Games That Give^TM are now available on The Animal Rescue Site. Play fun, free, classic gamesand help shelter animals at the same time. The more you play, the more funds you raise for our charity partners to help animals in need.

Check it out: play to help animals!

More than 20 of the most popular “casual” games, all absolutely free, are now available here at The Animal Rescue Site. The more you play*, the more you can help shelter animals!

How does it work?

Games that Give^TM are a simple, free, and fun way to help animals in need by playing some some of the most popular “casual games” of all time. The games contain sponsor advertising, and 70% of that advertising is donated to help shelter animals.

Westminster Youth Advisory Panel and Soldier’s Angels gave us opportunity to send  treats and Thank You messages to our troops.  Our service men and women give up so much for us.  I believe that it’s important that we take every opportunity to give back.    It’s amazing how grateful students are … sometimes we just need an avenue to express our thanks!

In some parts of the world, cats and dogs are raised and brutally skinned for their beautiful fur. The Canadian Government is afraid that a ban on these furs would endanger international sales of Canadian products made of baby seal skins. So it allows imported clothing made of dog and cat fur, and does not even require the fur to be labeled.

Nobody wants fashion at the price of pets’ lives. Tell the Canadian Government to ban imported dog and cat furs. Sign & tell a friend today!

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/campaign.faces?siteId=3&campaign=CanadaCatDogFur

As polar bears struggle to survive, collectors in some countries can still buy polar bear skin rugs, claws, skulls, and other parts to decorate their homes.

Canadian officials need to hear from you to understand just how many people care about these struggling bears.Urge Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and conservation officials to support an international ban on the trade of polar bear products.

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/campaign.faces?siteId=3&campaign=DOWPolarBear

Global warming is one of the most pressing issues facing our wildlife and our planet. Scientists warn that our rising temperatures could cause 20 - 30 percent of the Earth’s plants and animals to go extinct between now and 2050. But will the Senate take action to save these species?

Lend your voice for action on global warming! Ask Majority Leader Harry Reid to urge the Senate to pass a comprehensive global warming bill, helping polar bears, walruses, and other wildlife struggling to survive in a warming world. Sign the petition below and tell a friend.

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/campaign.faces?siteId=3&campaign=GlobalWarming

Since 2003, Alaska’s aerial hunting program has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 wolves.During these hunts, wolves are shot from the air or chased by airplanes to the point of exhaustion before the pilot lands the plane and a gunner shoots the animals point blank. Sign the petition below and urge Alaska Governor Sean Parnell to end the state’s irresponsible and cruel aerial wolf-killing program immediately.

Despite strong scientific, ethical, and public opposition to aerial hunting, officials in Alaska have:
• Proposed paying a $150 bounty for the left foreleg of each dead wolf.

• Approved a $400,000 state-funded propaganda campaign to promote aerial hunting.

• Introduced legislation to make it even easier to use aircraft to hunt wolves.

Sign the petition here: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/campaign.faces?siteId=3&campaign=WolfAerialHunting

A loophole in the Fur Products Labeling Act means that a vast quantity of clothing made with less than $150 worth of real fur goes unlabeled in the U.S. This is bad news for consumers and animals alike — without proper labeling, it is nearly impossible for a person to tell the difference between a product containing real fur or faux fur.

Take action today! Urge your representative to close this loophole by passing the Truth in Fur Labeling Act of 2009.  Sign the petition here:

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/campaign.faces?siteId=3&campaign=FurLabeling

As the population of Alaska’s Cook Inlet beluga whales plummeted from over 1,200 in 1979 to only 326 in 2009, these iconic whales were finally listed as endangered in 2008. Now, a new proposal announced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) aims to protect more than 3,000 square miles of their aquatic home — and would give these struggling marine mammals the protections they need to survive.

Take action now: Urge NOAA to adopt this proposal to help save the Cook Inlet beluga whales. The deadline for comments is March 3, 2010.

Click here to sign a petition: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/campaign.faces?siteId=3&campaign=belugawhales

Having skills are important, and here’s an easy way to improve your Microsoft skills:

Ribbon Hero is a game from Microsoft Labs - designed to help you boost your skills and knowledge for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel 2007 and 2010.

Play games (aka “challenges”), score points, and compete with your friends while improving your productivity with Office. As a concept test, this add-in is not supported, but is an opportunity for you to try out an idea we are working on and let us know what you think. For additional challenges and the opportunity to earn more points, download Office 2010 Beta.

On 1-20-10, the Supreme Court ruled 7 to 2 to upheld the death penalty for Holly Wood - and Alabama inmate - whose attorney declined to present evidence about mental deficiencies to a jury during the sentencing portion of the trial. The court ruling was written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, making this her first full opinion on capital punishment since she joined the Supreme Court. She said that while the wisdom of the lawyer’s decision might be “debatable,” it was not unreasonable to think he had made a strategic decision that kept out more damaging evidence about his client.

It was argued that courts should apply only subsection 2254(d)(2), and reserve subsection (e)(1) for cases that involve extrinsic evidence. In other words, the the State of Alabama should not have to rebut the state court’s factual findings by clear and convincing evidence; instead, he should only be required to show that the findings were objectively unreasonable in light of the entire state court record.

Justice Stevens wrote a dissenting opinion that said,

Wood’s experienced counsel made a perfectly sensible decision not to introduce Dr.Kirkland’s report into evidence or to call him as a witness. That was a strategic decision based on their judgment that the evidence would do more harm than good. But it does not follow from this single strategic decision that counsel also made a strategic decision to forgo investigating powerful mitigating evidence of Wood’s mental deficits for the penalty phase. On the contrary, the only reasonable factual conclusion I can draw from this record is that counsel’s decision to do so was the result of inattention and neglect. Because such a decision is the antithesis of a “strategic” choice, I would reverse the decision of the Court Of Appeals.

While it’s interesting that Justice Sotomayo upheld the death penalty her first time out of the gate, I tend to agree with Justice Stevens.  Holly Wood’s mental retardation might have made a difference to the jury when sentencing.  If I were on the jury, I would have had a harder time giving the death penalty to someone who was mentally retarded.