Dear Senator Kerry,

I applaud your courage to take your heart to the floor of the Senate.  My god, I did not expect it, honestly, from either you, Senator Clinton, and especially not from Senator Feinstein, although I was not surprised by Senator Kennedy.  He's a real war horse, wounded, scarred, but fighting ever so hard no matter what.

How I wish others could get their courage together and stop being afraid of the bullies that use any means except truth and integrity to meet their goals.  You know who they are.  Their actions reek of cowardice and fear.  It's time to capitalize on their shakey cover.  The country IS behind you.  You must continue on this road.  If you do, I'm convinced that you will continue to get the support that rose up suddenly over the weekend.

Yes, we lost on Alito.  BUT, a more important thing emerged: the majority of Democratic Senators voted AGAINST Alito AND cloture.  Given that Alito was virtually anointed way ahead of time, and that only three days were available - this was a GREAT effort and WIN, as far as I'm concerned.

Thank you so much.  It was the right thing to do, and you saw what happened as a result of your search for input on the blogs.  We rallied for you, and I'm about to write other thank-you's to Senators Kennedy, Clinton, and Feinstein, and those others with courage that voted against cloture, putting aside their own political concerns in favor of the whole-being of our country.

Growing a spine takes time, but we got a burst of calcium today.

Much love and the best to you,

Gabriele Droz

A couple of weeks ago I inquired about interest in wildlife stories, since I work with injured, orphaned, and rehabilitated wildlife 24/7.  There seemed to be some interest, so tonight I'm posting something I wrote about 10 years ago.  No, it's not timely or relevant in our current political sense, but it's relevant nevertheless.  My observations at that time were still fairly innocent, and one has to forgive my anthrophormormizing.

It's about Bert and Kong, the first two ravens I ever met, and who became part of our family of four at that time.

I'd write the story differently today, as seven more years and 900 more birds have passed through my house, and I'd write it more from their perspective, rather than my innocent interpretation.  

But, since most folks on the planet nowadays don't have the "closeness" privilege, I thought I'd begin my wildlife diaries with my earlier impressions, as a bridge.  

Please give me feedback.  I still have trouble with formatting and posting pictures, so for now it'll just be the story. My political goal here is just to provide windows into the lives of the beings that are currently being dismissed as unimportant by so much of our populace, as we all struggle against Bushco.

Just want to put in my two cents worth.  Thanks.

Well, the quick message of thanks to Senator Reid I meant to post on his website http://giveemhellharry.com/... turned out a bit longer and more in-depth than I had anticipated, and I thought I'd share it with all who feel likewise:

I've spent the last 15 years of my life attending to the needs of birds affected by our human actions (or non-actions). I and my husband have personally cared for over 3000 individuals over the past 15 years.  I'd be glad to post once a week on our experiences, and the individual stories of some of the birds we've encountered.  I'd love to hear back from readers, and figure out an effective way to reach more people to consider the plight of our wildlife.

Please let me know if this is something you'd be interested in, as my time is limited, but all of the birds  we've cared for, would love to have their voices heard.

I've been following Gov. Schweitzer around a bit lately ever since I read this Salon Article. What I especially find fascinating about him is his open support of Native American people, including his active participation in their ceremonies.

I have long felt we have a lot to learn from the original inhabitants of our country, and I receive much personal inspiration from listening to past and present Native American leaders, especially Ohyesa (Biography) (The Soul of an Indian).  Who amongst our own leaders speaks with such beauty, eloquence and depth of heart in these difficult times?

Therefore I was pleased yesterday to come accross this article in Indian Country.  Lo and behold, it looks like Schweitzer is a man/leader who does not practice ceremonies to rip off Native Americans spirituality, but actually makes it a priority to further our continent's original people's rights and interests.

More below...