to keep going.  But the hurt is a physical thing, making me feel like crying, but I never learned to do that or it was Unlearned long ago.

When I think of it, I was in shock and grief the night Ann died.  But by the next day there was so much Work!  I needed to call her and our close friends and tell them what had happened, continue taking care of pets and house, (the dog was sick then) wonder what had happened, Why she was gone, and I knew I would have to move.
     I had to put together a Memorial Service, find an honoring container for her ashes, Stop her Disability checks and Food Stamps, And go into her room to begin sorting through things I thought her family would want.  I Had to be numb to go into that room or outside in the snow near where she was found, frozen.

I had no Time to grieve.  There were boxes of print papers to sort through which were taller than me, about six feet tall.  With various friends and Wendi, the world's most wonderful friend, who could have split but stayed as my healthcare aide, we sorted into huge piles:  recycle, shred, send to Ann's family.  This went on for a couple of months.

Then I had to donate Ann's clothing, dishes, etc. to places around town which would give them to people free of charge.  Then there was packing to move.  Some things I had no time to sell I just let go.

Then I had to pack to move, What a nightmare, and look at cheaper rental houses to move into and clean the one we had lived in.  I had to keep in contact with the funeral home, put together a memorial book, etc.
     It was four months of slogging Work.
     Looking back I know I Never would have gotten through it without friends and Wendi.  I don't know how the hell we did it!  Food for the memorial gathering, then taking it Down, shocking, as it all came apart so Shockingly much faster than it went together.  That hurt!
     After moving there was rearranging furniture in the house, and Unpacking so I could live here.  Then there were guys showing up after dark getting mad because someone I'd never heard of was not here, an attempted break in, I actually did good, just getting Through it all.

But it led to what the book's author called mourning, long and slow, as I could deal with it.

I guess now my mind and body are strong enough now to remember Ann herself, enough to dream about her.  I am glad.  I miss her so very much!  She was the m  most Curious person I've ever met, except for me, when I'm feeling decent.  This meant she was Never borring.

We talked about the news and politics, her art, (I asked her to describe a painting then asked questions because I was interested.)  Ann was interested in my weaving, my doll clothes, (she helped me cut out the patterns I described which came from my mind) she liked dolls, blues, folk, classic rock, and Native American music.  We both found word games and Bopit fun, and we both liked getting presents for others (even if it was just a card) which the receiver would like.  We both worked at spiritual growth and prayed for others together as well as one another.  And we both read books like crazy, enjoying historical fiction which was well researched, Science Fiction, and many other books harder to classify.  Amy Tan, Barbara Kingsolver, John Grisham, some Lisa See, Maya Angelou always, Sarah Waters, Alice Walker, Salmon Rushdie, Isaac Asimov, Toni Morrison, so many old friends we shared.  And we both loved J. R. R. Tolkein.  We read E. M. Forster.  So many books while we ate dinner, Ann drew or painted, and I sewed or wove.  It was and still is wonderful to have known someone with so Many interests.  We gardened together and Ann taught me how to dig with a spade.  We planted fruit trees and cooking herbs everywhere we lived.

Years of good memories and sadness for Ann's loss and no more possibility of making more happy memories like those.

     Maybe I'll start a petition on Blogger to make is Accessible to assistive technology (screen readers and Braille displays and speech recognition software.)  I can't correct my spelling and I didn't type this out in Word first.  I think faster than I type which causes a lot of mistakes, I'm sorry.
     I cannot add labels to any post through Blogger anymore, or change the way my posts look.  Annoying!  But I just wanted to write a post down as it came out, thus, the mistakes.

Thanks for reading.