A Letter from Congressman Jim Himes on Earth Day

I received the following letter in my email today from Congressman Jim Himes. For those of you not on his mailing list, I'm sure he will appreciate my sharing it:

Dear Friends,
In the four decades since the first Earth Day in 1970, we have made remarkable progress in the fight to protect our planet. Today, our air and water are cleaner, pollution has been greatly reduced, and Americans everywhere are living in a healthier environment. We've passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and founded the Environmental Protection Agency.
The most critical moment for environmental protection is the one we face today. Our reliance on foreign fossil fuels has set us on a massively destabilizing path, threatening our national security, our environment, and our economy. Very simply, the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will be the nation that leads in the 21st century.
Congress has taken on the challenge of energy independence from many angles. The Recovery Act, Clean Energy and Security Act, and other legislation are all working together to improve our national security, create jobs, and protect the environment.
The Recovery Act included more than $80 billion in clean energy investments, such as building a bigger, smarter electricity grid and providing incentives for expanding manufacturing capacity for clean energy technology, and advancing vehicle and fuel technologies. In fact, the wind industry grew its capacity nearly 40 percent in 2009, blowing past expectations that existed prior to the passage of the Recovery Act.
The American Clean Energy and Security Act took a powerful and historic step toward a wholly new approach to energy in our country. Once signed into law, its reforms will help create 1.7 million clean energy jobs, finally end our nation's dangerous addiction to foreign oil, and begin to curb the harmful effects of climate change.
On this 40th anniversary of Earth Day, I take great pride in the steps we have taken to help protect our natural resources, especially those right here in Connecticut. For example, this past year, we increased funding for the Long Island Sound Stewardship Act to $15 million, up from $3 million previously. Additionally, the sweeping and significant Public Land Management Act signed into law by the president in March will strengthen our National Parks, improve the health of our forests, ensure better management of our public lands, and increase the quantity and quality of water provided to numerous local communities.
These are significant victories for the cause of environmental protection. But much work remains. As we take this day to consider how best we can protect the planet we call home, be assured that I will continue to work diligently on these measures and on any other which will help ensure the beauty and stability of our environment.
Sincerely,

Jim Himes

And a happy Earth Day to all!

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I Love Our Planet - Happy 40th Earth Day!

Earth Day is a very emotional time for me. As crazy as it sounds, it often brings me to tears. Perhaps it’s because I can feel the feelings of the living earth. Perhaps its because I respect the earth so much and all the power that it has and all that it gives us.

And then there’s the raw beauty of it. The rich colors of the flowers, the birds and the sunsets. The amazing highs of the mountains, the deep lows of the valleys and the awesome rock formations that you know weren’t there a few thousand years ago. The white sand, the crystal blue waters in some spots, the 20 foot high waves, the amazing creatures of the sea.

As cliché as it sounds, nature and the earth are truly wonders to behold and I work hard every day to make sure that we don’t ever lose this gift and this opportunity to coexist with nature that humans have been given. When I see garbage on the ground and see people disrespecting the earth by throwing things on the ground, I can almost feel the earth flinch or cry out. When I see landfills so full we have to close them and open new ones, it scares me that 100 years from now there might not be anywhere left for new landfills. Then where will the garbage go? I wonder, will our children’s children’s children have any parks to play in or will all that great space some day give way to landfills?

I love recycling. I worship recycling. When I see someone throwing a bottle or can away, I practically have chest pains. We as a society need to continue to learn how to recycle everything we use. I also am a big fan of garbage to energy. Let’s turn that garbage and the methane gas it emits into something useful.

Most importantly, let’s remember that the earth is a living thing and that existing on it is a privilege, not a right.
God bless America … and God bless the planet Earth.

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

Alicia Keys Is Hiring!

Just logged onto Monster.com and saw something I never expected to see. A large ad saying that Alicia Keys is looking to hire a head blogger for her new blog, I Am Super Woman. The blog will be all about empowering women. The site, IAAS.com, will create an online community connecting, inspiring and broadcasting important topics related to women.

I think it's a great idea!

Wish I could do the job but I just don't think I have the stamina anymore. It requires a lot of domestic and international travel, a trek into NYC every day and probably 24/7 availability.

Interested? Think you've got what it takes? Go to http://www.monster.com/ and click on the front page link. Good luck!!!

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

Gotta Love the New York Daily News

Today's issue of the New York Daily News started me off with a great laugh. The article, "The Most Ridiculous and Misspelled Tea Party Signs," presents more than a dozen photos of misspelled rally signs, many of which emphasize the fact, I love this part, that if you can't speak English, go home. So if they can't write English, where do they go?

Some good ones:
If you can read this sign your smarter than Nancy Pelosi
Obama Lier in Chief
No Mas Illegal Alliens
Dump the Polititions
One Hugh Mistake America (I feel sorry for Hugh!)
The US of A Constution
Make English America's Offical Language
Stop Taking from Hard Wroking People
Get Your Handout of My Pocket (Okay, thanks!)
Respect Are Country
Don't Mortage My Child's Future
Wealth Redistribtion
Repeel Congress (you mean, um, like an orange?)
Say No to Socilism (If you're going to say no to something, paaleeeze know how to spell it)
Thank you Fox News for keeping us infromed
This is America and our only lanoguage is English (but what language is lanoguage?)
1930s Gemany all over again
Impeah Obama
Patriotic Resisance
Don't Give Away My Daugter's Future

And my absolute favorite:
I am Joe the Plummer

Glad to see these are the people who think they represent our great country. I feel better now.

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

Self Magazine's Workout in the Park

Just received a promotion for this in my email box and it sounded like fun so thought I would pass it along.

SELF magazine is holding a Workout in the Park in three different cities across the country on three separate dates (one could actually attend them all if they had the funds and the time! Now wouldn't that be fun!).

April 24th, San Diego: Mission Bay Park
May 8th, New York: Rumsey Playfield, Central Park
May 15th, Chicago: Grant Park

The events, which run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. rain or shine, includes workouts, beauty and style consultations, and gourmet delights, among other things. You can get a schedule of events at http://www.selfworkoutinthepark.com/schedule.asp/

From the hall of shame department: The only negative for this event is that there is a $20 fee, which they completely buried on the website. I had to click all the way through to purchasing a ticket to find out what the fee was and even then it was very clear. Shame on them for being so secretive about the cost.

The good news is, 50% of the cost (minus a small transaction processing fee) goes directly to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure of breast cancer and cancerandcareers.org. So your money is going to two great causes.

They are anticipating more than 12,000 women for these events. Bags larger than backpacks and pets not allowed. The event is smoke-free. Enjoy!!

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

The Weight Watchers Walk-It Challenge

If you've been thinking about joining Weight Watchers, now would be a great time. Weight Watchers this week launched a campaign to get people moving, called the Walk-It Challenge, and it includes a sweepstakes to win a trip for two to one of America's greatest walking cities: New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle or San Antonio, Texas.

To enter the Walk-to-Win Sweepstakes, you must have attended at least six meetings between April 4 and July 31, 20010.

The promotion culminates with June 6th, designated as Walk-It Day, on which Weight Watchers is encouraging everyone to walk a 5k -- the equivalent of 3.1 miles.

Weight Watchers is offering tips for training for a 5k, how to find friends to walk with, a training plan, ways to find an event, and a $5 off coupon for their POINTS Pedometer, which I love and wear every day!

For more information, go to the Weight Watchers website.

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.