This is the start of our two-part series we've given the highly technical title...

Cool Stuff to Know...
This week, about food:

Ringling Bros. has a long and documented history of cruelty to animals, accused often by the circus' own employees. And, this behavior directly violates the Animal Welfare Act, which gives the USDA the power to seize these elephants and retire them to a better life.

OK, now that you're totally depressed....don't be.

You can do something about this. Sign the petition to end this abysmal treatment in the name of "entertainment" and urge a full investigation into the inhumane practices of what is, as it turns out, "the saddest show on Earth".

With your help, these elephants can be released from the circus and retired to sanctuaries with hundreds of acres of natural habitat.

You have been officially alerted.

Here is your....Taxpayer receipt

Below is the itemization of 2011 federal budget expenditures*

Next to each figure is what you paid toward each expenditure using a sample household income $46,605

Your Total: $7,503.00

*Note: Dollar figures break down the family's total bill according to the percentage that each item takes up in the federal budget.
The total national debt (as of January 1, 2012):$15,222,940,045,451
Your share of the national debt (all legal residents):$50,958
Change in your share of the national debt in 2011:+$2,576

Now, want to calculate your actual expenditures based on the taxes you've just paid?
Go!

Begin with a score of 79 years,  the average life-expectancy,  then ADD or SUBTRACT years as you read each statement and respond YES or NO.
                                                                                                                                             YES          NO

Yep...this is going to be a pondering right up there with one of those "you think you got it tough!?" lectures we had to endure from our parents (you know..."I had to walk 5 miles to school in a blizzard with hot potatoes in my pocket to keep me warm...yada yada....")
The difference is...ours doesn't include wearing warmed root vegetables, and although no doubt quite shocking to anyone under the age of 40, is equally astonishing to us when we think of what we managed to live without as youngsters.
Therefore, my fellow Boomers, feel free to share this with all those "kids" in your life whenever they whine about how tough things are for them...

I remember when:

The cute puppies for sale at your local mall were probably bred in puppy mills, according to the ASPCA. 

Puppy mill dogs are typically kept in cages with wire flooring that injures their paws and legs—and cages can be stacked up in columns (which means waste falls on the dogs housed below them). Compromised health and conditions like matting, sores, mange, severe dental disease and abscesses are often widespread.

Many puppy mill puppies are born with or develop overt physical problems that make them unsalable to pet stores—which means they end up abandoned or just left to die. Many sick puppies do manage to end up at pet stores, though, where the new puppy owner unknowingly purchases the sick dog.

Breeding dogs at the mills sometimes spend their entire lives outdoors, exposed to the elements—or crammed inside filthy structures. Female dogs usually have little to no recovery time between bearing litters. When, after a few years, the females can no longer reproduce or when their breed goes out of “style,” the dogs are often abandoned, shot, or starved until they eventually die.

Many pet stores with cute puppies for sale will tell you that they don't get their puppies from puppy mills. They'll say their puppies are all from "USDA licensed breeders." If you dig a little deeper into what that actually means, you'll find that it's not worth much!  Find out why....

Finally, here's a map of "puppy mill" stores in your area.

If you believe yourself to be a true animal lover, do not shop at a pet store that offers puppies for sale. 

And remember, it's not enough to simply buy no puppies from them; anything you buy there goes to purchasing more puppy mill puppies.