Today I'm thinking about my heroes who are, or were, active in the fight to rescue or protect animals.
When I think about my heroes who fight for animals, or who seek to better understand and thus protect them, these are the top 13 names (in no particular order) that come to mind:
- Dame Jane Goodall, PhD, is considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees. Her pioneering studies of the social and family interactions of chimpanzees in Tanzania began in the 1960s. Today, at age 84, she travels the world speaking about conservation and animal welfare issues. www.janegoodall.org
- Dame Daphne Sheldrick is the late founder of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Nairobi, Kenya. Her organization continues to rescue and care for orphaned elephants, raising them until they can be released to live in the wild. www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org
- Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, known as the Notorious RBG, the court's most liberal justice and a long-time advocate of women's rights
- The Kenyan men who are responsible for the daily care of the orphaned elephants, feeding them, watching over them, and sleeping in the stockades with them are so committed to the care of the traumatized babies.
- Iain Douglas-Hamilton, PhD, CBE, has been studying elephants in Tanzania and Kenya for more than 50 years. In 1993, he founded the Save the Elephants organization that supports research, education and anti-poaching initiatives. I have been honored to meet Iain a couple of times, and he joined us for dinner one night. www.savetheelephants.org
- Saba Douglas-Hamilton, Iain's daughter, is a well known wildlife conservationist and documentary film maker and public speaker in her own right. I know Saba from her time as manager of Elephant Watch Camp.
- Dian Fossey, PhD, was an American primatologist and conservationist best known for her studies of mountain gorillas. She was murdered in her research camp in Rwanda.
- Theresa Strader founded National Mill Dog Rescue in 2007 to rescue unwanted dogs from puppy mills. To date, the organization has rescued more than12,000 dogs. www.milldogrescue.org
- Jeff Young, DVM, is the founder of Planned Pethood Plus. He and his staff operate a veterinary clinic in Denver, Colorado, that provides veterinary services to all, regardless of ability to pay. They also visit other countries to hold free spay/neuter clinics, as well as donating veterinary services to a variety of wildlife rescue organizations.
- The Black Mambas, an all-female anti-poaching team, protects South Africa's fragile rhinoceros population through a boots-on-the-ground approach. The group also sponsors the Bush Babies environmental education program. www.blackmambas.org
- Steve Irwin and family. He was killed by a stingray barb to the chest in 2006, but his wife and two children are carrying on his wildlife conservation work. They continue to operate the Australia Zoo. www.australiazoo.com.au
- Michelle Oakley, DVM, is a Canadian-American veterinarian based in Haines Junction, Yukon. She treats animals from eagles to musk ox to dogs, cats and pigs in Alaska and in Canada's huge Yukon Territory.
- Jennifer Smith is the founder of Noah's Arks animal rescue in South Carolina. The organization provides emergency medical, surgical and rehabilitation to abused dogs. www.noahs-arks.net
If you're not familiar with some of these people, I invite you to learn about them and the wonderful work they are doing (or did until the time of their deaths).
- stay inside in my warm pajamas and bath robe on a cold winter day. It sounds good, but sadly, it isn't something I ever do unless I'm really sick. I have dogs to walk, and I've never been someone to spend the day lounging.
- donate more to the many causes I support. Today is "Giving Tuesday," and my Facebook feed is filled with reminders to donate. I do what I can, but how I wish I could donate so much more. There are so many worthy causes that touch my heart.
- feel hopeful that humans will come to their senses and start caring about the environment and the animals that share this planet with us.
- learn not to hate cold weather so much.
- spend more time doing the things I love and less time doing the things I need to do
- increase traffic to my photography page (www.annsullivan.zenfolio.com)
- sleep more soundly (although I sleep a lot better than I did in the past)
- bring myself to really start learning Lightroom and Photoshop
- eat less popcorn and more vegetables!
- believe that people and governments will begin to do what is necessary to save the planet
Hate is a strong, very negative emotion.
I was taught not to hate anybody. I might not like this person or that person, but it's wrong to actually hate somebody, right? I might have a strong dislike of certain people or organizations, but hate? No, I didn't hate anybody ... until the current administration took power. Now, I confess, I do hate.
- I hate what this administration has done to my country in two years. It has made the racial, economic and class divides much worse.
- It has emboldened racists and fascists.
- It has weakened or removed environmental protections that have given us clean water and air and helped protect us from toxins.
- It is working to gut the Endangered Species Act.
- It is working to reduce the size of national parks and national monuments, and to allow extractive businesses such as mining on protected public lands.
- The person occupying the White House is a pathological liar who seems incapable of telling the truth.
- He's a con man and a hypocrite.
- He tries to use the federal government to go after his political enemies and others who have been "mean" or "unfair" (two of his favorite complaints) to him.
- He convinced 81 percent of white evangelical Christians that he is one of them and that they should vote for him, despite his history of numerous extramarital affairs, three marriages, constant lies, failure to pay those who did work for him, and crude comments about women.
- He appears to believe that he is above the law. He fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates because she determined that his executive order banning people from several predominantly Muslim countries from entering the US was unconstitutional. He fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions because he refused to act to stop the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into possible collusion with Russia by Trump and his campaign.
- He insulted Sen. John McCain, who spent 5 years in a Vietnamese prison after his plane was shot down during the Vietnam War.
- He
has offended and insulted America's staunchest friends and allies, insulting the
leaders of the United Kingdom, Mexico, France, Germany and Canada, among
others.
- He mocked a disabled reporter in front of thousands of people, then denied it.
- He praised a Republican for body slamming a reporter.
- He clearly admires several of the world's dictators, including Russia's Putin and North Korea's Kim Jung Un.
- He disrespects federal judges who dare to disagree with his decisions.
- His endless trips to his golf resorts have so far cost US taxpayers some $73 million dollars.
- He insulted the Khan family, whose son died while fighting for this country.
- He verbally attacked the US Navy admiral who oversaw the mission that killed terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.
- Security
costs to protect his adult children when they travel on family business and vacations have cost US taxpayers millions of
dollars. A single ski vacation for Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump and their
families cost nearly $330,000. And that is just for ONE trip!
- Several of his cabinet members have been caught taking advantage of their positions for financial gain.
- The
lack of expertise among his cabinet appointees is stunning. Education
secretary Betsy DeVos has never attended a public school, nor have her
children. She is trying her best to force public schools to become
'Christian' schools. EPA chief Scott Pruitt was at the time of his
appointment suing the EPA.
- He calls opponents and anyone who dares to oppose him insulting names. That is something a 3-year-old would do.
So yes, I do hate everything this president and this administration stand for. I hate what they have done, and continue to do, to this country. Although disappointed that the Democrats were unable to take control of the Senate, at least they now have a majority in the House. More women than ever will serve in Congress, including the first two Native American women and the first Somali woman.
Change will be slow, but change is coming. Until there is a fundamental shift in the political process, in the attitude and honesty of politicians (who need to start doing what they are supposed to do -- represent the average American) and in the attitudes of the American public, all we can do is continue to resist, to stand for what is just and for what is right, and to remain vigilant.
Send money. Give money. Donate now. Give the gift that matters. Year-end matching gift opportunity.
Surprise! It's the holiday season, and the deluge of appeals for money has started. I'm getting appeals in my mail box and e-mails seeking donations in my inbox. Facebook, too, is filled with reminders that Tuesday, Nov. 27, is "Giving Tuesday." And now there are lots of online appeals for donations to help those in California impacted by the wildfires. How do we know which are legitimate requests and which are scams?
I get it. I really do. The need is great. Non-profit organizations need money to operate and carry out their good works. I worked for a non-profit organization for 8 years in California. I'm a pretty generous person. I donate to a variety of causes. But enough is enough. I'm still getting regular appeals in the mail from an organization to which I donated ONCE 20 to 25 years ago! How much money has this organization wasted with its ongoing appeals about some "emergency" in this or that part of the world to someone who hasn't donated a dime to it in a quarter century?
Non-profits are so persistent that I now refuse to donate to any organization to which I haven't previously donated. The reason is simple: I don't want to end up on a mailing list, or an e-mail list, or to have my personal information sold to still other non-profits.
Predictions are that last year's changes in the tax laws will make it harder for people to itemize their charitable donations when they file their 2018 taxes. That means that donations are likely to decrease. Fewer donations means more pressure on the non-profits to raise necessary funds. And that may well translate into still more pressure on donors to contribute.
I don't want to be a Scrooge this holiday season. I still will donate, whether the donations are deductible or not. But I don't appreciate the constant 'reminders' for more money. Here are a few suggestions for non-profits.
- Please stop trying to disguise your requests for money as surveys or questionnaires. You're not fooling anybody, so just say you need money to do this or that project or to help this group of people or animals.
- Don't send me requests for money to provide Thanksgiving meals for the homeless when it's barely August!
- When you send me a thank-you letter or receipt for my latest donation, DO NOT include a form and envelope for another donation! That makes you seem greedy and unappreciative.
- So, too, does the not-so-subtle technique of filling in possible donation amounts, with the smallest amount listed being greater than my previous donation. If I give $25, the next donation form will start with $35, with the 'other' box being at the end (i.e., the highest). I know these tricks, and they don't work on me.
When I worked for 8 years for a large California humane society, some people would complain about the fact that employees were actually paid to work there. I was making $12,000/year, and I was one of the higher paid employees. Apparently employees who work for non-profits are supposed to work for free. Sadly, grocery stores don't hand out free groceries to those who work for non-profit organizations. Now we have CEOs of large national non-profit organizations being paid millions of dollars. For example, the CEO of Goodwill brings home $2.3 million each year. The CEO of the American Red Cross is paid $500,000. The CEO of the Salvation Army, by contrast, is paid just $13,000 per year. Quite a difference!
So when you get those piles of requests for donations to various charities this holiday season, please do a bit of investigating before you write that check or donate online. www.charitynavigator.org is a good place to start. After all, you want your donations to go where they will do the most good, not to fund a lavish lifestyle for the CEO.
Television commercials already are bleating about "the perfect gift."
Is it that $70,000 SUV? Or perhaps it's a diamond tennis bracelet? Or something else the buyer can't really afford.
I don't have anyone in my family for whom to buy holiday gifts. There is nothing I need or want, and I have spent the past couple of years getting rid of unwanted books, CDs, shoes, clothes and various household goods. This week I donated a chair and a microwave. Last month I donated a down jacket, a dressy wool coat, a 7' artificial Christmas tree and two large boxes of lights and ornaments, and a 55" Sony television.
I have two good friends who love coffee. So when my travels take me to a coffee-producing country, I buy each of them a bag of coffee beans. So far they have received beans from Ethiopia, Brazil, Tanzania, Kenya, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. I don't need a special holiday to buy coffee for my friends. I buy it, and give it, whenever I happen to be in one of the countries known for its coffee production.
Coffee beans are "the perfect gift" for these friends because they both love coffee. I couldn't even begin to figure out something else to buy that would show how much I value their friendship. Both also really love their dogs, so treats for the dogs are other "perfect gifts." And both like to cook with spices, so I have bought them spices from Turkey, Morocco and Tanzania.
That "perfect gift" doesn't have to cost $70,000. Maybe it can be something thoughtful yet inexpensive. Perhaps a gift of homemade food? I have a friend who loves my homemade fudge and cookies. How about a meal together, or a day trip to a favorite place? One friend who loves dogs is receiving a card noting that a donation has been made in her name to an organization that funds research in health issues that impact animals. Another friend is getting a one-of-a-kind photo calendar with images I took during our trip to Brazil this past summer.
The older I get, the more I resist the push to buy "the perfect gift" when that gift is a) expensive and b) often unwanted. I want whatever gifts I give to be personal, not some off-the-shelf, mass produced item. I want them to show that I have put thought into the gifts, rather than just ordering something online.
So this year, let your search for "the perfect gift" lead you not to the mall or to an online shop, but to your heart.
I love photography, and I love sharing my photographs with others.
I also love elephants, and I am very concerned about the survival of this amazing species. To that end, I am selling custom, made-to-order wall calendars, with 100% of the proceeds being donated to the Elephant Crisis Fund (www.elephantcrisisfund.org)
Each calendar features a different full page (8-1/2x11 inches), full-color photograph each month. (The picture to the right shows the calendar page for January 2019).
Through Nov. 27, the cost
for each calendar is just $20, domestic shipping and sales tax included. These are not mass-produced calendars. You get to choose the subject of the calendar from the possibilities below.
elephants
bears (grizzly and polar)
trees
landscapes
silhouettes
birds
bison
Yellowstone
Utah's natural beauty
big cats (lions, leopards, cheetahs in any combination)
American wildlife
African wildlife
scenes from the American Southwest
sunrises/sunsets
African wildlife
Yosemite
Or you can mix and match images from any of the categories above.
Payment is accepted via PayPal. Calendars will be delivered in about a week from the day they are ordered.
The outrageous has now become commonplace.
It's sad, but it's true. Don't believe me?
- Shootings of multiple people are now commonplace (there were two so far this week, in Chicago and in Denver).
- School shootings -- commonplace.
- Acts of violence against Jews, gays and other minorities have become commonplace.
- Police officers being gunned down -- commonplace.
- Convicted criminals getting nothing more than a slap on the wrist -- commonplace.
- Lies from the occupant of the White House and his minions -- more than commonplace.
- Attacks on the military by the so-called commander-in-chief -- commonplace.
- Members of the Dump family doing things they criticized others for doing -- commonplace.
- Attacks on the free press in America -- commonplace.
- Republican hypocrisy -- commonplace.
- Government officials treating the US Treasury like their own personal slush fund -- commonplace.
- The current administration trying to use federal agencies to get revenge on people the dictator-in-waiting doesn't like -- becoming commonplace.
- Insulting our traditional allies while cozying up to dictators -- commonplace.
We cannot allow these outrageous acts to continue. Violence against others, and attacks on our constitutional freedoms, must not be allowed to become commonplace. America is better than this. We must not allow the current occupant of the White House to ignore the laws and use his position to enrich himself and harm America.
Another day, another mass shooting in America.
I always check the news headlines shortly after I get up each morning. The recent headline announcing the murder of 12 people at a bar in southern California wasn't really a surprise. In fact, it was the 307th mass shooting (defined as a shooting with four or more victims) of 2018 in the US. As a result, 328 people have so far lost their lives, according to NBC News.
And as is typical of the Republican Party, one of its newly elected representatives announced that what’s most important is to protect the Second Amendment. Not to try to get a handle on gun violence. Not to make it possible for people to appear in public without fear of being slaughtered. Apparently the ability of college students and other regular Americans to go out and enjoy themselves without fear of being murdered by some idiot with a gun is only of secondary importance.
It wasn't long before the NRA chimed in with an inane attack on physicians who routinely treat victims of gun violence, calling them 'anti gun.' Such is the NRA's stranglehold on Congress that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are prohibited from even studying gun violence as a public health issue. If the deaths of thousands of Americans from guns isn't a public health issue, I don't know what is.
Excluding most suicides, at least
15,549 people were killed by guns in the United States in 2017,
according to data collected by the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit organization that tracks news media and law enforcement reports of shootings. More than 15,000 lives lost in just one year to gun violence -- and that isn't a public health issue worth studying?
I am certain that the framers of the Constitution, when they wrote the holy Second Amendment, never dreamed of a day when semi-automatic and assault rifles would be so readily available. After all, the weapon of choice then was the musket loader.
Nobody is suggesting taking guns away from law-abiding citizens. Aside from the legal issues, that isn't even remotely physically possible. But so far, the NRA and its puppets in Congress have rejected even moderate, common sense proposals to keep guns out of the hands of those who should never have them. "Gun laws don't work," they cry. Apparently they don't want to even attempt to tackle this problem since the laws we have aren't preventing mass shootings. So why bother having laws at all? Driving under the influence is illegal, yet people still do it, so we should simply get rid of laws that prohibit DUI, right?
An article in Time magazine from earlier this year (http://time.com/5209901/gun-violence-america-reduction/) suggests some common-sense ways to tackle the gun violence problem in America. What do we have to lose by at least exploring these and similar proposals?
Someone asked me recently which policy changes I propose. I replied that I don't propose any policy changes, as I'm not an expert in that area. What I do know, however, is that we need to do something to at least start to understand and address this problem.
.
This is an appropriate question at this time of year.
It's easy to overlook all the blessings in our lives. Each life has its ups and downs, its successes and failures. I, like most people, tend to focus on the challenges in life. Our country is struggling; it is divided more than it has been during my lifetime. Acts of violence and hatred have skyrocketed.
I have continued to struggle with eye issues that have left me with greatly diminished vision in what used to be my 'good' eye. I have had four eye surgeries, a non-surgical procedure, a laser treatment and two injections into one eye in less than two years. My vision will never be what it used to be. But
- I am blessed that I can see well enough to drive, to read, to travel and to take part in my passion of photography. I can continue to live independently.
- I am blessed to be able to travel the world. In 2018, I visited Yellowstone, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Alaska, Brazil, Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, Colorado and Ethiopia.
- I am blessed to own a beautiful home that I love. It provides shelter from the heat, cold, rain and wind. It is a safe haven for me and my dogs. It has gorgeous views of the mountains.
- I am blessed to share my life with three loving dogs who ask for nothing more than a daily walk, good food and lots of attention.
- I am blessed to have a good friend who has been, and is, willing to drive me to countless eye appointments.
- I am blessed to have food for myself and my dogs. My pantry and my freezer are filled with food.
- Unlike so many Americans, I am blessed to have good health insurance that pays for almost all of my medical expenses, including my expensive eye surgeries.
- I am blessed to have a wonderful, supportive friend in California. We seldom get to visit in person, but she is just a phone call away.
- Overall, I am in good health. Eye problems aside, I have no major health issues.
- I am blessed to live in a free country, despite its current problems, divisiveness and corruption.
I could go on to list many more ways in which I am blessed. But you get the idea. Regardless of our circumstances and struggles, there are blessings to be found in our lives.
With Thanksgiving Day just a week away, I encourage everyone to take a few minutes to think about the blessings in your life. And please consider what you can do to be a blessing to others. Perhaps you can volunteer for a cause that's important to you. Perhaps you can give an elderly neighbor a ride to the grocery store. Visit someone who is lonely. Donate food to an organization that helps feed those who cannot afford to buy enough food for themselves or their family.
I wish everyone a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving.
Today is Veterans Day in the United States, Remembrance Day in some other countries.
Let's step back in time, back 100 years ago on this date in 1918. At 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month, an armistice was signed with Germany, bringing to a close the 'war to end all wars.' This four-year war cost tens of millions of lives, both military and civilian. The Allies saw more than 6 million deaths, with another 4 million dying on the other side. Millions of civilians died of starvation and disease brought about by wartime conditions, and the flu pandemic took countless other lives.
Although exact numbers vary, Wikipedia states that "The total number of combined military and civilian casualties during World War I was about 40 million: estimates range from 15 to 19 million deaths and
about 23 million wounded military personnel, ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in human history."
While many people think only of American, English and German combatants, troops from India, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Russia, Romania and Serbia fought on the Allied side. Fighting alongside Germany were troops from Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire.
On this day, the centennial of the cessation of hostilities, let us pause to remember all those who died fighting 'the Great War." Don't be like the current US president, who flew to France to attend ceremonies marking the end of World War I but who couldn't be bothered to visit an American cemetery in France because it was raining. Other world leaders managed to get there with no problems. Remember the men who fought and died in the rain and the mud of France, Belgium and other European countries. Remember those who suffered the horrors of mustard gas attacks. Please take a minute to remember those who died, those who were injured and those who suffered from starvation and disease brought about by wartime conditions.
I know, 1918 is generations removed from those of us now living. It is ancient history to many. There are no surviving veterans of 'the Great War.' But remember that American military personnel continue to serve in harm's way, in Iraq, in Afghanistan and in many more countries. Men and women continue to get up every day and don a military uniform, regardless of where they serve or what jobs they hold. My former son-in-law is on active duty with the US Air Force. Veterans still live among us, veterans from World War II, the Korean Conflict, Viet Nam, and conflicts in the Middle East.
Don't be a coward like the US president. Stand proudly to honor all veterans, following the examples set by Canada's Prime Minister Trudeau, who put away his umbrella and stood in the rain as he spoke of the sacrifices of generations of soldiers and sailors. Take a lesson from the leaders of France and Germany who stood together, hand in hand in the rain, to pledge that never again will their countries go to war with each other.
Remember all who sacrificed, including some 16 millions four-footed animals -- horses, dogs, mules,
donkeys, cats and even camels and elephants -- with the
lives of 9 million tragically cut short by war. Their sacrifices have gone untold for far too long. The 'Great War' ended the lives of so many. Let us remember and honor all of them today.
I voted in today's midterm elections this morning.
Voting in American elections is something most of us take for granted, but this time around, the stakes couldn't be higher. Will we citizens sit back and allow the person in the White House and his cronies in Congress to run roughshod over our constitutional rights? Will we allow him to continue his racist attacks and his violence-inciting words unchallenged?
This person has publicly questioned whether public protests should be allowed. He has attacked the family of a US soldier who died fighting tor his country and who happened to be Muslim. He has called the news media "the enemy of the people." He is sending thousands of troops to the US/Mexico border to confront migrants -- mostly women and children -- marching toward asylum in the US. He continually hurls insults at people he doesn't like, calling them 'Pocahontas' or 'a dog', among other insults. His followers, emboldened by his rhetoric, are increasingly taking actions against religious and ethnic minorities.
I haven't voted in a couple of city elections, but I always make a point of voting in state and federal elections. Just look what happened when millions of eligible voters didn't bother to vote in the 2016 presidential election. Of course, the 2018 midterms aren't a presidential election. But by voting wisely, we have the chance to at least put the brakes on the efforts of the party in power and its attempts to cut benefits to seniors, veterans and the most needy among us. We have the opportunity to restore a semblance of balance in Congress. We have a chance to say 'Enough is enough' when it comes to attempts to remove millions of people from the health insurance rolls. We have the chance to stop the rollback of environmental protections.We can say enough of cutting benefits while giving more and more money to the ultra rich.
Never have I valued the freedom to vote more than I did today. And never have I felt the importance of my vote as I did today. People around the world have fought, and died, for the right to vote. Voting is a precious right that we must not squander.
