Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Save the Greyhounds!!

My Greyhound group is participating in America's Giving Challenge from Parade Magazine. The 8 charities that inspire the most people to give will each get $50,000. Plus, they get all the money donated in the challenge. It only takes $10 to count as a donor! If you have an extra $10, please consider helping us to $50,000!

http://www.networkforgood.org/pca/Badge.aspx?badgeId=110200

Right now, one of the groups big projects is renovating a recently purchased kennel to house even more dogs. Greyhound Adoption Center is one of the few groups that will take and heal injured racers. Currently, the shelter is run out of a modular trailer and the dogs live in large cages with turn out 2-3 times a day. The new shelter will have doggy condo modules, where 3-4 dogs that get along will live in a small room until they are adopted, with outside access.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Smoking

Starting January 1, a new law went into effect here in California, that you may not drive and smoke with a child under 18 in the car.

Personally, I'm all for laws restricting smoking as much as possible. I know, I know smokers have a "right" to smoke, however, of the hundreds, or maybe thousands of smokers I've seen, a bare handful get that their "right" to smoke ends where my right to breathe begins.

I put right in quotation marks in regards to smokers because while that's an argument used by smokers; I don't necessarily believe it's a right. I do however, seem to remember a certain document used to found our country guaranteeing my right to life. Since breathing is absolutely essential for life...well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see where I'm going with this...

I have asthma that's induced my environmental factors, such as smoke. One of the reasons I love California is that most public places are non-smoking. I can live a fairly normal life and not have to worry about frequent asthma attacks.

Beyond that, one set of my grandparents smoked for years, and had cancers and heart disease and other health issue which can be attributed to smoking. I do get that it's an addiction, but I don't really get how/why people start in the first place.

Yes, I have tried it. When I was in high school and right out of high school, my asthma wasn't as bad as it is now, and I've probably smoked about a half dozen cigarettes in my life. A part of me wonders if that had some effect on worsening my asthma. But it was gross, and I just fail to see the appeal.

To the few dozen smokers who are courteous about your smoking, I don't get you, but I respect your right to choose to smoke. Unfortunately, the vast majority of dumbasses who think the world is their ashtray, and the rest of us have to deal with their 'right' to smoke make it so we need laws restricting smoking. Since those laws make me able not to live my life as a hermit, damn straight I'm all for them.