Green Changes

I keep trying to tell everybody that we need to do more for our environment, but they say actions speak louder than words, sooo..... here are some green life changes I've made.

*I recycle EVERYTHING!! Honestly, my laundry area looks like a recycling center.
*I buy toilet tissue and paper towels made from recycled materials.
*I've started taking "Navy" showers ( get wet, turn the water off while you wash, then turn the water back on to rinse off.
*Also, I've never been one for long showers; if it's even ten minutes I've been in the shower way too long.
*I unplug all appliances that aren't in use. Obviously not the fridge, but the microwave, radio, t.v.'s, ANYTHING not in use. Some people don't realize if it's plugged in it's using power.
*This may gross some out, but I heard a motto and I ran with it:--- If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down--- yes, we're talking about the toilet :-) and we're saving water.
*I've always been a light flicker-- if it's on and no one is in the room, I HAVE to turn it off. I can't stand random lights on.
*I buy organic goods.
~~~*Last but not Least*~~~
*I share everything I learn and all the changes I've made with as many people I can.
GO GREEN*

Genocide Celebration

As November zooms by and Thanksgiving begins to peek around the corner, I wonder does anyone ever think about the people who have no reason to be thankful for this dreadful holiday. I have Native American blood dripping from both sides of my family tree, and I always feel just a little sick to my stomach this time of year. Had we not been so kind to those pale-skinned strangers, history may have taken quite a different turn, away from the senseless, cruel mass murder of a civilization. I wonder if the Pilgrims were contemplating the extermination of the Native American people as they dined on turkeys and maize; the ultimate example of biting the hand that feeds you. Did they find humor or irony in the moment, knowing they would bring death to the people that were helping them live.
I often wonder how it is that we celebrate this holiday every year without giving a moment's notice to the fact that the day we call Thanksgiving wasn't a day of thanks for everyone. Would our country be so great without it's history of land stolen from massacred Native Americans and free labor forced upon stolen Africans? What has our country given to what is left of this generous people; where is their holiday? At least freed slaves were supposed to get 40 acres and a mule; did anyone even think to apologize or even simply thank the Native Americans for their amazing contribution to our country.

Dead presidents have a day, veterans have a day, mother's, father's, Jesus and Martin Luther King Jr. have a day.... when do the true Americans get a day to celebrate their life? I hope you all think about that as you celebrate their death.

Big 3 Bailout Blunder

After two weeks of news about how bad Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors are doing, they finally had their day in Washington yesterday, and they screwed up Big Time. Would you believe the three CEO's arrived separately in private jets!! That's about $30,000 a piece, gone in the blink of an eye-- and yes, our tax dollars paid for it. Imagine my amusement when they were actually questioned about the jets; of course there was nothing any of them could say. At one point they were even asked to raise their hands if they would give up the jets in order to raise capitol for their companies; "let the record show no one has raised their hands," was the comment that ended that awkward silence. I am happy to say Congress has decided not to even vote on this automotive bailout until these companies get their act together. Score one for the little guy :)

I LOVE YOU

I just want everybody's tomorrow to be a little bit better than today.

I love you. I don't even know you and I love you; you've never given me a reason not to love you.

I think you're wonderful. Somebody else thinks you're wonderful. You should think you are wonderful, too.

None can judge you but the person that made you. Whether you believe that is a higher power (who can do no wrong and loves you unconditionally) or you believe that's your mother and father (who are human and of course can do wrong... and they love you unconditionally) NO ONE can judge you, so why worry about what other people have to say about you. YOU know who you answer to.

Make an effort to think a positive thought when you wake up in the morning. There is at least one good thing going on that you can think of, even if you have to think really, really hard. It will really start your day off on a happy note.

Remember, tomorrow is a new day; don't make yesterday's mistakes. There is a reason you can never go back there.

have a nice day.

NOT AGAIN!! The Bailout II??

As we continue to debate the necessity and efficiency of the first bailout, which put us even farther in national debt, ( how exactly do you bailout out anybody with $$ you don't have) there is talk of yet another bailout, this time for the automotive industry. General Motors(GM), Ford, and Chrysler are now asking for 25 billion dollars, crying that if this relief does not come they may be forced into bankruptcy---> people will lose jobs, the economy will crumble.... starting to sound familiar?? Let me remind you that we tried this with Chrysler in '79; it obviously didn't work because here they are again.
We first need to accept the fact that, at the moment, we are way behind foreign car companies when it comes to car quality; that is the main reason we sell less cars in our own country and export very few to other countries. I mean the concept is simple: Make a decent, competitive product and people will buy it. Make a sub-par product, "ya makes no dollas." Honestly, how many of us drive American cars? Why should these companies be rewarded for falling behind foreign car makers, deciding to produce gas guzzlers like the Hummer and the Escalade instead of moving toward fuel eficiency.***If you read an earlier blog you'll learn how GM actually fought against fuel efficiency and squashed it's first electric car--- Car companies actually sued California for trying to pass a law forcing them to make more fuel efficient cars***
Anybody been to Flint, Michigan lately? Instead of being a thriving city centered around the wealth produced by the local Ford plant, it is a shell of its former self. As more and more or these automotive plants close their doors and head to foreign countries with cheap labor, thousands of Americans are left jobless!! If people have no jobs, they have no money. Who do they expect to buy the cars?!?! These car companies don't even buy half their parts in the United States, yet we're suppposed to just throw our tax dollars at them. I think that's absolutely ridiculous to give our tax dollars to companies that are giveng the bulk of their money to somebody else.
America is having a tough time right now; that's just the way it is and we all know that. Who's picking and choosing who is worthy of help and who just has to suffer through the hard times?