The Alliance for the Wild Rockies (AWR) filed a lawsuit, on Monday, in a challenge to "the U.S. Forest Service's decision to go forward with three road-building and logging projects in occupied habitat for the endangered Cabinet-Yaak grizzly bear. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Cabinet-Yaak grizzly bear is almost certainly going extinct and roads pose the most imminent threat to these bears."
Do these government departments / bureaus ever talk to - or listen to - each other?
Here you have the FWS - part of the Department of the Interior - whose "... mission is, working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats ..." stating that building roads through the Cabinet-Yaak area is contributing to the decimation of the grizzly population. A population, by the way, that is limited to only 5 areas in the western United States and is estimated (April, 2007) to number less than 50 individuals in what is known as the Cabinet-Yaak Recovery Zone. This zone consists of the Cabinet Mountains and Yaak Valley.
Now, we add the USFS, part of the Department of Agriculture - but funded through the Department of the Interior. Their mission "... is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations." Doesn't sound incompatible to me? And yet, in practice, the left hand certainly has different goals than the right hand (non-politically speaking).
The USFS projects, which AWR is challenging, include:
Commercial thinning on 780 acres, regeneration harvest on 398 acres, prescribed burning only on 691 acres, 5.5 miles of new permanent roads, and 2 miles of temp roads in Little Beaver Drainage;
Commercial timber harvest on 2,506 acres and prescribed fire on 3,148 acres in Miller West Fisher; and
Timber harvest, prescribed burning, pre-commercial thin, and access mgmt changes in the Grizzly Planning Subunit.
The full complaint (PDF file) can be found on the AWR website.
One recurring theme these days, on TV and on the Internet, is the need for security. In tough economic times, it's not surprising to hear that crime is on the rise. Crime against businesses and crime against individuals now make the news several times a day. (I know that we've heard the police helicopter, searching the neighborhood, a lot more in the last few months.)
One benefit of living where we do is the cctv security system. A few years ago, when Mark's daughter and son-in-law were visiting, someone ran into their car in the parking lot. Happily, it took no time at all to get the make, model, and license number of the vehicle that sideswiped the new SUV. Sadly, it was one of our neighbors who, as we saw in the tape, hit the car - not once, but twice.
These days, our complex is also gated. People attempt to climb over the gates on a regular basis and are caught on the security cameras, on a regular basis. Personally, we don't wait for the cameras to catch these trespassers. After all, once they're over the gate, we aren't that many steps away.
In addition to wooden blocks in the windows, for the last several months, we've kept a chair shoved under the front door. We know that it won't stop a determined intruder. It will slow them down and, hopefully, encourage them to bother someone else.
Our neighborhood is not the best. And - honestly? - our neighbors are not the most law-abiding. With a little attention to security, we do sleep pretty well at night.
November is National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month. A time when we stop and consider the quality of our lives and the lives of our loved ones. What type of memory loss is a normal part of aging? And what memory changes may be a sign of something more serious?
Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure
Confusion with time or place
Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
New problems with words in speaking or writing
Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
Decreased or poor judgment
Withdrawal from work or social activities
Changes in mood and personality
The information on these pages also explains the difference between typical age-related memory changes and the changes that may signal the onset of Alzheimer's Disease.
Another health issue, related to Alzheimer's or any disabling condition, is Caregiver Stress. Unless you are/have been a caregiver for a seriously ill friend or loved one, it is difficult to imagine the range of emotions and stress that caregivers experience. To that end, the Alzheimer's Association has provided a short quiz to help caregivers determine their stress level and find the resources they need to care for themselves.
I have been a caregiver and I have worked with support groups. The first piece of advice we give to those caring for seriously ill or disabled relatives is: "Don't forget to care for yourself!"
Controllable Halloween Decorations for Celiac Disease
It is with great joy that I share an email I received today:
This dear man spends hours every year on his amazing decorations, to entertain the WorldWideWeb and support this cause that means so much to him and his family. The display is truly interactive - you can, by clicking on different items, turn them off and on or even inflate or deflate some of the characters! It's a whole lotta fun!
Yes, it is that time of year, and back for 2009 are the Controllable Halloween Decorations for Celiac Disease:
Once again, three live webcams and X10 technology allows web surfers to not only view the action, but also *control* it. Heck, you can even inflate/deflate the giant Frankenstein, Pumpkins, Grim Reapers, Skull, SpongeBob SquarePants, Headless Horseman, Homer Simpson, and more - D'OH! ;-)
On a more serious note, this is the fifth year that I'm working with the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research
to raise awareness & funds -
http://www.celiaccenter.org/news_xmas.asp
My two sons have this condition, so it's personal for me.
The website continues to be completely free and totally fun, especially for kids. If folks are so inclined, you can make an optional donation directly to the Center for Celiac Research. Almost $40,000 has been raised with holiday lights - go figure! So surf on by, tell your friends, blog about it, spread the word, etc.
Please stop by and show your support - not to mention, play with the decorations and enjoy the show!
This will be my third year participating in this exciting event. Imagine! Thousands of bloggers, around the world, united - if only for one day - in one idea. For 2009, the topic upon which we are all focused is Climate Change.
For those of you unfamiliar with Blog Action Day, let me simply quote the source:
Founding Story
Blog Action Day was founded by Collis & Cyan Ta'eed in the summer of 2007. With the support of their team at Envato in Australia as well as numerous volunteers, they recruited over 20,000 bloggers to write about the issue of Environment on October 15, 2007 - making the first Blog Action Day an immediate and quite unexpected success.
In 2009, Collis & Cyan asked the team at Change.org, the world's leading blog network for social issues, to take over responsibility of Blog Action Day and expand its reach. We were honored to accept the offer.
Preparing for Blog Action Day 09 has been a true team effort, and we would like to thank the many people who have made it possible, including Happy Cog West for the beautiful site design, Brian Potstra for the pixel-perfect logo, and Seth Brau for the awesome animated Blog Action Day 09 video.
Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers.
Aristotle
I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
Will Rogers
A conservative is a man who just sits and thinks, mostly sits.
Woodrow Wilson
If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.
Emma Goldman
If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.
Louis D. Brandeis
It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.
Joseph Stalin
It is not in the nature of politics that the best men should be elected. The best men do not want to govern their fellowmen.
George MacDonald
If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.
Noam Chomsky
A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
A conservative is one who admires radicals centuries after they're dead.
Leo Rosten
In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.
H. L. Mencken
Inflation is as violent as a mugger, as frightening as an armed robber and as deadly as a hit man.
Ronald Reagan
Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks.
Doug Larson
Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.
John Quincy Adams
An election is coming. Universal peace is declared and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry.
T. S. Eliot
An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied.
Arnold H. Glasow
Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don't vote.
William E. Simon
Conservatives define themselves in terms of what they oppose.
George Will
Democracy is being allowed to vote for the candidate you dislike least.
Robert Byrne
I know I'm a little early, but this is a song that needs to be played - over and over, regardless of the date.
We don't all share the same political views. We don't, it seems, all share the same goals for this country. We, thank our forefathers, don't share the same beliefs.
That is what it is to be an American - we are free to believe as we choose; we are free to worship as we choose. And we are free to speak our minds!
Thirty-nine years ago, I was a thirteen-year-old in the 6th grade. Looking
forward to summer vacation in a few weeks, I was naive. I wore a POW
bracelet, years later, but really wasn't aware of the situation in Vietnam
or, that I can recall, Kent State. Whether it's a memory from the time, or
from years later, I do remember images from that day.
For those of you who have missed the news: In response to anti-war protests on the
campus at Kent State (among hundreds of other universities in the
country), the government called in the Ohio State National Guard. In what
can, at the least, be called a supreme overreaction to the situation, the
National Guard opened fire on students. Four died, one was permanently
paralyzed, and eight others were injured.
No charges were ever
brought.
To those who think murder is too
strong a word, one may recall that even Agnew three days after the Kent
State shootings used the word in an interview on the David Frost show in
Los Angeles. Agnew admitted in response to a question that what happened
at Kent State was murder, 'but not first degree' since there was — as
Agnew explained from his own training as a lawyer — "no premeditation but
simply an over-response in the heat of anger that results in a killing;
it's a murder. It's not premeditated and it certainly can't be condoned.
Stone, I.F. (1970-12-03). "Fabricated Evidence in the Kent State
Killings". The New York Review of Books 15 (10). OCLC 1760105. ISSN
0028-7504
I'm not certain which (what?) gods I have offended. But it would be terribly nice if they would . . . leave my computer alone! Because I am no longer amused.
Granted, it was never really all that amusing, but it was different and more than slightly odd; not altogether bad - in the short-term. Unfortunately, while I am not short, my patience is. In fact, I believe that this sensation could best be described as annoyed.
I received a notice to update the driver for my touch-pad. Why? I don't know; everything was working fine yesterday. So I updated it. Why? I don't know; I was thinking fine yesterday.
Suffice it to say - the cursor now shoots to the bottom of every screen . . . when it's not shooting to the top of every scream. Um, I mean screen.
But that's not the only problem.
Mark is making dinner. Well, Mark is attempting to make dinner. The poltergeists/demons are playing in the kitchen, too.
The chicken is crispy; it isn't supposed to be. The potatoes are hard; they aren't supposed to be. (Oops - there went the cursor again - ZOOM!)
Does anyone have any sage? I need to clean this place - really, really . . . NOW!
Since my last *holiday* post, I've been thinking about resolutions.
Admittedly, there are several things I'd like to change in the New Year. Some are a matter of willpower; others are more along the lines of get-started-now and it'll take care of itself. So, here we go:
Stop smoking I don't usually make this resolution, because it's the first one I break. But this year, I think I'll add an alternate activity to compensate.
Clean House Every Day It doesn't take long to keep a tiny apartment clean, when you do a little every day. I used to get up at 3:00am, make Mark's breakfast and pack his lunch, clean the kitchen, dust the furniture, clean the bathroom, scrub the floors, and vacuum the carpet - every day. It took me less than 2 hours. Then, the rest of the day was mine. (I don't want to get up at 3:00am again, but I do like having everything neat and tidy.)
Exercise This is a two-fold resolution. I need to get into better shape and it will give me something more constructive to do when I think I need a cigarette.
Edit Every Day Over the last few months, I have developed a bad habit of putting off *going to work* until the end of the month. Then, I have several days of manic, no-sleep work that burns me out for the first 2/3 of the next month. So, at the end of the month, I have several days of . . . You get the idea!
Bake Once a Week We both love biscuits and coffee cake and fresh bread. Not to mention, cookies and cakes and brownies. With the ever-increasing prices of - everything - it's just practical to make some things at home. And you just can't beat the smell of anything baking in the oven.
Work on JMark Afghans I have gotten involved in so many other things, that I've been spending less time with the website. For 2009, I want to add the FAQ section, Glossary, and completely revise the Photo Albums. Not to mention, find even more great companies and products to offer our customers!
Create an Inventory for JMark Afghans, etc. I've been thinking about this one for a while. Letting customers choose a style, size, and colors for their afghan, hat, scarf, or shawl is still the foundation of JMark Afghans, etc. But, sometimes, you need a gift in a hurry. By having items in stock, I can broaden my customers' options.
Start a Topical Blog (or two) Don't get me wrong, I love Random Musings. It's a place where I can sit down and talk - about anything that crosses my mind. But, I have some very specific interests and passions which would benefit from more focused attention. They often get lost in the other posts and random thoughts.
And lastly, but most importantly:
Schedule My Time It's easy to come up with great ideas. Not so easy to follow through and get everything done. In the last couple of years, I've become rather disorganized, giving attention to whatever is screaming the loudest at the time. I'd like to have a schedule, so that everything I want to do gets its fair share of attention and I'm not chasing my tail from dawn to dusk.
On that note, I'm going to go have a cigarette, flop down in my recliner, and play *myFarm* on Facebook. Hey! It's not 2009, yet!
I have designed reusable shopping bags at Zazzle, and own several myself. This is something I strongly believe in - fewer plastic bags being 'born' and 'dying' every day.
Today, I found a site that offers reusable promotional bagsmade from recycled materials! Isn't that amazing!? Not only are they not adding plastic to the dump heap, they're actually pulling some of the debris out and creating eco-friendly products.
It's easy to talk-the-talk. I appreciate a person - and a company - that walks-the-walk. (Not to mention, the bags look great!)
I was working, at BOTW.org, trying to find information about endangered species. There are a number of good pages and quite a number of bad pages. But there are not many that scream at me to share them with everyone I know.
The information is absolutely amazing! I found links to what they call, alternately, flagship species and umbrella species. It explains ecoregions, projects, and ways for us average peeps to take action.
But, what I just had to share was the section on, what they call, Camera Traps. These are places, around the world, where cameras with infrared sensors capture animals in their natural habitat. See incredible images from the Amazon, Sumatra, Cambodia, Indonesia, Costa Rica, and Panama.
So many species are in so much danger - thanks to humans. It's time to look these beautiful creatures in the eye and commit to their future, in any way we can.
After all, man is primarily responsible for the threats to their habitats, their food sources, and their - need I say it - lives.
With all that I've heard in the news recently about the non-existence of the Holocaust, this is a post that I felt compelled to publish.
If you've seen "The Sound of Music" - Germany annexed Austria in March, 1938. Germany had not yet allied with Italy or attacked Poland. Those events happened in 1939.
May 3, 1938: The Flossenbürg concentration camp opens in Bavaria, Germany, near the Czech border.
May 24, 1938: The German Nuremberg Laws are extended into Austria, with the effect of having all Jew-authored and remotely anti-Nazi books removed from Austria libraries and bookstores.
July 2, 1938: Nearly 40,000 Austrian Jews are taken into protective custody.
July 21, 1938: Legislation is passed in Germany requiring identity cards for Jews.
October 27/28, 1938, the family of Herschel Grynszpan and more than 15,000 other Jews (originally from Poland) were forcibly transported out of Germany in boxcars and left at the Polish border. Grynszpan and his family end up in Paris.
November 7, 1938: The 17-year-old Grynszpan shoots a member of the German Embassy staff, Ernst vom Rath, in retaliation for the treatment of his family at the hands of the Nazis.
November 9, 1938: Ernst vom Rath dies of his wounds.
1938 WWII timeline
This was a perfect opportunity for the Third Reich. In response to the killing, (this was also used as a way to blame Jews for what happened) orders were issued throughout Germany (and other Nazi-controlled areas) to incite, encourage, and not interfere with attacks against synagogues and Jewish-owned properties.
KRISTALLNACHT – THE NOVEMBER 1938 POGROMS
Seventy years ago, on November 9–10, 1938, the Nazis staged vicious pogroms—state sanctioned, anti-Jewish riots—against the Jewish community of Germany. These came to be known as Kristallnacht (now commonly translated as “Night of Broken Glass”), a reference to the untold numbers of broken windows of synagogues, Jewish-owned stores, community centers, and homes plundered and destroyed during the pogroms. Encouraged by the Nazi regime, the rioters burned or destroyed 267 synagogues, vandalized or looted 7,500 Jewish businesses, and killed at least 91 Jewish people. They also damaged many Jewish cemeteries, hospitals, schools, and homes as police and fire brigades stood aside. Kristallnacht was a turning point in history. The pogroms marked an intensification of Nazi anti-Jewish policy that would culminate in the Holocaust—the systematic, state-sponsored murder of Jews.
Explore the Online Exhibition » (Reprinted from: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
Orders were given:
From Heinrich Müller to all Gestapo offices - transmitted at 11:55 p.m., November 9, 1938:
1) Actions against Jews, especially against their synagogues, will take place throughout the Reich shortly. They are not to be interfered with; however, liaison is to be effected with the Ordnungspolizei to ensure that looting and other significant excesses are suppressed.
2) So far as important archive material exists in synagogues this is to be secured by immediate measures.
3) Preparations are to be made for the arrest of about 20,000 to 30,000 Jews in the Reich. Above all well-to-do Jews are to be selected. Detailed instructions will follow in the course of this night.
4) Should Jews in possession of weapons be encountered in the course of the action, the sharpest measures are to be taken. Verfugungstruppen der SS as well as general SS can be enlisted for all actions. Control of the actions is to be secured in every case through the Gestapo. Looting, larceny etc. is to be prevented in all cases. For securing material, contact is to be established immediately with the responsible SD...leadership. Addendum for Stapo Cologne: In the Cologne synagogue there is especially important material. This is to be secured by the quickest measures in conjunction with SD.
This is just one early example of the intent and practice of the Third Reich against Jews. If you look at the timeline link, you'll see that Britain and France and the United States were informed and aware of the activities of the German military. By and large, their response was to offer Hitler territories around the world in exchange for his not attacking closer targets. History tells us how well that worked.
If you are not familiar with this period in history - please review the links provided. If you are familiar with the early Hitlerian years, please share with everyone you know.
As long as we allow people - anywhere in the world - to claim that it never happened, the chances that history will repeat itself increase exponentially!
Years ago I fell in love with Jesus Christ Superstar - much to the dismay of some of my family. I didn't see that the play/movie was much different from the biblical story.
Now, years later - I am presented with 'Joseph'. And I find that I am upset by the telling of the story.
Where Jesus Christ Superstar seemed an honest representation, Joseph seems to take liberties with the biblical history that I was taught - starting with the source of the coat.
I read Op/Ed articles quite a bit. With the exception of one slightly cuckoo columnist, I find that even when I disagree with the writer, I still enjoy their perspective. One of my favorite reads is Ted Rall's column. He pulls no punches.
This latest column, exploring the Palin Parenting Program, is spot-on.
Not only is it highly improbable that Bristol and her boyfriend made the choice to marry and raise the baby, it's highly probable that 'Mom' brooks no disagreement once she's determined a course of action. An unusual segment of the teen population notwithstanding, getting pregnant at 17 and without benefit of marriage is not a teen's personal choice - whether male or female. It's an accident, rarely remedied by interfering overbearing parents. The whole situation is just going to destroy those three young lives.
There is absolutely no benefit in compounding one mistake with another and another.
I haven't had very kind thoughts about the governor of Alaska - pretty much since I first heard about her. And my opinion just keeps getting more and more negative.
For whom, exactly, does McCain think Sarah Palin has appeal? Seriously!? Oh, that's right - those who believe that humans are more important and take priority over every other species on the planet.
Despite strong scientific, ethical and public opposition to aerial hunting, Governor Palin has…
* Proposed paying a $150 bounty for the left foreleg of each dead wolf.
* Approved a $400,000 state-funded propaganda campaign to promote aerial hunting.
* Introduced legislation to make it even easier to use aircraft to hunt wolves and bears.
From: Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund
I urge you to watch this shocking video. Chances are pretty good that - if McCain is elected - this woman will be President before the 4 years are out. Can our animal friends afford that?
I DON'T THINK SO!!
As much as I don't trust Obama and crew, I truly cannot abide the thought that this morally reprehensible person could ever reach a position of national power!
For anyone in doubt - the bible was written by man to control man's behavior - just ask King James. Mankind has evolved since those days - or at least some of mankind has.
Please! Stop buying into the nonsense that organized religion and questionable politics keeps foisting upon us! Think and live beyond yourself!
Help save the planet! For all the creatures who are trying to survive here!
I realize that I'm a little late to the party, but a friend sent a link to a very disturbing YouTube video today Kill and Destroy. (Although there are no graphic images, I've chosen to offer a link, rather than embed the video.) This is, in my humble opinion, important viewing.
After watching Kill and Destroy, I started researching the information it put forth. I am - without question - not an Obama supporter - never have been, but I prefer to have my facts straight before I blithely post something. Let me tell you - it was not difficult to find information on this topic!
A quick Google search turned up thousands of related pages and sites. Some of the most compelling, though I'm not sure I agree with her politics, come from Illinois nurse, Jill Stanek.
I have never trusted Obama or virtually anything that comes out of his mouth. It is my opinion that we couldn't do worse for this country than putting this man in the White House.
For more than 30 years, the Endangered Species Act has protected wildlife at risk of extinction. Now the Bush/Cheney Administration wants to eliminate vital checks and balances that are crucial to protect our polar bears, wolves and other imperiled wildlife.
Announced earlier this week, the Bush/Cheney proposal would severely limit scientific review by the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service of projects that could harm imperiled wildlife. And it would explicitly limit the ability of these expert agencies to consider how greenhouse gas emissions from such projects could impact polar bears, wolverines and other wildlife that may go extinct due to global warming.
Instead, agencies proposing projects such as highways, dams, mines, oil or gas drilling and virtually any other activity would be allowed to decide for themselves whether a project is likely to impact any of the nearly 1,400 species currently protected by the Endangered Species Act -- without the crucial independent review now provided by scientific experts at the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Many of these agencies do not even have biologists or other qualified staff to make such a determination.
Even worse, the new regulations would impose a brief 60-day review period, making it even less likely that anyone involved in the process will have the time or expertise to fully evaluate the potential harmful effects of a given project on sensitive wildlife or the habitat it needs to survive.
There are less than 160 days left in the Bush/Cheney Administration -- and even less time for your Members of Congress to act. Please take action now to help stop the Bush/Cheney Administration’s last-minute attempt to eliminate effective protections for the wildlife that you and I love.
Sincerely,
Rodger Schlickeisen President Defenders of Wildlife
P.S. Two years ago, Defenders led the fight that stopped Congressional legislation that would have gutted the Endangered Species Act. Now we need your help to stop the Bush Administration from trying to do the same thing. Please take action now!
Defenders of Wildlife is a national, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities.
Defenders of Wildlife can be contacted at: 1130 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036
According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Cabinet-Yaak grizzly bear is almost certainly going extinct and roads pose the most imminent threat to these bears."
Now, we add the USFS, part of the Department of Agriculture - but funded through the Department of the Interior. Their mission "... is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations." Doesn't sound incompatible to me? And yet, in practice, the left hand certainly has different goals than the right hand (non-politically speaking).
One benefit of living where we do is the 
