Tuesday, December 18, 2007

New "Dedication" section has been added!


The new "Dedication" section for the "Health Care Crisis" section of the site has now been added. This section of the site is dedicated to Corie Duckett, who was murdered in 2005 by another dancer. Corie went to the strip club because her TennCare had been taken away due to the fact that her epilepsy was classified as "controllable." Corie's medication alone was six hundred dollars a month, and she could not hold down a regular job because of her illness. Her last resort would ultimately lead to her death.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

New Rescued Pet of the Month - December


"This is my little (actually, not so little - he's a fatty!) man, Spider. He is about six years old, and a HUGE momma's little lover boy. He does not know a stranger, and he can never get enough love.


Spider was thrown into a street tied up in a plastic bag with his brother. A friend of mine's father got them out of the street, and then me and my friend each rescued one of the kittens. Spider's brother, Claire, still lives with that friend. Both babies were not old enough to leave their mothers yet, when we took them home. Spider was hideously ugly. He was bug-eyed, bald, scrawny, and had these extremely tattered (and huge) ears. I had to give him wet food and formula for the first week that I had him, and that wet food was the reason that he was going bald - apparently he needed the top of his head to eat! I took him home because my friend's father informed us that if we did not take the kittens, he was going to take them to the pound. I knew that no one would adopt such an ugly little kitten, so I agreed to keep him. I thank God every day that I made that decision, because I truly believe that he is one of my (friend) soulmates.


Spider eats plastic and vapor rub. He will literally attack you for either one of these things. He also LOVES green olives and tomatoes. He sleeps in the crook of my arm or across my neck. He LOVES the kittens in the house and, actually, the only time that he ever fights with any of the older cats is when he is protecting the kittens.


Spider is my favorite, even though I know that I should not have a favorite."


~~Jennifer

Monday, October 22, 2007

Rescued Pet of the Month - November

" This is Spike. He is around 5 years old, and my mom and I found him in the middle of the road in a rainstorm, in hernando square. He looked as if he had been thrown from a vehicle, his mouth was torn and he was barely moving. We took him to the emergency vet and had him patched up.

His name was Patch for a minute, until we noticed the spiked hair on his little back. Then I decided that such a hard knock kitty needed a tough name to carry him through his life, so Spike it was. His best friend is my Pit Bull, he loves to give her kisses and rub against her. They sleep together and he gives her back massages.

Spike is a bully to girl cats but loves the other boys. He is wonderful! And he has a great healing energy, I always call him my reiki cat! He also has the cutest mew. Its like mow-o mow! And high pitched and sweet sounding too."

~~Trinity

Rescued Pet of the Month - October

"My baby is a previously rescued kitten named Keesh. He is a beautiful boy about 2 years old, with a raccoon face (possibly Balanese mix?). He is so silly, good natured and loving. He is also really "floppy," meaning, we can pick him up and drape him over our shoulders, arms, hold him like a baby and he tolerates it so well. All of my cats have always been rescue cats. "

~~Shay

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Rescued Pet of the Month - September

"This beautifully striped kitten is Mollie. She is just now under three months old.
She was living with a Black Lab who constantly tried to snack on her. About a month ago, I took her in and have given her a name and lots of love.
This cat is wonderful with children, and has been a bright spot in everybody's life. "

~~Kate

Monday, October 15, 2007

Rescued Pet of the Month - August

" This tiny little three week old, screaming, kitten is Amalthea. This is his first photo.

He and his siblings were abandoned by their (stray) mother. I took them in and bottle fed them. All of his siblings are dead, but it looks like he is going to make it (he certainly does not have any lung problems). His last sibling to go was his twin sister, Pinkie, and he sat in their box with her dead body for only god knows how long. He is hanging in there, though. He is named after the (female) Unicorn on "The Last Unicorn."

~~Faith Autumn Reign

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Poverty In Memphis, TN - Slideshow

This is a slideshow that I created as a visual aide for a speech on the way impovershed people in Memphis, TN are treated.

Health Insurance Crisis Takes More Lives

"This is Corie Duckett. Three years ago, she lost her TennCare, and she had a fatal case of epilepsy. Her medication cost about six hundred a month, and she couldn't hold down a realy job because of her illness. Her only option was to become a stipper, because there is no schedule. If she was sick, then she could just not go to work that day. She was too naive to be in that underworld, and she ended up getting murdered by one of the dancers. I was her protector, and I wasn't there to save her when she needed me the most. All I wanted to do was save her and give her a chance at a normal life.

Now, I'm sick. I have infection embedded in my tonsils, and they need to come out. I have strep every other week. Working makes me sicker. I have to come up with that money on my own, but if I work, I'm going to end up killing myself. The infection is spreading throughout my entire body.

So, now, I'm going to have to work at the strip club, b/c there is no schedule and its the only job I will be able to hold down right now. I have no health insurance, even though I've had a great web design job for the last nine months. I feel like this process is happening all over again, and I hope that I don't end up like Corie.

In America, if you are poor like me and Corie, you have to try to survive, and then the world turns its back on you because you are a stripper. How is not my basic human right to get the surgery that could save my life? How is it not Cories basic human right to get the medication she needed to stay alive? If we were rich, she would still be alive, and I would have had my surgery by now.

Private insurance comanies won't take me because I'm a health risk. I'm medically uninsurable. How is it that the person who deserves it the most doesn't get the insurance that could save their life? What kind of country is this, that it turns its back on the poor. The constitution says we all have the basic human rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. How do I have the right to life, if no one cares enough to save it? What is wrong with this picture?"


~~ A "Someone Who Cares" reader

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Website dedicated to environmental issues in Memphis, TN.

ecomemphis.com The company that I work for, LunaWeb, just launched a website dedicated to helping the citizens of Memphis, TN deal with environmental issues in their city. Click on the logo to visit the site.