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Note: This was originally posted in August of 2013.  It was early; the sun had not yet landed on my solar panels, and just as I sat down with a cup of coffee this morning -- and I mean JUST sat down -- I looked out my picture window and caught this young Cooper's Hawk landing in a tree in what you could call my 'front' yard. At first, the hawk was hunting. I took some unremarkable portrait shots, but eventually the hawk stopped surveying the land for breakfast and turned attention to her self. She knew I was there. After I felt like she wouldn't fly off from being spooked, I whistled and made bird sounds to try to communicate. My dog was intently watching (it's the same tree a baby squirrel entertains him most mornings), and my cat was circling my feet, yet the hawk by this time was so comfortable; enough so to preen like this. To witness live nature shows is one of the best parts of living so close to the earth. It's never ho hum and I never tire of the wonder and beauty of life.
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 For All The Animals is available at the brick and mortar bookstores shown above in Colorado and one in New Mexico.It will also be available in Los Angeles at the Leimert Park Village Book Fair on August 19, 2017. Click image or here to purchase online. For All The Animals was written with all living creatures in mind. It's the first in a series of children's books devoted to inspiring children to get outdoors and explore the wonder of nature. It's illustrated with my photography, and my photography-inspired artwork of animals, birds, and insects. The book's layout has a scrapbook feel where each page tells a tiny story of a moment in time about my connection with my adorable subjects, and shares personal tidbits combined with fun facts. It's intended to be an interactive book between adults and children. I want the adults in children's lives to nourish their wonder and encourage them to love learning throughout their lives. Adults will likely discover something they didn't know about an animal while reading this with their children. If I had to pick two quotes that greatly inspired me as I wrote this book, the first would be by Rachel Carson. “If I had influence with the good fairy, who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantment of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things artificial, and the alienation from the sources of our strength.” ~ Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder The second quote would be by Bradley Miller: "Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar." I believe the more hands-on and involved children are in the natural world, the more chance there is to understand how everything is interconnected. I hope that introducing the idea of all of us being linked in our world will help children grow up understanding how this impacts their own lives, while also weaving it into industry so the environment, humans and animals can thrive individually, as well as collectively.  INSIDE   Companies critical of government regulations believe the USDA doesn't have the authority to oversee animal welfare standards in the food industry. Under Trump's administration we will be seeing profit driven goals for food companies while rolling back protections favoring animal welfare.  “Scrubbing Animal Welfare Act inspection reports from the internet is an affront to the transparency vital to our democracy,” says Animal Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Stephen Wells. “The Animal Legal Defense Fund hopes the administration reverses course on this decision and will explore all available means to restore free and fair access to such vital public information.” - Animal Legal Defense Fund 'Big Food' companies fear that any progress on animal welfare could leach onto their business causing prices to rise and profits to sink. They also want to avoid any scrutiny from consumers. Under Trump's administration their dreams are coming true. The new regulations essentially mean that violations against the Animal Welfare Act and the Horse Protection Act will only become accessible after submitting a Freedom of Information Act Request (FOIA) — which can take several years to get approved. With less transparency farmed animals are at greater risk of living in horrible conditions while companies make money off of them. Orders like what just went into effect by Trump's administration pave an unrestricted path for factory farms to practice profits before life where animals are collateral damage. It's cheaper to cram more animals into less space and with no one knowing, no one watching, and no one saying no. What's to stop the way animals are treated? Reported in Bipartisan Article: "The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health inspection Service released a statement claiming the decision came after a “comprehensive review”. According to the statement posted to their site, “As a result of the comprehensive review, APHIS has implemented actions to remove certain personal information from documents it posts on APHIS’ website involving the Horse Protection Act and the Animal Welfare Act. Going forward, APHIS will remove from its website inspection reports, regulatory correspondence, research facility annual reports, and enforcement records that have not received final adjudication. APHIS will also review and redact, as necessary, the lists of licensees and registrants under the AWA, as well as lists of designated qualified persons (DQPs) licensed by USDA-certified horse industry organizations.” (source) Photo was linked to this website. Unknown artist. http://www.careerlinecourses.com.au/ The federal judge who temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's immigration order represented the disadvantaged and refugees before he was nominated by then-President George W. Bush. Judge James Robart, who presides in Washington state, was unanimously confirmed by the US Senate in 2004.  1) He went from private practice to the federal bench
James L. Robart has been a federal judge in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington state since 2004, the year after Bush nominated him to the federal bench. He assumed senior status in 2016. Born in 1947 in Seattle, Robart graduated in 1969 from Whitman College and in 1973 from Georgetown Law School, where he was administrative editor of the Georgetown Law Journal, according to his official biography on the US District Court's website. He was in private practice in Seattle with the firm Lane Powell Moss & Miller from 1973 to 2004, serving as managing partner in 2003 and 2004. 2) He's known for community service During his confirmation hearing, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington praised Robart for his "generous sense of community service through his work with at-risk and special needs youth." Read more about 3 through 5 3) This is the first time he's been in the news 4) He's done pro bono work with refugees 5) He sees court system as means to help people SEE THE FULL ARTICLE ABOUT JAMES L. ROBART This morning I created this meme because it seems so many world problems have to do with territorial fighting and the ideology of making great empires instead of working together for humanity. What if we helped Mexico become stronger and healthier? We need world leaders who care about people over profit and leaders who are compassionate not corrupt, and who value the earth in ways that nourish it rather that destroy it. Take a moment to ponder just what a world could look like if we weren't all so obsessed with imaginary boundaries and our "own country" and instead wanted all of humanity to flourish.  The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 is what makes Trump's Immigration ban illegal. This act banned all discrimination against immigrants based on national origin. The idea was that by abolishing a prejudicial system with one giving each country equal access they would all have their shot at quotas. That would be justice. Trump's "thinking" such that it is, believes he can discriminate and cites a 1952 law that allows president's to suspend the entry in the U.S. of "any class of aliens" that he finds detrimental to the interest of the United States. Think about that. We also need to examine Trump's conflict of interest in how he chose which countries to ban. See chart below. In my next post, I'll dive into the guts of both laws.   UPDATE AT 7:00 P.M., JANUARY 28, 2017, A JUDGE HAS HALTED THE IMMIGRATION BAN FOR NOW. THE SUIT WAS BROUGHT BY ACLU. Read here “Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt       Josh attached this letter in his tweet:  . People are protesting! There is light in all this darkness.           It's now 77 years after this speech was given, and yet it could not be a more apropos time to hear it again. This is from the move The Great Dictator. FROM WIKIPEDIA: The Great Dictator is a 1940 American political satire comedy-drama film written, directed, produced, scored by and starring Charlie Chaplin, following the tradition of many of his other films. Having been the only Hollywood film-maker to continue to make silent films well into the period of sound films, this was Chaplin's first true sound film. Chaplin's film advanced a stirring, controversial[3] condemnation of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, fascism, antisemitism, and the Nazis. At the time of its first release, the United States was still formally at peace with Nazi Germany. Chaplin plays both leading roles: a ruthless fascist dictator, and a persecuted Jewish barber. The Great Dictator was popular with audiences, becoming Chaplin's most commercially successful film.[4] Modern critics have also praised it as a historically significant film and an important work of satire. The Great Dictator was nominated for five Academy Awards - Outstanding Production, Best Actor, Best Writing (Original Screenplay), Best Supporting Actor for Jack Oakie, and Best Music (Original Score). In his 1964 autobiography, Chaplin stated that he could not have made the film if he had known about the true extent of the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps at the time.[5] Originally posted 1/27/11 "There are things that we don't want to happen but have to accept, things we don't want to know but have to learn, and people we can't live without but have to let go." ~Author Unknown  B.Seeton We never know what life has in store. And nothing shakes up our life quite like the unexpected death of a loved one. It shakes our life clear to its very core. I begin my New Year grappling with the loss of two friends who died on January 1st. Meg's life was way too short. I feel so much for my friend's husband, their beautiful young children, her mother, her sisters and all her other close family and friends. Meg was such a down to earth, good hearted person, and incredible mother and devoted wife. She was real and kind and intelligent. She made the world a better place. I will miss her deeply. We know not where the road in life will lead us ....  Thailand 2007 - by B.Seeton What I remember most when my father died was how the rest of the world got back to life so quickly as if nothing had changed. There I was feeling like my world had been turned upside down and yet everyone was getting back to the normal day to day of living. For me, normal was a long time in coming. My 'normal' was never going to be the same again. I think grief always feels unique to each person in a way that makes one feel completely alone and set apart from everyone else. The connection to the person we've lost is a connection unique to us that no one else had and that no one else will ever fill. Losing that one-of-a-kind relationship leaves us feeling such a huge void and so alone. It takes time to heal and to move on, but the emptiness of that void will never be completely filled again. We just learn to live with it. We learn to accept that place in our lives and in our heart that will never again be the same. It's part of this thing called life.  Vietnam on my motorcycle To my friend, Patti Jo: We met 45 years ago. Can you believe that? I am sad that your journey came to an end so early in life. You were such a big part of my childhood and my coming of age years. I have so many great memories from elementary school to the birth of our sons. Yours was a hard life. I wish it had been full of more of your dreams and much more happiness. Know that I loved you being a part of my life. I'll always treasure the memories; our times together are a part of who I am today. "Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal."  Somewhere in AZ or NM - by Betsy Seeton "Ancient Egyptians believed that upon death they would be asked two questions and their answers would determine whether they could continue their journey in the afterlife. The first question was,'Did you bring joy?' The second was, 'Did you find joy?'"
- Leo Buscaglia "If you missed the special on Rachel Carson this past week on Public Television, here is a link to it. Two hours long but well worth the time. Much more about her life, but also a good telling of the evolution of regulation and chemical problems. After 50 years it looks like we’ve made little progress and are being subjected to the same excuses and evasions as Carson was, but the the damage is far more pervasive and the stakes much higher. The recent decision to put the Rusty Patched Bumblebee on the Endangered Species List is further evidence that the environmental poisoning is deep and wide. How many other life forms are going extinct that we don’t even know about? Many of you are too young to remember the Rachel Carson years, but this is an important part of pesticide history, take the time to understand what’s gone before." ~Tom Theobald "Describing the U.S. Global Warming agenda an "alarmist agenda" would be like saying that warnings on the ship of the Titanic when it was sinking were too pessimistic."  click to read article  By Alex Formuzis and Sonya Lunder
Myron Ebell, head of President-elect Donald Trump's U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) transition team, is a notorious denier of global warming whose biography unashamedly notes that he's considered a "climate criminal" by activists and "a superstar of the denialosphere" by The Climate War author Eric Pooley. But he's also director of environmental policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which touts "the life-enhancing value of chemicals"—chemicals like arsenic, DDT and PCBs. MORE Dozens of “rogue agency” sites fight back. "It started with tweets by Badlands National Park on climate change in defiance of a gag order by the Trump administration. When those tweets were deleted by bosses, up popped the renegade AltUSNatParkService site with more of the same. Now dozens of alternative Twitter sites purporting to represent workers at federal agencies are tweeting out a massive resistance to climate change denial and a perceived war on science and facts."  "By Thursday evening, January 26, at least 51 renegade Twitter sites were claiming to represent the Trump resistance at NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, the presidential staff, the Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture, among others. Several sites representing specific parks across the nation were also off and running. By Thursday evening, the site that started the rogue trend, @AltUSNatParkService, had 1.2 million followers, three times as many as the official National Park Service site." Full article
The interviewer asked Trump, "Do you consider yourself ideal company?”  In sum, Donald Trump’s basic personality traits suggest a presidency that could be highly combustible. One possible yield is an energetic, activist president who has a less than cordial relationship with the truth. He could be a daring and ruthlessly aggressive decision maker who desperately desires to create the strongest, tallest, shiniest, and most awesome result—and who never thinks twice about the collateral damage he will leave behind. Tough. Bellicose. Threatening. Explosive. 
Considered one a top psychotherapist, Dr. Gartner diagnosed Trump as being a malignant narcissist and said this:  click to go to another article on Trump's psychological state of mind. If you want to own the website called TrumpIsaLiar.com it's available for $10K.  I just bought the domain RunRogue.com and was looking at other domains that could have a theme of defying Trump. I ran across this website about Republicans against Trump called ResistTrump.com. It appears this site was assembled to stop Trump from getting elected, but seems to serve no active purpose now. The "Contact" link has no information. I also saw DefyTrump.com but it's still under construction. It'll be interesting when it goes on line to see what it's about.   Another site called NotMyPresident.com does nothing but show a statement. I wonder if this wasn't up when Obama was president and now the website owners believe God is on their side and has come to save America.  The website saying coming soon is called TrumpIsMentallyill.com, TrumpIsInsane.com, TrumpIsCrazy.com, DonaldTrumpIsaPig.com, TrumpIsGross.com, and TrumpIsaRapist.com.  TrumpTheManChild.com is available for sale as of this writing.  If you type in TrumpSucks.com on godaddy to see if the domain is available it says it's already taken. I clicked on the link to see what the website would say and it took me directly to www.HillaryClinton.com. I tried it twice to be sure. So you can try it yourself. Type in TrumpSucks.com and see where it takes you!  TrumpIsStupid.com is for sale  When I tried to see the website for cheetoface.com it said "this site can't be reached" so I don't know what's going on with this website.  DonaldTrumpSucks.com is for sale but you'll have to research to see how much it is.  DonaldTrumpIsDumb.com takes you to this page (below). See for yourself if you click on the screenshot below.  TrumpIsSick.com   This is a screenshot from the website called TrumpIsAnAss.com - Click to check it out THE WEBSITE TRUMPISANASS.COM PURPORTS: SupportersTrump Donors
Sheldon Adelson (Las Vegas Sands): $47.4 million Robert Mercer (Renaissance Technologies): $23.5 million Richard and Liz Uihlein: $21.5 million Joe Ricketts (TD Bank): $14 million Ken Griffin (Citadel): $13.6 million Ron Cameron (Mountainaire): $12.1 million Bernie Marcus (Home Depot): $8.6 million Corky Mizer: $30,400 Gregorio Galicot: $30,400 George Gould: $30,400 Hélène Gould: $30,400 James Gilstrap: $30,400 Kelly Mikules: $30,400 William Hildreth: $31,910 Susan Spath: $55,400 Jenny Craig: $305,400 Madeleine Pickens: $305,400 Geniya Manchester: $454,800 Douglas F. Manchester: $454,800 Businesses Supporters Renaissance Technologies TD Bank Las Vegas Sands Yuengling Hobby Lobby Home Depot Forbes UFC PayPal In the United States, there was a time when it was illegal to write anti war editorials. QUESTION OFTEN ASKED ON SOCIAL MEDIA Some people speak out about Trump's atrocities. But others stay silent, who used to whine so much about Obama. I can't imagine Obama refusing to reveal his taxes, and so on. So why do those of you who stay silent now accept so much from Trump? Because he's white? MY THOUGHTS Millions of people are asking similar questions. As near as I can tell, as long as Trump gives them the illusion that he is their savior from the liberal agenda, he can say and do anything. Trump supporters see politicians as corrupt liars so the fact that Trump is a liar and corrupt is okay as long as he convinces them that he'll do what they want. They want refugees denied entrance because they are "terrorists." They want Muslims out of the country because Muslims = ISIS. They want LBGT agenda shut down because many are homophobic. They want America protected from ISIS so all our oil driven wars are sold as fighting bad guys and ISIS related enemies. Whatever funds needed are okay. They want their Christian god front and center. They want their wall to keep out immigrants because they falsely believe immigrants take their jobs, rape their women and rob the people. They want public lands back into the private sector. They want regulations on corporations dialed back because pollution is not as harmful as government interference. They support oil and don't care whether alternative energy is developed since they believe there's so much oil to exploit in the world. They view the poor as people who are lazy and worthless and draining their precious tax dollars. They view health care not as a right but as something you should access with your hard earned money and if you can't afford it, that's not their problem. They largely don't support raising wages because they believe consumer products will get too expensive, but they have no problem with CEO's making $15 million a year to $150 million a year. As long as their agenda is being met, Trump can do anything. They also hate the Dems and liberal agenda to the point of allowing Trump to be a vile person so long as he destroys the "other" side because the other side is what they see as the problem with everything in their lives. That's my take at the moment.  CLICK TO GO TO SITE TO SIGN UP Join the People’s Climate Movement this April 29th in Washington, D.C. and across the country to stand up for our communities and climate. Throughout the first 100 days in office, the People's Climate Movement is organizing a country-wide arc of action, culminating on April 29th in Washington DC in a powerful mobilization to unite all of our movements. To change everything, we need everyone. WHY WE'RE MARCHING There is no denying it: Donald Trump’s election is a threat to the future of our planet, the safety of our communities, and the health of our families. This new administration is attacking the hard-won protections of our climate, health, and communities, and the rights of people of color, workers, indigenous people, immigrants, women, LGBTQIA, young people, and more. If the policies he proposed on the campaign trail are implemented, they will destroy our climate, decimate our jobs and livelihoods, and undermine the civil rights and liberties won in many hard fought battles. It’s up to us to stop that from happening before it starts.
Our fights are tied together, and we will only succeed together. That’s why, from now through the first 100 days and beyond, we are taking action and standing up for everything and everyone we love — and we are calling on everyone to join us on April 29th; for a massive march to bring our demands to the streets of Washington, D.C. We’re ready to fight back, and we are ready to build a resistance to Trump and Congress’ attacks on our climate, our communities, and our jobs that stands alongside the unprecedented Women’s Marches and other powerful rallies that shook the globe in the hours and days following the inauguration of Donald Trump and the 115th Congress. On April 29th, we will march for our families. We will march for our air, our water, and our land. We will march for clean energy jobs and climate justice. We will march for our communities and the people we love. In 2014, we said that it takes everyone to change everything. Now, with everything at stake, everyone has a part to play. The Saskatchewan government was informed of the spill on late Friday afternoon, January 20, 2017, but the public was only notified of the spill on Monday, the 23th. "An oil pipeline has leaked about 200,000 liters, or 52,834 gallons, of crude onto an aboriginal community in the oil-rich province of Saskatchewan, Canada. This is the province's largest pipeline breach since July's disastrous 225,000 liter (59,438 gallon) Husky Energy Inc spill, in which some oil entered the North Saskatchewan River and cut off drinking water supply for two cities."-- EcoWatch   click to article about his newsgroup  click to go to his Facebook News Page "We cannot allow science and the free exchange of ideas to be a casualty of our times. My friends at the Science Communication Lab keep sharing important news on this front and are a community worth checking out." -- Dan Rather
One of the easiest and time saving things you can do to voice your opposition to Trump is to call your Senators and just simply say "Don't support or do support" whatever the issue is you're interested in.  I PROMISE YOU IT WON'T TAKE LONGER THAN 30 SECONDS TO CALL!  Union of Concerned Citizens sent me this email to ask Colorado Senators' Gardner and Bennett to say no to Scott Pruitt's for EPA administrator. Sen Gardner ph 303-391-5777 Sen Bennett ph 303-455-7600 You can literally call and say to the person answering the phone or on the message that you want them to vote against Scott Pruitt for EPA Administrator. Senator Bennett's office answered the phone when I called and Cory Gardner only and voice mail. On this particular issue, "President Trump has nominated Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to be Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. I presented the following testimony at a Senate Democratic roundtable explaining two reasons why Mr. Pruitt is unfit to be EPA Administrator: (1) he misrepresented his positions and misled Senators during his confirmation hearing; and (2) he has stated his intention to continue disabling conflicts of interest if he becomes EPA Administrator by switching sides and representing EPA in ongoing lawsuits and related rule makings in which Mr. Pruitt is suing EPA to overturn EPA clean air and clean water protections." -- January 25, 2017 John Walke READ FULL ARTICLE I made two more calls to my Senators to oppose the Muslim ban. Please do your part and call!  "You cannot confront a power until you know what it is. Our first task in this struggle is to understand what we face. Only then can we work out what to do." How did we get here? How did a nightmare become a reality of unparalleled proportions? I mean Donald Trump as president? George Monibot answers it as well as anyone when he wrote, "As usual, the left and centre (myself included) are beating ourselves up about where we went wrong. There are plenty of answers, but one of them is that we have simply been outspent. Not by a little, but by orders of magnitude. A few billion dollars spent on persuasion buys you all the politics you want. Genuine campaigners, working in their free time, simply cannot match a professional network staffed by thousands of well-paid, unscrupulous people."  click to go to full article It's going to be a long four years people. It's going to be a challenge we've never imagined living in this upside down world and maintaining our sanity. We will have to find ways to balance the need to not turn a blind eye with not losing our minds. I have friends emailing that they don't know how to do this. I've had friends email me in tears. I've had people taking steps back from social media because the reality of what's happening with Trump at the helm is too difficult to digest and deal with. I get it. I am navigating through the gag orders, the Executive Orders signing away rights for people and land and seeing plans for the ridiculous wall trying to move forward. I'm seeing Trump's conflicts of interest growing. Each day seems to redefine crazy. Just remember, you're not alone. You have a lot of good people at your side. We're in this together and the light that's shining is coming from unity. This is an awakening like this country, and the world, has never seen. Take a breath. Take a step back if need be. That's okay. It's like diving in water. You need to come up for air, but keep on going. Take a break. Get grounded. But stay in the game. We need you. We need every single voice speaking up for the environment and all who are being silenced and marginalized.  click to read full article Please follow them on Twitter as they continue to get the facts out there. Be part of the solution and don't let the government shut off communication to the citizens. https://twitter.com/AltNatParkSer Click here to go their Twitter account.  CLICK TO GO TO ARTICLE
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 Betsy Seeton
I'm an artist, writer, photographer, private investigator and an activist in small ways.
"Turning indifference into making a difference."
MY PHOTO BOOK
GETTING IN TOUCH WITH NATURE is my new website devoted to my photography, books, and art.
  My LADYBUG book is filled with beautiful images & inspiring quotes. Click here for more info.
 All photos are for sale at Betsy's Art Gallery  Email Betsy   Amely-James KOH BELA is fighting child trafficking in Africa and throughout several continents. Read my interview with her.  CLICK FOR BEE PHOTOGRAPHY  Mahoot Elephant training in Thailand with Kaew,  Adorable French girl growing up in Africa with wildlife photography parents - more pictures of Tippi Degre  I visited the Tiger Temple in Thailand & later found out it is under investigation for tiger trafficking and animal abuse. Read full story. In 2015 it was raided. More than 100 tigers and protected bird species in Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua, popularly known as the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi province were impounded by authorities following complaints that the temple was alleged to engage in illegal wildlife trading.    photos for sale as greeting cards and framed prints or posters. Click to go to my online Art Gallery  "The moment one gives close attention to anything,
even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself." ~ Henry Miller  FREETHEBEARS.ORG - Learn about bear farming and bear paw soup. This torture must end! DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS helps people worldwide where the need is greatest, delivering emergency medical aid to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters or exclusion from healthcare.
 Connect with Jasper, The World Ambassador of Animal Rights & Welfare on Facebook! Read about life in the woods with Chippy & the crew...
What greater atrocity is there on this planet than to sell a human life and brutally force him or her into a life in the sex trade or endless labor? And how dare we abuse, kill and traffic animals in the name of profit... in the name of anything for any reason!
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