A Meerkat's Bolthole

and please, let it be merrie. I think we could all use a merrie month of May at this point, non?

Interesting thing about temperatures. I woke up this morning and put on a sleeveless tank and a pair of shorts. About half the windows in the apartment are open. I'm quite comfortable. The temperature in here is 61 degrees. The same 61 degrees that a few months ago had me wearing sweatpants and a fleecy jacket, and wondering if I should turn the thermostat up a bit higher.

Same temperature in the apartment. Totally different physical reactions. Always amuses me.

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Had a discussion last night with someone about reducing our greenhouse footprint, and he challenged me to come up with five ways, large or small, I've done something about it.

1. I walk distances of less than 2 miles, rather than driving, and use my bike for under 5 miles (okay, unless there's lugging of very heavy things involved or weather issues).
2. I air dry clothing where possible, rather than automatically dumping everything into the dryer.
3. when I leave a room for more than an hour, I turn off the power strips, so there is no power drain at all (amazing, how much energy even turned-off electronics can use, over time!)
4. I have my desk and working chair set up to take advantage of natural light, rather than having to use overhead or lamps during the day.
5. I have cut my use of the dry cleaner's by more than half, and stopped buying clothing that is dry clean only.

How about you?

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The head of the federal agency responsible for providing women with access to contraceptives and pregnancy counseling resigned unexpectedly Thursday after Medicaid officials took action against him in Massachusetts.

The Health and Human Services Department provided no details about the nature of the Massachusetts action that led to Dr. Eric Keroack's resignation.

Just five months ago, Keroack was chosen by President Bush to oversee HHS' Office of Population Affairs and its $283 million annual budget. The pick angered Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion rights groups that viewed him as opposed to birth control and comprehensive sex education. Keroack had worked for an organization that opposes contraception.

''Yesterday, Dr. Eric Keroack alerted us to an action taken against him by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Office of Medicaid. As a result of this action I accepted his resignation,'' Dr. John Agwunobi, assistant secretary for health, said in a terse statement Thursday evening.

Massachusetts Medicaid officials did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Recalled Pet Food List Grows - It's Time To Act

This afternoon, by internet press release, Menu Pet Foods is now telling consumer to get rid of ALL wet food ("cuts and gravy) manufactured by their company, regardless of date. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is backing up the announcement. This is the direct quote from the Menu Foods Company: As a result of reports from the FDA and various media outlets that some recalled lots of "cuts and gravy" style wet pet food remain on store shelves, Menu Foods has asked all retail outlets to immediately remove all impacted varieties of wet pet food posted at www.menufoods.com, regardless of the date code. In other words, please click on the link below--which is from the FDA website--and throw ALL of the wet food brands listed out. Period.

Recall of Pet Foods Manufactured by Menu Foods, Inc.-- Revised March 24, 2007

This is not to alarm or panic you, only to let you know about something that was announced on a Sunday afternoon on the Internet only on the company's website and the FDA's website. A few quick-thinking electronic media outlets have also (slowly) started to pick up the story. But the way this was "announced" in my opinion smells suspiciously like what we in the media call "burying the story." Friends, it is time for us to act as consumers who are entrusted with the well-being of our companion animals. We at New York Tails have endeavored in the past to urge everyone to check out how the pet food industry is--and isn't--regulated. (See http://www.newyorktails.com/pe tfood.htm as an example.) Now this issue has come to the fore in a most unfortunate way. Please go to the FDA link to see the updated information. In the meantime, I'd like to ask you all to join me in writing a short note to the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine and attaching a picture of you and your pet(s) on it--dogs, cats, birds, fish, exotics. More details to come. But first, get rid of the food as listed in the updated release. Then, get paper, pen, envelope and a photo of you and your pet ready. I have an idea I'd like to run by you which I'll tell you more about in a few days.

Stay tuned, stay well

Diane West
New York Tails
email: newyorktails@aol.com
phone: 212.214.0653
web: http://www.newyorktails.com

Make a Difference in the Fight Against Cancer!

On Saturday, May 5th, I will again be taking part in the Revlon Run/Walk For Women as part of the New Haven Collective team, raising money to fund the fight against women's cancers.

I'm putting my sweat and shoe leather into this, but you can help too, without getting up off the sofa! Simply by making a pledge or donation on my pledge site -- https://www.revlonrunwalk.com/ny/secure/mywebpage.cfm?pID=345017

It is estimated that one in eight American women will develop invasive breast cancer at some point in her life. In 2006, 273,560 women lost their lives to the disease. Behind this staggering statistic is the face of a woman who needs your help - a mother, a wife, a sister, a friend. Your pledge will help fund important research into the cause and cure of women's cancers, prevention, education and support service programs. Every pledge will help bring us one step closer to a cure, as 100% of the funds raised go directly to research.

On behalf of those who have been helped, and those who will be helped, and those who someday may never need such help...thank you.


ETA: if every person who has friended me pledged $5 - $5! I would reach my goal and then some! Think about that...


Created in 1993 through the committed and collective efforts of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, Lilly Tartikoff, Ronald O. Perelman, and Rehage Entertainment, the Revlon Run/Walk For Women has grown to become one of the nation?s largest 5K fundraising events. To date, the Run/Walks (LA/NY) have raised over 42 million dollars for cancer research, counseling, and outreach programs.

"Gay couples have the same marriage rights as heterosexual couples under the New Jersey state constitution, the state Supreme Court rules." -- CNN News Update

ETA: Following this on the news, and it looks like my first evaluation was right -- this isn't an MA-type "gay marriage is legal" blow, but a very measured legal ruling that states that marriage-rights may not be determined by gender makeup but rather by commitment. The legislative branch now has a set period of time to determine how to make it so.

The wording may not be what activists want -- "one marriage for all couples" -- but I firmly believe that wording is less important than protection, esepcially with so many hetero couples opting out of marriage in favor of domestic partnerships, these days...

under the heading of "no more foxes chickenhawks guarding the henhouse, please..."

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Hastert (R-IL) admitted in today's Washington Times(1) that he knew about some of Foley's actions. He didn't investigate; he did nothing except try to keep it quiet. This inaction demonstrates a lack of leadership and seriously calls into question Hastert's judgment and character.

As a result of his negligence and lack of leadership, we must demand that Rep. Hastert step down as House Speaker. Conservatives, liberals and everyone in between are calling for a new leader that puts the safety of our children ahead of their own political power. Sign this petition today and join them.

Matt Holland
TrueMajority Online Director

1 - The Washington Times, 3 October 2006




Here's the message we'll send to your representative:

I'm appalled that Speaker Dennis Hastert and other House leaders didn't take action to protect the young pages Mark Foley was pursuing with suggestive online messages. That's not leadership, and it's not acceptable. I'd like YOU to show leadership in urging Dennis Hastert to step down as Speaker.

http://www.earthday.net/


"Earth Day -- April 22 -- each year marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

Among other things, 1970 in the United States brought with it the Kent State shootings, the advent of fiber optics, "Bridge Over Troubled Water," Apollo 13, the Beatles' last album, the death of Jimi Hendrix, the birth of Mariah Carey, and the meltdown of fuel rods in the Savannah River nuclear plant near Aiken, South Carolina -- an incident not acknowledged for 18 years.

It was into such a world that the very first Earth Day was born.

Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, proposed the first nationwide environmental protest "to shake up the political establishment and force this issue onto the national agenda. " "It was a gamble," he recalls, "but it worked."

At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. Environment was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.

Earth Day 1970 turned that all around.

On April 22, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. Denis Hayes, the national coordinator, and his youthful staff organized massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.

Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts.

Sen. Nelson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the highest honor given to civilians in the United States -- for his role as Earth Day founder.

As 1990 approached, a group of environmental leaders asked Denis Hayes to organize another big campaign. This time, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting the status of environmental issues on to the world stage. Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

As the millennium approached, Hayes agreed to spearhead another campaign, this time focused on global warming and a push for clean energy. Earth Day 2000 combined the big-picture feistiness of the first Earth Day with the international grassroots activism of Earth Day 1990. For 2000, Earth Day had the Internet to help link activists around the world. By the time April 22 rolled around, 5,000 environmental groups around the world were on board, reaching out to hundreds of millions of people in a record 184 countries. Events varied: A talking drum chain traveled from village to village in Gabon, Africa, for example, while hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., USA.

Earth Day 2000 sent the message loud and clear that citizens the world 'round wanted quick and decisive action on clean energy.

Now, the fight for a clean environment continues. We invite you to be a part of this history and a part of Earth Day. Discover energy you didn't even know you had. Feel it rumble through the grass roots under your feet and the technology at your fingertips. Channel it into building a clean, healthy, diverse world for generations to come..."

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 - Well before the argument in a New Hampshire abortion case was over, the question that had drawn the crowds to the Supreme Court on a crisp Wednesday morning had an answer. No, abortion law was not about to undergo a major change in the hands of the new Roberts court, at least not yet.

The justices appeared to be in broad agreement on two propositions: that laws regulating teenagers' access to abortion must make allowances for medical emergencies; and that the New Hampshire law, requiring notice to one parent and a 48-hour waiting period, failed to do so.

The only dispute was over how to fix the problem, and even as to that question, there was some evidence of a consensus in the making.

The hundreds of spectators in the courtroom, and the countless more who were able to listen, thanks to the court's unusually speedy release of the audiotape, were treated to an intense and lively session during which the justices appeared at times almost to be thinking out loud about how to proceed


for more, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/01/politics/politicsspecial1/01scotus.html?hp&ex=1133499600&en=96e52ac99af783df&ei=5094&partner=homepage


It really is a fascinating look into the proceedings, and the thought process that goes into it -- reassuring to those of us who wonder at times if there is any thought left at higher levels of law and government. The answer is yes, at least on the legal front. Jury's still out on politicos.

Is anyone else bothered that Bush has chosen his former personal lawyer, a woman with no judicial experience whatsoever, for a position on the Supreme Court?


She may be a fabulous person. She may even have political and judicial views I agree with (Haven't read enough to know). But personally? I think you should have gotten in some actual job experience behind the Big Desk before you get to wear the Big Black Robe of a Supreme.


But maybe that's just me.

ETA: to clarify my position on this -- for the State level, I have fewer/no problems with a relatively inexperienced lawyer with credentials being appointed. But at the Federal level? A person of any political stripe, appointed by any political stripe, without experience or significant creds? Nuh-uh...