Politics at the local level

As you know, we moved to Los Angeles in July. Back home in Colorado there is a local school board election happening that we are missing.

While working from LA to get as many of our friends and colleagues in Jefferson County to vote, I wanted to take the opportunity to remind everyone how important local elections are.

With 40% of registered voters voting, a school board majority that I oppose was brought into power in Jefferson County. Voters simply didn't vote. Now those same who were elected are facing a recall and after two years in office it seems voters are paying a little more attention.

None of this is news. Too many people don't vote.

I urge you to take some time and see what might be on your local ballot this coming week. Many people simply don't follow local politics like the school board, county board and city council. Yet these folks have so much power, and a lot of money to spend.

If you are an activist of any sort, if you want to make the world a safer place for all living beings, or even if you just want to make your community a better place, vote.

Nothing changes if nothing changes.

Thanks for reading.

Please vote

No surprise with this title or post. One of the reasons I created this blog was to engage with other in making this world a better place for all living beings and voting in every election at every level is one way to do this.

Yes, you most likely have not heard about any election coming up on the national news. Most issues in November will be local issues. Let your voice be heard.

There are propositions on the ballot all over the place. And school board elections. And your city council race.

Please don't let some crazy ballot initiative pass or some right-wing, anti-gay candidate win by letting a small minority control the vote.

Vote.

If you vote by mail most ballots have already been sent out. You still have a few weeks to mail but why not go ahead and just fill it out and mail it today?

We can be a voice for those with no voice.

Thanks for reading!

Our neighborhood bees are in trouble

 
We moved from Colorado to the Los Angeles area back in July and are still settling in. We love all that LA has to offer and rarely have we missed at least one beach day per week.

Back in Colorado we owned a quarter of an acre and had a huge garden and little planted areas throughout the yard. Our yard was super bee friendly and throughout the spring through the fall we had hundreds of bees. We loved them and felt that we were doing something positive to support the dwindling bee population.

Something troubling we have noticed here is a constant flow of dead or dying bees. Not healthy, walking slowly, unable to fly and within a day we find dead. The first time I noticed this I thought it was a fluke but now I have realized that in our yard we have yet to see a healthy bee.

I wonder why.

This blog post I invite you to let us know what you think. We live in the north east area of Los Angeles. We live in an area that has plenty of trees and floral, and is only one block to where the San Gabriel mountains begin.

Do any of you know about bee populations in the LA area? Do you know what we can do to help bees here?

I would be grateful for any information.

Thanks for reading!

I will #FastAgainstSlaughter this Friday

After much prayer and meditation I have decided to do the #FastAgainstSlaughter which is this Friday. Friday is World Day for Farmed Animals, the day after World Vegetarian Day and Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. This fast will be part of a world-wide fast on the same day.

If you know me, you know I am vegan and that I am vegan so that I cause as little harm as possible to animals during my time on earth. I abhor violence and almost 20 years ago committed to being vegan so my dinner plate reflected more of who I am as a human being and did not include any animal products.

So Friday I will fast for 24 hours, for the animals.

From Farm Animal Rights Movement:

"Each day, 160 million farmed animals are transported to meet their gruesome end at slaughterhouses throughout the world. These caring, sensitive individuals are denied food, water, and rest on their journeys for several hours, up to days. They are scared. They are starving. And their suffering is silenced by an industry that doesn’t want us to know the truth."

In their name I will not eat for 24 hours. I will only drink liquids. I share this with you because I am fearful of this. I eat at least seven times a day. I love food. I love eating. I will do it for the beautiful animals who are beaten, tortured, and killed just for someone's taste buds.

I could really use your support. Please send love. And if you pray, meditate or just are in silence on Friday, please think of me and those I am fasting for.

Thank you!