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This is absolutely heartbreaking. If you have any money at all to donate, even $25, please please do. If you have any time to donate to the WWF, please do. This is urgent. The polar bear is now an endangered species. I never thought I would see this in my lifetime.

To protest Proposition 8, people across the country will gather in their towns and cities today, November 15^th, and protest this assault of GLBTQ rights. St. Louisans and those in surrounding towns will gather at the Old Courthouse today at 12 Noon in Downtown St. Louis to join in the protest. For more information, go here.

If you can’t make it to the protest, speak out against GLBTQ prejudice and intolerance when you are confronted by it, blog against it, write letters to elected officials, and volunteer with GLBTQ organizations and events. Every one of us can make a difference.

Originally uploaded by parl

November is “Adopt A Senior Pet Month.”  Shelters often find it difficult to adopt out senior pets.  The pets may be in a shelter because their owners passed away, because the owners did not have time for them, because of any number of other reasons that are unrelated to the pets now in a shelter waiting for homes.

Some fear falling in love with the senior pet and then the pet dying in just a few years.  The truth is death is unpredictable and yet we still become involved with people in spite of the reality of death.  The senior pets up for adoption need love too and it is of no fault of their own that they are older now.

Other people fear the increased vet costs involved with a senior pet.  When looking at a specific senior pet at a shelter, you can ask about their current health issues and then decide if you can afford whatever costs might be involved with this pet.  Not all senior pets are sick, just as not all older people are sick.

Many benefits are associated with senior pets that go without notice:

• Senior pets require less patience and time for care and training.
• Senior pets are often housetrained.
• Often times, senior pets settle in quickly with their new families.
• They love naps as much as most of us do and make great nap companions.
• What you see is what you get – you know his or her personality up front.
• Senior pets demand less & are good matches for senior citizens or busy individuals.

Find a senior pet to adopt or foster here.

Image by publik18 via Flickr

It is still surreal to me.  Barrack Hussein Obama has been elected President of the United States.  63,251,498 people in this country (with two states still processing votes) voted for Obama.  51% of our country elected Obama to lead the country.  This is a phenomenal time in U.S. history and I am proud, so proud, to be able to witness it.

Last night I stood in a ballroom filled with thousands of people who had taken the time to volunteer during the Presidential campaign and watched as the results poured in.  State after state turning blue on the map and electoral votes adding up in Obama’s favor.

When CNN announced that Obama had won, that he had been elected President of the United States, the room filled with applause, cheers, and tears.  I stood silently, taking it all in, still not believing it actually happened.  I saw states still not declared, worried that this or that state would soon turn red on the screen (including my state, Missouri), and that this would all fall apart within a moment.  I went to bed happy but still fearful.

Eight years ago when I went to bed following the election between Bush and Gore, it was my candidate (Gore) who had won.  When I woke the next morning it was Bush who had won.  The recounts began, the word “chad” entered into our vocabularies, and disillusionment and disappointment followed as Gore conceded.

I woke this morning, turned on the news as I always do, and Good Morning America discussing Obama’s Presidency.  I wasn’t dreaming! It had really happened!  Even now as people Twitter about the win, send e-mails regarding the win, and discuss this historical event around me, I find myself disconnected from it all, still taking it all in.

This is a day I will always remember and I could not be prouder to have Obama as the President of these United States of America.  I do not envy the job ahead for him, but I wholly believe that he will step up to the plate and do an outstanding job.  He was presidential last night in his acceptance speech and presidential throughout his campaign and this leaves me with great hope and optimism.

Do your duty as an American citizen: vote.  We fought hard as a people for this right – let your voice be heard.

(image found on web)

Last week, a fellow blogger Miss Britt wrote on the question of healthcare as a right versus healthcare as a privilege.  I responded to her outstanding post with the following:

I believe healthcare is a right.  In a supposedly evolved and civilized society, it is abominable that so many do not have health insurance or have mediocre health insurance.  Sure we all have the right to healthcare, but only if we are able to afford the bills that follow.  I am one of those American citizens who have health insurance, through my employer, but do not have good health insurance.

My deductible is so high that even with monthly physician visits and prescriptions, an ER visit, and various medical tests throughout the year, I will never get my deductible paid off and so am barely making ends meet with medical expenses on top of normal monthly expenses.  I work in a bankruptcy firm where many clients either have insurance issues like my own or do not have insurance but have health conditions, a sick kid, or have some other medical-related issue come up.  People end up in bankruptcy because of their medical bills alone in this country and that is alarming.

It is astounding to me that many other countries have national healthcare (or are working to implement it now), but we do not.  Politicians, the media, and Conservatives will claim that national healthcare would simply not work or is socialism in action; however I have seen information proving that it is indeed working very well in Canada, England, France, and even Cuba, for doctors and patients alike.  Look at the data before claiming it doesn’t work.  Socialism? The way I look at it our country is based upon “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” right? Then explain to me how healthcare for all does not provide greater quality of life and a greater chance at the pursuit of happiness.

The non-existence of a national healthcare system in this country very likely has more to do with lobbyists and corporate interests than the question of if one would be of benefit to the people or would be a valid solution to healthcare troubles.

I hope to God that Obama is elected and is able to do something, with Congress’ help, to fix the American healthcare system.  It is broken and it is breaking us.

With 45.7 million uninsured in this country and 11.4 million of the nation’s uninsured “working-age adults with one or more chronic illnesses, including hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, asthma and cancer,” we absolutely must fix the healthcare system in this country.

For an industrialized nation, it is unacceptable that “The United States ranks highest in preventable deaths among 19 developed nations, and the Institute of Medicine estimates that 18,000 Americans die unnecessarily each year because they lack health insurance.”  Those who have insurance are not necessarily much better off with high premiums, large deductibles, extensive regulations, and battles with bureaucracy.  I am one of the underinsured.

In February I had a seizure and ended up in the Emergency Room, taken in an ambulance.  Even with my current Blue Cross-Blue Shield insurance, I was left with a $411 ambulance bill and a $110 emergency room bill.  I was able to pay the $110 bill quickly, but the $411 bill has remained a weight on me and I hope to have it paid off by December.

I have a psychiatrist bill that I have been paying down for a year or more, the amount going toward my large deductible.  The bill is for regular visits, every two to three months, to continue for an undetermined amount of time.  I hope to have that bill finally paid in full by December as well.

I have regular prescriptions that even with the co-pays I question each month if I can afford them.  I have not picked up one of the prescriptions in close to two months because of the cost.  The other prescription I cannot do without, I’ve tried, so I continue to pay for it each month reluctantly.

My chronic health conditions will continue to result in medical bills for years to come.  I fear another ambulance ride, another emergency room visit, and still more unexpected medical costs.  I can’t imagine trying to pay medical bills as an underinsured person with cancer.

For the uninsured and the underinsured, we need to put in place a national healthcare system. We are the only industrialized nation without universal healthcare.  It is time to change this, it is time for change.

Bonus Links:

• A Conservative Case for Universal Health Care
• Physicians for a National Health Program
• Universal Health Care Action Network

Poverty – resulting from educational, healthcare, and nutritional deficits – leads to AIDS, domestic violence, hunger, diarrhea, pneumonia, tuberculosis, malaria, and measles internationally.

The US Census Bureau determined that “In 2007, 37.3 million people were in poverty, up from 36.5 million in 2006” in the United States.”  The National Center for Children in Poverty has determined that “Nearly 13 million children in the United States—18% of all children—live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level.”

About 25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes, according to the United Nations. According to UNICEF, 26,500-30,000 children die each day due to poverty.  Whether the UN or UNICEF is accurate, the statistics are overwhelming.

With improvements in education, healthcare, nutrition, and legislation, we can begin to reduce poverty.  We can all make a difference with how and where we spend our money, who we vote for, and what we do with our time. For those who are interested, there are great organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Oxfam International, ONE, and CARE with which you can get involved.

Let’s make poverty history.

Blog Action Day 2008

Today is ASPCA Day.  This is a day to celebrate our animals, celebrate the great work that the ASPCA does for animals, and to do something ourselves for animals.  For those not entirely familiar with the ASPCA (from the ASPCA website):

The ASPCA was founded in 1866 as the first humane organization in the Western Hemisphere. The Society was formed to alleviate the injustices animals faced then, and we continue to battle cruelty today. Whether it’s saving a pet who has been accidentally poisoned, fighting to pass humane laws, rescuing animals from abuse or sharing resources with shelters across the country, we work toward the day in which no animal will live in pain or fear.

The ASPCA offers ten ways to celebrate ASPCA Day.

Animals depend upon us for affection, food, health care, and shelter.  I do all I can to take especially good care of my Jasper, spoiling him a bit some would say.  If I could, I would care for more animals without love and homes.

Let us be thankful for organizations like the ASPCA who make animals their passion.  I believe in them enough so that I now donate money to the organization.