The Last Minute Gift That Keeps on Giving

Buy a cow. Or two! Oxfam America is the foremost organization helping people around the world to escape poverty by providing the necessary education and resources to make them self-sufficient.

This Nareshmas, treat your loved ones the way they deserve to be treated by sending a token gift in their name. The gifts symbolize how the money will be used by the organization and range in values under $25 all the way up to $7500.

Whoever you're shopping for, show them that you know they care about helping those in need. And do it with the knowledge that some of the credit really does go to you for choosing the gift for them. In essence, it is a gift that gives to everyone!

https://www.oxfamamericaunwrapped.com/

Happy holidays.

Can't Bear the Heat

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Today is National Coming Out Day. Here's a great video from the HRC:

One More Day Until...

Gold in Grain

Here's a poem I'd like to share:

When you see the poor, the cops aren't far behind.
But to the crimes of the rich it seems the police are blind,
And if that's who they followed, there'd be less crime;
There'd be fewer poor at the same time.

Steal a person's needs and so goes benevolence
To make a person worse off just doesn't make sense,
And to do it for greed is the ultimate sin;
In time you will miss your abused kin.

Brothers and sisters is all that we are;
Living next door or in lands afar.
"Give us this day our daily bread."
Remember what those poor wise men said.

The Day for Darfur is Coming

Below is a letter I received from one of my friends. I hope that some of you reading this will have a chance to attend.
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Darfur: ‘all of our nightmares have become realities’


A top U.N. official announced on Monday that unless the international community takes immediate steps to stop the violence, the Darfur region is within weeks of “a man-made catastrophe of an unprecedented scale."

For an on-the-ground perspective on the crisis unfolding in Darfur and eastern Chad, join us next Tuesday, September 5, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. EDT for an online discussion with Theo Murphy, an Amnesty International researcher who recently returned from eastern Chad. Learn how you can help ensure protection for those who've been displaced by violence in the conflict and how you can get involved with activities surrounding the global Day for Darfur on September 17th.

We look forward to your participation in next week's discussion.

Go here to find out more.

Best Regards,

Scott Edwards
Country Specialist for Sudan
Amnesty International USA

Do Your Part to Protect Wild Horses

Breakin' the Law

Ol' G.W. is at it again. He's taken his role as "supreme commander" a little too far. When Congress signed new legislation, he issued 'signing statements' for over 800 of the new laws. These are statements made to the effect of him declaring immunity from the bounds of the law. One example of abusing this power is an exemption from banning torture of the prisoners in Guantanamo.
They say absolute power corrupts absolutely. And President Bush needs a reminder of this. Click below if you'd like to sign a petition to do so.

Remind the President that he is an elected official, not a dictator.

Land Leases Endanger Wildlife and Wilderness

Our Department of Interior announced Wednesday that it would move forward to lease large areas of the region around Teshekpuk Lake. Readers who have frequented my blog will recall that there was a link to help save these areas. It's not too late to act! In fact, your effort is more needed now than ever. Teshekpuk Lake is highly regarded for its wilderness and wildlife value. Please take action to help recall these leases and protect the wild.

All it takes is a click and some typing...and another click.

Add Your Mile

A fast, free, and fun way to donate to a favorite charity is The Bridge. Every person that signs up for The Bridge gets their own mile out of the Earth's circumference. Sponsors have pledged to donate money for every mile registered. The goal is to bridge the Earth once around. That is approximately 25,000 miles.

Go ahead and check out my mile and then add your own by clicking "add your mile" at the bottom.

Trees

 Trees

Louis Untermeyer, ed. (1885–1977). Modern American Poetry.  1919.
Joyce Kilmer. 1886–1918

I THINK that I shall never see 

A poem lovely as a tree. 

  

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest 

Against the sweet earth's flowing breast; 

  

A tree that looks at God all day,         5

And lifts her leafy arms to pray; 

  

A tree that may in summer wear 

A nest of robins in her hair; 

  

Upon whose bosom snow has lain; 

Who intimately lives with rain.  10

  

Poems are made by fools like me, 

But only God can make a tree. 

Help Save the Arctic

Hey, it's my second official blog entry for this site. And I'd like to present an opportunity to help save Teshekpuk Lake, a beautiful natural home to a vast ecosystem. Several oil companies, ConocoPhillips among them, are bargaining with the government to invade this peaceful home and dig for oil. We have seen the effect of drilling and oilspills in this region before. It is not pretty. Please send a message to the Department of the Interior and ConocoPhillips to cancel development efforts and defend the natural lands which we all hold dear.

In the next month, the Bush administration is going to decide whether or not to sell some of the most beautiful and sensitive parts of Alaska to oil companies. Let's tell them what we think!
Please, pass the message on to friends, family - anyone who cares about the future of undeveloped lands.

Here's a link for banners and buttons to use.

The website is: SaveTLake.org

Why I Created This Blog

After reaching 5000 blog views on MySpace, I realized that I had more and more people reading what I had to say. I also knew that some of the things I had to say were important enough to be heard by a larger audience than MySpace could provide. For years my friends had told me to get a LiveJournal account while I maintained that MySpace was enough for me. That mentality has left me. I now see that the future of our planet is in jeopardy. And while we could all resign ourselves to our fate, we can do more than just worry - we can act.
This blog is meant to enable its readers with several avenues of action. There are organizations working for a better tomorrow that you will learn about. There are ideas and technologies that will surprise you. We are not pawns if we do not act like them. Each and every one of us has power in our voice. This blog will be a powerful message to all who read it. And why not send a message of nature, peace, and art?