Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act

As the number of women serving in the military increases — more than 150,000 in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2002 — so does the number of female veterans coming home who rely on the Veterans’ Administration (VA) for health care. Originally created for a primarily male veteran population, the veterans’ healthcare system lacks adequate resources for the female vets’ health issues, from gyn care to gender-specific PTSD symptoms to, sadly, a newly named phenomenon, Military Sexual Assault Trauma (MST).

Last month a bipartisan group of Senators — Patty Murray (D-WA), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR ), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) — introduced the Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2008 (S.2799), which calls for “a long-term study of the health of women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, an assessment of barriers for women seeking care at Dept. of Veterans Affairs facilities and of the VA's provision of health services to women, and training of VA staff on treating women veterans who have experienced sexual trauma or PTSD.”

As the United States observes the Memorial Day long weekend, support female veterans by urging your Senator to support the Women Veterans Health Care Improvement act. You can find your Senator’s contact information here, or send a pre-formatted letter via Care2’s Petition Site.


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Simple Sunday: A Final Flourish for Animal Week

Animal Week has been lots of fun — one more chance to show a picture of our friend Jazzy, and I’ve met a terrific new group of blog readers, reaching all the way to Australia. To close out the week, here’s a Simple Sunday mitzvah: visit Care2’s Pets in Need page. Sponsors will match each click on the green Click to Help button with a small donation to the Humane Society of the United States’ Rural Area Veterinary Service programs, including free and low-cost veterinary examinations and vaccinations for pets whose humans are in financial need. Everybody wins in this arrangement.

Today’s mitzvah: Click-to-give on Care2’s Pets in Need page to support the Human Society’s RVAS program, at no cost to you. Jazzy says thank you!

Whale-Mail, AniMail -- and More!

Looking for a free, flexible web-based email account? Reluctant to use your personal email account when signing petitons or supporting online letter-writing campaigns? I’m a big fan of Care2’s various “click to give,” petition, Daily Action and Soular Energy sites. A lesser known Care2 feature: free, web-based email accounts with 100 MB storage and the ability to access POP email from your other accounts. Why use this? In addition to the convenience of accessing the mailbox from anywhere, the domain names are fun. In honor of Animal Week, I note especially yourname@whale-mail.com and yourname@animail.com. (Other options incude @wildmail, @vegemail, and @peacemail.) Every time you read or send e-mail using this free account, you generate donations for nonprofit organizations.

Today’s mitzvah: Check out Care 2’s email accounts, as well as the rest of this activist-oriented online community.

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Monkeys!

OK, technically that should be “primates” or chimpanzees. But it was just too much fun typing “Monkeys!”

As part of the ongoing Animal Week here on the blog, today I want to give a shout out to the Jane Goodall Institute, which since 1977 has focused on education, conservation and development, and wildlife research, as well as its best-known projects, the Chimpanzee Sanctuaries in various parts of Africa. As our friends at Care2 note, “from fostering micro-businesses in Tanzania to educating young people about conservation, the Institute’s programs make the world a better place for people, animals, and the environment.” Even in the midst of a manic Monday (I know, I’m having one, too), you can support the Goodall Institute with a free click on Care2’s Race to Save the Primates. Free to you, the site sponsors make a donation for the Goodall Institute’s chimp protection programs for each click.

Today’s mitzvah: Try a free click to aid in primate protection — and get a pick-me-up with some very cute chimp photos!

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Registered to Vote?

Being home sick and spending the day on the couch, I’ve been watching the sad news of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination in Pakistan. Combined with Care2’s Daily Action reminder today to register to vote, this has me thinking a lot about the tremendous risks men and women in other countries take to participate in the democratic process.

The U.S. presidential primaries begin soon (click here for Democratic schedule, here for GOP schedule). Yet 87 years and counting after American women gained a constitutional guarantee of the right to vote, only 65% of eligible American women voted in the last presidential election (although still beating the guys, who had a 62% turnout). Not registered? Not a problem: just click on Rock the Vote’s voter registration page, which will walk you through it quickly and easily. Alternately, the local League of Women Voters can provide information on registration (or just call or visit the local library).

Today’s mitzvah: Register to vote — or if you’re already registered, consider emailing this post to someone who may not yet be registered.

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Help Save Carnegie Hall Artists’ Studios

Looking for a way to start the week? Help save Carnegie Hall’s legendary Studio Artist Towers. Why? In the group’s words: “For more than 100 years, a unique collection of musicians, painters, sculptors, actors, drama coaches, photographers, architects, educators and related professionals have occupied the studios above Carnegie Hall as part of Andrew Carnegie’s mandate to house a comprehensive creative community.” Carnegie Hall now wants to demolish the interiors of this historic space, possibly to make way for luxury condos, and has begun evicting its current tenants, including educational groups and working artists. More information, and stunning photos, are available on the preservation group’s web site. Care2 is hosting a petition drive to stop the demolotion, with the goal of gathering 100,000 signatures to present to Mayor Bloomberg.

Today’s mitzvah: Sign a petition to help save the Carnegie Hall Artist Studios.

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Simple Sundays: Click to Offset 1 Lb. of Carbon

The topic of carbon offsets is controversial — something I’ll be investigating over the next few weeks since I have a business trip coming up that involves four separate airplane flights. While the jury is still out, even skeptics have time to click a link. Visit Care2’s “Race to Stop Global Warming,” click on the leaf box, and their sponsors will make a donation equivalent to offsetting one pound of carbon — the carbon footprint from your (or my) shower today.

Today’s mitzvah: Click here to reduce your carbon footprint. (Heck, at least it plants a tree.)

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