Tag Archives: health

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

A Death in St. Augustine … PBS


 

By O’Connell Family
St Augustine, Florida

On September 2, 2010 our beautiful Michelle was taken from us all. Behind she left a precious young daughter, mother, sisters, brothers and many, many friends. Not a soul that knew Michelle believes for a moment that she was distraught in any way, we also know that there is no way under any circumstance she would have left her daughter behind without a mother to care for her.

We undoubtably believe that Michelle’s boyfriend, Jeremy Banks, an officer with the St. Johns County Sherriff’s Department, killed her and claimed she committed suicide. But after Jeremy told his fellow officers his story – that Michelle broke up with him and took her own life – the St. Johns County sheriff’s department effectively stopped their investigation. Jeremy was never treated like a suspect – police treated him like a brother.

No evidence was tested, no family or neighbors were interviewed and no data was downloaded from Michelle’s cellphone despite the fact that she had never shown signs of being suicidal before. Michelle would never have taken her own life. She loved her four-year-old daughter, Alexis too much. She had just received a promotion for a job she was supposed to start the next day. She sent a text to her sister stating she was leaving to get her daughter and less than 5 minutes later was shot and killed.

There are two neighbors who stated they heard a woman cry for help, then a shot, another cry for help, and another shot. They passed FBI issued polygraph tests.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement believes without a doubt that this was a homicide and still State Attorney Brad King refuses to take this case to a grand jury. In March of 2012 the FDLE wrote to King: “It is my office’s opinion based on the facts of this case and your memorandum that this case clearly warrants an Inquest into the death of Michelle O’Connell…”

We are calling on Governor Rick Scott to honor the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s request for a coroner’s inquest into the shooting death of Michelle O’Connell because the evidence is not consistent with a suicide. In ordering this inquest, the message will be sent that the protection of women involved in domestic conflicts will get the full benefit of the law.

Please watch the PBS Frontline documentary: “A Death in St. Augustine”

Read the New York Times investigation “Two Gunshots on a Summer Night”

Read the FDLE request for a coroner’s inquest.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Don’t surface mine Livingston Mountain


We strongly urge the Board of Commissioners to accept the unanimous recommendation of the Planning Commission to remove Livingston Mountain from the proposed update to the Surface Mining Overlay. The residential density of Livingston Mountain, along with unsuitable roads for this type of operation, makes this area a completely inappropriate area for mining.

The negative impacts to residents in an area around a mining operation include dangerous traffic conditions; loss of peace and tranquility due to the use of noisy, heavy trucks; damage to structures from shockwaves caused by mining explosions; and health hazards from silica-rich gravel dust.  Additionally, mining operations have a severe impact to the surrounding area’s surface water runoff, as well as the underground aquifers, wells, and wetlands in the area.

Given that there is already a mining concession on Livingston Mountain which is detrimental to this part of Clark County, we implore the Commissioners to take the necessary steps to ensure proper monitoring and enforcement of standards that protect public safety, water quality, noise, and traffic concerns that hurt the public good.  We support appointing a mining ombudsman to oversee the current mining operation to ensure compliance with appropriate public safety standards.

Finally, we insist that if there be any future proposals for mining on Livingston Mountain that they continue to be subjected to the legislative type IV land use review standards since these standards offer the greatest opportunity for public input.

                   Clark County Commissioners : Remove Livingston Mountain from the proposed update to the Surface Mining Overlay. 
  By Friends of Livingston Mountian
                                                Estacada, Oregon
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Do you believe global warming is good for us? …Union of Concerned Scientists

10 Comments

      Who Will Check Their Facts ?

 

I believe we stand at a critical time in the fight against global warming, and against those who cynically deny it is happening and say there is nothing we can do to mitigate its effects.

 

“The net effect of continued warming and rising carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere is most likely to be beneficial to humans, plants, and wildlife.”
—Heartland Institute, August 2011.

Let’s end the disinformation on climate change.

Help UCS expose and challenge attacks on science.

That’s why I’m asking you to become a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) today.         www.ucsusa.org

Don’t you ever wonder when the denial and disinformation about climate change will end? Make no mistake. This is an all-out attack on science. It’s well coordinated and funded, and it’s backed by opponents who are putting near-term fossil fuel profits ahead of protections for human health.

Opponents like the Heartland Institute continue to mislead the public into thinking that global warming isn’t a problem. In a recent report they even went so far as to claim that the net effects of climate change will be good for people and the environment.

But we’re not that easily fooled. We remember this same organization, that has accepted funding from the tobacco company Philip Morris, made headlines in the 1990s trying to downplay the dangers of second-hand smoke.

When you become a member of UCS, you’ll help us face down attacks on science and blatant disinformation about global warming.  www.ucsusa.org

You’ll also help us move forward to build a healthier environment during our lifetime, and those of our children and grandchildren.

Consider that, in the past few months alone, UCS has:
Won historic changes in fuel economy standards for cars and trucks that will dramatically lower global warming emissions and help our economy for decades to come—preventing some 280 million tons of climate emissions from being released into our atmosphere by 2030. That’s the equivalent of shutting down 72 coal-fired power plants.
Helped design and win passage of California’s landmark Renewable Energy Standard—the toughest in the nation—mandating that one third of all the state’s energy will be produced from renewable sources by 2020.

You are a key partner in all our work.

We need your help to combat attacks on science and to move forward with positive changes to forestall the worst effects of global warming.

That’s why I’m counting on you to act now. Please don’t put it off, the stakes are too high. Become a member today.

I look forward to hearing from you and working alongside you to build a healthy environment and a safer world.

Thank you for all your help and support.

Sincerely,

Kevin Knobloch
President

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

“an affront to what it means to live in America.”


Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called the GOP opposition to Adegbile “an affront to what it means to live in America.”Debo Adegbile rallyTell the Senate to confirm Debo Adegbile’s nomination to lead the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division when Harry Reid calls for another vote.Take Action

In a startling and disappointing vote, seven Democrats joined Senate Republicans to block the confirmation of Debo Adegbile, a voting rights legal expert, to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.1

Pointing to Adegbile’s participation while working for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in the filing of a “friend of court” legal brief — along with hundreds of other attorneys — asking that a Pennsylvania Appeals Court commute Mumia Abu-Jamal’s death sentence to life in prison, Republicans embarked on an all-out smear campaign designed to distract from Adegbile’s strong record of defending the freedom to vote.2

There’s still a chance to make this right. At the last moment, Senator Harry Reid cast a procedural ‘no’ vote, leaving the door open for another vote to confirm Adegbile.3

Join us in demanding that Senator Reid call for another vote and for the seven Democratic senators who opposed to reconsider Adegbile’s confirmation. We only need three Senators to change their votes.4 It only takes a moment.

The seven Democrats siding with the Republicans were Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Mark Pryor (D-AR), John Walsh (D-MT), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Chris Coons (D-DE). In a statement, President Obama called the 47-52 vote “a travesty based on wildly unfair character attacks against a good and qualified public servant.”5

By all accounts, Debo Adegbile is the ideal candidate for a role at the head of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. He is one of the nation’s top civil rights attorneys and the leading expert on voting rights. He has defended the Voting Rights Act before the Supreme Court twice — the first time, successfully — and he was the only Black attorney to argue before the Supreme Court last term.6 At a time when right wing legislators across the country are waging all-out war on the right to vote for Black folks, women, the elderly, students, and any other demographic group that might be inclined to vote Democratic, an appointment like Adegbile’s would ensure that there was someone in the Justice Department who knows what’s at stake and will take a principled stand to defend the rights we all cherish, including the freedom to vote.

Join us in demanding another vote on Debo Adegbile’s confirmation. And when you are done, please ask your friends and family to do the same.

Thanks and Peace,

— Rashad, Arisha, Matt, Aimée, and the rest of the ColorOfChange team March 6th, 2014

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way.

References

1. “Democrats help block Obama’s DOJ pick,” Politico, 3-5-14 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3347?t=7&akid=3324.1689899.HV9wvE

2. “The Ugly Campaign To Punish A Civil Rights Lawyer Because He Helped Save A Man From Execution,” ThinkProgress, 2-10-14 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3348?t=9&akid=3324.1689899.HV9wvE

3. “Senate rejects Obama appointment of Debo Adegbile to top civil rights post,” Washington Post, 3-5-14 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3349?t=11&akid=3324.1689899.HV9wvE

4. “Senate Goes ‘Nuclear,’ Changes Nominee Filibuster Rules,” ABC News, 11-21-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3355?t=13&akid=3324.1689899.HV9wvE

5.”Obama Condemns the Senate for Blocking Confirmation of Voting Rights Advocate Adegbile,” PoliticsUSA, 3-5-14 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3350?t=15&akid=3324.1689899.HV9wvE

6. “Justice’s Civil Rights nominee has resume that includes ‘Sesame Street’ and voting rights,” Washington Post, 12-31-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3351?t=17&akid=3324.1689899.HV9wvE

~ my 2cents ...

~~~ 6 tips for putting your words to music ~~~


I am not a songwriter, but I love to read and definitely hear the spoken word.

My interest is in movement, specifically dance, but great words put to music with innovative patterns can invigorate, irritate, and make you feel good. So good that you want to move.

They also say that music is said to soothe the savage beast, or at the very least, we love to talk about how music impacts us physically and what’s inside our souls

…  And

We all love to love …

1) Make it personal because reading someone’s experience with love at first sight, first love, lust, long-term love, or a one-night stand brings a sense of connection that folks sometimes look for. Setting it to music can only make a good lyric better, right?

2) Be authentic because, as a music lover and voracious reader, I make an effort to learn the lyrics to songs I enjoy and occasionally end up loving them. Most can sense that the performer’s passion is real, not an attempt to be someone else. Sincere lyrics can actually be heard and felt through the spoken word.

3) The music that makes an impression on me also provides imagery, a vision of something of what the song is about; even if it is abstract, the image is sort of like a coffee table object. The meaning of the images can change and are sometimes left up for interpretation, depending on who is listening to, reading, or learning the lyrics. Of course, when it comes to love, when someone is singing to you, take the time to listen.

We often hear the music and skim the lyrics, but we weren’t feeling it

 What gets folks onto the dance floor …

4) Rhymes, Reason, and Rhythm, because who doesn’t like movement?  Usually, rhymes, reason, and rhythm are what make tracks work.  That is what kind of music makes great artists move up into the stratosphere.  I dance because I have to, even as a kid, and if you have a great hook, added to a great bass, or syncopation, it definitely will get played more than once in my house.

The rhythm of life

5) Always assume a video of your creation is a possibility, so … be that visionary

 

6)     🙂  Always believe you were born to make music  (:
 

Source: Nativegrl77