bohemian_gypsygirl

Candidates 411

2008-09-27T05:45:46Z

KNOW THE CANDIDATES:
http://2008election.procon.org/

CHECK THE FACTS:
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/the_whoppers_of_2008.html

BOYCOTT THE CIRCUS!!!

2008-02-24T06:41:13Z

It's that time of year where the Circus comes to town. It always makes me so very, very sad. Who even thought of such a barbaric event anyway? All those animals locked away in cramped cages for days while traveling in their own filth and then released only to stretch a little or be brutally trained and exposed to the elements of severe temperature changes, wind, rain, sleet, etc. I boycott every year!!!

I realize many of you think going to the Circus is a essential experience for children to have while growing up. It's not. Kids want to spend time with their parents and/or loved ones doing anything, they don't care, they just want your time and attention. If you want them to have the Circus experience, wait for Cirque du Soliel. Now there is a spectacular. show. It's like the Circus only 10x better and there are no animals involved.

Contrarty to popular belief, the Circus life is horrid for animals. They are treated poorly. They are neglected. Their freedoms are deprived. They pace and sway to lull themselves into a trance to escape from the abuse and distress. They are poked and rammed with electric prods and sometimes even blow torches during training. Trainers often have difficulty controlling the animals because the animals are so miserable. It an animal does not submit even after being beaten it is terminated ... killed ... murdered simply for rebelling against unecessary abuse. It is ... deplorable and hideous. Do you really want to pay to watch animals entertain you when they were beaten into submission until they mastered the very acts you find so entertaining? I don't think so.

BE AN ADVOCATE FOR ANIMALS FOR A CRUELTY FREE LIFE.

BOYCOTT THE CIRCUS WHEN THEY COME TO TOWN.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. ;-)

For more information go to: http://circuses.com/

To view footage of animal treatment go to : http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=carson_barnes_long&Player=wm

and

http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=rb_unsafe_handling_elephant&Player=wm

Inspired ...

2008-02-16T21:29:57Z

Here is a message from Randy Pausche a man who is facing death and yet still soldiers on with positivity and life. It is not biblical in nature nor does it teach us any spiritual or eternal truths about life per se, but it does remind us that we do have a choice on how we handle our circumstances and that the attitude we choose to have can significantly impact ourselves and those around us, especially what we teach to our children.

AIDS/HIV AWARENESS DAY

2007-11-30T18:07:07Z

Last year I had a friend diagnosed with HIV. At the time of diagnosis, he was actually so sick that he was admitted to the hospital and classified as having AIDS. The difference between HIV and AIDS is based only on the blood count. With the assistance of a twice daily 'cocktail', he is alive and well and holding in HIV status. However, there are side effects including serious weight gain and his liver is beginning to experience problems due to the heavy chemicals in the medicine. The combination of medicines he takes is frequently changed due to the nature of the virus. It is a constant ball and chain. In his particular case, he was exposed to the virus when he was raped. Many of his friends contracted the virus because the partner they were with tested negative when they started dating but were diagnosed three or four months later. In one case a girl contracted the virus from her fiance who got it from his ex-girlfriend whose ex boyfriend was an IV drug user.

Know your partner and their history.

Be safe.

* HIV/AID infects on average 4 million people worldwide each year, and threatens the health of 33 million.

* One in every four patients do not even know they have the HIV virus

* On a global level the number of reported HIV cases alone is:
   OCEANIA - 53,000+ (11,000+ in 2007)
   CARIBBEAN - 210,000+ (15,000+ in 2007)
   NORTH AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST - 270,000+ (16,000+ in 2007)
   NORTH AMERICA - 480,000+ (40,000+ in 2007)
   WESTERN & CENTRAL EUROPE - 600,000+ (19,000+ 0n 2007)
   EAST ASIA - 620,000+ (21,000+ in 2007)
   EASTERN EUROPE & CENTRAL ASIA - 1.2 million+ (70,000+ in 2007)
   LATIN AMERICA - 1.4 million+ (47,000+ in 2007)
   SOUTH & SOUTH EAST ASIA - 3.3 million+ (180,000+ in 2007)
   SUB SAHARAN AFRICA - 20+ million (1.4+ million in 2007)
   (To put this into smaller perspective in California alone the cases of reported HIV
    went from 8,299 - 22,646 in 2007 so far.)

Be aware.

Educate yourself, your loved ones, youth and even strangers.

The more we know and the more pro-active we become, the better.

Here are a few links concerning this topics.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20071130/hl_hsn/moreyoungamericansarecontractinghiv

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/default.htm

http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/

http://www.unaids.org/en/

The bottom line now ...

2007-11-16T00:04:51Z

The bottom line is , we are all ONE. To know one another...we must look into ourselves and discover the Pure Love and Pure Light that resides within all of us. Seeing that in ourselves allows us to see that in each other.When we look at each other we see our own reflection and the things we do not like are really the things we do not like about ourselves. We must honor that and heal our own self dislikes with God's Light and Love and only then can we look upon one another with Light and Love instead of judgment and expectation. Honor the place in each other in which the entire Universe and God dwells. Honor the place in one another which is of Love, of Truth, of Light, and of Peace. When we are in that place within each other, and we are in that place within ourselves, we are One with each other and One with God.

Animal Rights ... start now!

2007-11-09T05:23:21Z

Just because we eat meat is no reason to abuse the animal prior to slaughter and processing.
Why would someone abuse an animal anyway? How sick is THAT!!!

I went to dinner with an acquaintance of mine. She does a lot of filming for different agencies, PETA being one of them. So we dine and chat and then she asked if I would like to go to a meeting. Sure. I go and they show this video made by the lead singer for Goldfinger who is pretty big in the vegan community as well. Anyway, he wrote a song called 'Free Me' and my friend was on the team that filmed some of the footage in the video (though most of the footage was from the PETA film 'Meet Your Meat' http://www.meat.org/ (VERY GRAPHIC footage of slaugterhouses!!!). It was pretty gutwrenching. I teared up but so did everyone else. These people were really mellow, nice, low key. They do more promoting than protesting. They try to focus on educating people without being crazy about it. They were pretty cool.

I actually have been considering vegetarianism for awhile now and was discussing this with my friend which is what prompted the segway to the invitation to the PETA meeting. It has been proven that it is not just our minds that store the memory of trauma. The actual cells in our body store the memory as well. Since this is true for humans, it would be the same for animals. What I am wondering is how far does this go? If an animal body stores trauma in the body's cells, does that go away when the animal dies or does it continue to stay within the deceased body? Where am I going with this? Well, does the trauma that animals suffer in the process of becoming our food somehow taint our food? Meaning does the trauma stored in the animals cells, transfer to us when we ingest the animal. Or, does that trauma disperse in the process of death, or processing or cooking?

Supposedly organic meats come from animals raised in a totally different manner with compassion and proper care? Is this really true? I know on other farms, animals are treated horrifically. Supposedly chickens and cows raised for meat are cared for differently than those raised for dairy purposes. Is that really true? I wonder. I have talked to one too many commercial meat farmers. I am recently really disturbed by this. I have always been affected by this mind you, but recently I have become down right mortified and disturbed and am seriously considering vegetarianism. I would consider veganism except so much of that diet is based in soy which I have an intolerance for ... that and I really like cheese, cottage cheese and eggs - of course I like meat too, but these horrible images pop into my mind now so the enjoyment of meat has pretty much gone. I also know that so much of being a vegetarian involves consuming a lot of carbs which I do not really like either. Can you actually have a healthy, low carb, no soy vegetarian diet? I guess you just have to get really creative and substitute any meat dish you like with veggies. And learn to like peanut butter, which I really do not like, but I have heard you can substitute with almond butter which sounds interesting.

I am pretty careful to use products that have not been tested on animals and have been that way for years. I am also pretty careful with my clothing, furniture, etc. This seems like a natural next step.

Any tips from anyone? Any one else actually gone vegetarian or vegan 100%? Please share your experience.

So the evening ended by showing the PETA websites new video footage of Chinese fur farms. OH MY GOD!!!! I do not wear fur! I never have worn fur! And thank God. This footage is the worst thing I have ever seen!!! They have rows and rows of outside kennels with rabbits and dogs and puppies and minks and foxes, that they skin for fur. These poor animals are left in these cages in all weather conditions, are barely fed and watered, never treated if they are sick and some go literally crazy from the confinement and the stress and chew off their own limbs and/or beat themselves against the cages. These assholes in the video skin the animals alive!!! And after skinning them they throw them into a pile and sometimes the animal is STILL ALIVE after being skinned suffering until it finally dies. It is horrifying. Why? Why would they not at least kill the animal first? It is really, really horrible. I have NEVER seen anything so horrible in my life. What is the sense in that kind of cruelty? Would it really be so difficult to put the animal to sleep first. I mean, COME ON!!!

Bottom line ... trying to go vegetarian .... every year one person goes without meat saves the lives of 100 animals. I am also becoming more active with PETA. There is a way to make a difference, I believe. I attached a link to the videos for those who are interested, but seriously, they are hard core so be prepared.

THESE VIDEOS ARE EXTREMELY GRAPHIC IN THE FOOTAGE OF ANIMALS BEING USED FOR TESTING AND THE ABUSE OF ANIMALS RAISED FOR SLAUGHTER AND BEING SKINNED ALIVE AT CHINESE FUR FARMS. DO NOT WATCH THESE VIDEOS IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN ANYWHERE NEARBY OR HAVE A WEAK STOMACH. THESE VIDEOS ARE HORRIFYING, ESPECIALLY THE ONE FROM THE FUR FARM.

Goldfinger Video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ANx4StPKG0

Chinese Fur Farm : http://www.peta.org/
click on Watch Video Now underneath picture of Raccoon - VERY GRAPHIC!!!

Important Points:

SPAY & NEUTER YOUR ANIMALS - cost less than a night out for two!
6-8 million animals A DAY enter animal shelters (that is the population of NYC or the entier country of Switzerland)
Animal shelter are so over crowded, 10,000 animals die a day are put to sleep
Adopt from a shelter instead of buying an animal (25% are purebreds so if that is important, look around)

BUY PRODUCTS NOT TESTED ON ANIMALS
Companies that DO NOT TEST on animals - http://caringconsumer.com/pdfs/companiesDontTest.pdf
Companies that DO TEST on animals - http://caringconsumer.com/pdfs/companiesDoTest.pdf
Animal testing is not necessary for products. We now have the ability to clone human skin (so we do not need to see the effect of products burning skin on animals) plus we have cell based tissue models so why are they still testing on animals?

For more info or videos visit http://www.peta.org/ or http://www.goveg.com

Nostalgic moment courtesy of Dawson's Creek

2007-07-01T08:25:29Z

Happy Earth Day!!! Join the Movement to STOP GLOBAL WARMING! The more you know, the more you can do!

2007-04-22T19:07:01Z

Global Warming .... we keep hearing about it .... over and over ..... and yet there are still some who actually feel this is not an important issue. WAKE UP!!!

This is nothing new. If you listen to many of the interviews given by Bobby Kennedy and others in the 60's, they frequently discusses the problems with polution and air quality as well as other environmental issues.

We CAN make a difference if we just STOP being so damn ambivilant about out planet and STOP expecting everyone else to fix the problem and STOP thinking that our single effort does not really matter. It matters. IT REALLY MATTERS. It matters because if we all sit around saying our single effort does not matter and all end up doing nothing ... there will be nothing left for our children and grandchildren and so on.

I know some of you are right on board with me. I know some of you don't believe the situation is that critical. I know some of you SAY you want to make a difference but go right on using your energy devouring light bulbs and STILL DON"T RECYCLE.

The truth is if all make a few small changes they will add up to big changes and the possibilty of preventing further damage to our planet is ATTAINABLE.

Need some evidence?

In Tokyo, Japan the plum blossoms were blooming three weeks earlier than normal. This may not seem like such a big deal but this last winter was the first winter in 131 years that there was NO SNOW!

The Swiss Alps this January .... almost NO SNOW. http://travel.msn.com//Guides/MSNTravelSlideShow.aspx?cp-documentid=385955&imageindex=11&destinationid=null It is predicted that by 2050 all of the glaciers will be gone in this region.

In Kanai FjordsNational Park in Alaska there is a sign post where the Exit Glacier reached in 1978 .... today it is close to a half a mile away! http://travel.msn.com//Guides/MSNTravelSlideShow.aspx?cp-documentid=385955&imageindex=2&destinationid=null

Want something more dramatic .... Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Both pictues were take during the same season in 1998 and again in 2005. All of the glaciers may be gone by 2020 or earlier! http://travel.msn.com//Guides/MSNTravelSlideShow.aspx?cp-documentid=385955&imageindex=5&destinationid=null

Here are some ENERGY (EARTH) SAVING TIPS:

http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/whatyoucando/
1. Replace regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl) (CFL bulbs use 60% less
   energy saving 300lbs per person of carbon dioxide a year)
2. Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer (saves as much as 2,000 lbs of carbon dioxide
    a year)
3. Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner (saves 350 lbs of carbon dioxide a year)
4. Install a programmable thermostat
5. Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases (look for the EnergyStar logo)
6. Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket and keep the thermostat no higher than 120 degrees
    (saves 1,550 lbs of carbon dioxide a year)
7. Use less hot water (install a low flow shower head and save 350 lbs of carbon dioxide a year) and wash clothes
   in cold water (saving an additional 500 lbs. of carbon dioxide a year)
8. Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible (saves 700 lbs of carbon dioxide a year)
9. Turn off electronic devices you’re not using (save thousands of lbs of carbon dioxide per year)
10. Unplug electronics from the wall when you’re not using them
11. Only run your dishwasher when there’s a full load and use the energy-saving setting
      (saves 100 lbs of carbon dioxide a year)
12. Insulate and weatherize your home (saves up to 2, 000 lbs. of carbon dioxide a year, caulking and
      weather-stripping can save another 1,700 pounds per year)
13. RECYCLE (save up to 2,400 lbs of carbon dioxide a year)
14. Buy recycled paper products
15. Plant a tree(in its lifetime one single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide)
16. Get a home energy audit (saves up to 1,000 lbs of carbon dioxide a year)
17. Switch to green power
18. Buy locally grown and produced foods
19. Buy fresh foods instead of frozen (uses 10x less energy to produce)
20. Seek out and support local farmers markets
21. Buy organic foods as much as possible
22. Avoid heavily packaged products (saves up to 1,200 lbs of carbon dioxide a year if you shut down
      your garbage production by a mere 10%)
23. Eat less meat

EVERY POUND OF GASOLINE SAVED KEEPS 20 POUNDS OF CARBON DIOXIDE FROM BEING RELEASED
http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/whatyoucando/index5.html
1. Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit
wherever possible (10 miles less driving a week saves 500 lbs of emissions a year)
2. Start a carpool with your coworkers or classmates (ride sharing just 2 days a week will save 1,590 lbs
of emissions a year)
3. Keep your car tuned up (for proper fuel efficiency)
4. Check your tires weekly to make sure they’re properly inflated
5. When it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicle
6. Try car sharing (different from ride sharing)
7. Try telecommuting from home
8. Fly less

1. Offset your carbon output (You can buy offsets not just for air travel but also for your car. Also, consider
    using Bright Card (www.brightpla.net) which is a new credit card that instead of offering frequent-flier miles
    or other rewards invests your money in alternative-energy projects.)
2. Stay at certified environmental friendly hotels and use sustainable tourism companies.
   (www.sustainabletravel.com
3. Pack lightly (planes use less fuel when carrying less weight)

Show your support by attending or viewing the Live Earth Concert on July 7 put together by Al Gore and his 'Inconvenient Truth' team. The line up is AWESOME!!! This will air on VH1, MTV and MSNBC. http://www.liveearth.org/index.php

For more information visit the following links:

http://www.climatecrisis.net

http://www.stopglobalwarming.org

Quote by Kira Salak / Writer for National Geographic

2006-11-01T00:10:20Z

"All unhappiness and stagnation result from feeling that you are at the mercy of the world and the people in it. But what a joy it is, what a major shift to strength and power, when you no longer wait around for others to favor and love you, for others to flatter and reward you. Reward and flatter yourself. Favor and love yourself."
- Kira Salak / Writer for National Geographic